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Advise on Wether to Move to Bath or Norwich......any one could help?

7 replies

dither72 · 26/05/2014 19:26

I have been trying to relocate from greater London in search of a better quality of Life. I have job offers in Norwich and Bath. I can't decide which one I should go for. Anyone have any experience of either or preferably both. I like the ease of living in small cities but prefer town life to rural life. Most interested in cultural activities and a liberal environment. Keen to meet some new friends. Many thanks if anyone can help.

OP posts:
Pollaidh · 26/05/2014 21:14

Only been to Norwich once but know a lot about Bath.

Bath has a fantastic quality of life, and is full of ex-Londoners who moved to get a better life. It comes at a cost though. Housing is limited, the crisis hasn't really hit Bath or the property market and prices are leaping 30% + in a year in some parts.

Is it Liberal? Kind of - large educated professional population, people in 20s and 30s are quite liberal and cosmopolitan. It's also sort of conservative and there's a lot of money around. It's generally very white and middle/upper middle class though.

Culture - definitely. Good to excellent restaurants (although fewer ethnic restaurants); excellent theatre and children's theatre does pre-west end shows as similar demographic; good independent shops; lots of sporting activities. Not so good for big name music of any sort or clubbing. Bristol is 15 mins by train for such things, and London 1.5 hours by train, although the last trains are remarkably early.

Meeting new friends - yes if you're a student, yes if you've got children (in which case it feels like a village as you know everyone). If you're single and child-free and in search of a partner and friends it's not great.

Traffic and parking are a major headache but you can walk most places as Bath's so small.

Happy to answer specific questions but your first step should probably be to look at property prices, Londoners are often in for a nasty surprise if they're hoping for a much cheaper life.

dither72 · 26/05/2014 22:09

I am 40 and professional. I am not looking for clubbing or wild night life as those days are now gone! I recently got divorced though so I'm looking for a new start. When you say expensive I can probably spend about £500K on a house. Do you think that is enough for a decent house (3 beds) in a ok property/area? Thanks

OP posts:
AnitaManeater · 26/05/2014 22:23

500k would buy you a lovely home in Bath. I live quite close to Bath and worked in the centre for years. 500k would go a lot further in Twerton or Whiteway than it would in Lansdown or Sydney gardens area

Pollaidh · 27/05/2014 16:29

500k would get you a 3 bedroom house in a nice central area such as Bear Flat, although Poet's Corner is usually £550k+, cheaper parts of Widcombe/Lyncombe and cheaper parts of Bathwick. These are usually Edwardian or Victorian terraces or semis. Most 4 bedroom houses are another 50k-100k or so. You can also get more for your money in Weston and Oldfield Park, which are further out.

Lansdown tends to be apartments - in fact the Georgian buildings and central buildings tend to be either a few million for a whole house or 350/400k for a 2/3 bed flat.

Twerton, Snow Hill and Whiteway are the least smart areas of Bath - i.e. lots of community housing. However the crime rates are still pretty low especially compared to more deprived parts of London. Schools might be more of an issue in those areas.

School catchment areas don't mean much as the actual zone children are taken from is much much smaller than the catchment, for the popular schools.

Sleepyhoglet · 01/06/2014 20:15

I'm from the south west but live in norwich. Haven't yet felt the urge to leave yet. I do sometimes miss hills though! The coast here is fabulous and shopping in the city is good. Not too far to either cambridge or London.

Sleepyhoglet · 01/06/2014 20:16

Also 500k would buy a lovely city house here in norwich in the desirable areas or something even more stunning in one of the villages.

juneau · 10/06/2014 12:05

I grew up near Norwich and its a lovely city. Its also very affordable after London and much cheaper than Bath, I would guess. Norwich is a cathedral city with lots going on - theatre, live music, a good city centre with lots of shops, direct train line to London, the Norfolk coast is only about 40 mins away and there are masses of lovely beaches, sailing, walking, bird-watching, pretty little country villages.

I've only been to Bath a couple of times. The countryside round there is beautiful and Bath is an extremely handsome city, but its really touristy, which would put me off. Anywhere I've lived that's touristy has really pissed me off in the summer time and I'm delighted that the small city I now live in isn't really on the tourist trail. Bath, however, most definitely is.

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