Someone help!! Norfolk?

[CharCharxxx]

Argh I'm literally at the end of my tether with this location thing my brain feels like it's going to explode.
We are in South London where we were born and bred. Used to be a fab place as everything so accessible and opportunities etc. Now..those things haven't changed but I'm desperate to get away. The crime, gangs , violence, robbery and all the rest have filtered through to where we are and I can honestly say I feel so unsafe here now, there's no way I'll be happy letting my kids out once secondary school age comes.
So we are packing up and selling up this summer. Now here's my dilemma.. where the bloody hell to?! We have been all over Sussex and Hampshire and even the Cotswolds. But then we saw some amazingly beautiful country houses in Norfolk for so much less than our house is worth! I do understand that this will be partly to do with not as much employment etc therefore this reflects in the house prices. I then kept reading that secondary schools are under achieving so I basically would just like to find out the truth from people who know the area's? We think a village on the outskirts of Norwich would suit us so the kids aren't bored when teens. Any recommendations for nice villages with decent schools?
Sorry for the long post I only plan on doing this once so I need to get it right! X

When moved to Suffolk I knew no one. No one at all and was 4 hrs from my closest family and friends. I have a great support network now.

You aren't planning to move to Norfolk & then daily commute back to London, are you? Move to Norfolk but import the London lifestyle. Ugh. It's common.

OP worried about schools, specifically.

I live far end of Norfolk... I was just reading that thread about science work experience places for 15-18 yr olds: everywhere is at least 3+ hours away from us.

Brundell gets good rep for schools.

We looked at moving to Wymondham 6 yrs ago. County council sneered (over phone, in December) when I asked if we moved in July, if we could get any of DC (then age 4-12) into local schools. I've since heard on MN that it's actually extremely easy to move there and instantly put kids into the any local school. I literally have no idea about reality, but I didn't want to risk moving to Wymondham & spend all my time ferrying kids to Attleborough and Wicklewood for school while battling to get them into a school 300 yards from home; my kids wouldn't take the disruption well.

I live in a small village just south of Norwich and we have raised our two children here.
Norwich is a great city and I've always found everyone to be friendly once you make an effort to break the ice. There are plenty of things to keep children and teenagers entertained, all within easy reach and you don't have to battle that much traffic to get to them unlike cambridge or larger cities. There is beautiful countryside, the broads, gorgeous beaches all along the Norfolk and suffolk coast, great shopping and if you're a foodie like me we are spoilt for choice with great produce and restaurants.
Personally I'd avoid attleborough and Wymondham as the building of new housing is getting out of control and the traffic congestion around the towns is bad, particularly at peak times. Look for smaller villages closer to norwich and your budget will still go a long way compared to London
Schools can be a bit hit and miss but then I'd say That's probably true all over the country. Do your research in terms of which schools are available in the areas you like but don't rely on ofsted reports. Is private education an option? There are prep and senior schools in the city if so but also I've heard good things about Wymondham, Hethersett and CNS Hugh schools. You really need to research into catchment areas though as they are often over subscribed.
My eldest is now at the UEA and loves it!
If you want to get an idea of what norwich might be like as a place to live I'd go onto the UEA website and social media, having lived here for years I was really impressed by their marketing of the city.
If you'd like someone to talk to once you've made a decision or narrowed down your options feel free to message me

I lived on the outskirts of Norwich for 6 years (Thorpe St Andrew and Postwick) and then moved to a village further west. I'm around 20 miles away from Norwich. I can be in London v easily and we have roads for cars and electricity and everything. I love Norfolk, Norwich is a vibrant, interesting city and I have no problems with the education system either. We're not all unwelcoming yokels.

To correct a pp, there are gangs in Norwich and in a few towns actually. Nothing like London of course, but it isn't a crime free idyll at all.

I've lived in Norfolk all my life, stayed here because of extended family responsibilities ( my mother was widowed at a young age) and it really does have some good points! You'll get a nice house here I should imagine if you're selling a London property, Norwich is a nice city with attractive old buildings and a fair bit going on, it's honestly not such a reserved and isolated community here as it used to be, but rural areas are definitely not multicultural and transport links are poor.

