Tell Me More about Norfolk - Living There

[vixen1700]

Thinking very hard about moving from London as we're starting to get on a bit, I'm 60 this year and Mrs.Vixen is ten years older and we both want to enjoy a quieter life.

We enjoy visiting North Norfolk, and now we've started looking at getting somewhere there.

Spoke to an agent in Wells at the weekend and he suggested Fakenham and after looking, there are some nice bungalows with garages & parking with ample sized gardens there for around the £300k mark.

Mrs.Vixen spoke to her God-daughter's husband today as he's from Norfolk and mentioned King's Lynn and after a quick look, there seem to be nice places there at around the same budget.

Our scenario means we would probably still come back to London at least twice a month to stay for a day or so to do things like vist my mother in the care-home, occasional days working and generally keep an eye on the house here.

But Norfolk would be the main home.

So what's it like living there?

I know there are certain conveniences I would have to compromise, but they are things we've thought about and to be honest, the pros are outweighing the cons now.

Over to you.

Edited for phone typos!

Edited by vixen1700 on Monday 29th June 16:54

[JSP440]

I'm from Norwich and live in Thorpe End which is small village/suburb on the outskirts of the city itself.

Was the suggestion of Kings Lynn for real? it's a night and difference to the small villages of north Norfolk.

We love Wells, and would love to live closer, but life commitments etc.

If budget permits id suggest a small village around Holt, its lovely. Access to a lovely option of coastal towns and Holt its self is nice.

[Bonefish Blues]

General point, not specific to Norfolk, but noting the comment about Kings Lynn vs villages. We're at a similar point in our lives & no longer want to live in a village because as later life starts to intervene it'll be too limiting, so will be looking at small/medium sized towns.

[vixen1700]

I know, I wondered about the mention of King's Lynn too. Think it may have been about transport links, having a station and that.

Yes, the appeal of jumping in the car and having the North Norfolk coast fifteen minutes away does appeal.

The agent we spoke to did say that a village like Binham for example may be too much of a difference for us coming from London (very small, one pub etc.) and recommended Fakenham.

Holt does sound nice.

Edited by vixen1700 on Monday 29th June 13:10

[DFNorfolk]

JSP440 said:

I'm from Norwich and live in Thorpe End which is small village/suburb on the outskirts of the city itself.

Was the suggestion of Kings Lynn for real? it's a night and difference to the small villages of north Norfolk.

We love Wells, and would love to live closer, but life commitments etc.

If budget permits id suggest a small village around Holt, its lovely. Access to a lovely option of coastal towns and Holt its self is nice.

I live Norwich too and whilst Kings Lynn is improving it’s not somewhere I’d choose to live but parts are good to visit such as Tuesday/Merchant market place.

I returned here about 10 years ago, and I have just turned 60, but I do find it too sedate and it hasn’t changed dramatically in the last 20 years and it never feels that it will. As far as North Norfolk goes it does have the nickname “Chelsea on Sea” for good reason.

Maybe look more towards Sheringham or Cromer as I think you’d get more for your money and they’re ok places to live. They both also offer better access to Norwich station as I believe there are regular trains from both.

[B'stard Child]

Lived in Norfolk for 40 years

Downsides

Transport links (No Motorways)

Upsides

Pace of life is glacial
Property costs outside of citys or large towns are good value
Roads can be fun provided you steer clear of the main ones
Coast is no more than an hour away from anywhere

Sat went to Holkham for a beach walk - main drive parking was full and overflow car park was 2/3rds full

Once onto the beach you wouldn't know it

[princeperch]

you need to move to as close as you can get to the Red Lion pub in Cromer as you can.!

I really do like Nofolk, Wells, Cromer etc its all very nice. It does take a bloody long time to get there though from London if you go at the wrong time.

[RGG]

Any location that appeals, rent a BNB or similar for several days to get a better feel.

[greygoose]

RGG said:

Any location that appeals, rent a BNB or similar for several days to get a better feel.

Try it in winter too!

[DFNorfolk]

greygoose said:

Try it in winter too!

“ the wind goes through you, not round you”

[vixen1700]

DFNorfolk said:

greygoose said:

Try it in winter too!

the wind goes through you, not round you

I measure weather in how cold is it compared to Whitby. Never had cold wind and rain cut me in half like Whitby.

Edited by vixen1700 on Monday 29th June 17:00

[toasty]

Timely topic as my wife and I have just got back after visiting Wells for the first time. We loved the area, especially the dog-friendly beaches. The roads were mostly great, lowish traffic but we saw three separate 'Safety officers' zapping cars around Cromer in one day. Is this typical?

That said, a place in the fine weather of summer can be quite different in midwinter. Maybe just one to visit when it's nice.

[vixen1700]

toasty said:

Timely topic as my wife and I have just got back after visiting Wells for the first time. We loved the area, especially the dog-friendly beaches. The roads were mostly great, lowish traffic but we saw three separate 'Safety officers' zapping cars around Cromer in one day. Is this typical?

That said, a place in the fine weather of summer can be quite different in midwinter. Maybe just one to visit when it's nice.

Couldn't believe how hot it was on Friday when we drove to Wells, stopping at some services on the A11.

We've been to Wells (for a wedding) in February and to say it was sleepy is an understatement. Couldn't live there, nor pay the premium for a place there.

[ARH]

Can't really comment on Norfolk although it is a lovely place. Just general comment about moving somewhere quieter.

It is very different living all year round in these places than it is going on holiday there. Be fully aware, you may end up much further away from everything than you are really comfortable with, especially if you are used to life inside the M25. As said above check it out in January in the rain.

Go in with your eyes wide open and it can, and probably will be great.

[B'stard Child]

toasty said:

That said, a place in the fine weather of summer can be quite different in midwinter. Maybe just one to visit when it's nice.

East Anglia is statistically the driest region in the uk

[Monkeylegend]

Sheringham is lovely and has one of the best life expectancies in the UK.

Conveniently situated between Cromer and Hunstanton/Wells on the coastal road.

Got the steam railway there if you are into that sort of thing and there is a lovely restaurant next to the station that does an awesome lemon drizzle cake

Edited by Monkeylegend on Monday 29th June 18:07

[Sheepshanks]

Just a general comment from me - we live in a biggish Cheshire village and a few years ago we looked around for somewhere else but a lot of the smaller villages have no facilities at all now so absolutely anything you need means getting in the car. Even if they're not far from somewhere they're along roads with no footpaths and they're not pleasant to walk along due to passing traffic.

In our 60's we've both had out-of-the-blue medical issues that meant we couldn't drive for a while - thankfully not at the same time, but it's tremendously isolating, however we could, if push-came-to-shove, survive with what's within walking distance.

[Glassman]

princeperch said:

you need to move to as close as you can get to the Red Lion pub in Cromer as you can.!

The No.1 chippy is very good too.

[netherfield]

There seems to be a church on every corner in the Fakenham area, and not many pubs.

[Mr Creosote]

I’ve got nothing much to add, except to note that I spent a week in Ranworth in the Broads and loved it.

20 minutes to Norwich, 30 minutes to the sea (Happisburgh I think was closest).

I remember thinking at the time that I could probably live there, and I’m a bit of a city mouse. I’d probably feel very differently if I actually tried it though.