Norwich in Norfolk is a destination city. It is somewhere you go if you’re visiting. It is not somewhere that you pass through on the way to somewhere else, but that is part of its charm and what makes the city unique, creative and welcoming.

Norwich offers all the amenities you need, all contained in a vibrant and compact city. Its small size creates a feeling of belonging to a proper community, with everyone proud of their city and pulling in the same direction. It makes it an ideal place to live, whether you are on your own or with a family.

Norwich always rates highly in quality-of-life listings and has been named as one of the Sunday Times best places to live for the last three years in a row - including as the best place in the East of England. It’s one of the UK’s safest cities to live in, with a long history of low crime rates - much lower than other similar sized urban areas. Put all this together, with the low cost of living (Norwich is 43% cheaper than living in London and compares well to most other UK cities) and there is a compelling case to make it your home.

Housing

Norwich offers particularly excellent value for money for housing, whether you are looking to rent or buy. As well as in Norwich itself, the stunning villages that surround it and those further into the Norfolk countryside offer a way of life that is hard to find anywhere else.

Shopping

A top-ten UK shopping destination, the city has a very wide range of retail including state-of-the-art shopping malls, classic high street locations, decorative arcades, and the award-winning Norwich Lanes - a treasure trove of independent shops and eateries. This is also not to forget the jewel in its crown, the 900-year-old outdoor market. With around two hundred stalls, you can buy everything from fantastic locally grown produce, locally caught seafood, craft beer and cuisine from around the world right down to good old fashioned market staples like foam cut to size and hardware.

Things To Do

Norwich is a city with plenty to do, including: a dry-ski slope, many cultural attractions, art galleries, six theatres, a Norman castle, two cathedrals, two universities and over thirty medieval churches. It also allows you easy access to some stunning countryside, the beautiful and unique Norfolk Broads National Park, and of course the wide variety of beaches and resorts along the miles of stunning Norfolk Coast. In Norwich you have the benefits of city living, with some incredibly beautiful scenery right on your doorstep.

Transport Links

London and Cambridge are easily accessible too, with London less than two hours away by train and Cambridge one hour. Not forgetting Norwich International Airport which, as well as offering direct flights to other UK airports and European holiday destinations, is a hub for KLM and just a short 35 minute hop to Amsterdam, from where you can catch onward flights all over the world.

Culture

Norwich is historically a very arty and creative city; it is the UK’s only UNESCO City of Literature and there is always plenty going on. You will find many unique events to get involved in, such as the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, as well as many arts, literary, comedy, beer, music and Shakespearean festivals that are held every year.

Hospitality

Norwich has a vast selection of pubs and bars. It used to boast a pub for every day of the year and a church for every week. Alongside traditional pubs, it now has a vibrant and quirky nightlife with lots of unique late-night bars and clubs. There are restaurants to suit all tastes and pockets, from national chains to small independents, vegan and vegetarian, and fine dining with food from around the world.

Couple all this with some amazing architecture, great live music venues, and the many museums, libraries, cultural and historical events, and places of interest to visit, your spare time will be packed with adventure.

Education

When it comes to deciding where to move to in Norwich, you really cannot make a poor choice. Norwich is a very safe city and is a wonderful place to bring up a family because of the very low crime rate, great schools, plenty of local green spaces and good employment prospects.

Norwich is an educational hub, with the world-renowned University of East Anglia and Sainsbury Centre, as well as the Norwich University of the Arts, the City College of Further & Higher Education (alumni include Stephen Fry!), and a wide choice of excellent state and independent schools - all of a high standard.

Employment Opportunities

Norwich offers diverse employment opportunities across many sectors, including manufacturing, engineering, agrochemicals, food and agriculture, health and life science, and tourism. It is a large financial centre, still being the headquarters of Aviva (formerly Norwich Union) and has a strong financial sector set up in support of that. One in every three employees in Norwich works in business or finance services.

At the Norwich Research Park, you will find Europe’s largest concentration of food, health, and environmental research centres, which in the next ten years are expected to create 5,000 new scientific industry-related jobs.

Of course, Norwich sits near the energy hubs of the Southern North Sea and has a wide variety of companies who operate in both the oil & gas sector, and the burgeoning offshore wind sector. This is boosting employment and the local economy with strong prospects well into the future.