So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

So here we are house on the market 2mths now...and we are wondering where shall we plant our roots when we get back?

so we are liking East Anglia...Suffolk?

We have friends in Kesgrave, Ipswich..that really like the area. We are doing research on all areas..but would love to hear from anyone that likes/lives/lived in Suffolk and list some places for us.

here's some of our criteria;

-We need good schools, 3 kids..11, 6, 2yo
-reasonable price housing (will rent first, but want to purchase)..we want to get on the housing ladder.
-close to a city centre, good shops etc...short drive is fine.
-we like a small village setting, as we come from a small town with only 15,000 ppl. but we live close to another town with great shops.
-close enough to a city(not London) for jobs
-low crime rate

So with that being said...I know they have 'upmystreet'. but, i would like to hear personal views/experiences of places..so i can get a feel of the place..as we just can't take a sunday drive and have a look.

thanks:)

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

I have friends who loved Woodbridge and worked in Ipswich. They were high flying doctors and their kids had a perfectly good education according to them but not sure which school the kids went to.

I have another friend who lives closer to Newmarket and the education for her granddaughter is giving her cause for concern but they seem to have got the GD into the HS they wanted so are now less concerned.

I'd happily take almost anywhere in Suffolk but I dont have kids to worry about any more.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

Suffolk is a beautiful, relaxed, and safe county. I love it. Kesgrave is also a lovely area with excellent schools and there are some really pretty villages surrounding it. Kesgrave High is graded ''outstanding'' by ofstead. have a look at property in the area, there are some good websites about, and search on the postcode to find the local schools and look them up on the ofstead website.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

Thanks quoll and sammysun for your info...always nice to hear some positives about schooling...as its one of my biggest worries being a parent...

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

We lived in Suffolk for over 6 years and my wife said she preferred it to any places we lived since in both England and Canada. We liked Woodbridge as its a small town not too from from Ipswich.

Its a quite and safe area to live with your family. I can remember building a new front garden wall and leaving all the tools outside the house and not bothering to put them away when I went in for lunch. I was not bothered about leaving our cars unlocked at night on the driveway.

If they build Sizewell C nuclear power station I will move back to Suffolk again.

Hudd

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

[QUOTE=hudd;7628068]We lived in Suffolk for over 6 years and my wife said she preferred it to any places we lived since in both England and Canada. We liked Woodbridge as its a small town not too from from Ipswich.

Its a quite and safe area to live with your family. I can remember building a new front garden wall and leaving all the tools outside the house and not bothering to put them away when I went in for lunch. I was not bothered about leaving our cars unlocked at night on the driveway.

If they build Sizewell C nuclear power station I will move back to Suffolk again.

Hudd[/QUOTE

dulicate posting

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

thanks Hudd...where are they actually building the nuclear power station? if you don't mind me asking? whats the pull?

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

Oh our monthly car insurance payments went down when we moved to Kesgrave too because of it being a much safer area!

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

sounds better and better :thumbsup:
have you got any photos to share of the area ,PM me?

where is the nicest sandy beach from Kesgrave.

Martlesham/Heath sounds nice as well. but from only hear say.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

dewdrop

I have worked in the nuclear/electricity industry both in the UK and Canada, in Technical Engineering and Management roles. EDF plan to build a twin EPR (PWR) reactor at Sizewell , Leiston. EDF want first reactor on line by 2018.
I have PWR reactor operational experience so its would be a good career move for me.

We also have friends in Suffolk. Found the local people genuinely helpful and friendly. It has one of the mildest/driest climate in the UK. We found housing was affordable and we like the rural aspect of Suffolk. My wife always said she saw Suffolk as our home. I may be down to the fact that we moved home 8 times since leaving Suffolk in 1997. It was where our 2 sons were born and we had some very enjoyable family times there.

hudd

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

If you go to this site,

http://www.picturesofengland.com/

You will find images and information about most areas of Britain. I love this site, I've used it a lot to find out more about various parts of the UK. I think I know where we'll be putting down roots when we head back soon but when I start looking at all those lovely photos, I end up wondering if we should try another area.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

My Uncle has just moved out of Leytonstone to Beccles to take up a post as a Deputy Head at a school there. He said it is the roughest place he has ever had the pleasure (or not) to visit. He is looking to move back to London. I think, like anywhere in the world, there will be good places and bad so choose wisely. Woodbridge and surrounds appeared nice when I visited.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

I notice posts where people ask which areas are best, housing not too expensive, crime free, good schools, etc. It's like asking how to go out in the rain and not get wet because even if you can find those areas, they are not isolated from the reality of what really goes on.

I lived on the edge of Northampton which is now regarded as the county with the worse crime in England. Honestly I never saw or experienced any of it. I lived in a small village about 10 miles out of the town, my children went to a grammar school, horrible children went there too but mine did OK. My neighbours got broken into, the Neighbourhood Watch Co ordinator always got burgled, but I had a massive German Sheperd dog which looked liked something out of Jaws when he went off.
I think it all comes down to what you can do in your own back yard rather than worry about everything that's going on out there in the wider world.
With 66 million people, you're not really going to be that far from good or bad.

Even in Australia, the most unsafe places are the security gated estate complexes. People think there's something worth robbing so crime is rife.

If you set a good example at home for your children and you do all you can to protect what's yours, you should be fine pretty much anywhere.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

Home sweet home :D

Suffolk is a beautiful place, i never really appreciated it when i was there. Ipswich is a pretty good place to live. It depends which part of town you live in.

White house, my old Estate mainly for older people and was pretty quite. There wasn't that many younger kids compared to the other Estates but you still had trouble from time to time.

Re: So we are thinking Suffolk area???
 

Thank you everyone for your posting..and pm's, all the info has been great...KEEP it coming!!!!..its really helped us.