Publication Date: 16-05-2025 09:00
“I feel like I’m on holiday’ – born and bred Londoner Ruth enjoys the quiet life after swapping the big city for Suffolk
Ruth Taylor moved out of London to live in the Suffolk village of Bacton last summer and she says it still feels like she is on holiday.
Londoner born and bred Ruth had wanted to leave the city behind and embrace a slower pace of life in the countryside ever since first visiting Suffolk on holiday around 10 years ago.
Now she has settled into her new home on Bellway’s Ivy Hill development in Bacton having bought a two-bedroom house in the homebuilder’s Joiner house style.
“My only regret is not moving here sooner,” she said.
Leaving the capital was a larger undertaking than just moving herself, however, as her 82-year-old father Terence Taylor also moved out of London. He is now in a bungalow in Honington around 13 miles away.
“We wanted a quieter life and to get away from the hustle and bustle,” said Ruth.
Once Terence was settled last spring, Ruth put her 1940s two-bedroom ground floor maisonette on the market and looked around for a place in Suffolk.
She considered other new builds in the county but the incentives on offer at Bellway clinched it for her. She used the housebuilder’s Express Mover scheme to sell her old place, with Bellway marketing the property on her behalf and paying legal fees.
“That was brilliant. If I hadn’t had that, I couldn’t have done it,” she said.
The sales advisor Alice Hampton also made a big difference.
Ruth said: “When I went to see another company’s development it just wasn’t encouraging. But here, there wasn’t a ‘no’, it was always a ‘yes’. The sales team were lovely, and they helped me throughout. Alice and Charlotte were brilliant and I’m thankful to those ladies as they helped me get to where I needed to get to.
“They were there all the way. I had a lot of questions, and I was forever ringing up, and they helped me. Bellway were brilliant with their customer service.”
Her place in London sold for a similar price as her new home – around £250,000. She now pays around £820 a month towards her mortgage.
Ruth moved in last August with her cat Kate and her King Charles spaniel Poppy and has been able to continue in her job in finance and business support as she works from home.
She said: “I wanted to start a new life and have a complete change - and it has been life changing.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot of living to do, and I feel a lot more motivated to do things here whether that’s finding new pubs and having a pub lunch, exploring other villages, going to the farmers market or finding somewhere different to walk the dog.
“I’m still finding my feet, but I just like it here. It’s quite laid back compared to London and I feel like I’m on holiday. Even when I’m working from home, I can take the dog out at lunchtime and it’s another world. The countryside is so beautiful and there’s all the wildlife.
“I’ve got friends still in London but it’s quite accessible – I can drive down the A12 or catch a train from Stowmarket if I want to go to London, so I’ve got the best of both worlds.”
Having moved from a much older property, Ruth was pleased with all the benefits of living in a new-build house because it is warm and cosy with everything new inside and no work to be done on it.
“My old house took me years to do it up and a lot of money. I insulated my old bedroom, and it was a lot better, but I felt miserable in the cold weather. By contrast, this new house is toasty.
“Here, you have all mod cons. It’s fresh and very bright and I haven’t had to do anything. It’s all done for me, so having a new build is saving me money in a way.”
And having the opportunity to choose all the fixtures and fittings for the kitchen and bathroom was one of the best parts. “Oh, it was exciting,” she said. “I was choosing from this book and looking at all the different shades and textures. Flooring, carpets and wall tiles – all of that I chose. That was part of the incentive for me, and it’s all fresh and modern.”
Although she had visited Suffolk many times over the years, she had not been to Bacton before looking at the Ivy Hill development. When she got there, she immediately liked what she saw. There are places to walk the dog and a shop 10 minutes’ walk away.
And the whole area is just as good as she hoped it would be. She said: “It’s quiet and very peaceful and the people are nice. Life is more laid back here. There’s fresher air and I have peace of mind, and we feel safer.”
Moving in day was “magical” although Ruth admits it was also a poignant moment because she was leaving behind the city that had always been home.
“I’d lived in that area all my life, and my little maisonette. I loved it, I was there about 18 years, and I knew the neighbours, so I was a little sad. But the day I got the keys, Charlotte came with me, and we went in, and it was all clean and bright and smelled nice and as soon as I walked in, I thought, this is my home, and I was over the moon.”
A selection of two, three and four-bedroom homes are currently available at Ivy Hill, with prices starting from £295,000.
To find out more, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/eastern-counties/ivy-hill or call the sales team on 01449 360020.
