Two towns in Suffolk have been named by the Sunday TImes on their list of the best places to live in the East of England. Both Boxford and Woodbridge made the cut, with Norwich in neighboring Norfolk taking the crown for the best place to live in our neck of the woods.
The Sunday Times list for the East of England is made up of seven locations chosen by the publication which represent the best of Britain in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide. Others on the list include Great Massingham in Norfolk, Leigh-on-Sea and Saffron Walden in Essex and St Ives in Cambridgeshire.
The expert judges behind the guide assess a wide range of factors, from schools, transport and broadband to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street. They look to celebrate improving towns, villages or city centres; attractive, well-designed homes, and locations bursting with community spirit – which the pandemic has shown to be the most vital quality of all.
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An average house price for each location has been supplied by Halifax, the sponsor of the guide, and up-to-date information on broadband speeds has been provided by Thinkbroadband.com, the UK’s leading independent guide to broadband.
Speaking about Boxford, the judges said: “This thriving village makes its debut on the list, thanks to its many beautiful old houses, all wonderfully served by an outstanding primary school, farmers’ market, family-run butcher and a village shop that could be the oldest in the country and is still going strong.”
The average house price for a property in Boxford is £480,000. In Woodbridge, the average is £430,000, and it’s no stranger to this list, being named the best place to live in the East in 2017 and 2021.
(Image: Martin Pettitt)
The judges said: “This Best Places to Live favorite is beautiful and buzzy, with its lovely period houses, picturesque stretch of river and tasty food scene. It’s getting cooler, too, with bright young twenty- and thirty-somethings taking full advantage of its combination of cosmopolitan living, nearby coast and all the locally sourced organic produce and fancy coffee they could desire.”
Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times Property Editor said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective. Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place. For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling. Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people?
“Ten years ago, when we launched the inaugural list, London’s gravitational pull was strong, the WFH revolution had not yet reached our doorstep and high streets were stacked with chains. How times have changed — and how welcome that change is. This year we have discovered new best places to live, from resurgent city centers in the North, rejuvenated suburbs across the country, hidden villages in the Southwest, and a commutable Scottish island. We hope there is something to suit everyone.”
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