Moving to herne bay

[feefeehaynes]

Where looking at moving to herne bay area from Dagenham. My husband and our child they will be 2 and 3. We are going in may for a week just to make sure we like it before we plan anything. What can anyone tell me about the area. Is it nice. I mean I know everywhere has rough areas ect. Are schools good. They seem good from what I've seen so.f.is there lots to do. Is it expensive ect. Any info appreciated x

[Hennifer]

We're not far from there (nr Whitstable)

HB isn't that nice tbh

Why are you going, it sounds like you don't really know much about it - is it a work thing?

[MrsSparkles]

We're not far from there. Don't know about primary schools, secondary can be a pain as there's no grammer so they can have to travel quite far.

I don't think its a terrible area but it's not as 'naice' as Whitstable or Canterbury.

Where will you and/or DH be working?

[BertrandRussell]

"secondary can be a pain as there's no grammer so they can have to travel quite far."

[feefeehaynes]

We are looking at Whitstable and other areas too. Herne bay just stood out. We just wanna move away to.a seaside town. And Canterbury way seems so nice

[feefeehaynes]

My husband works at asda he will transfer if we do.decide to go. Or fund another job he's not quite decided yet few thing floating about

[MrsSparkles]

You certainly get more for your money in HB than Canterbury and Whitstable. It just suffers from what most seaside towns suffer from - low employment, lack of investment. etc.

You can't beat growing up by the seaside though! Although I'd be tempted to go a bit further down and have a sandy beach.

[MrsSparkles]

You have to think about these things don't you Bertrand !

[feefeehaynes]

Thanks Whitstable looks really nice too. Well they all do tbh. Ill definitely look into those more thanks

[Hennifer]

I think it's a bad idea to just pick somewhere out of the ether for no particular reason, when you have never been there. I've done that before and it didn't go well.

By all means take a trip and see what you think

commute to nearest asda will be a nightmare in rush hour though

[feefeehaynes]

Lol we do plan on visiting as I said we are going for a week to see how we like it. Not just packing up and going

[Salmiak]

I live in Canterbury and its fantastic, please consider adding it to you list! We love it here. Herne bay can be lovely in the summer, great beach - but in winter its not got a lot happening.

[feefeehaynes]

Yes we are looking at Canterbury aswell they all.look really lovely. That's what worried me about herne bay which is why I asked.i will definitely look into Canterbury more and Whitstable

[Hennifer]

Whitstable is nice. Overrun with hipsters but still nice. It's off the scale in terms of property values though. Canterbury is also nice, though overrun with students and tourists. HB just isn't that nice. Mainly it's filled with old people and many of the young people are a bit...well put it this way, you've got boy racers, and drug dealing in the park and a fair bit of yob violence.

It's just got a bit of a sad vibe. There are almost no decent shops except for a very good toy shop. People move there as house prices are lower than everywhere else locally, and tbh some of the houses are wonderful, and cheap, but there's a reason it's cheap.

Half the seafront is noisy, shitty amusement arcades but saying that, once you get past it and out in an Easterly direction it's absolutely beautiful, and very very quiet and unspoiled.

Everywhere has good bits. But do think carefully.

Oh and the schools are no more than average, and some are downright scary.

[BertrandRussell]

You do have to think about secondary schools if you have children. It's a wholly selective area. The thing to consider is where your child would go if they don't pass the 11+. I'd choose Herne Bay High over Whitstable Community College in a heartbeat.

But things change. Depends how old your children are.

[Hennifer]

Yes HBH has a lot going for it. If you want a grammar school though it means a bus trip every day. Things may change by the time yours are old enough, though.

[feefeehaynes]

Really. We are looking at other areas too. We will decide once we've been and had a proper look about. House prices in Canterbury are still cheaper than where I live so.thats no worry x

[loveulotslikejellytots]

I think HB is lovely. Whitstable is a lot nicer, but you'll find that the house prices reflect that massively! HB has some great primary schools, the high school is good too with a grammar stream. Friends dc's are all there and love it.

As with all places there are nicer parts and not so nice parts, but no where is that bad. Your husbands commute from HB to Canterbury asda would take about 15 mins non peak but could take 45 -60 mins at peak times. Asda in Thanet is 25 mins away but is along better roads so less disruption during rush hour, probably add another 5 mins to that of its during school run times.

If you're visiting, maybe look at other towns along the Thanet way as well. Westgate is lovely, Minnis Bay, Birchington, Broadstairs (property can be priced though).

[Hennifer]

Lucky you!

[feefeehaynes]

My kids are only babies no worry for high school.for a long time lol x

[Hennifer]

x posts re house prices

[feefeehaynes]

😊😊

[feefeehaynes]

Yes we definitely will. We are going in may so will have a good look about. 😊

[feefeehaynes]

Broadstairs looks really nice 😍

[feefeehaynes]

Lol I live in London house prices here are shocking

[cruusshed]

I would hang on to your London house - and rent it out whilst you rent somewhere for a year to explore the areas - saves you committing to the wrong place on first impressions.

Whitstable, Herne Bay, Broadstairs and Canterbury are all very very different.

Coastal towns may look and feel very different over a holiday week in May compared to many bleak months over a long winter when you are working.