What’s it like to live in Kent?

Zombie thread

Look at Lenham.

Thing is though the posters headline is a difficult one to respond to as it could be - Chatham or gillingham - it could be a Tunbridge wells- the experience and vibe (and cost) isn't the same.

It also has one of the worst secondary schools in England , granted they are trying to do something about that now but it has been consistently poor for a number of years .

Love the way the Isle of Sheppey is stated as the " not so nice place" It has it's problems but water all round it, lots of quiet walks and once it has been completed good road links to London. 55 mins on the train to St Pancras. Places like Whitstable are rammed with DOLs and the prices have reflected this, parking awful and beach overcrowded and not a patch on ours, we have several.... rather glad we are not very nice!!

Kent is one of the most unfriendly places I’ve lived (and I’ve lived in a few!)

the epitome of cold, unfriendly, up their own ar*e!!! Some beautiful places but good god, the people certainly let it down

@DontWiltMySpinachPlease but Hawkhurst and its surrounds are potentially subject to lots of new development and many protests, possibly even a public enquiry, not 100% sure, but certainly a huge amount of opposition, particularly re the golf course site and infrastructure, there are placards everywhere.

It’s lovely round there but also not all that handy for a London commute, or the budget, depending on what the OP wants to achieve.

If you want the benefits of West Kent/ East Sussex, Hawkhurst is a great option. Houses are more affordable than Tunbridge Wells, half an hour to camber sands, bedgebury forest in your doorstep and still rural enough to feel like you're away from it all.

Medway is an absolute shithole, gillingham, sittingbourne, chatham etc. And the A2/299 is always fucking shut.

I agree, we paid more than that for a family house in Bromley over a decade ago. And no-one has ever confused us for a pretty village.

£450,000 is a pretty low budget for West Kent/east Sussex (if you want to live anywhere half nice). To live in a nice village would definitely be more than that.

The villages around Tunbridge Wells on the Sussex side are absolutely divine. Expensive, but beautiful and very rural, but still within a driving distance of a Space NK. Ideal really!

Thank you @Newnormal99 and @thecatsabsentcojones , not the one near me then
I hope you find your dream home @almostautumn , don't worry about the Kent Test, it's just another option. Loads of people don't let their children sit it as the Grammars are just not the right fit for their child. Lots of other great schools out there

I will pre-warn you if you settle in Medway towns, Dartford area or some parts of mid Kent (Maidstone is nice) the local accent is a killer. Took me years to lose the rough edges of it after I left ... "Knah whah ah meeean?" It's an East End overspill area, from back in the 50s and 60s and retains a lot of that spirit and culture.

Seriously look at AA route times driving on M2, it regularly gets heavy traffic long delays into and out of London. You'd have to do M2 if you go east Kent. Not so much west Kent which is generally posher. There are beautiful villages and Kent is known as the garden of England. But I moved to a different county to be in countryside whilst also easy access (10 mins) from cities and towns.

Anyone suggesting you look at Isle of Sheppey really doesn't know the local geography or traffic. And the sinking mud patches as it's the Medway estuary until you go much further along the coast . You have to hit Broadstairs or further to get Sandy beaches.

Where I live isn't grammar school system. It's catchment but you can also apply to schools out of catchment if they have places. And you can move schools. The quality of schools here is excellent and they are inclusive. Good students do well and students that struggle do better due to quality of teaching.
Oh the traffic commuting to London... as I said depending on which side you work at, London is very commutable from other counties. Just look up train times, do your research. £450k will buy you a heck of a house in south Hampshire. Just he clever about the area and do your research. You could also get a nice house in rochester (Medway towns, Kent) for that btw.

I know of a do-er upper going for 450k, offers accepted, less than 5mins from margate beach, next to the high street if anyone is interested. They are looking for a private sale, cash if possible.

5 beds and basement flat or 8 beds, 2.5 baths. The basement is perfect to turn in to an open plan living/dining room & kitchen with bifold doors if that's your thing.

It's also been a HMO in the past and still has the fire alarm system and sinks in some of the rooms if air b&b was a consideration.

PM me if interested.

@almostautumn I know plenty of parents whose children passed just doing books and practice papers at home, but I live in East Kent where there is less competition for places, and the grammars run their own entrance exams, so the children do two assessment days. It's good, because if you don't pass one you have a second chance. In Sevenoaks/Tunbridge Wells etc it's very different, and there are super selectives.

The higher the parental income, the more likely they are to tutor. You can't get away with doing nothing at all, some of the elements of the 11+ (the reasoning sections) aren't part of the curriculum and it would be horrible for a child to be confronted with that for the first time on test day.

Socially correct schools? Uh huh.

Quite. The idea that the 11+ is some kind of open, democratic way of selecting children's fate is laughable. Those that can afford it will spend £1000s on private schools and coaching to make sure their child gets to go the the socially correct school.

@FannyBrice Kent and East Sussex Railway, they are the full size ones, the Romney Marsh ones are the titchy cute ones. Go from Tenterden.

Move to York… 2 hours by train to London. Beautiful city but do close to the Yorkshire countryside. I know so many people that have moved up here from London that love it but still with the connections to the capital!

What about near Grantham, there's a fast train to london and it's cheaper than Kent. The vale of Belvoir has loads of rural pretty villages. You'd need to check out the fiver details as I don't know trains, costs, how to get to station etc