Considering Whitstable move from London and wondering about year round life

[ALyons]

Hi, we are thinking to relocate to Whitstable and could really do with some advice, especially if you relocated from London.
The town looks lovely and people are friendly, however I must admit that the issue with the sewage and shortage of water is a big turn off. I am not sure I'd like to be so close to the sea without being able to go in or have a nice garden I cannot water! I am personally more inclined towards Broadstairs, but we have a dog and by the look of it she won't be allowed on most beaches and also it's further out from London. We wonder if the town is that pleasant all year around, and how easy is to get to Canterbury as we don't drive.We wouldn't want to come back to London that often for a change of scenery, so I am hoping that Canterbury will be close enough and still offer a bit of London's buzz. One thing I noticed is that, comes 9pm, Whitstable gets very quiet and I don't know if that was a good thing or not. How safe is it? And are tourists very imposing, reducing the chances to enjoy the local amenities? Whoever we spoke to, especially from London, sounded very happy with their choice, and yet we wonder if there's a catch and worry that perhaps there won't be much to do after all, especially because we don't have kids. I am also concerned about the lack of food shops and of course finding a job. I work in admin and I would not want to commute to London so I guess my choices are limited perhaps? I would really appreciate your feedback!

What made you focus on Whitstable OP, it is very small compared to London? I wouldn’t choose location based on dogs being allowed on beaches as you never know when that might change.

We will retire there but I probably wouldn’t go if I needed to find work or I’d find a job before I went. It’s not dead after 9pm but it is a small town and very different to London. Canterbury and herne bay are connected to whitstable by the triangle bus route so that won’t be an issue. There is a big Tesco you could get a taxi to.

Dogs can’t go on most Whitstable beaches in the summer months.

Broadstairs is my happy place but sadly last time we were there (May half term) it was completely ruined by teenage antics social behaviour. Not sure how impacted Whitstable is by this?

I adore Broadstairs, we don't have a dog but I couldn't live there. I'm "too London"

It’s usually May to September that dogs can’t go on the beaches, even on a lead. Check https://www.canterbury.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/dogs-beach for details. I wouldn’t actually take my dog onto any beach in a Southern Water area as they are notorious for unplanned sewage outages, which will make your dog very sick if they go in the sea afterwards.

It depends on the kind of buzz you’re after in Canterbury. There are no late night dining options and the public transport starts winding down by 1130 pm, even at the weekend. The main venue is the Marlowe Theatre, for music and theatre. The cathedral has concerts put on by the Canterbury Choral Society, usually every quarter or so.

One thing to bear in mind is that Canterbury is no longer as ‘naice’ as it used to be since Redbridge council outbid Canterbury City Council for the old barracks housing development and moved all of their problem families down. Incidents of anti social behaviour have risen and there have been a couple of stabbings.

Whitstable is nice but will feel very small town after London. There is public transport (buses and trains) so it is possible to live there if you do not drive. However It is no where near as cheap, convenient and frequent as you will be used to in London, I would be very wary of moving to the Kent coast if I was not able to drive (I grew up around there and now live in London).

I would also visit the area in the winter, the Kent coast can be pretty bleak then.

You would probably have to seek work in Canterbury or keep your job in London, so I would seriously consider commuting times and costs. Pay is likely to be lower and house prices are still fairly high, especially in Whitstable where there is intense competition for prettier town centre houses - do you have to money to afford that?

As for Broadstairs - it is actually better connected to London because it is on HS1. It is a lovely town but all my warnings above also apply. The poster above is right about it attracting anti social behaviour from young people in the summer, a couple of years ago we went down for a day trip and we ended up having to break up a teenage fight and rescue a very vulnerable young girl on the train back to London as there were loads of very young and very drunk teens on their way back to Sittingbourne. It rather put a dampener on a nice day out.

Thanet and the East Kent coast more generally has become very fashionable recently and attracted a lot of better off arty people from London, however there is still a lot of underlying social deprivation and poverty - it's not just a pretty coastal area with cute shops.

Was in Whitstable this weekend. It’s lovely and we go down quite regularly for a weekend day out. Not sure I’d want to live there without a car though or what local employment options are. Nor am I clear what the housing options are like out of the immediate town centre and harbour area. The fringes around Seasalter have a bit of a bleak feel. Most people I know who have made the Kent coast move kept their well-paid jobs in London and work from home the majority of the time.

Broadstairs or Deal over Whitstable any day.

Canterbury probably has more going on than Whitstable. But it’s all relative. After London it will seem provincial. I mean, I like provincial, so it’s fine by me (I live in Whitstable’s unfashionable cousin). But if you’re looking for London-on-Sea, I reckon Brighton would be a better bet.

FWIW, I would definitely choose Whitstable over Canterbury.

