Norwich or Ely? And why

[purpledelicious]

We are looking to relocate from Walthamstow to either one of these areas, we have two small children.
Which one of those would you choose and why?
Many thanks

Personally I prefer Norwich, loads to do, quite an arty vibe also. I’m always recommending St Ives as well, I’m not keen on Ely but lots of people on Mumsnet seem to love it. Have you considered Bedford? The area around the embankment is lovely.

What has driven you to choose those two places in particular? I would focus on those reasons first and then make your own decisions based on that; I don’t think that there’s anything anyone here could say with any confidence that it could be relevant to you.

I like both of those places, but don’t have two small children and don’t currently live in Walthamstow, so my experience and preferences will be entirely different to yours.

Could we have some more detail, otherwise you’ll just get answers that won’t be of any use to you and random suggestions of other towns 50 miles away. What do you like? What do you want from a new location? How do you live? Do you need to be near family in a certain location, things like that.

I have family in Walthamstow and friends in Norwich and Ely with children.

I'd probably go for Norwich, but obviously it's a bit further out the way.

Thank you, why are you not keen on Ely, just out of curiosity? I have never read anything in mumsnet from people that love it, I actually read someone on mumsnet saying it's not very nice there! Never thought of Bedford, I will take a look!

Thank you, just both places were recommended as nice places for young families, even though Ely's schools did not come up as very good at the moment but maybe improving. Norwich was recommended as safe and walkable city. Any opinions would be appreciated.

We moved out of Walthamstow - as other said, it would be good to get an idea of why you’ve picked those and why you’re moving.

I assume you don’t need to travel regularly back into London if you’re looking at Norwich? Ely is better connected to the rest of the country, which is something to consider - it can take ages to get from
Norwich to roads like the A1 or the motorway network.

Most people say to me that they would prefer Norwich, closer to the beach, the broads, safe for children. Why would you say Norwich?

Norwich for me. I would happily live there, it's a lovely place with so much going on. And I love the coast around there, you're so close for a day trip. I just wish it wasn't so far away from London and motorways! I have a friend who lives 15 minutes out of Norwich and she's very happy in her countryside bubble, but she doesn't need to be near London for work and they don't travel much, family all live nearby.

I'm not overly keen on Ely. It's ok, I have friends who live there with small children and it's good for that stage. But I think as the kids get older they'll be bored by the town itself, it's much less vibrant and busy than Norwich.

What do you want from the move? Have you actually been to both places and spent some time in them? Have you considered Bishops Stortford or Saffron Walden instead? Both seem very popular at the moment.

I live in Ely.

have visited Norwich.

Ely is much much smaller than Norwich and has correspondingly less to do and fewer groups/etc.

i like it but Norwich has more shops, cultural stuff, concerts, is closer to beaches, and is still train to London.

Ely is surrounded by the fens. It's a small island in a sea of dreariness.

Have you been to either? Ely is a small town (technically a city though). Biggest nearest city is Cambridge and traffic on A10 can be a nightmare, though there is the train. Ely is lovely and good for families.

We visited Ely recently and found it a bit soulless to be honest.

I think either would be a big change after Walthamstow so it’s worth considering that and being realistic about it. I appreciate that it may well be that that change is exactly what you are looking for though. You don’t say if you’ve always lived in Walthamstow / London or if you’ve lived anywhere else. It may be you were brought up in a small city and so you know what that means, but in case not I wanted to flag that there’s a big difference between living in a London borough and living in a city, especially a relatively small city, in terms of what is available to you and (in my experience) often also in terms of mentality. My husband was born and brought up in London and thinks he could live somewhere else, but he has no idea what it is like to live anywhere else. That’s not to say that living in London is better - i appreciate lots of people hate it - but it is very different to living elsewhere in the UK. Personally, I think Ely and Norwich each have their charms (I have history and connections in both and continue to visit them pretty regularly), but as someone who’s lived in north London for many years now I don’t think I could live in either. Of the two, I would say that Norwich is the more appealing to me - it has much more going on than Ely, as it has UEA and the student population and connected to this more going on culturally than Ely. It feels more of a city and also is closer to the coast and the broads. Personally, I think there are some nicer houses there too. Ely is quicker to London if you would be commuting / have to travel to London for work, but Norwich also has a direct train line. Neither feel very multicultural compared to north London, but I would say Norwich is more multicultural and has more going on because of the university.