We do have great amounts of open spaces and some of the best beaches in the UK. Have you thought of looking on the Norfolk/Suffolk borders? Bungay and Beccles are both nice, I'm a bit ancient to advice on schools ( I should really be on Gransnet!) but from what I remember the primaries are fine, Secondarys you might have to travel for.

I think op, the important thing is that you are realistic about what you’re going to get. Yes, you will have to drive a lot more than in London, especially if you don’t move to Norwich but choose a village. There are things going on for kids, especially in Norwich, but you might have to work a bit harder to find them (Facebook is good) and you might have to get in the car to get to them. You need to do your research - if you go for a village, what’s there? Ours has a GP, primary school, shop with a post office, 2 pubs and a coffee shop with delusions of grandeur, for example, but some others nearby have none of that. Check how good the shop is - can you get the ingredients for an emergency meal there, and when does it open? Get onto local Facebook pages and see how they seem, are they friendly, are there community events organised?

Life will be different - there will be mud, there will be tractors on the roads when you are late already (sometimes I could swear they know), if you have fields at the back you may be kept up by late night harvesting (they will keep going until the dew point stops them) or have muckspreading going on just after you’ve put your washing out. You may hear or see shoots during the season. All this is part of normal rural life.

However if you can embrace and enjoy those things, and if you are ready to get out and make some effort, you could be very happy here. I am.

This thread is hilarious. I went to UEA and lived in Norwich for 5 years.

DH and I would move there tomorrow if we could get work

Oh and to add - no, we don’t have huge gang fights on the Tube (not that that happens every day in London either) but not are we a crime-free paradise. There was a county lines murder in a local town quite recently, and there is rural crime too - thefts from barns and garages, and things like arson - a farmer friend lost a whole barn on hay to arson a couple of years ago. That said, I’ve always felt pretty safe here, go running in the woods alone etc. But again, you have to be realistic.

@anxiouswaiting we are Costessey too!

I will big up Norfolk all you like OP. I think it's pretty perfect and I've lived in London. It is of course much quieter and less going on, but it's much safer and more friendly. Norwich is a lovely city - it has everything you need and everything is in walking distance of each other. It's quite an alternative city too, lots of quirky things going on. I think it's a great place for kids

Best of luck!

Don’t be seduced by what you can get for your money. In reality it could become a gilded cage and feeling stuck in an area which is a completely different culture is a shock to the system.

If you really want to live there I would suggest renting for a year and rent your own current house out before actually buying.

I live in the very outskirts of North London and we feel very safe.

We actually have left our front door open, (it got warped in the hot weather a couple of summers ago). We were confident that no one would enter.
We do live in an area (almost a hamlet) where no one quite knows that we exist.

There are other areas of London or Home Counties borders which are much safer than areas of south London.

I have certainly noticed how much easier and cheaper it has been that teens have access to the tube and to London.
Friends who moved out to the countryside spent years being a taxi service to their children who have now all upped and left for uni and are not likely to return because of job prospects.

I think you need to think long term not just the schooling years

Is there lots of job prospects for children when they are adults. If your children go to uni what would make them return.

I know everyone says that there is good transport links to London but the time and cost should be taken into consideration.

Personally if the only reason you are leaving your area is because of safety fears and you have picked Norfolk because housing is cheap then I think it is throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Move to another area of London or Home Counties.

You might not get as much for your money but your children will thank you in the long run.

I moved from Nirth London to Norwich. I think that a Norfolk village would be too much of a culture shock, but Norwich is a fabulous city. Everything is close by. When we lived in London we hardly ever went into London. Now we go into the city probably every weekend, go to one of the many theatres regularly. There are better road links out of Norwich too. My parents still live in South London. It takes us a very easy 1 1/2 hours to get to the M25 then an absolute age to get round the M25. That is by far the worst part of the journey. The train goes I to Liverpool street in 90 minutes. My DC go to a brilliant primary school and it is easier to get in. Hethersett secondary school is good and they are all improving all the time. And re the money, we are mortgage free in Norwich. The freedom of that is not to be sniffed at. We would have paid our house in London off by dying! My kids dont miss London (although we were on the outskirts not proper London). Their grandparents have a house in London. They can go back when they are adults, but they dont want to.

