Life in Norfolk & Suffolk

[Kharo]

Good evening. Could do with some insight from you lovely people. We are relocating south and are trying to decide whether to buy a house near Banham or Wymondam (with the intent of a school run to Norwich) or head further east towards Debenham. Slightly concerned Debenham may be too rural and “away from it all”. Husband will be commuting to Bedford every other day. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

My first thought is that Bedford is really far!

For commuting, Wymondham is the best-positioned by far, as it is on the A11. A47 (Debenham) can get busy and slow. And I personally would want to be closer to Norwich.

Banham is nice but further away again from Norwich, in a small country road. Nice zoo though! Not too close to a supermarket.

It is mostly estate living in Wymondham, though there are some nice villages around it.

Lastly, I'm not sure this is the best place for this thread.

You need to ask to move this to either Chat or Property where there will be loads of help.

Your choice of villages are quite far apart - is their a rationale? Family?

I grew up near Debenham (if you mean the one in mid Suffolk) and had a boyfriend from Bedford. We'd meet in Cambridge. I can't imagine commuting that distance!

I've asked if they can look at moving to a different part of the board for you.

My friend used to live in Banham. Lovely village, and we loved visiting, but in the end they moved to Norwich, as the school run to Norwich was too much.

Either Wymondham or Banham are easy to Norwich. From Banham pick up the B1113 it’s through villages but a bus route and gritted and avoids a lot of the traffic into Norwich. I used to do it. Beautiful villages around South Norfolk. Banham easy to Attleboroigh, Diss amd Therford for all supermarkets. Hope your move goes smooorhly

I am currently going to norwich 2 or so times a week from north Cambridgeshire. It takes about 2 hours.
Whilst norfolk is lovely it's a v long commute. Is he going to work from home some of the time.

Maybe consider done here closer to Bedford ...Bury St Edmunds is lovely and has wonderful surrounding villages which can be quite rural. It's still about an hour to Bedford from there but nice and easy commute.

Commute to Bedford will be hell, why do this? Why not live within 1/2 hour of Bedford?

Wymondham has some of best schools in county; why would you commute into Norwich from there if you can get a place, anyway.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts! Really appreciated as we're struggling to see the wood for the trees... And thanks for flagging the thread is in the wrong place (first time on Mumsnet )... Grateful for your help NotQuiteReachEnough !
We have three young children so are looking for affordable and relaxed rural lifestyle + a bigger house - hence our preference for Norfolk or Suffolk. Husband is happy to do the drive twice a week (and hopefully work from home once a week). Anything after his weekly 5 hours drive to Lancashire will feel like a stroll.
Finding a house we like within the catchment of a strong primary and secondary (state) schools is proving challenging... so all your comments regarding the possible school run to Norwich are extremely helpful. I spoke with Wymondam College earlier and they have a very narrow catchment area (between 1.5 and 2 miles depending on the year...) - the house we found isn't near enough. Of course if we moved near Debenham, the school run would be almost stress free...

Commute wise Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket areas might be worth you looking at - don't know about schools there. Have you looked at Stowmarket? It's also good for the A14.

If you are looking at Debenham you should also look at Eye area - Hartismere is a great secondary. And it's easier to get on to the A140 from there. The roads from Debenham to get to the A140 can be tricky during the winter months in my experience.

I think the Bedford area is lovely.

Many thanks for your insight Notonthestairs The catchment for Debenham school doesn't go as far as Eye so we need to be mindful of that. Bury St Edmunds really appeals but just haven't managed to find our dream home. Apologies in advance for bombarding you with further questions... What is life in Debenham and villages nearby like? Is it a friendly community? Do people go to Diss, Bury St Edmunds or Norfolk for shopping/ socialising/ healthcare? Thanks again!

What's your budget for a house? Bedrooms etc?

I live near Eye, my family live in Bedford, the A14 is a pig of a road especially around the M11 junction and so is the A1 around the Black Cat roundabout.

I go to Norwich for shopping, Eye is quaint but there is not much more than a small Co-Op, a few cafes and some quirky little shops. Diss has more to offer but not in the way of clothes shopping etc.