Norwich is more diverse, has more happening, is closer to the coast, not a bad train service but the road connections are dire

@purpledelicious Norwich just has a lot more about it. A bigger town, more to do with kids. Lovely countryside, easy access to the beachs & broads. Lots of lovely surrounding villages etc.

Ely is just a bit "meh". Very flat countryside surrounding and once you're there you're there. There isn't mush to do is surrounding areas etc. it's just Ely.

Whereas Norwich is lovely in itself but also feels like there is more in the surrounding areas.

Im from North London originally but I moved to Cambs 20 years ago, quite near to Ely and to be honest I find it a bit boring and Fen winters can be very depressing. Bedfords a bit rough round the edges but imagine that may change as I think it’s going to be part of the East West Rail project and as I said the embankment and the houses around it are fab.

Bedford town centre is quite rough but there is good shopping nearby at Milton Keynes or Rushden Lakes. There a good music scene with a number of pubs hosting local bands, Esquires and the summer series in Bedford Park. We've seen well known comedians at the Corn Exchange. There's also a good range of non chain restaurants for posher eating there's the St Helena at Elstow or The plough at Bolnhurst. Generally speaking north of the river has the nicer areas. There's nice countryside to the north if you like walking.
And it's definitely multicultural.

Try Bury St Edmunds instead!

I don’t know Norwich well enough to judge but I do really like Ely!

It’s very pretty and has nice cafes and restaurants, and is very quick and cheap to get to Cambridge on the train which has a lot going on.

Norwich is a good city. Not hugely diverse but nowhere in East Anglia is really!

2 hours on the train into London Liverpool St. there’s often rail replacement at the weekend.

90 minutes to 2 hours-ish to a motorway though!

But there’s theatre, a lively food scene, lots going on, gigs, good parks, some decent schools. Note that ALL secondaries are either private/grant-maintained or academies, there are no state-secondaries. Some of the infants and juniors are academies now as well but not all.

Close to the Broads and the coast.

Near enough to Cambridge for a day/evening but you’d want to drive.

Theres only a small IKEA about to open!

All the supermarkets represented, as well as lots of independent shops.

Two universities, 2 councils, 1 hospital, if that’s part of your employment considerations.

Norfolk has NO NHS dentists taking on adult patients. Kids can get in with a few, possibly, but it’s going to be private dentistry.

Small airport with direct flights to the international hub of Amsterdam.

Close enough to Stansted Airport.

It’s got a lot going for it! I’ve been here 19 years and I do love it.

Norwich.

Ely is tiny, really. Norwich has a full range of mainstream and independent shops. A range of theatre / cinema/ gallery places, loads of activities.

Castle, cathedral, history, brilliant market, lovely shopping arcades, John Lewis.

Quick access to a range of lovely seaside areas by train or car.

Where do you and your husband/partner work?

I went to uni in Norwich and stayed there for a few years after.
I now live in a very small village between Ely and Cambridge.

I'd happily move back to Norwich, and would have done so with young children (we moved away for work). Although hvakmg said that it is 25 years since I lived there so it has no doubt changed a lot.

I'd also happily live in Ely - but it is a totally different place than Norwich, Ely is much smaller and has far fewer facilities.

Definitely ignore the Bedford suggestion, it's a rough town and going to places like Milton Keynes or Rushden Lakes for shopping is a daft suggestion.
Move to somewhere (like Norwich!) where you'd actually enjoy going shopping in the town you live in.

I grew up in Ely but haven’t lived there for a while. It is small so you can walk to most places. There’s not much in the town centre, mainly charity shops but they have plenty of cafes and nice farmers market. The railway has good connections, you can get to London in an hour and there are trains to places such as Birmingham, Stansted and Liverpool. Norwich is less than an hour away on the train. Since I’ve moved away it has grown significantly with more and more houses being built but places for doctors and dentists haven’t grown.

Norwich is a lovely place to visit but I haven’t lived there. There is a lot more to do there than Ely and it’s near the coast but as others have said it’s not well connected.

I agree with a previous poster about looking at Bury St Edmunds.