I have lived in this town all my life, and although I can say it is not the best place to visit in Norfolk, it most definitely is not the worst place to grow up in. It is an improving town (we now have a Costa wahey!), and the racism and discriminitive behaviour the town has seen in the past is slowly dissipating.
Obviously a small town in Norfolk will always have its ignorant racists, but the generation of children from the past 10 ten years who have dealt with an influx of migrant children joining them at school, are now friends with the different nationalities in the town. The understanding and changing attitudes I think are a positive thing for the town. The low income, or no income some people earn in the town do generate what most people label as ‘*****.’ But Thetford does not have a real ‘****’ culture and if you see people dressed in a certain way it is because the majority of the town are working class or on a low income, it is not their fault and it is unfair to label the town as ‘**** city.’
Thetford is not unlike most towns in Britain, and what makes it better is probably its location, being close to Thetford forest where we have concerts in the summer. It has common land and many green areas such as Castle Park for children to play all throughout the year. It is also easy to get a train to Norwich for shopping or the bus to Bury St Edmunds. Thetford is a nice area, if you just ignore the aesthetics of the horrible 60’s buildings and concetrate on the lovely surroundings.