Communities around here tend to be really friendly and welcoming, there is always something going on in our very tiny village. Most villages have a doctors surgery within a reasonable distance and for hospitals I go to Ipswich but could opt for the West Suffolk at Bury St.Edmunds. Lots of villages have busy village halls or pubs that lay on family events. I would say a car is essential round these parts, I am currently unable to drive and I am stranded unless DP is home to ferry me about. Debenham is better served by buses and there are railway stations at Diss, Needham Market, Ipswich and Norwich that serve London but the services don't run all night. The road network round here isn't great, there are few dual carriageways and lots of narrow lanes with passing places, it is a standing joke that everything in Suffolk/Norfolk is an hour away. My office is 27 miles from home but it regularly takes an hour to cover the journey even without rush hour. The internet tends to be shite in the villages and lots of areas struggle with mobile phone signal (when I am at work I work across county, lots of our team struggle to get a signal on our phones in many of the home we work in).

Having said all that I love Suffolk life. My partner has recently moved up from Kent and doesn't miss the hassle of the M25 and the commuter belt at all.

Cuttingthegrass Thank you so much for your post. (sorry it took me a couple of days to figure how to tag!!). Do you think a school run to Costessy would be realistic? Also what is the community around Old / New Buckenham like? Thanks!

Theworldisfullofgs Thanks :-) We need 4 - or ideally 5 beds. Have 3 kids + parents who visit regularly.

Really grateful Haberpop for your detailed message - it's so helpful. Internet is a must as I work from home. Do you think satellite would be a better option to improve speed? It's interesting as we haven't had a landline for over 5 years so I guess that won't be an option. With three young children I have already resigned to the fact that I would be acting as a taxi for the next 15 years!!

Hi
I live in Norfolk with my family and we love it here. We lived here previously then moved away for 7 years due to work but have been back for 13 years.I note you ask about Costessey, is it a particular school you want your children to attend? Also what ages are your children and a idea of budget and house requirements will help me point you in the right direction.
I currently work in Education but previously sold property in Norfolk.

We have a landline which is fine, superfast broadband is being rolled out but in my experience it is happening more slowly in rural Suffolk than it was in rural Cambridgeshire, but Debenham is a sizeable village with a lot of businesses so fibre BB might be in existence there already (it has come to a very small village near here but is hit and miss as to which houses get it). I get 6Mbps download and between 0.1 and 0.4 upload. If you are on Facebook Debenham has it's own page, might be worth asking on there what their BB experiences are?

Wymondham High is ofsted good and supposed to be a good high school.
My dd is at Hethersett Academy (a few miles from Wymondham) which is ofsted outstanding and a lovely school which gets really good results.

I live not far from the Cambridge border and can confirm that A14 is an absolute nightmare during rush hour.
You really have to be wary of secondary schools in the Norfolk area - they are truly diabolical which is a shame as there are some fabulous primary schools around.
Friends of ours moved closer to Norwich to be within Hethersett catchment area and their eldest has just sat her A levels at Wymondham.
Rural bus services can be poor so just be aware that you will be the taxi driver as your children get older.

We can walk to our local train station to get to Ely/ Cambridge and London but I tend to drive to Norwich - everything seems to take about an hour!!
Internet can definitely be a bit patchy so if you need to work from home this will be an important consdieration

justaweeone Thanks! We're thinking about St Augustine (but not sure whether the 35 mins school run may be too much for a 5 year old and preschooler). Finding a "future proof" property (4 to 5 bed - up to 650k) in the catchment of an excellent primary and secondary schools is proving something of a challenge.

Thanks Lexie1970! Do you happen to know how near from Heathersett and Wymondam your friends live? Both schools look super impressive but catchment may be an issue for us. Many thanks!

orangetreesinspring Thanks! Just took a look at Heathersett and it does look amazing!! We may not be living near enough to get in .

Kharo
Can I just ask re St Augustine's - do you specifically want a Catholic primary school?

My friends live in mulbarton - a new housing estate has just gone up there. The elder daughter was a weekly boarder and there is a school bus that picks them up for hethersett.