Don't go thinking that Norfolk is
completely flat! Fair enough, it's not like Sussex or Kent, but we do have a few hills.
The northern coastal strip around Cromer or Sheringham has quite a few gently rolling slopes, and even Norwich has some hills. The road which twists its way up Mousehold Heath that I mentioned above rises quite steeply, for example, and at one point where there's a break in the trees you get quite a good view over the city. There are several other roads even near the city center which will seem fairly steep if you walk them.
Castle Mall is built into/around the side of a small hill. You can actually enter from ground level on the first floor, take the elevator up to the fourth floor, and come out on the other side -- still at ground level. The first time I used the parking lot at that mall I actually lost track of where I was and took a half hour to find my car due to all the entrances and exits at different levels!
I'd say the part of the county which is the flattest is around the Fens, the western part bordering Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. If you drive the A17 from Boston to Kings Lynn you go across some very flat, open farmland which in terms of the landscape is indeed quite like parts of the American midwest on a smaller scale.
It is my impression that Norfolkers have been stereotyped a bit as being backcountry hicks
Even some locals make jokes about this. I've heard this little ditty from a pure-Norfolk girl:
"I be from Norfolk, born and bred,
Strong in the arm and thick in the 'ead"
You'll hear jokes from other parts of the country about the supposed backwardness of Norfolk too, e.g. "Welcome to Norfolk, please set your watch back 20 years."
But that's one of the nice things about this part of England. Outside of the larger cities (Norwich, Great Yarmouth etc.) the county is still mostly small villages/towns and rural farmland. The population density is low (by English standards), things do run at a slower pace, the crime rate is below the national average, and the atmosphere is more relaxed.
Plus, the county has some pretty (if cold) beaches - we are talking the North Sea here.
Yep, there are definitely two sides to the coin. I'm right on the coast (literally -- I can walk out my back door, over the sand dunes, and onto the beach). It can be miserable in the depths of winter when the sea is rough, the wind's blowing, and so on. But it's gorgeous on a warm summer day!
My husband's health will have a lot to do with it.
If it's important, the air tends to be less polluted here than in many parts of central England. And even though it might not seem like it at times, the annual rainfall figure for East Anglia is actually one of the lowest in the country.