Considering a move to one of two potentially very different areas - any opinions/advice please?

[FarleyD]

Hoping to move summertime next year in time for ds2 to start sixth form, and ds4 to start in year 6 of primary school (state or private). Dh will need fairly easy access to London but not on a daily basis, and we will also need access to good hospitals due to dh's ongoing health issues.

The two places we're looking at are Frinton on Sea and Ipswich. Any ideas, advice, opinions, alternative suggestions, offers to organise my life?! Tia.

How long is the train journey?

My elderly aunt lived in Frinton and loved it.

Hmm, thanks greenformica - I fear the fact your elderly aunt loved Frinton may be all I need to know about it! No disrespect to your aunt, of course.

Frinton is nice but it is definitely associated with older people, very nice older people though as there used to be rules about men not being allowed to walk around with their tops off in summer! Something to bear in mind is that your nearest town for facilities such as Hospitals and Sixth Form would be Clacton which really isn't the best - imo.

There are lots of nice places near Ipswich - Woodbridge, Bury St Edmunds that I would recommend more than Ipswich itself. What about Colchester area? A bit nearer London for your DH? There are nice places outside Colchester if you were wanting a smaller town/village.

Am intrigued why Frinton & Ipswich?!

Thanks for info Daffodils - no men without tops? . Liking the sound of Frinton less and less!

No logical reasons for choosing those two places really other than we want to move from where we are now, and have done for years, but with 4dc the timing has always been difficult. We're in a situation now where, next summer, we could move literally anywhere in the country theoretically - with the provisos in my first post - but realistically, don't want to move too far from this corner of the country, as if we needed to come back for whatever reason (thinking mainly of dh's health here) we would struggle to afford it.

Over the years, we've had thousands of convos along the lines of "where shall we go"" but never come to a satisfactory conclusion. Ipswich featured because dh was born there ( a very long time ago of course!) but moved away when he was two. And Frinton because I was born by the sea and lived by it til I left home. And both places didn't seem too irreversibly far from here. But thanks for your other suggestions, I'm open to any new ideas.

Don't know Frinton but not keen on Ipswich myself...lots of nicer places in Suffolk.

I was born in Ips too & is quite different now - as is everywhere when you get older but you know what I mean, different bad not different good imo.

I'm trying to think of other places near the sea that are nice, Brightlingsea, Wivenhoe, Manningtree, Mistley off the top off my head. Further into Suffolk there are lots of nice places, Southwold, Aldeburgh but this would be a much longer commute and they are pricy.

A potentially exciting position for you're family to be in though.

Interesting choices! Frinton is lovely for a sunny Sunday afternoon but couldn't imagine living there until i'm at least 30 years older.
Ipswich is OK, but Colchester better imo, and the commute is quicker. If you don't mind a large village then Manningtree is great, especially if you like sailing. Plus it has train to London and is half way between Colchester and Ipswich. Good (private) girls school nearby in Woolverstone, or Colchester County High in Colchester (grammar school, so would need to pass 11+). Good 6th forms in Colchester and Ipswich.
Woodbridge is nice but the commute would be longer.

Oooh another Suffolk thread...I can't comment on Frinton as I don't know it at all but I know the Ipswich area really well. It's a very easy commute and if your H is not commuting every day then you could easily base yourselves a few miles out of Ipswich around the Woodbridge area as there are very regular connecting trains - I know people that do that commute into London every day. It's a wonderful area to grow up. I went to Woodbridge school which then (about 20 years ago admittedly) was very good and there's a prep school and secondary school. Not sure about state options around there. I wouldn't want to live in Ipswich itself but there are so many nice places close by - the Shotley peninsular is very nice and Manningtree which is ten mins shorter on the train into London.

Thanks for the further info Daffodils, MrsGrowbag and cooper44. Will look further into Colchester and Manningtree.

WeIt are in a nice position in that our options are quite wide - but I'm not good with too much choice and don't want to end up making up a huge mistake. But we've been talking about moving for so long now that I actually want to ensure we convert the talk into action. Off to investigate Rightmove.