Lincolnshire Norfolk or Suffolk

It’s such a shame JdotJ. Much of the crime I see reported seems to be drug and drink related. I used to love my annual seaside holiday in Lowestoft but I wouldn’t go there now - although I expect the beaches are just as lovely, the town is not.

I live in Lincolnshire near Boston. We moved from Reading 12 years ago when my husband left the RAF. We were attracted to the cheaper priced houses. I hate it. Bus links are non existent, everything is miles from each other and I miss my kids and grandkids . We didn’t research it properly and now we’re stuck. I like Norfolk but I would avoid Lincolnshire.

Germanshepherdsmum

May I add that as a child I liked Lowestoft, where we had lovely bucket and spade holidays. I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole now, a poor area with the demise of the fishing industry and much crime reported in the local paper.

Maybe take out a subscription to the Eastern Daily Press to get a flavour of the area.

Exactly this GSM.

My cousin lives in Lowestoft (last 25 years). What used to be a lovely place, is no longer.
Avoid at all costs

We also looked at Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire when moving from the Kent. Internet speed varies a LOT between the areas, not many places can offer Fibre to property, and many villages are still at dial up speeds. Depending where you are, public transport can be very patchy, expensive and it is non-existent evenings and weekends. If you need to commute anywhere, or to work from home, please check what's on offer before you move.

I moved to Lincolnshire from Hampshire last year. After 28 years of being a 'Southerner' I decided to 'come home' and I love it. I am a mile outside of the city but its less than a five minute drive to the countryside. Surrounding villages are lovely. There is a cycle path right outside my house and the cycling network here is brilliant.
The best thing is to probably stay in the areas you like for a little while to get a feel for yourself... because each person has different needs and wants and what someone considers fabulous, others may not. Its all about personal preference and what works for you.

I also live in N Norfolk . I lived in various places both in the U.K. and abroad but moved to Norfolk 40 something years ago and really like it.
I’m a little more inland than those of you on the coast, I live in a village but the town is only a couple of miles away and I can walk round the corner and get on a bus. The service isn’t as good as it was. If you live on the coast you do have the coast-hopper service.
The house prices go down too when you move away from the sea.

I was there very recently Nannytopsy and run down (yes it has a good few closed down shops, thanks Brexit and Covid, in common with most small towns) could be said about the town centre but it is NOT a high crime area at all which GSM called it , it has petty crime ie bike thefts, car damage etc but that’s in common with most towns in UK now
As Liberty says I worked for many years in Lowestoft which has glorious beaches which are well used by local families. Of course there are pockets of deprivation but Oulton Broad has some delightful houses and lovely shops, restaurants etc .all the areas outside the town centre are beautiful .. Corton, Pakefield, Oulton, Carlton marshes, the start of the beautiful
Broads some very well to do housing outside the town centre

Can’t you say ‘run down’ about most small towns since Austerity so many nationals have closed down. If 5 large National stores close down in a city you may barely notice it but if the same 5 close down in a small town it alters the whole High street to look awful

Towns are probably not for people who are looking for quiet, quaint, peaceful places
Have you been to Lavenham ?

I agree with GermanShepherdsMum about Lowestoft. FiL lived there and it is very run down in the centre now, although there’s a good prom to walk along. We moved from Leicester to very rural Suffolk, in a village outside Bury St Edmunds, which is a lovely town, but we do visit the coast.
Enjoy your house hunt!

I suggest you take short (or longer) stays in the various places.

We're around 20 years older than you, but I love where I have lived for the past 56 years, ( "in the Cambridgeshire fens", yes we have trees & it's not bleak!! ). I was born in Norfolk, lived there for 22 years, & it holds a special place in my heart, ( we have a small holiday home on the coast there, love it).

I don’t know the Lincolnshire fens but I know the Cambridgeshire fens well. Scarcely a tree for miles. That’s somewhere I couldn’t live - really bleak. Primrose is right, Norfolk isn’t totally flat.

Freya5

Primrose53

Parts of Suffolk are very pretty and we regularly stay in the Southwold area but it is very expensive. Lincolnshire is cheaper but boringly flat although the Lincs Wolds are very nice.

Norfolk reigns supreme though because I am Norfolk born and bred. north Norfolk is beautiful but very expensive right on the coast. Go inland maybe 10 miles and prices are more affordable. It really is quite unspoilt and I regularly speak to people from places like Derby, Leicester and Birmingham who say they would move here in a heartbeat because it is so much quieter than where they live.

"Boringly flat", not unlike Norfolk then. Which doesn't have the Wolds. But the same big beautiful skies. ☺

North Norfolk is actually quite hilly with the Cromer Ridge, Beeston Bump etc.

We have friends who live just outside Bourne in Lincs and that really is flat. You can stand in their garden and in every direction there is nothing for miles apart from an odd tree. At least in Norfolk we are blessed with forests and woodlands.

As I said, after years of travelling through the flat, Lincs Fens it was a joy to go up a bit higher and discover the Lincs Wolds, Louth etc.

I agree Freya, we should all be able to get an NHS dentist, and also be able to book a doctor’s appointment more easily.

Doesn’t seem to matter where you live, always a problem.

