Accomodation

[Karan1]

Hi.We r new to southend.Looking for an rental accomodation preferably near southend univ hospital.Family with two kids junior school grade.Very confused considering the opinion of people.Unable to know which is a good neighbourhood.Heard that fairfax drive is notorious for drugs and thefts and so is central southend.Also not much public transport in southend so would like to have suggestions regarding rentals(spacious two bedroom or three bedroom) close to the hospital which should be in the catchment area of a decent school and above all a safe area.Regarding accomodation also what is better-central heating or seperate heating.secondly is an apartment better or a house.In my opinion house would mean maintaining the garden as well.There is a paucity of furnished accomodation in southend area unlike london.

[allquietonthesouthendfront]

Earls hall school is a v popular/good school nr the hospital- I would perhaps focus your search around that. Central Southend is not great nor is fairfax dr. But the roads around there vary.
Can't really help with yr other questions, sorry, depends on how much you want to pay, how long you plan to stay etc etc

[Karan1]

Thank you.Our budget would be a max 1000 per month for maybe two year stint.Any other good areas in case there is no availibily around Earls.Could consider options in Leigh on sea,southend,westcliff if there not much choice near Earls.But yes looking preferably for an apartment in a decent area.
Which are the other schools which we should look into.

[allquietonthesouthendfront]

You could get a 2-bed flat in a nice area for 1000 a month, but I think it will be harder to get a 3-bed place.
Leigh on Sea is v. popular/desirable at the moment - the schools ARE crammed though, so I don't know the chances of getting in. The favourites I guess are Westleigh, Northstreet, Chalkwell but Darlinghurst and Fairways are nice schools too. I would think you'd be happy with most of them around here.
Are you able to get here to go to the estate agents then to look around and get a feel for the places?

[Karan1]

Thanks for the information.We have tried so see a few houses but it is just not possible to know how the area would be.Presently it is just choosing randomly and seeing but no guidance.So a bit hesitant in taking any step.It would be nice if we could get an idea on which specific areas to look for accomodation in order of preference--westclff/leigh/southend,i mean the area in westcliff,area in leigh,area in southend.Also would like list of favourite junior school in westcliff and southend especially looking with breakfast club and after school clubs.

[gallicgirl]

Have a look at Eastwood, schools are great and you get a bit more house for your buck.
The roads off Fairfield Drive are fine as you go towards Victoria Avenue.

[gallicgirl]

Sorry, meant Fairfax not Fairfield.

If you want to post links to any particular properties, I'm happy to say if safe area or not. To be honest, decent rentals go quickly and you need to be checking Rightmove frequently.

[Karan1]

Thank you.

[Karan1]

How is Rochester Drive , Prince Avenue area and salisbury avenue for considering rented accomodation

[Chewbecca]

Prince Avenue = the A127 so incredibly busy day and night.

Rochester should be ok, v near hospital and poss in Earls hall catchment? (You need to check).

Not familiar with Salisbury or the school catchment there.

For me, the top priority would be school catchment.

[Chewbecca]

(Be aware Rightmove's school checker is often inaccurate I find. You need t go to Southend council's website)

[gallicgirl]

Salisbury Avenue might come under Milton Hall catchment. Don't know the school but the area isn't brilliant. Do you have Google street view? I know it's a bit superficial to judge an area on its looks, but if people look after their environment, it tends to be a better place to live.

[gallicgirl]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-44335704.html

Try this one. Area ok and Westborough school is good.

[gallicgirl]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-28587509.html

Or this one.

[allquietonthesouthendfront]

Good finds, Gallic, I like the look of that 2nd one.

[gallicgirl]

It has off street parking which is a HUGE bonus.

[Karan1]

Thank you for being kind enough to post post your opinions and considering our concern.But Gallic your first option is very near Fairfax drive and as echoed in some previous posts should be avoided.The other one looks good in Chalkwell school catchment area..How are these
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-61751423.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-56163661.html

[gallicgirl]

I wouldn't say Fairfax Drive area is to be avoided, you just have to pick your streets carefully. The streets at either end of Fairfax Drive are fine. I've used childminders in those areas and park my car around there when I go to work.

I don't know the area around Denton Avenue so well, visited the children centre once and a work colleague lives in that area. He's never mentioned any issues but the school is only middling. It's a lot of council and ex-council housing I think.

Personally I'd go for the Eastwood Boulevard area as it's a lot smarter and Chalkwell school is better. Have you checked if there's spaces for your children?

[allquietonthesouthendfront]

The Eastwood Boulevard one looks great.

Its a nice, residential area.

[Chewbecca]

Agree - Eastwood Boulevard is the better option.

[Karan1]

Thank you all for making our work easier.So we can shortlist a few of the above.Another one we were considering was
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-44452485.html

Is it so that we need to ask the school first and then choose our accomodation as mentioned by Gallic or otherway round that we pick our place and then the school would give us priority if in the catchment area.

[allquietonthesouthendfront]

Im not overly keen on that part of town...

I don't know what order to do things but you could call Southend Council school admissions and get some information from them. Be aware that Right move do a 'miles from school' thing which might not/often does not mean catchment school.

[gallicgirl]

www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/3758/primary_school_catchment_area_map_west

It looks like Eastwood Boulevard falls into the catchment area for Darlinghurst Primary.
You would need to call Southend Admissions team to see which schools have spaces in the year groups you need. The admissions booklet for this year's reception intake would suggest that Darlinghurst is undersubscribed but there's no way of knowing if that also applies to your year groups. Chalk well is a popular school so there may be a waiting list. Blenheim looked like they had spaces on offer day too, that's not too far. You might have to find out where the spaces are and look at where those schools are in relation to your place of work to see what will work for you.

www.southend.gov.uk/downloads/file/4417/primary_school_admissions_booklet_201718