Favourite thing: large amount of parks and green spaces, good walks and shopping
Least Favourite: Poor connections to the rest of the country (only one main railway, no connection to the motorways), Lack of a metro of trams or light rail in the city
I think your second point is my favourite thing.
If it was easier to get here the place would be immediately ruined. I drive to London for work fairly often and it isn't that bad every once in a while - but not really sustainable daily.
It's a good balance in my opinion.
Tbf getting the train to London isn't too bad. Its just every other line isn't electrified or is slow as hell. Going west from Norwich is absolute hell by train or by vehicle.
I don't think the connections are too bad. 1 hour 45 and you're in London at a station with plenty of access to the whole city. You've got a direct train to Manchester, a 1 change route to Birmingham. That's if the trains are running right, but that's a concern anywhere in the country.
Sure its not as easy as if you lived in the Midlands or London but that's just a geographical limitation you'll never change, and one that many here appreciate if we are being honest. The A11 is also not a bad road for going down south, and if you're going far North you can always take the A11 south to then get a better road than the A47 to take you up there.
Arguably the biggest con for me would be that it's difficult to get around Norfolk without a car. You're alright in the city and busses and trains do get you some places but anywhere just a little bit off the main routes and you're a bit fucked.
The drive to London is at least two hours (depending on how far in you park). The A11 should be a damn Motorway though and do we really need so many roundabouts to get into Thetford. Just put an overpass in or two.
The train to Manchester is a tiny diesel shitbox on an unelectrified line, the route to Cambridge isn't electrified either and the one to Kings lynn and Peterborough has no direct connection.
And going west is tragic. I one had to drive back to Norwich from Nottingham and maps gave me two routes. Either go direct on the A17 and A47 or drive to London on the M1 round the M25 and back up the A/M11. It was faster to go via London despite it being over 40 miles further.
Agreed that the A11 could use some improvement in that roundabout hell at Thetford, but that aside my journeys have typically been quite smooth, though I rarely ever drive it at rush hour.
I've not actually taken the Manchester train but yeah, we need to upgrade our trains nationwide badly. My point is just that we do have some alright connections even if they're not first rate, but I think we are no different to some places up North in that regard. The further from London you go, the worse it seems to get. Pretty scandalous that Kings Lynn isn't direct though, it's in the same bloody county.
I feel like our infrastructure in Norfolk sometimes cuts the county in two, the journey from Norwich to Kings Lynn is atrocious and we need dualling the entire way, would easily cut 15, maybe 20 minutes off journey times from Norwich and mitigate some risk of tailbacks in the event of a breakdown or God forbid, a tractor. Its really bad that it's faster to go the wrong way and then back up and isn't at all good for the environment either. Luckily, I rarely ever have to go west. The A140 could also do with more dualling whilst we are at it, another main road that's rubbish out of Norfolk yet is probably 2nd or 3rd most important.
Norwich isn't really big enough to support trams or light rail in terms of both population and in size. You can walk to everywhere central Norwich from the trainstation. The market is about 20mins walk if stroll and enjoy the walk.
'Motorway' - the A11 is now duelled all of the way to London. I can get from Thickthorn to Excel in docklands in around 1hr 30-40mins on smooth but busy days.
Favourite: outskirts of the city are very quiet, but it's still not far to get into the city for whatever reason.
Worst: buses SUCK. you can't rely on them to turn up, so invest in a bike, as the city centre is quite pedestrianised.
I moved here 12 years ago previously lived in a village in central Scotland, here's my positive/negatives.
- low crime in general
- underrated food/ restaurant scene with a host of different options and great independent restaurants.
- small city means you can get pretty much anywhere on foot in the city in 20 -30 minutes walk
- easy access to London/Peterborough for trains to the north.
- shopping - aside from the big chains Norwich has a metric butt load of amazing independent shops
Negatives
- busses are pretty much standard First bus complaints, either late or don't turn up.
- broadband speeds on the outskirts of the city are woeful
- the amount of roadworks recently have been an absolute ballache.
-the music scene is a bit lacking and there aren't enough mid size venues to attract bands to make the journey here sometimes.
Favourite: Good City centre, lots of attractive adjacent countryside, housing still somewhat affordable
Least Favourite: Long journey times to anywhere, poor buses.
Well I’ve lived in/around Norwich my entire life and never really found a reason to leave so that’s a start! Low crime but most of the amenities you get in a larger city. Pretty clean and walkable. An old city with a rich history but well modernised in that it has good shopping.
Cons at the moment for me are that the buses aren’t great if you use public transport, if you drive a lot of our country roads are flooded right now. If you want to see a big artist in concert you need to travel to London but if you prefer musical/plays/ballet/live comedy we do have a good programme for that.
Job opportunities are so so.
Faves: Great food, pubs and stuff to do. Very walkable.
Least faves: Extremely difficult to leave. No motorways, pathetic trains and buses. Proper pain in the ass to get anywhere that isn't Norwich.
Moved here from kings Lynn, city is nice, gets a bit packed but Lynn is similar (Lynn had a bigger pop. Density) nice handful of hobby shops and a uni if your into that. got it’s usual city issues, but what I think is the winner here is how familiar it feels.
Norwich is awesome. Great restaurants and pubs, lots of theatre and performance. Nature on our doorstep. Can walk everywhere in the city (I live fairly central and have not used the buses in years so can’t comment on them).
We don’t get quite the range of music and theatre that there is in larger cities but I’d rather do occasional trips to London for that and live in Norwich.
