Perth

Yes, and John has been extremely helpful through PM. I am very grateful to him. He has solidified our decision to relocate there

Perth

Hi Helen! Funny that you came up with the same 3 cities. Norwich ticked all the boxes, whereas the other two had some but not all. Below is a post I made on the North Norfolk thread:

After other diversions, we have settled on Norwich. Reasons include: more manageable terrain for our aging bones; very low crime rate; the lack of major motorways going through the county; good rail system; The Broads; the ocean being nearby, with the spectacular sky and beach...
Read thread here:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/movin...orfolk-866398/

I would add this re Norwich being a book lovers paradise:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/tr...r-norwich.html

Also, Sheringham has a steam engine, and a club that maintains, manages and promotes rides, something we are both interested in doing in retirement.

It has other clubs and organisations that the OH and I are interested (in his case, a thriving folk music club, for example.) I think it is important to make sure that there are the social connections you want to have, if you are going somewhere new. I am still researching and finding out new things all the time, so feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Helen1964

Many thanks for that, Perth. I need to get over to England and start investigating these places properly. Have a trip to Cardiff planned next month. I've heard very good reports about Norwich and it does seem to get less rain than Exeter and Cardiff (see Met Office data Norwich climate information - Met Office). Exeter and Cardiff both have direct flights to Belfast (which is a factor for me as I have family there) but it's not a deal-breaker. I suspect in the end it will all come down to "vibe" and your mention of second-hand bookshops makes me think it's probably my kind of place. The one big red line where my plans to return to the UK are concerned is healthcare but Im fervently hoping it's not as bad as I hear, or at least improves by the time I get there.....!

J.JsOH

I am pleased I can help, Perth, thanks.

Hi everyone, I don't visit here much lately but my ears were burning today so thought I would take a look in.
We live in a suburb / village in West Norfolk, about 45 miles west of Norwich. I like Norfolk and would be happy to be closer to Norwich for I like the atmosphere, the buzz on the streets and culture of the city. I have visted Exeter too and felt quite 'at home' there. Jasper's (Hi Rodney) town of Portsmouth and next door Southsea is home from home for me from my time in Royal Navy. I like being a tourist visitor to towns.

Norfolk is very popular with different peoples. Many middle classes sell their homes down south and retire here on the proceeds. Well orf people from dahn south buy second homes on the northern coast. Eastern europeans accumulate around the agricultural towns in the fens. Original Norfolk folks are sprinkled throughout. Students in Norwich of course. Military presence too, somewhat. Generally one comes across all of these and more in travels around. But then similar could probably be said of many other areas.

I like Norfolk,in general, but then, as country born and raised, I like most countryside, anywhere, because I can mostly get away from the confines of towns and people, even for a couple hours.
Yes, I would be happy to choose 'a home that suited me' in the countryside near and with access to Norwich. We will be staying some nights in Norwich next week to attend a festival.

Perth

Oh yes, I did forget that it is generally drier and sunnier there

Perth

Hello John! Nice to see you here. I will probably be in touch again soon as things are developing over here. With any luck we will move our timeline up to summer! Enjoy the festival and best to June.

jasper123

Hi John & June,
Very nice to hear from you again, are you coming to Portsmouth again next year? I would love to get together with both of you again, you are good people, have a nice time at the festival in Norwich,
Take care,
Rodney.

usbrit2015

Hi, this is USBrit...Brit for short, haha. Very enlightening, I'd say. Some of you know I went back to England to live earlier this year, July in fact, and some of you, or even less, may know I came back to the US after a couple of months. I had a strong guilty feeling of leaving my daughter, granddaughter and son here is the US, and was pulled back due to family circumstances and being on Skype a lot when my daughter needed some help with a job she was trying to secure....she got it, by the way.
I've been back in the US now since August, but I'll return to England on October 27, arriving the 28th. I'll be staying in a room in Exmouth, a lovely town on the River Exe that runs into the English Channel. Thought about Norwich, but then decided against that to be a little closer to one of my family members who lives north of Bournemouth.
The day I landed back here in the US I knew it was a mistake and that I'd be going back to England...now the time has come to go back, and I'm in a better frame of mind. I got the 'cheapest' one-way flight from Bos, MA to Gatwick, paid $235 in all, WOW Air.
Read some of the earlier posts, September's, and Fish and Chips and Jasper, for instance, just to let you know you are able to make us ALL feel at home here.
Keep up the good work.Fredie

BristolUK

Lovely little place, Exmouth. Nice park. Nice fluffy sand on the beach. Not far from Sidmouth. Convenient for Exeter.

BEVS

Bournemouth and surrounds

Helen1964

"I'll be staying in a room in Exmouth, a lovely town on the River Exe that runs into the English Channel" (usbrit2015)

How exciting. I've been browsing properties in Exeter on Zoopla and have noticed that Exmouth is more affordable so I'm curious to know what it's like.
I'll be particularly interested to hear how you find it in the winter and whether there's plenty going on in Exmouth itself or whether you really need to travel to Exeter (not that it's far).
I was in Devon and Cornwall for a holiday last year for the first time in 40 years and was taken aback by how friendly and pleasant people were.
Are you planning to settle in Devon in the long term?

scot47

Bristol UK, Is that stuff in the photo legal ? Prescription only ?

curleytops

Legal or not, it's inspired me to get busy baking this afternoon

jasper123

$235 one way from Boston to London ---- wow what a deal!!!! I remember when I came home in 2010 for good and when I was researching flights I found that single flights from Vegas were even more then a roundtrip ticket, so I settled for $820 roundtrip on virgin atlantic, of course I didn't need the return part of the ticket,
Well you are not the first that came back home and found after a little while that they were drawn back to U.S. again, so many people on here leave family back there, and it must be very difficult, especially when its your grown kids and little grandkids, so many are torn between the two worlds!!!
I was lucky not to have any family in the U.S.

BristolUK

Clotted cream probably illegal in Canada, just like Quorn.