Norfolk or East Yorkshire?

[Pominusa]

Hi Everyone

 

After 23 years we are relocating back to England. Hubby's company have offered to assist with a transfer. They have offices in Hull and around Norfolk/Suffolk.

 

Here's my question if you had to pick an area which would you choose and why - Thetford, Norfolk or Beverley, Yorkshire? And is there a big difference in weather between the 2?

 

I'm unfamiliar with England and any other surrounding towns that you would like to recommend would be appreciated. We have kids aged 11 and under. So are looking for a family friendly area.

 

Many thanks

Pominusa

[Guest]

Hi Everyone

 

After 23 years we are relocating back to England. Hubby's company have offered to assist with a transfer. They have offices in Hull and around Norfolk/Suffolk.

 

Here's my question if you had to pick an area which would you choose and why - Thetford, Norfolk or Beverley, Yorkshire? And is there a big difference in weather between the 2?

 

I'm unfamiliar with England and any other surrounding towns that you would like to recommend would be appreciated. We have kids aged 11 and under. So are looking for a family friendly area.

 

Many thanks

Pominusa

 

Ooh these are both lovely places.

 

If I was you I'd have a look at houses prices, assuming the salary is the same that could make a difference to your lifestyle.

 

Hull itself isn't the nicest of places (my best friend is from Hull and she wouldn't disagree - I'm from Middlesbrough and we argue over which is worst!) but Yorkshire is amazing - the coast and the moors and you wouldn't be that far from Leeds airport for holidays. Beverley is a gorgeous market town and there are lots of little villages if that lifestyle appeals.

 

Norfolk/Suffolk is quieter and more rural but London is in reasonable travelling distance - people certainly commute daily. Cambridge and North Essex are both lovely places and Stansted airport is good for budget flights.

 

If it was me I would choose Beverley but that's because Yorkshire is in my blood

[Quoll]

On balance probably Norfolk /Suffolk only because it's more accessible to other good places - Norwich, Cambridge, London, all within cooee. Beverley is lovely but Hull, not so much. York is gorgeous though. Either would be fine!

[newjez]

Hi Everyone

 

After 23 years we are relocating back to England. Hubby's company have offered to assist with a transfer. They have offices in Hull and around Norfolk/Suffolk.

 

Here's my question if you had to pick an area which would you choose and why - Thetford, Norfolk or Beverley, Yorkshire? And is there a big difference in weather between the 2?

 

I'm unfamiliar with England and any other surrounding towns that you would like to recommend would be appreciated. We have kids aged 11 and under. So are looking for a family friendly area.

 

Many thanks

Pominusa

 

I've only ever driven through Yorkshire , but I've lived in Norwich and had holidays in Suffolk. Both have some lovely spots. I have friends who live in York and swear by it. Probably warmer the further south you are located. Not a bad choice to have to make. Can you explore before you have to choose?

[samjwilli]

I live and work in Yorkshire. I am a community nurse and treat a lot of patients in Beverley/hull, and I'd steer clear of a the area and a HU postcode. You could move further a field towards York or Leeds but you then would be commuting.

I live in between Leeds and York close to the motorways - hull/Beverley is approx 45-1hr drive.

Id vote Norfolk if it's only a choice between the two areas.

[Keith and Linda]

I would say Yorkshire it has more landscape features and it is more accessible to many beautiful locations also it is more central for the whole of the UK.

[wattsy1982]

I have no idea of yorkshire, looks lovely but thats as far as my knowlegde goes.

 

Norfolk/Suffolk however....lived there for 31 years and loved every minute.....in fact hoping to move back to suffolk next year, Bury St Edmunds area. Beautiful!

 

Norfolk is nice too, but Thetford itself is not very desirable, from what family and friends tell me its becoming very over run with undesirable eastern europeans and the town centre itself is not great.

 

That said, the outskirts have some nice areas, nice big modern houses for £100k cheaper than 10 miles away in Bury St Edmunds.

 

I guess it all depends where you can get your children in to a school. Id be happy to live on outskirts of Thetford (Bury side) and look at schools between bury and thetford and also use bury as my local town/nightlife etc.

 

Thetford forest/country park is lovely and HUGE with lots to do, mountain biking, dog walking,outdoor adventure stuff etc...and all 2 hours max from London and 1 hour max to stansted airport which now flies to a crazy amount of destinations.

 

The villages between Thetford and Bury are lovely too, ingham, euston, barnham etc....west stow and culford is a lovely area, old anglo saxon area, lovely houses, but not cheap!

 

If your partner is willing to travel to work, even half hour-1 hour MAX you can live in some lovely places and still work in thetford.

