A disclaimer: I grew up in Norwich. Well, just outside of it anyway, which meant that to me, growing up, Norwich was a glistening metropolis, a city of unparalleled potential, a site of devotion. It was where I went to my first football match and had my first pizza, the place I bought both my first pint and my first pair of skinny jeans.I decided to leave when I went to university, trying my hand at London, never really escaping the idea that I'd have been better off where I'd been, with the castle and the cathedral in my line of site at all times.
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Norwich, isolated from the rest of the country, is a small city that thrives on a sense of genuine and unerring independence. It's an incredibly student friendly place—affordable, easily traversable, and happy to accommodate the needs of the young. It's a city full of incredible pubs and great value restaurants, museums and galleries, the kind of place where you and your mates can really make a difference. I can't think of anywhere better to discover who you are, and what you want from your new life.With all that in mind, here's our guide to making the most of your new home over the following few weeks.Ok, not to sound like a negative nancy but one thing Norwich sort of lacks is a really good club. You've basically got the bunch of alcopop-dens round Prince of Wales and that's it. Still, it gives you an excuse to throw massive house parties, no?I can guarantee you that within, ooh, two days of having moved to the city you'll never, ever want to hear someone telling you that back in the day Norwich boasted, "A Church for every week of the year and a pub for every day of the year." In fact you'll be so bored of hearing it you'll be forced to seek solace in one of the numerous incredible pubs that the city has to offer. The pub crawl of your dreams starts with the incredibly cosy King's Head on Magdalen Street, takes in the even cosier Ribs of Beef just up the road, detours into the Mischief for some of the cheapest treble and mixers you'll ever find, before heading into the city centre for a couple at the Tap House, the Plough, and the Belgian Monk, before winding back down to Tomb Hill for a final pint of the night. Well, after a Stella or six up at the Murderers. Honestly, bar a very few exceptions—largely clustered towards the Prince of Wales strip—any pub you end up stumbling into will be worth your while. Do, however, be prepared for the slightly nasal whine of the native Norfolkian to get louder and louder as the evening goes on. "WASSAT, BUH? YEW WATTER NOTHER PINT? ASSALRIGHT!"Now that both the city's HMVs stock more headphones than CDs, anyone looking to while away an hour or two with the kind of rack-flicking that gives you a really fucked back for the rest of the day should amble down to Pottergate where a very loose oblong of record shops weave down to St. Benedicts street. For my money Soundclash is the best of the bunch—and it stocks Vice! There are bargains to be had in the bins at Circular Sound too, but you'll have to deal with a dusty, musty environment to get to them. Still, I once went in the day after someone had donated their entire Roule collection so left a very happy boy indeed.The big three in town are the UEA, the Waterfront, and the Norwich Arts Centre, and it's the latter that's my personal favourite. There's nothing wrong with the other two, but the NAC is just that tad less fuck-this-place-is-actually-sort-of-gross.
A Club
A Really Good Pub
A Record Shop
A Gig Venue
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