Aisha's Relocation Story - Work in Norwich

Norwich wasn’t where I thought my career would lead me, but it’s where I finally found balance. It is a city that values life as much as work.

I was born in London and grew up in Streatham, South London. When I was about to start secondary school, my family moved to Great Yarmouth.

After finishing high school and college, I studied journalism at the University of Chester, nestled between Liverpool and Manchester. My final project was to create a magazine, which inspired a friend and me to try launching one of our own. We learned fast that creativity and ambition are priceless, but printing costs are not.

Later, I spent almost a year in Australia, working and exploring. I got my first real taste of the media world at a Sydney magazine, learning how ideas come to life behind the scenes.

A pivotal moment

When I came back to the UK, I landed my first real break in Norwich as an editorial assistant with part of the Archant Group, more widely known for publishing the EDP and Norwich Evening News. That job shaped me. I worked my way up to Group Editor, managing a portfolio of magazines and mentoring new team members.

I left in 2012 to move back to London, working for Virgin Media, then for creative agencies such as Publicis and Cedar, working on the ASDA and Tesco magazines and campaigns and finally for Harrods.

On paper, it was career success: big brands, big projects, the kind of work you dream about as a journalism graduate. But life was racing faster than I was.

When my husband got a job in Bacton and I became pregnant with our son, Rex, we decided to move back to Norfolk.

We chose to live right in the city. I wanted to walk to work, to shops, to cafés, to life. Norwich gives you that freedom. You can work in the heart of creativity and still have time to breathe.

A turn of events

In early 2024, I applied for an Account Manager role at We Are SNS. It was technically below my experience, but I wanted to see what kind of company it was. After the interview, they offered me something else entirely: the chance to lead their influencer marketing team.

A few months later, I also got accepted onto a master’s degree at Norwich University of the Arts. We Are SNS supported both opportunities, and suddenly I found myself doing work I loved while studying something that kept me inspired.

Being a mature student feels strange, but it is also freeing. I see ideas differently now. I value time, collaboration and purpose more than I ever did in my twenties.

Norwich feels like the perfect setting for that perspective, creative, open and full of possibility.

What I love most about this city is how it folds life and work together so naturally.

You can finish a meeting, grab lunch at the market, run into a friend in The Lanes and end the day with a pint at the Red Lion.

My son and I often go there with our “pub bag”, a bundle of games we play together while we chat. It is simple, but it says everything about what matters to me now.

I have lived in bigger, busier places, but nowhere feels like Norwich.

The festivals, the music, the food and the friendliness all add up to something that is hard to define but easy to love.

Norwich is not just a place to work. It is a place to live well, where creativity, connection and community still matter.

Work brought me here once. Life is why I will always stay.