Best places to live in Suffolk – Bury St Edmunds
As a property finder I am frequently asked where the best places to live in Suffolk are. Having been brought up around Bury St Edmunds, I have always had a weak spot for the town and surrounding villages and the location in my opinion has remained a firm favourite of mine as a best place to live in Suffolk.
Many a summer was spent running around Ickworth House in Horringer, and its acres of parkland after which we had tea at the local tea house run by the former butler and his wife. There was not much to do for the youth in those days, apart from shopping on Cornhill and the occasional promise of some fries at Wimpy on Abbeygate street.
Times have changed, and in the past twenty years alone, Bury St Edmunds has drastically transformed itself from a provincial market town to a thriving modern property hotspot. A large new shopping center was built some years ago on the edge of town with a multi-cinema complex. The local theatre, galleries and Abbey gardens lends themselves to great performances, exhibitions and events. All culminating in a national publication in 2016 stating that Bury St Edmunds has been named as ‘one of the happiest places to live in the UK’.
Local businesses, farming and the British Sugar factory are some of the reasons people are attracted to the area, as well as easy access to Norwich and Ipswich and several locations to catch the train from down to London. Bury St Edmunds also offers a great selection of good state and private schools such as; Bury St Edmunds County Upper School, Culford and St Louis Catholic Middle School.
The town and surrounding villages offer a good mix of both modern as well as older properties and due to the infrastructure and space, many of the houses available to buy are detached.
Favoured streets and roads to live on are in the middle of town and around the Hospital on the south side. Examples of popular villages are the ‘Fornham’s, Great Barton, Ixworth and Woolpit due to their proximity to town, the A14 and good schools. Over one year alone, Bury St Edmunds has had a house price growth of +3% and over 5 years of +27%. A good quality four-bedroom house in a top location in or around Bury st Edmunds can be purchased from around £725,000, which is pretty reasonable considering the cost to buy in many neighboring cities and towns such as Cambridge and Ipswich.
Bury St Edmund really does have a lot to offer, so it is well worth considering buying and/or investing in the area as prices look poised to rise once other locations become oversaturated in years to come.
If you would like to know more about Garrington and how we can expertly guide you, please get in touch for a no obligation initial discussion.
