Lincolnshire Norfolk or Suffolk

keepingquiet

I would avoid Lincolnshire for all the reasons outlined above. Lincon city itself is nice though, with some nice villages not too far away but it is now a student city.
Health care and public transport is poor, newer the coast risky due to flooding as people have pointed out.
Don't know about Suffolk, Norfolk is lovely but again, quite remote.

We lived near Lincoln before the university was built. The city was dying until the students, and of course staff, arrived. It’s a lovely city.

Sarahr sounds like you are in Waltham.

I live in a Lincolnshire village between Grimsby and Louth and consider myself very fortunate to do so. There are highs and lows to every location, depends on your values.
Fringe - I hope you find your happy place too

We made the move from just along the road from Medway. Best thing we ever did. Live outside Grimsby now. So many lovely places to visit. Good bus service. Our village has Dr, pharmacy, library, community groups, post office inside Londis, exceptionally good Chinese Takeaway, fish & chip shop and a pizza/ kebab Takeaway, community events. So much more too.
A Traffic jam is having a car or two in front of you on the motorway/dusl carriageway, unlike the A249 which is bumper to bumper most of the time.
We looked at the coast around the Skegness/Mablethorpe area, but had concerns about flooding.
Wherever you chose, hope you have as much luck as we have in finding a treasure of a place to live.

Sorry, mentioned boats because I got muddled up with the other thread!

Fringe, Lincoln itself has lots of boats at the Brayford Pool.
We love Lincoln, and live about ten miles south in one of the pretty cliff villages. But as I said in my previous post, the sea is further away than the miles might suggest.

Dickens, I don’t really know about the town/village of Chapel Saint Leonards. We tend to go to the beach near the North Sea Observatory where there is a lovely restaurant.

Bury St Edmunds is a very pleasant place to live. With a population of 35,000 its big enough to have lots of facilities, but not too big. It has The Apex, an excellent entertainment venue, plus a wonderful historic Regency theatre, a good selection of shops - both independent and high street staples, a market, good road links, a railway station, cathedral and lots going on. Its attractive with plenty of historic buildings and some wonderful restaurants and eateries.

Beau1958

North Norfolk is beautiful Wells Next the Sea, Holt, Thornham, Sherringham the beaches are amazing. Only downside is very busy in the summer months very quiet in the winter.

Still nowhere near as busy as places like parts of Devon and Cornwall though.

We visited Torquay a lot for many years when my inlaws lived there and it was far busier. If you just wanted to pop out for a newspaper it took forever with the queues of holidaymakers, the congested roads and footpaths.

How lovely NS.

That’s why we prefer being a few miles inland Beau, where we can have the best of both worlds. Seaside resorts such as Sheringham and Wells are crowded in the summer and dead in the winter. They are not places I would choose to live.

My husband put bees up in Blakeney for the sea lavender GSM

North Norfolk is beautiful Wells Next the Sea, Holt, Thornham, Sherringham the beaches are amazing. Only downside is very busy in the summer months very quiet in the winter.

I’m near Holt, Blakeney and Cley. Prices are high and most people we know have retired here, like us, but the few ‘natives’ are very friendly and welcoming despite the fact that people like us, and those buying holiday homes, have driven prices up beyond the reach of many locals.

Near Old Costessey
I did make a good friend near Walsingham who also found it difficult to find "like minded" souls, and another living in South Norfolk who we met up with at the Arts Centre. A few of us with small children set up activities too and my husband and I were both volunteers (locally).

Over the few years we were there it was odd that we only made friends with two families who were actually from Norfolk. All the rest of our social life was with people who had moved in ( like us).

The city is beautiful but at the time was lacking any diversity and seemed to be rather "behind the times" in lots of ways. This was the 80s. I expect being "behind the times" might actually be a good thing now!

My experience of Suffolk is more recent!

We went there (Norfolk) for my husband's postgraduate study. My youngest daughter did postgraduate studies there too - maybe 12/15 years ago now. She decided she would prefer to commute in than live there.

I am certain it's a great place for a holiday - but it wasn't for us.

