To move to Folkestone - tell me all!

[Putthedamnlidonit]

Hi everyone,

We are considering a move to Folkestone from Portslade as the schools are better and we would like to get a bit more for our money. We have a budget of 700k max, have three children toddler -age 7. We are quite alternative and like the liberal feel of Brighton but can't afford a decent house and garden there. Have read through some awful threads about Folkestone but no recent ones. So, is it nice? Schools look excellent, are there plenty of things to do with kids, similar to Brighton and Portslade? We like where we live but are fed up of having a tiny garden. No need to commute to London anymore. Any advice much appreciated! Thanks!

Hi OP,

I live on the Kent coast and it's glorious! Life long Londoner moved here ten years ago.

Whitstable- lovely shops and restaurants but busy and maybe a bit twee for me.

Herne Bay- chav central - big town centre

Birchington- lovely beaches. Good little high street, as demographic is older little crime/ issues/ quiet- I think it would be nice for a family

Westgate- great architecture and beaches high street nice but a few drinkers/ drug dealers about

Margate- great arty vibe, main beach packed in the summer, still a long way to go until it's there- drugs/ drink run down housing, but definitely on the up will take a few years yet-

Oh and I didn't like Folkestone at all- depressing- deal and Walmer are nice though!

Wow, thanks so much, didn't expect such amazingly helpful replies. So, now I just need a list of the nice villages to add to Whitstable, Seasalter, Herne Bay and a personal househunter to find exactly what I want

I grew up down that way and have lived there for many many years on and off. Definitely don't move to Folkestone. Apart from the harbour area and the road down where the arty / independent shops are there isn't a lot going for it. Debenhams closed a while ago and the High Street is a dump.
For coastal living, Whitstable is lovely though property can be expensive. The houses on the slopes are around 1 million... but obviously cheaper if you go a few minutes down the road. I lived there up until December and loved it. It has a nice community feel and there (in normal times) is a lot going on. Herne Bay is supposedly up and coming though may take a while. Deal and Hythe are lovely though limited shopping and transport links aren't great. Margate is to be avoided...another up and coming area....supposedly, Birchington / Minnis Bay are nice, lovely beach though limited for shopping ... Westwood Cross is the nearest shopping centre and not far though like many places a lot of shops have gone. Does have a decent M&S though.
Broadstairs and Ramsgate have lovely beaches though both can be a bit grim in winter...Ramsgate High Street is definitely nothing special and like most other places lots of empty shops.
Inland there are some great places (and being Kent, nowhere is that far from the sea). Canterbury has nice (ish) bits though lots of tourists, students (3 unis if you inside the art college) and language schools. Redevelopment planned .... who knows when it might be done though,.good transport links, some nice properties, decent schools. The villages surrounding it are nice. Faversham, home of Shepherd Neame could also be a possibility...good market, hop festival etc.

Thank you, that's great to know!

OP, have a look at St Margarets at Cliffe near Dover.

Nice village with a beach area.

I was thinking maybe something like this -

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-87661307.html

From what everyone has said, this seems a great location and is is budget because needs work. But has the garden size we are looking for and we would have 75k to do it up, although maybe it needs more money than that?!

We have a weekend home in Hythe which we stopped using as the DCs got older and it is now on a long term rental. Hythe is lovely but Folkestone is a hovel. The coast and all the parks etc which have been created are fantastic and when daytrippers are in there is a lovely atmosphere, but the town itself is beyond grim. And yes I have been back since the investments started but it has barely scratched the surface.
The schools are not actually very good, it is a very deprived area and because not enough locals can pass the Kent test the "grammar" schools in Folkestone and Kent run a separate easier test to fill the spaces. Consequently the grammar school results in the area are barely on par with a decent comp and the academy school results are dire. As a parent I would be very concerned about the peer group my children would have. Look at the post 18 data for those going on to RG unis etc, there will be far less aspiration than in an area like Brighton.

I live in a village just outside of Dover (which most on here wouldn't touch with a barge pole). I have a six bedroom semi detatched victorian house with a lovely garden in a beautiful little village. My children go to an outstanding preschool and an outstanding primary school. We live a 5 minute walk from two huge beautiful parks which people come from miles away to visit. We live a 5 minute drive from a lovely stony beach, which is never busy even in the height of summer (due to the stones). Dd sails at the local sailing school which is an amazing thing to be able to do. We have never had to go on a waiting list for any club or extracurricular activity. We have English heritage passes and go to Dover Castle all the time, which is really fun, they also love walking along the cliffs.

My bil and sil have just bought a beautiful 4 bedroom house in Sandgate for your budget. It is second row back from the sea, but is upside down so their sea views are amazing (I'm quite jealous!). They are minutes walk from the coastal park which is so lovely and a Beautiful sandy beach. Their local primary school is also outstanding.

The kids love Folkestone. There are these fountains on the sea front which they love running through on a hot day. And the beaches are lovely. I grew up around here and I remember walking along the cobbled streets back to the car with sandy bare feet eating an ice cream - it seemed idyllic to me. The harbour arm is lovely and lots more upmarket than other areas of Folkestone.

I love samphire hoe as well (the bit of land between Folkestone and Dover made from excavation for the channel tunnel). It is never crowded. There is a lovely nature walk that ends in a great rock pooling beach.

We live close to three zoos (Wingham, howletts, port lympe) which are all wonderful fun.

Margate is great for a day out, the beach can be crowded though, but the children love the penny pushers and the traditional sea side attractions.

I can do a day trip to France really easily.