 

On a map, (if i had to work in thetford and was willing to drive 45mins max to work at rush hour) id be looking anywhere from Thetford straight down to Burt St Edmunds, across to Woolpit, straight up as far as East Harling (very well served village with very good house prices) and then back to Thetford...good area with plenty of nice/good schools/villages too)

 

In the thetford area a new (ish) 4 bed detatched house would cost you £220-£250k, and in Bury it would be high £200-low £300s. Plenty of character properties to chose from too.

 

If i can help with anything (location/opinion wise) just let me know.

 

Very jealous of you being able to move back to that area!

 

Good luck

[VERYSTORMY]

Yorkshire and Norfolk are both great areas. If it were just between the two counties, I would chose Yorkshire. Amazing landscapes and some of the nicest and prettiest villages in the UK. Where as Norfolk while nice, is very flat.

 

However, I would not chose Hull!

 

If you can find a nice village to commute to Hull, then fine.

 

Overall, I would probably go for Norfolk based on what you have said. Though as mentioned, not Thetford. Thetford is also a bit infamous for its rather naughty goings on. I worked in the area some years ago and we had a company night out with a minibus put on to take us all home at the end of the night. On the way, the driver announced he wanted to show us something we had never seen. He pulled into Thetford forest and there, were about 100 naked people having a mass orgy. Apparently its a regular occurrence. Though of course, this could be a major plus for some :wink:

[Pominusa]

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Seems like it's 50/50. Will have to think carefully about final decision.

I'm originally from Yorkshire and love the countryside. Hubby on the other hand has never been to England.

Will look at other villages in areas mentioned.

[Guest]

Yorkshire and Norfolk are both great areas. If it were just between the two counties, I would chose Yorkshire. Amazing landscapes and some of the nicest and prettiest villages in the UK. Where as Norfolk while nice, is very flat.

 

However, I would not chose Hull!

 

If you can find a nice village to commute to Hull, then fine.

 

Overall, I would probably go for Norfolk based on what you have said. Though as mentioned, not Thetford. Thetford is also a bit infamous for its rather naughty goings on. I worked in the area some years ago and we had a company night out with a minibus put on to take us all home at the end of the night. On the way, the driver announced he wanted to show us something we had never seen. He pulled into Thetford forest and there, were about 100 naked people having a mass orgy. Apparently its a regular occurrence. Though of course, this could be a major plus for some :wink:

 

Well that's a different Thetford forest to the one I used to Mountain Bike in

[VERYSTORMY]

Well that's a different Thetford forest to the one I used to Mountain Bike in

 

I don't think so. There was certainly lots of other people out having a ride :wink:

[bunbury61]

Hi Everyone

 

After 23 years we are relocating back to England. Hubby's company have offered to assist with a transfer. They have offices in Hull and around Norfolk/Suffolk.

 

Here's my question if you had to pick an area which would you choose and why - Thetford, Norfolk or Beverley, Yorkshire? And is there a big difference in weather between the 2?

 

I'm unfamiliar with England and any other surrounding towns that you would like to recommend would be appreciated. We have kids aged 11 and under. So are looking for a family friendly area.

 

Many thanks

Pominusa

 

My advice from someone who travels all over the u.k ...it would be Norfolk for me all day long ,if it was a choice between the two .

You can find many decent spots in Norfolk ,that will match the vision of England you remember .

Its quieter for a start ....easy access to London ....cambridge etc.

 

We used to have our Xmas functions in Beverley ...its a different place at night for sure ....

I would avoid the m1 -m6 corridor like the plague .

Unless you have been in Detroit or Cleveland then the west midlands ,hull ,Leeds ,Sheffield ,Manchester etc wont tick many boxes .

Yes there are some lovely spots upt north ...but there are also a lot of shiteholes.

 

Going into the Norfolk you have a good chance of finding something that resembles England of 50 years ago .

[caramac]

Both lovely places. I've lived in Norfolk on and off for the past 30 years (how the hell did those years go by so quick!) and my heart most definitely belongs there now, but I wouldn't live in Thetford. There are lots of lovely towns and villages surrounding it though (Watton is pretty and 25 mins drive away, as is Bury St Edmunds) and, as others have said, Thetford Forest is a giant playground.

 

That said, getting in and out of Norfolk is a bit of nightmare - there are no motorways, although the A11 is a dual carriageway all the way now, the trains are slow and it takes almost as long to get from Norwich to Liverpool St as it takes for us to get to Kings X from Newcastle, and at weekends for the past I don't know how many years, the weekend trains have had a replacement bus service somewhere on the journey! Of course, it's location has it's plus points. Traffic isn't horrendous because Norfolk is somewhere you don't pass through to get somewhere else, so it's the destination rather than a carrier of 'through traffic'.

The landscape is quite flat (although not as flat as The Fens), but the coastline is stunning and Norwich is a pretty, accessible and easy city.

