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!

To be honest I actually think whitstable is fairly active year round, its not particularly bleak in January/February and the weather is good compared to most parts of the country, its comparable weather to London. It really doesn't get a lot of fog or snow.

Folkstone, Thanet and Deal are more closed during winter but Whitstable isn't, it suprised me this year how busy it was in February. Its still not London though. If you want a nice seaside town with walks along the beach, a few pubs and a few shops then Whitstables for you, if you want a bustling, arty London style community then you won't get it in any smallish town

I prefer Whitstable in the winter without all the crowds of tourists. Though if you live there you could get up early and go for a swim while it is still quiet (after checking the Surfers against Sewage site for water safety!)

Not sure I'd want to live there without being able to drive though. Faversham may be more convenient- there are bigger shops and although they don't have a beach the creek is lovely. Or Deal or Folkestone if you want a beach.

I grew up on the East Kent coast, Deal can be as bleak AF in the winter.

Can I ask what has gone so mental in East London recently? I used to live in the East End and miss it so much. I'd love to move back there.

Whistable is lovely and there does seem to be something g going on all the time. However, it is very popular with tourists so does get busy, although that also means that shops and business stay in business. It is quite pricey though. It’s also a stoney beach.

Have to admit I was suprised at early closing - some were closed on Wednesday morning when I was there. OK not high, high season but it was July !

My family has lived in both East Kent and London. This is my honest review and I have nothing to gain with this review. The nicest areas by far are Whitstable, Deal, Broadstairs and Canterbury and anyone who lives here knows this.
Margate, Dover and Folkestone are rough no matter what others say. Most would love to live in Whitstable but can’t afford the house prices now so a lot of the green eyed monster comments appear online. It’s lively in summer and winter, no where near as lively/busy or the rat race that London is. I wouldn’t compare the 2 as one is the capital and Whitstable has an arty bohemian feel with a fisherman’s harbour. Not a typical tacky seaside resort. Deal gets very windy. Whitstable isn’t windy and I have rarely seen fog like the previous poster mentioned. The locals love the winter as it’s not overcrowded but has shops and a bus ride to Canterbury for larger shops or Dover ferry if you want to go to France. And the sea is beautiful in the winter and summer and has a calming effect with just a walk. 🥰 Yes we have issues with southern water but you can swim safely by checking the app. All over the UK they discharge sewerage into the seas. And there are hospipe bans all over the UK also. I personally wouldn’t move back to London if you paid me! It makes me laugh when people comment about feeling safe or rowdy youngsters. This is a haven compared to London! Although Margate, Folkestone and Dover have very run down deprived areas. Lots of Londoners have moved here and I think it has improved Whitstable and made it more trendy and vibrant. It’s nothing like London but that’s a good thing and anyone who lives here will agree apart from the locals who just don’t like change. I wouldn’t live anywhere else as it’s hard to tick all the boxes Whitstable has to offer. Once you get used to the lack of the rat race lifestyle London offers you will love it. It’s a lovely part of the country to bring up children imo. Maybe rent for a few months before you commit. Best of luck

For me, moving down to south coast with a young family it’d be a definite no, unless I knew what I was getting myself into re driving a lot. As pp said, it’s bleak in winter (stepdad had seafront flat in St Leonard’s for a few years) and yes there are things going on but nothing compared to a big town/city.

Quote: ‘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’m not sure how often you come to East Kent but Snowfall, fog… I cannot remember the last time I saw high snow or fog! No more than anywhere else in the south east of England anyway. And I’ve been here since the 90’s. Maybe centuries ago the weather was volatile but not since I have lived here.
Windy in Deal and Margate, maybe Folkestone along certain parts of the coast but Whitstable has no more wind than in a park in central London. It’s generally warmer and sunnier than most of the UK, we have warm summers and mild winters, when it’s hot you have a lovely sea breeze so not muggy like London and in the winter we get lots of sunny days. I personally would rather retire breathing in fresh sea air as opposed to smog any day of the week. Plenty of shops, restaurants and life to satisfy most unless you want to go out partying until 6am every day!

Having said how much I like Deal, I'd never move to Kent with school age children. The school system here is awful IMO. Primary fine, whole county selection thereafter. Which means that the non selectives can be dodgy.

But super if your kids are grown up.

I love broadstairs too. Is it local teens..or teens coming in from London do you know?

Is there still a custard shortage in whitstable? That would be a deal breaker 😉

I was gobsmacked we found the whole thing really stressful because whenever we thought oh tea room let's have lunch there tomorrow etc all closed. We didn't have a decent meal there in the end.