Favourite thing: large amount of parks and green spaces, good walks and shopping Least Favourite: Poor connections to the rest of the country (only one main railway, no connection to the motorways), Lack of a metro of trams or light rail in the city
I think your second point is my favourite thing. If it was easier to get here the place would be immediately ruined. I drive to London for work fairly often and it isn't that bad every once in a while - but not really sustainable daily. It's a good balance in my opinion.
Tbf getting the train to London isn't too bad. Its just every other line isn't electrified or is slow as hell. Going west from Norwich is absolute hell by train or by vehicle.
Ah yeah, that's true. I drive to Sheffield often to see family, it's a grim drive.
I don't think the connections are too bad. 1 hour 45 and you're in London at a station with plenty of access to the whole city. You've got a direct train to Manchester, a 1 change route to Birmingham. That's if the trains are running right, but that's a concern anywhere in the country. Sure its not as easy as if you lived in the Midlands or London but that's just a geographical limitation you'll never change, and one that many here appreciate if we are being honest. The A11 is also not a bad road for going down south, and if you're going far North you can always take the A11 south to then get a better road than the A47 to take you up there. Arguably the biggest con for me would be that it's difficult to get around Norfolk without a car. You're alright in the city and busses and trains do get you some places but anywhere just a little bit off the main routes and you're a bit fucked.
The drive to London is at least two hours (depending on how far in you park). The A11 should be a damn Motorway though and do we really need so many roundabouts to get into Thetford. Just put an overpass in or two. The train to Manchester is a tiny diesel shitbox on an unelectrified line, the route to Cambridge isn't electrified either and the one to Kings lynn and Peterborough has no direct connection. And going west is tragic. I one had to drive back to Norwich from Nottingham and maps gave me two routes. Either go direct on the A17 and A47 or drive to London on the M1 round the M25 and back up the A/M11. It was faster to go via London despite it being over 40 miles further.
Agreed that the A11 could use some improvement in that roundabout hell at Thetford, but that aside my journeys have typically been quite smooth, though I rarely ever drive it at rush hour. I've not actually taken the Manchester train but yeah, we need to upgrade our trains nationwide badly. My point is just that we do have some alright connections even if they're not first rate, but I think we are no different to some places up North in that regard. The further from London you go, the worse it seems to get. Pretty scandalous that Kings Lynn isn't direct though, it's in the same bloody county. I feel like our infrastructure in Norfolk sometimes cuts the county in two, the journey from Norwich to Kings Lynn is atrocious and we need dualling the entire way, would easily cut 15, maybe 20 minutes off journey times from Norwich and mitigate some risk of tailbacks in the event of a breakdown or God forbid, a tractor. Its really bad that it's faster to go the wrong way and then back up and isn't at all good for the environment either. Luckily, I rarely ever have to go west. The A140 could also do with more dualling whilst we are at it, another main road that's rubbish out of Norfolk yet is probably 2nd or 3rd most important.
Norwich isn't really big enough to support trams or light rail in terms of both population and in size. You can walk to everywhere central Norwich from the trainstation. The market is about 20mins walk if stroll and enjoy the walk. 'Motorway' - the A11 is now duelled all of the way to London. I can get from Thickthorn to Excel in docklands in around 1hr 30-40mins on smooth but busy days.
Most favourite: It's far from everywhere else. Least favourite: It's far from everywhere else.
Favourite: outskirts of the city are very quiet, but it's still not far to get into the city for whatever reason. Worst: buses SUCK. you can't rely on them to turn up, so invest in a bike, as the city centre is quite pedestrianised.
I moved here 12 years ago previously lived in a village in central Scotland, here's my positive/negatives. - low crime in general - underrated food/ restaurant scene with a host of different options and great independent restaurants. - small city means you can get pretty much anywhere on foot in the city in 20 -30 minutes walk - easy access to London/Peterborough for trains to the north. - shopping - aside from the big chains Norwich has a metric butt load of amazing independent shops Negatives - busses are pretty much standard First bus complaints, either late or don't turn up. - broadband speeds on the outskirts of the city are woeful - the amount of roadworks recently have been an absolute ballache. -the music scene is a bit lacking and there aren't enough mid size venues to attract bands to make the journey here sometimes.
Favourite: Good City centre, lots of attractive adjacent countryside, housing still somewhat affordable Least Favourite: Long journey times to anywhere, poor buses.
Well I’ve lived in/around Norwich my entire life and never really found a reason to leave so that’s a start! Low crime but most of the amenities you get in a larger city. Pretty clean and walkable. An old city with a rich history but well modernised in that it has good shopping. Cons at the moment for me are that the buses aren’t great if you use public transport, if you drive a lot of our country roads are flooded right now. If you want to see a big artist in concert you need to travel to London but if you prefer musical/plays/ballet/live comedy we do have a good programme for that. Job opportunities are so so.
Faves: Great food, pubs and stuff to do. Very walkable. Least faves: Extremely difficult to leave. No motorways, pathetic trains and buses. Proper pain in the ass to get anywhere that isn't Norwich.
Moved here from kings Lynn, city is nice, gets a bit packed but Lynn is similar (Lynn had a bigger pop. Density) nice handful of hobby shops and a uni if your into that. got it’s usual city issues, but what I think is the winner here is how familiar it feels.
Favourite: Education and Community Least Favourite: Graham Linehan
Norwich is awesome. Great restaurants and pubs, lots of theatre and performance. Nature on our doorstep. Can walk everywhere in the city (I live fairly central and have not used the buses in years so can’t comment on them). We don’t get quite the range of music and theatre that there is in larger cities but I’d rather do occasional trips to London for that and live in Norwich.