 

I guess it comes down to what you prefer and where you might feel most at home. I know I'll miss the scenery and hills of where we live now when we move next year, but my home is Norfolk, despite not having been born there. Can you visit before you have to make up your mind?

[Pominusa]

Unfortunately we can't visit. It's also not really up to us where we will ultimately settle. It all depends on where the company has a vacancy. We will then be in a better position to finalise village/towns. We mentioned East Anglia to the company because they have a few offices in that region. And Thetford was central to these offices - just by looking at the map - no other reason why I picked that town. But Thetford has now been struck off the list based on your responses - although I now know where to go if I'm looking for a mass orgy on a Saturday night! :wink:

Edited May 25, 2016 by Pominusa
Addition

[Barry1986]

Definitely not hull Beverley is nice. Can't comment on Norfolk. Kirk Ella, swanland , hessel, hedon are all nice areas near hull

[Jennyrose Shields]

Having moved around the uk 23 times now 8 times in Sydney with husbands job I would choose Yorkshire . Beverley is a lovely village and friendly . 
norfolk is nice better still if you have plenty of money to have a nice area . 

[BacktoDemocracy]

On 24/5/2016 at 20:49, Pominusa said:

Hi Everyone

 

After 23 years we are relocating back to England. Hubby's company have offered to assist with a transfer. They have offices in Hull and around Norfolk/Suffolk.

 

Here's my question if you had to pick an area which would you choose and why - Thetford, Norfolk or Beverley, Yorkshire? And is there a big difference in weather between the 2?

 

I'm unfamiliar with England and any other surrounding towns that you would like to recommend would be appreciated. We have kids aged 11 and under. So are looking for a family friendly area.

 

Many thanks

Pominusa

You need to visit yourself, I'd just stay away ffrom Ipswich and Felixstowe, ( felixstowe doesn't even have an upmarket supermarket) pretty lacking in appeal and despite being close to London are actually isolated, as is much of E Anglia, lot of E Anglia is like that, its not much of a destination and transport is all via London so you really have to think about that, that's why Colchester is the main commuter town because Ipswich and Norwich often lose trains because they are that much further out.

And you have to think that the whole of that east side is very agricultural,  the N Norfolk coast is very much retirement land and holiday land, travel on that side can be difficult, the main road between Norwich Ipswich Colchester is largely one lane each way  and 50mph so driving can be slow

The upper end supermarkets are an indicator of class/status of an area is about Waitrose, then Sainsbuty's and then Tesco so that is useful tool

Independent shops are having a hard time of so you need to be aware of how easy lots of towns and villages are going to change, think rural France and depopulation.

But going to look and think about what you want out of where you live is essential, remember commuting is much more challenging here in the uk, travelling  60-70 miles thro heavy traffic and crowd's is standard here in UK

And remember parts of the East side are cold and very wet, when looking at property think about flooding as a factor on travel and housing and the impact the weather has on live in the uk.

Also, I know none of us want to think about health but really look at how close you are to good hospitals with a full range of services and options.

[Quoll]

7 hours ago, BacktoDemocracy said:

You need to visit yourself, I'd just stay away ffrom Ipswich and Felixstowe, ( felixstowe doesn't even have an upmarket supermarket) pretty lacking in appeal and despite being close to London are actually isolated, as is much of E Anglia, lot of E Anglia is like that, its not much of a destination and transport is all via London so you really have to think about that, that's why Colchester is the main commuter town because Ipswich and Norwich often lose trains because they are that much further out.

And you have to think that the whole of that east side is very agricultural,  the N Norfolk coast is very much retirement land and holiday land, travel on that side can be difficult, the main road between Norwich Ipswich Colchester is largely one lane each way  and 50mph so driving can be slow

The upper end supermarkets are an indicator of class/status of an area is about Waitrose, then Sainsbuty's and then Tesco so that is useful tool

Independent shops are having a hard time of so you need to be aware of how easy lots of towns and villages are going to change, think rural France and depopulation.

But going to look and think about what you want out of where you live is essential, remember commuting is much more challenging here in the uk, travelling  60-70 miles thro heavy traffic and crowd's is standard here in UK

And remember parts of the East side are cold and very wet, when looking at property think about flooding as a factor on travel and housing and the impact the weather has on live in the uk.

Also, I know none of us want to think about health but really look at how close you are to good hospitals with a full range of services and options.

OP was 4 years ago. They’ve probably made a decision by now!

[Paul1Perth]

I was born in Chesterfield Derbyshire, next county to Yorkshire. Whilst I loved growing up there it was probably because I'd not experienced anwhere else.

It is bleak in winter, I'd go for Norfolk, weather is better the further South you go. People are more friendly up North though.