I love where I live. It isn't without its problems. I don't like the selective school system (although it personally did me very well) , and as a leftie my vote will never count here! It is, like many costal towns, a bit deprived. Some areas are very run down. But you get an awful lot for your money and I think the quality of life is lovely. When I go to places like Brighton, I find the fact that it is so busy and I can't park anywhere really frustrating!

What are you talking about @cakeisalwaystheanswer? Most schools are really good and I know that the pastoral care is excellent especially in the deprived areas
There is so much to do here Putthedamnlidonit, it's a great place to bring up children
The wildlife parks, skate parks, the roughs, the Warren, boating on the canal, all the sea sports
You can get into London easily, pop to France on a whim and there are now plans for a new airport
Just make sure you have off road parking wherever you decide

@cakeisalwaystheanswer are you sayimg that schools such as Roger Manwoods, Chatham House, Faversham Grammar, etc are no longer excellent. When I grew up families sent their brighter dc to the grammar schools and their less bright siblings to the local independents although they may be long gone. I lnow St Stephens closed and believe St Lawrence and The Ursuline are now State. Not sure about St Edmunds.

I meant to say in my first post that my house only cost 250000! Admittedly 6 years ago.... But you get so much for your money!

I was actually specifically talking about Folkestone schools for example I have attached the details for Folkestone School for Girls which shows that 102 girls who did not pass the Kent test and were deemed not to be of selctive ability were able to go to the school because they passed the Shepway test. Similarly if you look at the post 18 stats for the school very few go on to RG unis, only 12% compared to a national average of 14% and remember this is a selective school, the number should be much high the national average.

Folkestone is rated as one of the most deprived areas of Kent, see newspaper below.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/851036/ADA3582_The_Folkestone_School_for_Girls_Kent_9_December_2019.pdf

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137837/the-folkestone-school-for-girls/16-to-18/student-destinations?accordionstate=0|1

www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/new-data-named-20-most-3367784

@cakeisalwaystheanswer which other schools were you referring to?

Well I can't find Faversham Grammar but for the other schools mentioned. The national average for A level results is 34.01 points grade C.

Roger Manwood has 34.32 points, and Chatham and Clarendon 27.87 points. To put the results into context against the top performing Kent Grammer, Tonbridge School achieved an average of 48.52 point, a grade A.

I live in SW London and I really only know about the local schools in Hythe because weekenders tend to know each other and those with small kids chat about such stuff.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=886&geographic=la&phase=secondary&for=16to18&orderby=ks5.0.TALLPPE_ALEV_1618&orderdir=asc&page=1

@Gwenisthename

Here is a list of all schools in Kent by A level results. Pick one yourself, you can drilldown for higher education destinations etc.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=886&geographic=la&phase=secondary&for=16to18&orderby=ks5.0.TALLPPE_ALEV_1618&orderdir=asc&page=1

Margate and ramsgate are absolute shit holes. And unless you can walk to the high street in Whitstable I wouldnt go there. I find Whitstable town centre really claustrophobic, the streets are tiny, there are too many people and there's not a lot there. Hythe and Sandgate are like retirement villages - there is no vibrancy there at all.

I personally love Folkestone, I would look outside the town with your budget, at Hawkinge, Densole, Lyminge or even Capel Le Ferne. There's so much to do here - yes the high Street is a bit shit but the Old High Street is arty, there are loads of I dependant restaurants and coffee shops. You can do all sorts of water sports in this area, kayaking on the canal and in the sea at Sandgate. Crime happens everywhere. I don't see folkestone as being as deprived as Dover for example.

This house is between Hythe and Dymchurch so it might be a bit out of the way - it's only a 5-10 minute drive from the motorway
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72311359.html

This one in Acrise which is just past Hawkinge
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-80318563.html

This one is lovely in the west end of folkestone

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-92256266.html

And sorry to bang on about the league tables but they are objective, Brighton, Hove and Sussex 6th form centre has an average A level point score of 41.1 grade B. That is a non-selective college with 1236 pupils.

I live in Folkestone and love it here. There is plenty to do locally and local areas are nice too. Yea the town is same as anywhere else and kinda rubbish but good shops aren't the be all and end all. The old high street has lots or quirky shops and art galleries.

More important for us to have nice a neighbourhood, good schools and lovely places to walk our dog.

Strange Cargo are a local art group who put on parades and interesting art exhibitions, they are great, places like harbour arm and coastal park have been mentioned.

One tip for if you have your eye on a certain primary school then best to look at schools within half a mile or even closer!

If you're not completely wedded to the idea of Kent, St Leonard's in East Sussex is nice and definitely has that arty vibe you're looking for. Don't know about schools though. It's nicer than Hastings but v close.

I know your children are little now, but if you're planning to really settle down, be wary of places like whitstable and herne bay where there is very little for teens to do and not great transport links. Ditto small villages. You'll be driving them everywhere.

The OPs children are only little, anything can change by the time they reach secondary
We have some brilliant primary schools

It really annoys me when people bash a town they've never even lived in. I'm sure the OP didn't just put a pin on a map and decide 'oh, okay, Folkestone, we'll move there'. I'm sure they have done some research. To call it a hovel etc is really insulting. There are some beautiful areas of Folkestone. My daughter went to an outstanding primary and will be off to Canterbury College in September - she has grown up here and always said she has the best childhood growing up by the sea, rockpooling, swimming, beautiful parks, walks and lots going on especially in the Summer.

Don't move to Margate. It's full of skagheads and alcoholics. The high street is disgraceful.

Broadstairs is nice though, and I love Sandwich.

Tankerton . God No, OP . People are mocking Herne Bay by calling it Hernia Bay but Tankerton is even worse . There is nothing much there (though its a walk from Whitstable which is a bonus I suppose)