Whereabouts in Norfolk was that? We live in North Norfolk and have found people very friendly and welcoming.

I have lived in Norfolk and of all the places I've lived (here and abroad) it was the least welcoming to outsiders. My local priest said he was still considered a blow-in many many years later.

I have spent quite some time in Suffolk (though never lived there) and think I'd go there, of the three counties you suggested.

Lincolnshire isn’t all rural and remote. We lived in a village called Washingborough for nearly 40 years. It’s a couple of miles east of Lincoln city and was a great place to bring up a family. There are lots of similar villages around Lincoln where you have the best of both worlds.

We looked at Hadleigh fir that very reason, proximity to family in Kent.

I wrote earlier in the thread but I really endorse what Thirdinline has said. Also, Germanshepherdsmum is right about Lavenham. I can really recommend Hadleigh. It is an old mediaeval wool town and just as pretty as Lavenham, especially St. Mary’s church, but it is very much more a working town than a museum piece, which I often think Lavenham is, so there are far fewer tourists. Houses are a lot cheaper and the transport links are better, too. There is a regular bus service between Ipswich and Sudbury, which goes through Hadleigh, and easy to drive to both places. The A12 is only a few miles away, which means that driving back to Kent will be less of a hassle than plac further north. The health centre is very good, too. I lived in Hadleigh for several years, moving away last summer.

We moved from "down south" to Lincolnshire 7 years ago. It was the best going we ever did.
We came up several times before deciding just to check it out and also researched the village to see if there was a Doctor, pharmacy, post office and shop, also what groups were local so we could join.
Wherever you go, find out about how easy it is to access Dr etc.
Friends relocated to a village which has nothing and now find it difficult to drive the hour plus round trip especially in bad weather, just for shops or Dr appointments.

I live in Suffolk and have read the whole thread. A place that hasn’t had a mention yet, which might suit you, is Halesworth. It’s not far from Beccles. It is also near the coast (Southwold & Walberswick). It has a lovely cobbled town centre & The Cut arts centre. Other towns I like are: Framlingham, Hadleigh and Eye. I like Debenham, but the centre can flood badly.
I love the beautiful countryside, and the proximity to the coast, where the beaches are rarely crowded. Also that I t is a slower pace of life here.
Dentists are a problem though. I would keep your dentist in Kent and plan visits to see children and grandchildren around dental appointments until you manage to get one in Suffolk. Do post when you’ve moved, so we can officially welcome you to the county!

Germanshepherdsmum

Lavenham is indeed beautiful, but expensive. Average sale price last year over £480k. OP’s budget would only buy a two bed semi or terraced.

We love Lavenham - had no idea it was expensive. Worth a visit, on a trip through Suffolk, just to poke around and have a tea.

Lavenham is indeed beautiful, but expensive. Average sale price last year over £480k. OP’s budget would only buy a two bed semi or terraced.

OK Fringe, just saw your update to concentrate on Suffolk. Yes Beccles, Bungay etc would be fine, but I recall Stowmarket and Bury as having lots of plus points, and a village just outside Ipswich should be OK. Stowmarket has very good train links.

A very pretty village called Lavenham, about 15 miles west of Ipswich, should be worth a look, very famous hotel called the Swan there. You might pay a bit extra for a house there, all the beams on show?!

You could also consider Colchester, just over the border in Essex, but OK itself and within easy reach of lots of places?

Looks like Fringe has made her mind up already! I'd still like to say that DD lives on the edge of a lovely village between Bourne, the super little town with everything, and beautiful Stamford, with its glorious architecture, great restaurants and excellent shopping. The scenery is wonderful in that area and it's no distance to Peterborough for quick rail links into London. Despite being born in Lincoln, it's a county I know little about as we moved to another beautiful county - Shropshire - when I was small & here I still am. We enjoy exploring Lincolnshire when we visit, it has a lot to offer and isn't as expensive as nearby Norfolk, nor does it have the volume of visitors so its quieter.

Navenby is an attractive village and on the main bus route between Lincoln and Grantham.