Want to move to Thanet - where is Ok-ish?

[Lauriefairycake]

I've been looking at Ramsgate and Margate and wonder which is 'better' - I went to Ramsgate about 8 years ago for a weekend and thought it was nice and compact but seem to remember from childhood that Margate is more 'spread out'.

I've looked on websites and it seems I'll get a 3 bed house in Margate but only a 2 bed in Ramsgate.

I've ruled out Deal, Whitstable and Sandwich as they seem too expensive for me and Dover and Folkestone as too far.

I want to live on a cliff and not low down at sea level - is the West Cliff in Ramsgate nice?

And lastly is Canterbury commutable for my hubby's work?

Anyone any opinions? really could use the help......can't live in stupid Hertfordshire any more as mortgage too high and now pg.

[serenity]

My Nan lives in Cliffs End which is just down the road, so I'm definitely not an expert but I can give you my impressions (and bump it up for you) If I had a choice between Ramsgate and Margate I'd go for the former. I'll admit though that my impressions of Margate are coloured by going on coach trips with some really obnoxious people and then have tea in a cafe where the owner, after discovering we'd driven down from Brixton in London, kept telling us how he'd come down to margate to get away from 'all those coloured people' Having said that, I think the areas away from the touristy bits are a lot nicer, and a three bed would be better than a two.

Anyway, hopefully someone who actually lives down there will come along soon

[squiffy]

Took a while to notice this one.

Margate is the pits - I really cannot think of anything good to say about it. Schools don't have great reputation, highish unemployment, crime/vandalism higher than most nearby areas....they were supposed to be 'gentrifying' it with a new Turner gallery and suchlike but I think that is all on hold.

Ramsgate is better and there is a lot more up-market development going on there, and there is a nice harbour/marina so it gets more of a mix of people. But still quite a few social challenges...

Better than both of these is Broadstairs which is really nice around the old town area, or Birchington.

And you shouldn't rule out the area around Dover/Folkestone. Although further in miles they have good dual carriageway links. I reckon they would be quicker to get to Canterbury from than Margate/Ramsgate, though all are commutable. If you want to live by cliffs/seaside look at Tankerton which is next door to Whitstable but lots cheaper and has better links to Canterbury than Margate etc.

Other options away from the seaside are Faversham (or more accurately, the villages around Faversham) and if money is tight, Ashford is an option. You would not make me live in Margate for love nor money no matter how close to the seaside it is.

[Lauriefairycake]

Thanks for that, someone else told me yesterday how awful Margate was. I'm really drawn to it because of the property prices - it would be nice to have a much bigger house.

Birchington looks nice (only two houses we could afford though) though Deal, Whitstable look ever so expensive. Any ideas what Broadstairs ? and Sandwich are like (also expensive)?

Thanks for your views so far.