To wonder why Medway towns have a bad reputation and to ask if there's any truth in it

[Househuntingwoes]

DH are looking to move soon, it's a real stick a pin in a map type move and we're considering anywhere that ticks the boxes.

I found some properties on St Marys Island just outside Chatham that fit the bill but having researched Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester, there's some pretty scathing comments about.

TBH I'd not thought of looking in that area before because I'd assumed somewhere so close to London with good transport links would be over budget but Medway area seems relatively cheap.

Is there a reason why it's cheap?

^DH and I!

I grew up there, and I don't think it's too bad. There are some lovely parts (e.g.historic Rochester) and obviously some not so nice bits, but you get that everywhere, don't you? It's certainly nicer overall than some parts of outer London, where I've also lived in the past. I guess it depends on what you're used to, but I liked growing up there

I live in Medway and it does have a bad reputation, but I have never had any issues apart from the odd noisy party from the neighbours.

There are some interesting people that hang around the high street and I wouldn't walk down there alone on a Friday night but you get a lot of house for your money and it only takes 45mins to get to London, 15mins to Bluewater and there are some lovely parks within walking distance.

I think if you pick your street wisely, you should be fine!

That's what I though believe, in a city like London there are some grotty parts close to some of the poshest parts.

I don't think I'd fancy hanging around any town centres at night

I live in a nice part of rainham, I like it and the schools are good. My dh works in London.
The scathing reviews come from Chatham and lower gillingham, IMO they're deserved. Chatham town centre is the land that hope left, but I don't need to ever go there, I go shopping in bluewater or Maidstone and there's lots of facilities in rainham.
I love Rochester high street for lazy weekend lunches and there are some fab restaurants.
The surrounding areas are good value for money, decent schools etc, high speed rail is about 5k year though.
Some nice places to look at are Hempstead, wigmore, newington, hartlip and bredhurst.
Feel free to pm me

Haha me either, I wouldn't go for a drink or meal out in Chatham or Gillingham but Rochester is quite nice.

St Mary's Island is lovely, I walk the dog there all the time.

I'm an 'incomer' to Medway (from Yorkshire), and have lived here for 14 years.

The good bits (in my opinion) are:
Rochester itself, plus the northern suburbs of Wainscott, Frindsbury, St Mary's (St Mary's is a private island, a huge housing estate of new-builds, but it's also got lots of green spaces, good security and lovely river views.)
The high street is finally 'upcoming' - it's actually quite charming during the day, with boutiques and coffee shops aplenty.
It's 10 minutes to Bluewater, and 27 minutes to London on the train.
There are lots of local parks and nature trails, museums and things to see/do
The schools can be quite good - especially in the areas mentioned above.

The not so good bits are:
I find many residents aggressive and unfriendly. There's an 'attitude' problem sometimes, quite a few 'entitled chavs'.
The area has been deprived of investment for so long, so some areas - Gillingham, half of Chatham, parts of Rainham - are neglected and run down.
There is a very high immigrant population in these areas, if that bothers you then I'd avoid them.

Feel free to PM me if you want more (completely personal & just my own opinion) info.

I'm on the fence about st marys island- those that live there love it and will tell you it's like a private community, perhaps a bit cliquey, but it was built to house the nuclear waste from the dockyard and later redeveloped, you're not allowed to grow veg! It obviously is safe to live but I just wouldn't choose it!

Seriously- is there really a restriction on growing veg because of danger from nuclear waster- OMFG!

Hi Eggybread

You make a good point about St Mary's history. My husband served his apprenticeship in the dockyard there, working on the nuclear submarines. The old workshop is now part of the retail park. He was happy to look at it when we were house hunting, though.

sorry, pressed 'post' too quickly....

www.cmtrust.co.uk/resources/filer.rhtm/704786/zz_1334660368_faqs_v1.4.pdf

you CAN grow veg on St Mary's, it's an urban myth. The whole area has a lower geiger count than most of the UK, due mostly to the intensive clean up - I know this because Mr Wink had cancer a while back and we wondered whether it was related to his work on the subs all those years ago, so we undertook some pretty deep investigation.

Phew- thanks wink I wasn't relishing the thought of nuclear vegetables!

Ah thanks wink! I stand entirely corrected!

My dad did his apprenticeship down there too! He recalls 'snowball' fights with asbestos! And personal Geiger counters going off the scale with no mention or follow up after!
Glad to hear you can grow veg, I feel bad at repeating a myth!

Ha ha, Eggybread my husband has the same stories, plus being dangled by his feet into torpedo tubes, sleeping in the arms stores etc.

The dockyard itself is one of our favourite local places now, I love looking round the old ships. It will be great when the money that they are pumping into the area starts to make a difference - I can see the positive change all along the waterfront area already.

We moved to Gillingham last year. The house that we bought we would never have afforded in London. We live by Gillingham park which is a nice park, with various things going on throughout the year, and DP and I are really happy with this little pocket of town. Gillingham isn't as cultured as London (I do miss London) but we still go in - really good rail links. The high street is a bit of a dump but it has got everything I need. I believe the station got refurbed a couple of years ago so hopefully they'll do something with the high street. I swim at the local pool Medway Park which for a council run leisure centre I am very happy with (seen better seen worse). Although it's a built up area both DP and I have commented on how easy it to move around in the car.

We did look at Rainham, very pretty but not a lot going on there so we plumped for Gillingham. Ds(5) is happy. Primary schools are okay. Secondary schools are selective and non - selective.

I believe the area is on the up. A lot of money has gone into making the A2 a better road (between the M25 and just before Chatham) and improving rail links. There are quite a few country parks around. And I think there has been a lot of regeneration around the Docks (reminds me of Liverpool in the late 80's). We've met a few people now who have done what we have done and on the whole they seem happy with their choices (London is just too darn expensive and crowded) We're still settling into the area but I think we're going to be happy here.

Do you have DC? Kent has grammar schools, which is dandy if you pass the 11+ but, having worked in one and knowing several others very well, the non-selective options are pretty dire.

I used to work in Gillingham. The first time I went there, I left the train station and was confronted by the sight of a one-legged pigeon pecking around in a pool of vomit. That set the tone of the place for me! Though Rochester is nice, probably the nicest of the Medway towns. Chatham... neeeeeeer. To paraphrase Frankie Boyle, it's like a holding pen for The Jeremy Kyle Show.

Pmsl!

PMSL at the vomit eating pigeon!

No school requirements so that's one less thing to factor in thankfully.