Moving to Suffolk?

[Tim]

There is a good chance I may be moving to Suffolk in the very near future, I'm familiar with Stowmarket and Southwold (which is way out of my price bracket!) but has anybody got some advice on geographical areas of choice, as I know we have some members from Suffolk? Places I should avoid too would be good to know.

I can please myself as to where I land, but would prefer something leaning towards rural rather than urban?

[Alex_UK]

That's a tricky one - even for someone who has lived in Suffolk the last 10 years! (But great to hear you may soon be a bit nearer. :)) Woodbridge is lovely - but also expensive - some of the villages around Stowmarket could be worth a look - assuming being by the seaside is not important - I really like Needham Market and surrounding villages, but to be honest there are so many nice little places - I love living in a county with no major city in it - the best bet is to get yer arse up here and havea trundle around - let me know if you'd like to stay for a bit :) (We could do with a babysitter! ;))

[Tim]

(We could do with a babysitter! ;))
Me . . . . babysit . . . :scratch: . . . I would probably put the kids in the dishwasher and the dishes to bed :lol:

http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/05/bad_babysitter83b731-e1274457829296.jpg

Actually, somebody else mentioned Needham Market, I shall have to explore that and I think a visit would be a good idea, I may darken your door Alex with that offer ;)

I don't need the seaside any-more, living near it down here is a pain when all the darn grockles descend as soon as the sun pops out. I want quiet and to get away from the crowds to be honest, I'm looking for a simple quiet life now, without the crowds. Dorset is a beautiful county, but hell it gets crowded and the roads are grid locked nearly 12 months of the year now, just too many folk living here and too many coming to visit.

I don't think I can wait any longer, especially with the recent pick-up in the property market, so I'm nearing a decision to take early retirement.

[synsei]

Me . . . . babysit . . . :scratch: . . . I would probably put the kids in the dishwasher and the dishes to bed :lol:

http://cambridge.tab.co.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/05/bad_babysitter83b731-e1274457829296.jpg

Actually, somebody else mentioned Needham Market, I shall have to explore that and I think a visit would be a good idea, I may darken your door Alex with that offer ;)

I don't need the seaside any-more, living near it down here is a pain when all the darn grockles descend as soon as the sun pops out. I want quiet and to get away from the crowds to be honest, I'm looking for a simple quiet life now, without the crowds. Dorset is a beautiful county, but hell it gets crowded and the roads are grid locked nearly 12 months of the year now, just too many folk living here and too many coming to visit.

I don't think I can wait any longer, especially with the recent pick-up in the property market, so I'm nearing a decision to take early retirement.

LOL Your comment made my other half giggle Tim, she hasn't heard the term 'Grockle' since she left Poole four years ago. I know what you mean though having lived in Norfolk, close to Hunstanton. With only a single main road feeding the town you could forget using your car at peak times during the summer.

[Alex_UK]

When I said babysitter, perhaps what I really need is...

http://showbizgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/robert-helpmann-childcatcher.jpg

:lol:

Loving the Duck tape idea, though!

Obviously haven't checked with the Missus, but if you can handle the bedlam yo'd be more than welcome. There's always the summer house - a decent sounding hifi, laptop with internet and the beer fridge!

The advantage you have is that school catchment area isn't important (which has a big effect on property prices) so I am sure you will be able to find a bargain. :)

[MartinT]

Is that move with the job, Tim, or will you finally be out of it?

[Tim]

Getting out Martin, before it does me in . . . literally! Folk are leaving in droves right now . . .

[DSJR]

Suffolk's a great place to live if you have a job to come to, but unless Cambridge has anything to offer your skills, I'd check carefully. The mid part is possibly the cheapest, but the coastal area sort of goes south to Woodbridge and sunny Felixstowe is all but ignored, despite being a pleasant and quiet but still bustling town, as well as a resort-in-two-halves (kiss-me-quick and a nicer Victorian end nearer the Deben estuary) and the docks of course, which are well away from the town proper.

Here's me thinking that since Wales was out for herself (too wet and a long way from her spiritual roots here between Ipswich and Woodbridge, which she needed to research and bond with), Dorset would have been the other place we'd have looked....

Grass isn't always greener, but you'd be made most welcome as I've never found the Suffolk locals in the slightest bit insular towards outsiders :)

[Barry]

Looks like the East Anglian Massive could have another member! :lol:

[Trumpton_Rioter]

Never lived there but worked at Martlesham Heath and Woodbridge is very nice as pointed out.

The only problem is they have a funny accent but you may fit in well if you have one too :lol:

[Tim]

Dorset would have been the other place we'd have looked....
Dorset has just got so expensive Dave, if you took the typical 3 bed detached in an affordable area off Suffolk, move that house to East Dorset (where I am) and you can add at least £120,000 to the price tag, its crazy here.

On my trips to Suffolk I always come away with a good feeling about the place and to me it feels like the England I used to know in my youth. As for a job and utilising my skills, well I plan to potter at home with computer audio and if I need to earn some extra pennies I will do anything as long as its mundane and I can leave it there when I walk out the door. But I won't need much really, as long as I can pay my bills, listen to music, go for a walk, read books and grind fresh coffee beans every day then that's all I need to keep me happy now - I have ticked pretty much all my boxes in life now, save a trip to Nashville which I should be doing next year ;)

[MartinT]

Sounds ideal, Tim. It's not quite my end game, I think, but I like some of it very much.

[Gordon Steadman]

I'm still a bit nostalgic about the place. When we were looking to buy a place, we spotted that property places were pretty good and so popped up to have a look, only to discover that there was a good reason for the prices. There were these big white domes just down the road:lol:

Anyway, after driving round the area, it looked great so we did a hunting trip shortly after and bought a house in a village south of Bury St.Edmunds. Loads of small villages in easy reach. Not sure what its like now but I'm sure its still a good place to live. We never had anything but a warm welcome either but then most of the other people in our village were all London retirees too:)

Shimpling, Hartest, all nice villages. Even Sudbury is OK but its a town. Bit near Essex if that worries you though.

Here I am in France after needing to buy cheaper for the second time. Bit further out this time but the accents are even stranger.

[Haselsh1]

My passion has always been to live by the sea and go for endless walks with my camera taking photographs of very lonely places. To that end, Suffolk is one of the Worlds glorious places where all of my wants can come together. Early Sunday mornings with bacon sandwiches and freshly made ground coffee, loads of HP brown sauce and then hours spent wandering around salt marshes with a fabulous camera full of black and white film. Of course I do all of that already but I am in Lincolnshire which is still on the fabulous east coast.

[julesd68]

I want quiet and to get away from the crowds to be honest, I'm looking for a simple quiet life now, without the crowds.

I can entirely empathise with that Tim. My game-plan is to 'escape' London within two years absolute max.

I need easy access to large towns without the stress and hassle of living in one - a small town somewhere in Yorkshire is our most likely destination at the moment. Just love the countryside and got friends there, plus my mum near in Manchester. So seems to make a lot of sense.

All the best with your search! :)

[Alex_UK]

Here's an example of why I would avoid Woodbridge like the plague... Seriously - lovely town, but the prices are just daft!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27569211.html?premiumA=true

[MartinT]

a small town somewhere in Yorkshire is our most likely destination at the moment

That's our current plan.

[Rare Bird]

:)

[julesd68]

That's our current plan.

Very interesting Mr T! We must compare notes ... ;-)

[MartinT]

I've always loved the area around Skipton but, frankly, anywhere in Yorkshire would be good. I'm working on Ruth but it'll be a few years before we can retire and there would be precious little chance of our getting work there if we were to try sooner.