That is a good point - OP what are you looking to move for - cheaper housing, more space, a slower pace of Iife, a seaside or country lifestyle? Or have you just visited Whitstable in the summer and decided it would be a nice town to live in (I mean it really is a nice town).

Folkestone? (Caveat: I don’t know it at all!)

I am from the sea and I thought Whitstable offers proximity to London and good waters. But after reading about the sewage, I was very concerned and put off. My husband likes the community there, but we've literally have been a couple of weekends in the last year. I guess things have gone so mental here in London, that we've been trying to find a nice way out, not considering many factors. We are in the East End and have most things very close, but it's also extremely busy and loud so we thought Whitstable is only an hour away and we could do with a change of scenery. But the comments in the thread actually opened my eyes and made me realize that not being able to access the water or the beach with our dog is quite a big thing!

You say your husband likes the community, but you've only been a couple of weekends

The community seems lovely when you go anywhere a couple of weekends! I'm sure they are lovely, but I'm not sure it's a basis for moving

Do you mean actually full-time moving because you said something about a change of scene

I really like Whitstable
but if you want to go back regularly then why are you leaving at all?

I am quite confused about the water situation, but I better look into it before our next visit! Kent has a lot of problems that london has to be honest

Kent is pretty dry and impacted by hosepipe bans but TBH so is London. The water issues around supply are more in west Kent were there have been frequent outages due to underinvestment in treatment works and pumping stations.

If you like the vibrancy and community of East London I absolutely wouldn't move to Whitstable - you'll be bored senseless! There is a lot more life in bigger towns like Margate and Folkestone where there is quite a bit arty DFL scene BUT both are still very deprived coastal towns with all that brings. Broadstairs is definitely more upmarket but as others have said, big problem with anti-social behaviour in the summer and I would hate living on the beach with dogs as you can't walk them on there for half the year.
The hospital in Thanet is also pretty dire -an A&E visit a few months ago we had to queue out of the door, there was a strong police presence & we saw 2 arrests whist waiting. I'll be honest, I find winter in most of these coastal towns quite depressing. DO NOT buy until you've done a couple of wet and windy visits as they are very different places outside the summer months.

I wouldn’t move to whitstable. If you are into the arty community there, it’s small and the power grab comes from the DFL virtue signallers who want to make everything political and will cut you off without à qualm if you don’t toe their line. So there is quite a social divide, in quite a small place.. nice for the weekend though.

Friends of mine live in Whitstable and Broadstairs. One moved there to Whitstable after a divorce with her son, the other (her sister) started a business in Broadstairs and lives there with her partner plus his son comes to stay. They’re both doing/done uni courses. One of them had a jewellery workshop/class in Canterbury. I will say you need to drive. There are buses and trains but stop after certain times then you’re reliant on cabs. Both are small but get busy in summer months.

The Whitstable woman runs an air b n b there and goes out a lot which she likes doing, again car needed.

Whitstable is safe. It has a number of food shops including Tesco Extra, M&S and Sainsburys. Lidl is set to open there soon, or wants to.

I recommend anyone planning to move to a small town near the sea spends 2 weeks there in November or February. If you like it then, you'll be fine.

I wouldn’t move to Whitstable or indeed any of the places mentioned except Canterbury unless you drive and Canterbury is nothing like London . If you do move to Whitstable I highly recommend Coastal vets , Violetta is excellent .

Deal a much better bet. It's a town by the sea rather than a seaside town. Good pubs and restaurants, lively arts scene, well connected. Good mix of housing.

I come from east Kent originally and clearly remember many Londoners moving down in the 70s as they'd holidayed in the areas for years and rueing the day they did. Things have changed a bit but things to bear in mind -
Transport links will be nowhere near as good as eastend of London
shops / amenities will close or have reduced opening hours Oct - April. A recent visit to my home town surprised me - many shops were closed on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons in July!
The weather - Kentish coast gets a lot of its weather from Norway and has a surprising high snowfall, and fog, lots of fog, and wind, lots of wind.

I strongly suggest you spend a couple of weekends in January and February to get a better feel of the place. Moving out of London is a bigger step than many appreciate so do your homework

Whitstable is nice. It has nice restaurants, a few pubs and the beach is accessible. However it is a smallish town, its never going to be london, and gets really busy. Public transport is not fantastic, theres a bus to Canterbury but its takes about 40 mins, it's really hard to leave the town in summer and is a pain if you want to say run errands because there's a lot of traffic. I wouldn't want to live in whitsable without a car

Canterbury is not like London. It's got a few more restaurants and bars compared to whitstable and a theatre but you don't get much on, having said that it's quite easy to get into London from whitstable.

I can't see the attraction at all ,it's very industrial and no nice beach views. The town fancilities have odd opening hours !

@DPotter x post on strange opening