Wow I've woken up to so many replies!! thank you all so much for taking the time to respond to me and with so much info!
I realise my post came across as i am looking through rose tinted glasses, I am not expecting to move to the countryside and there be no crime, I know this happens everywhere. But even just reducing it by half has got to be better than nothing!
You have all given me a lot of food for thought though so thank you. I've got alot of weighing up to do I think. We are visiting the in-laws next month so I think we will leave the kids there and go for a long drive around to see it all properly for ourselves.

I'm glad there are lots of you who have made the move and are happy there with your kids
On the other hand I completely take on board the other comments. It's so helpful to hear from people who really know this area.
I will also look into Cambridge as suggested! Thank you all! X

Also visit local pubs while you're doing the rounds op (not to drink just to give you a feel for the local community or lack thereof).

Thank you yes was planning to do that! That's one of the first things we do when we've looked at other areas. I'm a very sociable person I'll talk to anyone so will be doing that! X

Just to add, in all honesty..the house prices have definitely been a major factor as we could get a large country style house with equestrian facilities which is what I desire more than anything for my DD and myself as we are both riders. However there is a much bigger picture than that obviously so I don't want to get too sucked in by that I want to keep an open mind! 2 of my 3 boys do football twice a week and one on a team, are there football's clubs in most places? X

Don’t know about football everywhere, there was definitely a club in the town I lived in, and pretty sure there’s one in our nearest town now?

Check the os map for off-road hacking if that’s something you want. Bridlepaths aren’t always as prevalent as you’d hope! If you head towards the south of the county there’s Thetford Forest - not sure what the hacking is like but I used to hack around Harling Woods and that was good, still see plenty of riders there now. Or to the north you have beach riding of course!

Football is as popular here as it is everywhere else! I live in a village and we have a thriving football club.

Quite a few of my friends have horses and to a person, are lovely. If you find an area you like, speak to a local riding school for more detailed local info, hack info etc.

From your posts, I think you might quite like North Norfolk, Land of the London Escapee. You'll need a labrador, wardrobe comprised solely of White Stuff/Joules/Boden and a Range Rover though . I jest of course but coastal hacks are fab and you would find a larger "expat" community. The Burnhams are practically a suburb of London.

BIL works as a secondary school teacher in Norfolk.

His experience would be that schools are underachieving to say the least. Wealthy incomers/landowners are going private leading to a very split system, perhaps not dissimilar to what you have seen in London.

My experience of working in healthcare in Norfolk would be look very very carefully where you want to live. There is a big difference between incomers and London commuters, and those who have been in Norfolk for generations, and their expectations of life and services. Some areas are also very packed with retirees who remember Norfolk from holidays.

I moved to work in London. Turns out I prefer being sworn at by my clients

Go ahead OP, link to some properties you're looking at & we'll tell you if they are near good schools etc whatever else you might care about (so far I think you mostly just care about state schools).

Working offshore (oil rigs) is common here. Gawd yes every village has its own footie club.

I think Suffolk may have better schools

Wow all this input is brilliant thanks so much all of you! Wasn't expecting so many replies it's really helping us!!
This is very frustrating about the schools as from everything I'm reading above avout the actual lifestyle and great places for riding and so on, it seems like paradise. That with the prices of the properties we would be knocking our mortgage right down which is also appealing obviously.

I see Suffolk has been mentioned a couple of times so now my question is, if you had the choice betweem the Suffolk and Norfolk where would you choose? I don't want to be right near the coast or anywhere near Lowestoft/Yarmouth as know those areas quite well, just personal preference! X

And yes state schools as won't be able to afford 4 kids in private! X

That is a tricky one. DH is from Suffolk, and lived just outside Clare when we met. It is gorgeous there, and if we could afford to, we’d move there. That said, we do also really love it here, which is South Norfolk. We got more for our money housing-wise here, and it was a lot more convenient for my work at the time - DH is more flexible so we went with proximity to my work over his.

If we could get an equivalent house in an equivalent location down in that part of Suffolk, we’d move, I think. But we just wouldn’t.

You sure you live in London?

Lived here all my life and work daily in the city.

Never felt unsafe.

With 4 kids, wherever you go, make 1000000% sure your house is in easy walking distance of good public transport to school, shops and nightlife - and to where their mates will live. Juggling two teens with no bus service was bad enough, but with four your life wont be your own otherwise (especially as yr dh not there if he's offshore?)