Calendargirl

^There are still NHS dentists. I have one^.

No one is saying you don’t have one, or there aren’t any. But I bet anyone moving in would have a job finding one that is still taking on new NHS patients. Hence why many people moving in travel many miles back to their old dentist to keep with an NHS one.

I was just pointing out I had one, and lucky, wrong word, as everyone should be able to access an NHS dentist. Sorry if you misinterpreted my words.

luluaugust

Hi Freya yes I know the transport links are good from Grimsby but the people I stayed with over 50 years used a car from Louth to Grimsby by bus I understand it is about 40 minutes? So quite an add on to a day out. I guess I am looking at it from the point of view of someone in their v late 70s
I agree Lincolnshire is wonderful and I greatly miss my visits now.

If not much shopping, then bus journey is great, no impatient drivers, no parking fees. A day out for me. I still still drive too, out to the coastal villages to see family. Nearly 75. Born in Lincolnshire, for me is the best, lived in places from top to bottom of the country, and abroad, here is home. Shame you can't get back.

There are still NHS dentists. I have one.

No one is saying you don’t have one, or there aren’t any. But I bet anyone moving in would have a job finding one that is still taking on new NHS patients. Hence why many people moving in travel many miles back to their old dentist to keep with an NHS one.

Germanshepherdsmum

My part of Norfolk might be flat, but it’s far from boring. Long views to the big Norfolk churches and the flint cottages and barns with their red pantile roofs. Beautiful.

I've never visited Norfolk - but have seen enough photographs (and live 'coverage') to understand that it has a lovely, typically English, characteristic - flat or not. It's on my bucket-list of places-still-to-visit.

Each feature of our country's landscape has its own particular charm.

Another thought, even in my small area, you can eat around the world, and if its diversity you want, we have it. It's fab.

My part of Norfolk might be flat, but it’s far from boring. Long views to the big Norfolk churches and the flint cottages and barns with their red pantile roofs. Beautiful.

Hi Freya yes I know the transport links are good from Grimsby but the people I stayed with over 50 years used a car from Louth to Grimsby by bus I understand it is about 40 minutes? So quite an add on to a day out. I guess I am looking at it from the point of view of someone in their v late 70s
I agree Lincolnshire is wonderful and I greatly miss my visits now.

Primrose53

Parts of Suffolk are very pretty and we regularly stay in the Southwold area but it is very expensive. Lincolnshire is cheaper but boringly flat although the Lincs Wolds are very nice.

Norfolk reigns supreme though because I am Norfolk born and bred. north Norfolk is beautiful but very expensive right on the coast. Go inland maybe 10 miles and prices are more affordable. It really is quite unspoilt and I regularly speak to people from places like Derby, Leicester and Birmingham who say they would move here in a heartbeat because it is so much quieter than where they live.

"Boringly flat", not unlike Norfolk then. Which doesn't have the Wolds. But the same big beautiful skies. ☺

luluaugust

As far as Lincolnshire is concerned I only know the Louth, Horncastle, Sutton on Sea area. All pleasant smallish towns but the transport links are not great. You also need to consider travelling for hospitals etc. I don't know where you are at present but there is no 'big smoke" in that area. With Norfolk I can only comment on North Norfolk, which can be expensive. We have visited very frequently and in different circumstances this is probably where we would live, again all the facilities where we do live aren't necessarily available there. Good luck.

Train Station Grimsby, direct service to Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, 3 hours to Man Airport, regular service to Doncaster, hoping to get direct line to London next year. Regular bus service to Hull, Humberside Airport, flights to Schipol 4 times daily, I use it regularly, Lincoln, Louth and surrounding villages. Near the coast, near the beautiful wolds. Main hospital Grimsby, Boston, not on your doorstep, but unless you live in a city that doesn't happen anyway. Louth and Grimsby have walk in medical out of hours. There are still NHS dentists. I have one. Good quality of life, if you can look further than your nose end great community life too. Flooding happens anywhere,just be careful where you choose to live. Life is cheaper, no smog, Lincolnshire has so much to offer, don't dismiss it.

Morning
Just caught up with all the comments before work. I think I will go through each one and make some notes, I appreciate all the comments etc. We have got to get this as right as possible or as near to right as moving isn't cheap and we really want to make this our last move.

My brother ,sister in law and her dad moved to Digby Lincolnshire 3 years ago and they love it. It's a village and the next village is where there GP is and Co op. Buses are not frequent . It's only 30 mins to Lincoln . Very rural but beautiful ok if you both drive . Healthcare is very good .

It wouldn't have been any good for me so I moved to the north west in 2019. Good bus, local train services and brilliant healthcare.

Lincolnshire has a better bus service than you might expect. Most of the county is covered by the Call Connect demand responsive service. lincsbus.info/callconnect/

I'd suggest you have a look at Louth. It's a lovely small town with a weekly market, independent shops, cinema, theatre, leisure centre & a small hospital. It is fairly central to the bigger hospitals in Lincoln, Boston & Grimsby.

Spinnaker. It is indeed wonderful. I have such happy memories and most of the kids I grew up with are still fairly local. Some moved away, like me, for several years, but returned later.