Norfolk anyone?

[FrostyGirl66]

Thinking of relocating to Norfolk. It's so cheap up there but still only 3 hours from family, so can easily visit.

Can anyone recommend areas to look at and areas to avoid. I have 2 primary school aged children.

Thank you!

Forgot to mention I would prefer rural/semi rural.

Depends on your budget.
We live just outside King’s Lynn and it’s lovely, there are definitely areas of Lynn that you would be advised to swerve though.

Oh yes, sorry! Forgot about that bit. Our budget would be £250,000 absolutely maximum.

Is Wells 3 hours from your family? I expect not. Where is your family (first half of postcode). I presume you want 3 beds?

ps: can you really get work 'anywhere' or do you WFH (do you need good broadband, I wouldn't rely on having good broadband in Briston), or do you not work at all?

Are you after coast or country?
Area along the coast do tend to be much more expensive than those inland, although some of the villages around here are extortionate too.
Bear in mind the awful public transport, our DD is at university now, but me and her dad were a taxi for years. The last buns runs from town at 7.30.
The other point I would make is the insular nature of people from Norfolk.
We have lived here for almost 8 years and are still bloody incomers pushing up the housing prices.
Property is rising in price because you can be in London in 2 hours on the train.

There is masses of house building currently so I think Norfolk is going to have to cope with lots of outsiders coming in. Particularly if more people can WFH. Sounds like it could do with the shake up

Avoid great Yarmouth. Cheap for a reason.

We moved here, can't wait to leave tbh.

Between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft you have some nice towns, Belton, Bradwell, Fritton, Gorleston, Hopton all within 5/10 minute drive of lovely sandy beaches that don't get many holiday makers and near the Broads which is a lovely area to walk and easy access to the more touristy areas which are good for a day out and gives children something to do slightly further from the coast is Beccles and surrounding villages which are more rural. Norwich is a lovely city and a 30-45 minute drive from the above areas.

As above poster said Great Yarmouth itself and central Lowestoft are cheap for a reason and the town centres are very run down but the surrounding areas are fine.

4 bed Belton
3 bed Happisburgh pronounced Hazebrugh

You don’t have enough for North Norfolk (horrendously expensive!) but mid Norfolk, West Norfolk your budget will get you a 2 bedroom, maybe a 3 bed if you head towards the East Coast but I don’t know there as well.

This is West Norfolk, great primary nearby, and 25 mins from the coast, also the nearest station is on the Kings Cross line to London, takes about 1hr 30mins.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property/79473480

I really like Norfolk, it’s chilled out, people are lovely. I’m hoping our next move will be there.

You can be within ten miles of Norwich and still be rural, but with the city nearby. I'd reccomend that. If you have places like Lynn, Yarmouth or Lowestoft as your closest town, it will be cheaper, but you will miss out on lots of culture the county has to offer (in norwich) and will get a lot more of the shit. And the nicest places in far-flung corners of the county are prohibitively expensive on your budget.

I'd look around Blofield, wymondham, Diss, and you'll find something which is good value but also nice

Wymondham
Acle
Brundall

Or villages around them. Good schools. £25000 will get a 3 bed semi. More or you’re prepared to go to the villages out.

Like Everywhere in the country schools impact price of property.

@TheBitchOfTheVicar ha snap!!!

Mulbarton is a nice ruralish village

3 bed semi in North Norfolk comfortably in OP's price bracket.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/79889847#/

Near an ‘outstanding’ secondary

@OhDear2200 I was going to say Acle, but it's closer the Yarmouth than Norwich!

@lljkk Melton is nice, but not really close to anywhere. With children, there are plenty of rural places in the satellite of Norwich. I live in a place which has already been mentioned on this thread and my commute to work (not Norwich) is entirely rural, yet I can be walking through the centre of Norwich within less than half an hour of leaving home

You could get a 3 bed in the older part of Mulbarton for just above your budget.

@LadyEuphemia that house is in a lovely village, with an Ofsted outstanding rated, very popular, primary school. However, a lot of West Norfolk secondaries are currently not considered to be that great - the catchment one for that house has been in special measures for as long as I can remember, although it is with a new academy chain now, so that may improve/have improved. Some of the pupils at the primary are from RAF families (it’s a popular place for them to rent in as it’s close to RAF Marham), so later move away anyway, others go private for secondary.

Norfolk already seems having a big influx of incomers, with lots from Essex, particularly retirees, moving to the cheaper inland areas more easily accessed by the M11. Recently, just about every new-build detached house in the villages around where we live seems to have been bought by Essex retirees.

Living in Norfolk feels very different to living in the south east - it’s great place to live though, just make sure that you do your research first. We moved here about 12 years ago, after living in London and the south east for many years, and don’t regret it, but I grew up nearby/elsewhere in East Anglia, so knew what to expect.

Norfolk is a really big county, so you probably need to narrow it down a bit. There are some nice villages along the Suffolk border but watch out for broadband speeds as they can be really bad.

I’ve never been made to feel like an income though. We have a really nice community feel here.

To answer OP’s question, I would look at secondary school quality, as that has been recognised to be a problem in Norfolk. The better ones, although not all, seem to be closer to Norwich. West Norfolk is well priced, and can be good for direct trains to Cambridge and London, but unless you are prepared to move again for secondary, it may be a problem if the situation hasn’t improved by the time your children reach that age.