Advice on moving to Chelmsford, Essex

[maggie84]

Hello...
We r planning to move to Chelmsford, Essex. I have not much idea about this location as we live in West London currently.
If anyone is living in Chelmsford or nearby, could u please advise on how ur experience has been? Does it have a good community feel? Are there any rough/chavy areas which needs to be avoided. How r the schools around? My DD is entering reception in sep and DS is in year 3 currently. Any idea regarding good primary and secondary schools? DH travels to Canary Wharf daily, so looking for recommendations for locations not very far from the station.
TIA