There’s the World Custard Pie championship near Maidstone, an hour away.

https://theworldcustardpiechampionship.co.uk

Local-ish (Medway) according to everyone we spoke to.

Broadstairs is targeted as there are no ticket barriers so they arrange meet ups on SM and come via other stations without ticket barriers.

I'm a lifelong Londoner so consider myself quite hardy (I'm used to crowds, noise, inconsiderate people etc) but this was horrid. It was the whole week we were there as well. Shops were ram-raided and had to close (both Co-OP and Tesco closed over the actual BH weekend but other businesses closed early throughout the week and we cancelled a dinner one evening as we'd have been overlooking all this behaviour from the restaurant)

Apparently the previous summer was similar but we were there in July 2025 and didn't notice anything then.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g44yz0md9o

I hope it is tackled and calms down. But it's really put us off. We actually left a day early 😒

Such a shame..Broadstairs is so lovely..the beach is one of the best and we have had sone great holidays there!

Such a shame as broadstairs is lovely. We spent August bank holiday weekend there last year and didn’t see any of this so I suppose it’s pot luck sadly.

I live in Whitstable. There have been sewerage spills but they are at the Tankerton/ Swalecliffe end and not frequent AFAIK. I walk my dog along there frequently, but along the front at Tankerton dogs arent allowed on the beach between April and October ( I think) but there is alot of coastline to the area.
We've had 1 occasion of some areas having no water for a couple of days.
Buses to Canterbury are very frequent.
Not sure what kind of night life you'd want but there are bars, live music, a theatre in Whitstable.
Summer hols it gets very busy at the weekend especially. I avoid the town for that reason during those times but it's revenue for local business and thats what helps them survive during the quieter months I guess .
Canterbury isn't what I'd describe as 'buzzing' unless you're a student but there are lots of places for nightlife and all the shops you'd expect.
HTH . Good luck.

OP I moved to Deal almost 5 years ago after living in London for almost 30 years and I love it.

It is a nice little town with friendly people and a lot of activities to get involved in.
The beach does not get too crowded in the summer either and you have a lot of creative people living there (I am a painter so it was a big plus for me). I love my slower pace of life. I was born and raised in a small seaside town so I am used to them being very quiet in the winter.

Whistable was too expensive for me and I also worried it would be too busy/crowded in the summer.

I like Folkestone/Sandgate and It has improved a lot and has had a lot of investment recently. I would definitely consider it. Sandwich which is very close to Deal is nice too.

I think Ramsgate/Margate/Broadstairs are worth visiting but I would not want to live there. Dover is bleak unfortunately.

The fast trains in that part of Kent are convenient so travelling to London is fairly straightforward if needed (it can be expensive though).

I would always make sure you spend time in the towns you are considering in the winter so you can make sure you will still enjoy living there when things are quieter!

I forgot to add that I have never seen as many dogs in one place as I have since moving to Deal! it seems almost everyone owns one...Folkestone is the same :). So as a dog owner you should be in your element.

I agree. Can't remember the last time I saw fog here!

I have seen fog in Deal but only at the seafront/on the beach in the winter for the past few years.. At one point the pier disappeared in the fog last year! It was eerie.

Same with Folkestone when I was visiting in the winter. I went to the beach and could barely see where I was going :).

Not very frequent though and I can't remember seeing snow.

We go to Whitstable often all year round and there is definitely a sea fog that rolls in like a wall advancing. It’s mostly in the winter and I don’t think it happens often. I like it but it’s a bit cut off.

@Pickmepickmepickme yeah the gangs of teens in Boadstairs come down fron the Medway towns, if you get the slow train from Victoria to Broadstairs on a summers day you get tons of rowdy, barely dressed teens piling on at Chatham and Sittingbourne.

That said Thanet is perfectly cappable of suppling its own gangs of anti social teens. Peole forget that the Medway towns and parts of Thanet are really deprived, despite the recent gloss of gentrification in Margate and Broadstairs

I mean I grew up just down the road from whitstable, I've got family in Whitstable, my husbands grew up in Whitstable and his family all live there. On occasion it can be foggy out to sea, (like anywhere) but there's no frequent fog or wind like the PP described. Deal can be a bit more misty, but again only the sea/beach. And it doesn't snow frequently, Whitstable is slightly cooler than London because of the sea breeze but generally the snow/bad weather corresponds with what's going on in London. Folkestone is the sunniest place in mainland UK!

I’m feeling really sorry for Broadstairs! That’s a difficult situation. Personally I don’t believe that being ‘ deprived’ is a reason or excuse for anti social behaviour. I think it’s a sense of entitlement. They feel Entitled to ruin things for others. Very sad.