Recently we’ve had a number of positions offering relocation packages, offering help to skilled candidates who live outside East Anglia. This region is home to many energy companies and, with such a long stretch of coastline on the North Sea, there are a great many links to the windfarms being built at Hornsea, Dogger Bank and further afield. 

As well as the new developments offshore, Suffolk is home to the Sizewell nuclear power stations operated by EDF energy. A third reactor is planned at Sizewell, although the timeline is uncertain. 

Moving for a job is a great adventure and a challenge. In this series, we aim to offer helpful and practical advice for someone looking to move to the Eastern counties.

The Lay of the Land

Sharing borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, Essex to the south and a fifty-mile coastline on the east – Suffolk is a picturesque county in the middle of East Anglia. There are several large towns. Ipswich, Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds are the most populous and the busy port town of Felixstowe is the largest port in the UK. 

Along the coast are a number of pretty seaside towns, including the lovely beaches of Dunwich, Aldeburgh and Southwold – home of Adnams, arguably the best brewery in Britain! To the south of Ipswich is ‘Constable County’, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that inspired the paintings of the renowned artist John Constable. 

Towns of Note

Ipswich is the oldest town in the country and the biggest town in Suffolk, in terms of size and population making it an employment hotspot. Several small to mid-size energy companies have offices in the town and regional bases are popping up to serve the new developments offshore. 

The coastal town of Lowestoft is a popular spot for tourists in the summer months, but it is also a port town that serves the many nearby offshore windfarms. The OrbisEnergy centre is a flagship enterprise for businesses in offshore wind, wave and tidal technologies. The centre brings together a large number of companies and the networking and employment opportunities presented here mean that it is the location of our own second office. 

Living in Suffolk 

The Suffolk Coast is a mainstay on the ‘Best Places to Live’ lists and with good reason. The beautiful towns of Aldeburgh, Southwold and Dunwich are known for their upmarket seaside charm, world renowned arts festivals and unspoilt landscapes. The coast is picture-postcard-perfect, but it comes at a cost – house prices, even beach hut prices, are sky high here – however much of the rest of the county has just as idyllic views at a much lower cost. 

Further down the coast Woodbridge is much more affordable and has great local schools and a vibrant cultural scene. Stowmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Ely are great choices for families, with good state and private schools nearby, great facilities and the charm of small town living. 

Transport 

Two hours’ drive from London, and only an hour to Stansted – Suffolk has great transport links to the rest of the UK and further afield. Ferries from the Hook of Holland and Rotterdam dock at Harwich, opposite Felixstowe. The county is easy to traverse by train and bus, with good links to nearby Colchester, Chelmsford, Cambridge and Norwich. 

Ipswich and the towns and villages in southern Suffolk are on the cusp of the commuter belt, making the area a viable location for those working in London.