Talk to me about Norwich vs villages around Norwich

[JollyTeaScroller]

We're planning a move to the Norwich area with our 2-year-old and I'm tying myself in knots over where we should live.
Initially I was set on living in Norwich itself, ideally somewhere fairly central or at least very walkable. I don't drive yet (I'm taking lessons), but it's not just that. Even once I can drive, I think I'd still prefer being able to walk to cafés, parks, shops, the library etc. I really enjoy that kind of lifestyle.
The problem is that we're realising we'd be stretching ourselves financially if we bought in the areas we originally had in mind. We'd much rather have a mortgage that leaves us with some breathing room than spend every month worrying about money.
Recently we met a couple who loved living in NR4 but are moving to Mulbarton now they have two children because they wanted more space (and a dog!). Another friend has moved to Wymondham and is very happy there. It made me wonder whether this is quite a common progression: enjoy city life while your children are little, then move out once you need more space.
We're also thinking ahead about nurseries and schools. We're interested in flexi-schooling or possibly home education in the future, so I'd be interested if some areas have stronger homeschooling communities or schools that are more open to flexible arrangements.
I'd also like my daughter to grow up somewhere that feels vibrant and open-minded, with a mix of people and a sense of community.
If you know Norwich well, where would you choose? Is the extra cost of living in the city worth it for the walkability, or do the surrounding villages offer a better quality of life overall? I'd love to hear from anyone who's wrestled with the same decision.

Mulbarton has a nice school and is a lovely little village with normal traffic it’s only 10 mins drive to NR2 (Golden Triangle). Wymondham is only a 15 min drive to the same.
However Norwich traffic is the absolute worst and if you are doing a school run a 10-15min drive can take you 45mins.
i don’t drive and live in NR2 where it is walkable to everything (city centre in 11mins, pubs and cafes 5 mins). My DD is 5 and being in NR2 means she can have some independence when she is older rather than relying on DH to drive her everywhere.
NR2 is expensive tho and if you don’t want to stretch yourself you could go for one of the roads off Trafford Rd, also very walkable to places (10am walk to city centre).
Will you need to train it to London regularly? If so, you will want to be near Norwich station.

NR4 is quite big tho so depending on where your friend is, it could be that quite far from the city. The most desirable postcodes are NR2 and NR4. One end of NR4 is Cringleford and you cannot walk to the city but buses are fairly regular and reliable. The other end of NR4 borders the golden triangle so you can walk to the city in 20mins or so

For me personally, given I don’t drive, convenience is priority for me and I don’t want to feel isolated or depend on anyone, hence the closer to the city the better.
If you are planning to homeschool youd have to figure out how your kid will make friends and socialise, where they kids will live and if play dates will be a hassle.

Best thing to do is rent for a bit. We had initially decided on NR4 but ended up staying in NR2 on a temp basis and much preferred it (for our circumstances) so decided to change location. Thankfully we hadn’t bought otherwise we’d be stuck!

I moved from South London to a town on the south Norfolk border about 15 years ago when my dd (now 23) was little. Something that became quickly apparent is that if you don’t drive you’re really going to struggle unless you literally live in central Norwich. Yes there are trains but they’re not very reliable (I planned to commute to central London on a line that should have taken 1.22 hours but quickly abandoned that idea as the trains were always delayed / crap). And if you do manage to get on public transport you can’t bank on there being a taxi available at the other end - especially in the towns taxis need booking days in advance. It’s a completely different world. Having said that, I absolutely love living here and wouldn’t want to move anywhere else. I’ve come to realise that most people who live in east Anglia drive very long distances without considering it a long distance - the Norfolk and Norwich hospital is our nearest one for example and that’s a 60 mile round trip. My son attended specialist school in Norwich and that was the same. Etc etc. Whereas in other areas you’d think 60 odd miles was a long journey here it’s just considered to be a normal journey. Just something to consider.

We have just moved to NR2, Golden triangle area and we absolutely love it! I don’t drive either so love being able to walk everywhere. City centre about a 10 min walk for us. Buses do seem ok around here but nice not having to rely on them.