Best and Worst places to live in Norfolk???

mufi

hethmar wrote: »

Some of the villages north of Norwich are very beautiful but there is the problem of getting anywhere south because of the roads. I get the feeling the OP is looking south of Norfolk probably due to work travel?

Agreed; I live north of Norwich, and getting around the city to head either south or west is pretty dire. However, east of Norwich (Brundall/Blofield/South Walsham etc) there is now good access to the southern byepass leading to the major routes, not that there are many of those:rotfl:.

If the OP doesn't need to be south, Acle is another place well worth a look, with half decent access to elsewhere.

hethmar

Oh yes, if I didnt need to be south Id be looking at places like Wells Some pretty places round the Sheringham area too.

boo1

Thank you again for all your responses and sorry for the late reply.Yes, I do really need to be South of Norwich as my stepson lives in London and OH will be driving there and back every fortnight to bring him to us (although he is 15 now so there will come a time sooner rather than later I guess when he would rather be with his mates . I will have a good look at all your suggestions. One other question, I know a lot of the houses I have looked at have oil fired central heating. How does this work (dumb question I know but when you have gas on tap...) Do you fill up your tank in the summer, how much does it cost (I know it depends on oil prices and presumably the size of your storage tank but can you shop around) and also is it more expensive than gas to run. Sorry if these questions are daft but I have no idea about this type of heating. Once again Many Thanks for your replies, I do appreciate it as this is going to be a big move for us.

lowlandsmatt

I live in Diss and the area is a nice place to live with mostly a nice atmosphere though very quiet. There are some very nice villages /pubs around and you do have the main line link to Liverpool St.

Bear in mind though, the A140 (linking you to the A14/A12) is not a great road if you need to travel regularly by road. I commute most days to Colchester and beyond and am considering moving to be closer to A14.

boo1

Thanks Lowlandsmatt, I think the Diss area is where we will move to, if not the town itself then a village close by, and it does seem that you can get a lot for your money in that area. We would only be travelling to London once a fortnight, and will try and persuade son to come up by train when he is a bit older, although when he is older he probably won't want to come up that often anyway!!!! What's the job situation like up there? My husband is an electrician and although I work for a housing association down here but I'm not really too fussed what Job I do when we move.

lowlandsmatt

boo1 wrote: »

Thanks Lowlandsmatt, I think the Diss area is where we will move to, if not the town itself then a village close by, and it does seem that you can get a lot for your money in that area. We would only be travelling to London once a fortnight, and will try and persuade son to come up by train when he is a bit older, although when he is older he probably won't want to come up that often anyway!!!! What's the job situation like up there? My husband is an electrician and although I work for a housing association down here but I'm not really too fussed what Job I do when we move.

Job wise generally , I wouldnt say it was too good to be honest but I do not have direct experience of the type of work you mention. I think a lot of people do commute to Norwich/Ipswich or further afield.

Best of luck.

getmore4less

I have been traveling from north of norwich to the A11 regularly for just about a year now and it is not that bad the summer is busier than the winter and there have been some roadworks which have slowed things down from the boundry roundabout to Asda.

I don't keep a close eye on prices south of norwich but they do seem to be higher and east you start to get into the broads areas where there are pockets of expensive property. Been thinking about the north and near the airport north/east of norwich there seems to be loads of places with loads of garden, garages off road parking and a few doer uppers that look very good value for money since they don't seem to be selling.

I would start with the jobs/income and work round that employment up this way seems to be different would heading north of the city be too far.

Within 5 miles of the airport, catton sprowston taverham spixworth loads at around £170-£200.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E67097&minPrice=170000&maxPrice=200000&radius=5.0

mufi

getmore4less wrote: »

I don't keep a close eye on prices south of norwich but they do seem to be higher and east you start to get into the broads areas where there are pockets of expensive property.I would start with the jobs/income and work round that employment up this way seems to be different would heading north of the city be too far.

Within 5 miles of the airport, catton sprowston taverham spixworth loads at around £170-£200.

Prices tend to be lower south of Norwich, apart from the southern suburbs (Cringleford, Eaton etc) - Diss is quite a bit cheaper than decent areas north of Norwich.

Cheaper properties to be had in the areas you mention, though Spixworth is a functional very built-up village and no beauty spot. This did not deter the agent who described a pretty unattractive bungalow as being "nestled in the stunning village of Spixworth".
:rotfl:

MySweetMarie

Hello, I was wondering if someone could give me some advice about moving to Norfolk or Suffolk. My husband and I live in Newcastle upon Tyne and want to move to Norfolk for a nicer, more peaceful way of life in the country. I am very nervous about this, as I desperately need to know a bit about some of the lovely villages we could consider settling in. We will be renting at first, for around 6 months to a year, to establish ourselves and get to know Norfolk in general. Can someone please guide us? Also, I have noticed someone said Thetford is a dreadful place to live. May I ask why? When we visited Norfolk last October, we drove through and found some beautiful, quintessential English cottages in an area called Great Hockham. Is it not so nice there either? I believe Gr Hockham is located in Thetford, is it not? I realise this move will hold some big challenges but with your help, perhaps we can find a few nice, old fashioned villages to consider settling in. I sincerely appreciate your help and it will help ease a bit of anxiety in my move there. We've chosen East Anglia because we fell in love with it and feel you can get quite a lot for your money there. Thank you so much. Regards, Marie

GDB2222

That particular part of Norfolk I find rather dull and dreary. I really only know Thetford as a place I drive past on the A11, but I'm not sure what it has to recommend it?

Great Hockham is a village well outside Thetford, so I guess you'd mainly be looking at Thetford for shopping/work/schools/healthcare. Ofc, there's also Norwich up the road a bit.

I've never lived in a village, so I have no idea how easy it is to settle in and make friends. I imagine that some villages are friendlier than others.

You haven't said what you are looking for. Great schools? Large expanse of water? (Plenty of that in Norfolk.) Commuting? Retiring?