Relocating - Norwich V Canterbury.

[Worthington35]

Hi helpful lovely people.

So my little boy is 14 months and we're contemplating moving out of east London to somewhere new where we can get a small city feel. We love east London feel but I also love the outdoors. We like the community feel of our little part of London and we're near eppjng forest which I really enjoy waking in. Hoping to get similar elsewhere without drugs, gang crime and generally less rough. Am I looking for the moon on a stick?

Anyone know much about Norwich and Canterbury? Been to both and love them and we think we could the work thing work, somehow.

Have family in Kent and Essex so both are appealing. Love that Norwich is near some gorgeous beaches etc but struggling for an area to live which is close to city, nice pubs, outdoor space and good for small children.

Canterbury bit better for work reasons but I know less about it.

Any advice? Anyone know good areas to live in either area? Is one more fun, even with a toddler??

Thanks heaps for any advice

I know nothing about Canterbury but can vouch 100% for Norwich with a toddler! Honestly, it goes without saying you'd be escaping gang violence and prevalent knife crime to live here, so not moon on a stick stuff :)

Would you want to live within the city limits as it were, or further out? I live exactly 3 minutes walk from Household Heath, which is a wonderful outdoor space walking distance from the city centre.

Haha, not Household Heath, MOUSEhold heath!

I can vouch for both. Lived in thanet till I was in my 20s. Went to college at Canterbury. It's an awesome city. We moved to Norwich 5 years ago and our first thoughts when wandering round the city was "it's just like a smaller version of Canterbury!" My son goes to a lovely school in Norwich and we've really enjoyed our experience of Norwich and Norfolk as a whole

I went to university in Norwich and lived in Canterbury and had my children there.

Canterbury is a really lovely City. It is big enough with a University to have a buzz but also pretty with little cobbled streets etc. Very similar to Norwich.

Canterbury has much better access to London on the train I think and you have really nice coastal areas nearby - Whitstable, Broadstairs, Joss Bay etc. You have lovely coastal areas in Norwich but I think it feels much more cut off than Canterbury.

Canterbury is great for little children - lovely river to walk along, loads of parks, loads of animal parks to wonder around, nearby beach, good schools etc. It does have its rough element but so does every City.

Not sure if that helps!

I suspect it comes down to location.

Expoxy I think we might live in the same street as we also live about 3 mins from the Heath!

I used to live about 3 minutes walk from mousehold too

Norwich is nice but it does feel a very long way from anywhere else. Canterbury is a day-trip to London (or France!) and feels much less remote despite the surrounding countryside.

I have a toddler and live in Canterbury, feel free to ask me anything !

I love living here, it's my goldilocks town - not too big, not too small, it's just right. The town is small enough to walk everywhere but big enough to still have lots of shops, restaurants, etc.

There are toddler groups/activities on pretty much every day of the week, beaches 20 minutes away (or Margate/dymchurch for Sandy beaches 40 mins away), 2 zoos really nearby (wingham and howletts), loads of lovely parks and playgrounds, it's easy to walk from my house into orchards and countryside, loads of pubs/coffee bars around town.

Things to watch out for - students! It's got 2 universities so be careful you don't buy a house in a street full of student housing. (On the flip side though I figure it's a city that caters extremely well for teenagers so when mine get to that age they won't be bored) . Also, secondary schools have the availability of grammar school places so if you're hugely opposed to the 11+ for ethical reasons keep this in mind.

Apoll0 perhaps! Then again we could both be on the heath and still never bump into each other, such is the size of the heath

Who knew there were so many MNers living near Mousehold!? Another one a stones throw away here

Canterbury is ok but horrible expensive. Norwich is much cheaper.

Well what a small world MN turned out to be this evening!

Wow. Thanks so much.
I've been trying to find baby/toddler groups in Norwich (hoping for a second). On first look seems more in Canterbury.
Anyone recommend an area to live in Canterbury or Norwich really that is close ish to city and has access to green spaces?
Checked out golden triangle in Norwich last night and I'm not sure I get it but I probably wasn't looking in the right places.
Canterbury looks lovely as a town but I don't know it at all.

You want to look out for places just north or east of the city triangle. The golden triangle and the area to the west of the city is mainly where Youll find the most expensive housing or student digs.

I grew up near Norwich and it's a great city - lots going on and definitely the cultural and shopping hub of East Anglia. The beaches in Norfolk are some of the best in the country - and nicer IMO than Kent.

The downside to Norfolk is that it's geographically quite cut off and the roads are slow. My parents still live in north Norfolk and although it's only 100 miles from me we only go up about 4x a year, simply because it's such a drag driving up there. The closest airport is Stansted, but to get to Heathrow or Gatwick takes ages and it's a 3-4 hour drive from the Eurotunnel. London is a 2-hour train ride or 2.5 hour drive.

Kent, OTOH, is closer to London, airports and the Eurotunnel and Canterbury is close-ish to Whitstable and Broadstairs, which are both charming (Broadstairs has a sandy beach, Whitstable has shingle and delicious oysters!).

I think, if it were me, I'd think about the kind of life I like to lead. If you're not too bothered about travel/connections then either would do. If you like to travel regularly and have easy access to other parts of the country via major roads then I'd probably choose Kent.

We have our own airport now Juneau! Norwich is really going up in the world :D also links are much better since they've duelled the A11, although it does still quite isolated.

I know about the airport epoxy - my DSis works there! It's not exactly a big hub though, unless you want to fly to Amsterdam, Scotland or a handful of holiday destinations in summer.

You're right, hardly a hub, it's just you said the nearest airport was Stanstead is all :)

Thanks guys. @juneau really good points - and question. I think most of our family would say Kent as we have some family there and in London. But part of the attraction of Norwich to me is being in a really nice, friendly small city that is also a bit remote. I used to live in Edinburgh and it reminds me a bit of there.

We need to go spend some time in Canterbury - and see if we can afford what we want there. I think the answer is probably no compared to Norwich. Been a few times but as a tourist. Is it bigger than Norwich?

Does anyone have a view on whether Norwich has much going on for mum's? And how to meet people. I know no one in either place!