Relocate to Ipswich or Peterborough

[Poppie2023]

Hi all,

If anyone has knowledge of the above areas, can you please advise which area is more preferable to buy a property in and why? Ipswich appears to be closest to London in driving but my understanding is that both have good commutable connections to London by public transport. Please can you only advise on the above areas and avoid throwing other area suggestions in as I can only go where my purse will allow and don't want to go too far from London, and anywhere closer to London (even Colchester) will stretch me jugding by my research on RM.

Which out of the two locations, (if any) do you think might have the better potential for regeneration projects in the future or may already be underway?

I know the advise will be subjective to individual experiences, but it's still welcomed and I plan to visit next yr and get my own feel.

Ipswich is fine. I would want to live near Christchurch park or generally in the IP1 area.

@Exasperatednow I do agree that going north from Suffolk is dreadful! However if you don’t need to, it has other pleasures!

Thank you OP. All good now.
Cafes: Fratellis, the Chalkboard and the Willow Cafe in Central Park are all nice.
Woodston is 15 minutes walk to the river and town centre. I’ve noticed houses in our area are selling faster.
Oh, and hourly trains to Cambridge take 50 minutes.

I live equidistant from both and like both cities. For me, I'd say Ipswich is more insular and less likely to have regeneration money spent on it. However, the Suffolk coast is my favourite place in the world so being so close would be wonderful.
Peterborough is diverse and has some vibrant areas. There are more education options (if that's something you'll need). There are some lovely villages nearby and it's much easier to get elsewhere in the country for visiting friends and family. On the other hand, the city centre is rubbish at the moment - there are plans for regeneration but when it'll happen is anyone's guess!

Ipswich has a variety of state and private schools. Like anywhere else really.

Having lived near (but not in) both Ipswich and Peterborough. I would choose Ipswich. Plus it's closer to the coast. My sibling works in Peterborough and avoids it for everything other than work. We have a lot of children coming to the school I work at just outside of Ipswich as some of the good schools outside of the town have spaces due to low student numbers in the area currently (it comes in waves and we are expecting an increase).

Thank you for sharing your preferred location. Is there any particular reason why you say IP1?

Thanks @MinnieMountain for the additional information which is most helpful, I will definitely be exploring the cafes, parks, when I visit. Glad you're in better health now 🙂

I know you don't want to hear other places, but honestly, there are other places in and around East Anglia.

Do you know why there are so many posters saying "oh, the haters will be coming along soon"? Because they know that the common opinion of living in both those places, is not good.

I've lived in East Anglia all my life. Best friend lives in Peterborough. Peterborough probably pips Ipswich as slightly better. The Hamptons are ok. Christchurch in Ipswich is ok. If your budget has restricted you to Ipswich and Peterborough, then both of these districts are not going to be for you.

To be fair, you could have gone worse and said Great Yarmouth. But that's about the only worse place I can think of in this part of the country.

Please look at other areas.

Or maybe some of us actually like living in Peterborough @WillYouPutYourCoatOn.

@WillYouPutYourCoatOn why do you think your opinion is more valid than others here? We live or have lived in Peterborough too, oh but no YOUR best friend lives in Peterborough and you live in East Anglia so you're the authority on it?

The op specifically said that she didn’t want to hear about other areas.

Why did you just make up that I said my opinion is more important? Is that a thing you do?

I pointed out that everyone wanting to advocate for those areas always starts with "ohhhh the haters will be along soon". And that it's not "haters" but the fact that they already know the area they live is seen undesirable, because they try to counter that from the off.

It's great you like living there. Most people wouldn't. Hence the super cheap house prices (bar a couple of locations in each area). Desirable costs. Undesirable does not.

To use my prior example, if I picked my house up and put it in Bury St Edmunds, in the town centre, would be about £1.25m. On an estate, more like £800k. If I picked it up and put it in Great Yarmouth, it would be £380k on a good day.

We're looking to move to a property with a lot of land. Quite isolated. We'd love this. Some would feel too isolated. However, most would also love this, which is reflected in the price.

The majority consensus affects the price. If the price is cheap, the majority consensus is not good.

I'll be honest, I dont know Ipswich well having only visited (and neen pleasantly surprised) it would be my first choice.

But - I feel that Peterborough is likely to have higher levels of regeneration because, well it needs it.

But none of that alters the fact that the op ask people not to recommend other areas.

You don’t want to live there then that’s fine, but that won’t help the op.

@WillYouPutYourCoatOn because that was the entire point of your post, to belittle those with differing opinions to you, if it wasn't, FYI it comes across as arrogant know it all, steeped in snobbery.

I live in Ipswich and I love it. We live in the IP4 postcode now which is the 'nicest' one (worst house best street set up 😂) but we are now close to Christchurch park. There are great schools here, lovely parks and historic buildings, 20mins from the beach and as a PP has mentioned lots of creative opportunities. There is a university that is still developing and a stunning waterfront with bars and restaurants. Ipswich has fantastic pubs and feels like a safe place to raise our kids. Very happy here.

Just my opinion (and potentially biased as I was born in Norwich!) but I would not recommend a move to ipswich.

I lived there for 6 years and was happy to leave when a different job opportunity came up. Where I lived (IP1 Norwich Rd/ London Rd area) there was loads of low level crime, street drinking, ASB that made me feel uncomfortable. I felt Ipswich had a bit of an 'inferiority complex' compared to other towns and cities in the east of England. It's only had a university since about 2008 and before then Suffolk was one of the last counties in England without its own HE institution. As the crow flies there is good proximity to the coast but road connections are not particularly fast.

However, I think property is still relatively cheap and as PP have stated, Christchurch Park and the waterfront are nice places. Personally I'd look at Woodbridge or BSE before Ipswich.

Houses are cheap there because it's an undesirable area.

Must be my "snobbery".

For me it’s the fact that many people who rubbish Peterborough on social media have never lived there. And also what @qpalbfy said.

But OPs reasoning is that she can only look at these areas because that's what her "purse strings will allow."

If the prohibiting factor is very low cost, there are other locations with not too horrific pricing, that are more desirable. Might require looking a smaller house. We don't know OP's requirements on that.

If OP is looking at 1 bed flats, then you probably can't live anywhere much cheaper than Ipswich. Wisbech I guess. If OP is looking at 3 bed houses, but actually 2 beds would be ok, then she might get a place elsewhere, much nicer, for a similar price. Perhaps a shared ownership scheme?

@ronswansonstache Prices in Woodbridge are much higher though, aren’t they! It’s highly desirable. If the OP is looking at locations with cheaper housing, Woodbridge isn’t it. As the other posts say, prices reflect desirability but if you don’t have the money, you live in a cheaper area.

A friend of mine moved to Peterborough and commuted to London. She hated it and ended up in Norwich. She only commutes three times a week though. Bit of a trek!

From Norwich is two hours on the train to London!!

Im a northerner but had family who lived there and im aware of the area due to my job. I personally would avoid like the plague. Run down, high crime, rough, knives, unsafe.

No money in the council to deal with the multitude of problems that many need help with there.
It was in the paper that neighbouring Cambridge give one way bus tickets to thier homeless in tourist season and (outrageously) send the 'problem' to Peterborough who are already overstretched to be able to help these people. Not a nice part of the country from what ive heard.