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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What’s it like to live in Kent?

185 replies

almostautumn · 30/08/2021 11:42

Sorry, big generalization I know, but…

DH and I are planning to leave London to reduce our large mortgage. We’ve agreed on Kent as a compromise, as he wants to be within 1-1.5 hours of London and I want to live rurally and nearer the coast.

What worries me though is that Kent maybe isn’t rural enough and is overcrowded compared to somewhere like Wales or Yorkshire for example.

I want to live somewhere very peaceful and quiet with beautiful countryside, where I’m not surrounded by hoards of people everywhere I go. A place where I can go for walks and not see another soul (well, maybe a few other people would be okay!) A place where I can drive to places and park and the roads aren’t jam packed.

A small rural town would be fine, as long as it’s quiet and not too busy. DH is on board with all this as long as like I say, he can get to London fairly easily.

Does Kent sound like it would suit us or is it not that rural?

OP posts:
peachykeenjellybaby · 30/08/2021 20:58

Yes! Do it. Do you want village or town

Consider renting first. Get to know places

peachykeenjellybaby · 30/08/2021 21:00

Yes East Sussex/Kent border would be nice

Siameasy · 30/08/2021 21:04

The Medway towns and Sittingbourne are grim but most people I know from those areas live in pleasant outlying large villages and just use the railway station because the train line is decent. House prices are much more reasonable than Sevenoaks/Tunbridge Wells

chloworm · 30/08/2021 21:14

@Siameasy

The Medway towns and Sittingbourne are grim but most people I know from those areas live in pleasant outlying large villages and just use the railway station because the train line is decent. House prices are much more reasonable than Sevenoaks/Tunbridge Wells
Avoid Sittingbourne, application just gone in for 9,000 houses to join the pretty villages up with the town. Shockingly poor infrastructure, worst GP to patient ratio in entire country. Medway Hospital creaking with the thousands of new residents each year. Traffic is appallingly bad in Kent and you are at the mercy of the M25. I would stick to West Kent. Still busy but prettier and much easier for London. I live in E Kent, takes almost 2 hours on train to Victoria.
Phineyj · 30/08/2021 21:14

East Sussex has got a very different vibe to Kent and trains into London are generally much slower. It's very pretty though. It's our go to nearby day out place as Kent residents. But we go by car!!

I think you need to visit a lot of places in a structured way, by public transport, in November. You don't seem to know anywhere outside London very well - have you not ever been for day trips or weekends to any of these places?

meadowbleu · 30/08/2021 21:18

All depends on your budget @almostautumn and what you hope to achieve for it?

Original poster
almostautumn · 30/08/2021 21:39

East Sussex has got a very different vibe to Kent

@Phineyj in what way?

I think you need to visit a lot of places in a structured way, by public transport, in November.

Agreed!

OP posts:
Original poster
almostautumn · 30/08/2021 21:41

Avoid Sittingbourne, application just gone in for 9,000 houses to join the pretty villages up with the town. Shockingly poor infrastructure, worst GP to patient ratio in entire country. Medway Hospital creaking with the thousands of new residents each year.

Sounds awful!

OP posts:
Original poster
almostautumn · 30/08/2021 21:42

Budget is £450k approx.

OP posts:
TSSDNCOP · 30/08/2021 21:48

Oh dear, my house is over your budget in a "grim" town. Sorry OP, I don't mean to piss in your chips. With your budget I'd consider heading up. Dsis lives near Stamford, very rural thereabouts and fast trains from Peterborough to KC.

tigerbear · 30/08/2021 21:48

@almostautumn does your DH absolutely HAVE to be in London? His job can’t be done from anywhere else?
What you’re asking for can be found in many other places in the UK that would be waaay nicer than parts of Kent, especially for your budget.

TSSDNCOP · 30/08/2021 21:49

Not fair on Medway hospital though. Fantastic care in my recent experience.

tigerbear · 30/08/2021 21:50

Not trying to be rude, but I’m not sure £450k would be enough for one of the nicer villages in Kent.

pinkchampagne1 · 30/08/2021 22:00

Timeforatincture, I live in Deal! Have lived here all my life and love it. Smile

thecatsabsentcojones · 30/08/2021 22:01

I live in the Weald of Kent, about 25 mins to the coast, 20 mins to the high speed rail service in Ashford. It’s glorious here, really beautiful, Kent has a really incredibly varied landscape, it’s green, rural and bucolic around here, but for example Romney Marsh is bleak, beautiful and other worldly with huge skies. People talk about it being overdeveloped but that’s really only the large towns. I can find a road with grass running down the middle very readily round here!

The villages around Canterbury and Canterbury itself are lovely and very good for getting to the high speed rail link to London. I love parts of Thanet, the coastline is stunning there, but it’s a place of two halves with a lot of deprivation amongst the up and coming parts. Folkestone is similar but also naturally beautiful, with the Harbour Arm being a real focal point.

It sounds like you want to be less urban so I’d avoid Medway as it’s a conurbation where several towns merge. Sittingbourne ditto although some of the surrounding villages are stunning.

Tunbridge Wells is nice but guessing you don’t get much for your money, ditto with Sevenoaks which is real commuting land. Whitstable is also pricey, with a London second home property boom. Herne Bay just along the coast has some amazing features but can be a bit rough I’m told.

We drove through one side of Kent to the other over the weekend, personally I love it’s variety, it’s a big county with lots of coastline and there’s lots to find.

More than happy for you to message me about various places.

Oh and we’re about 15 mins from East Sussex here, it seems more rural to me with less easy comms to London unless you’re further up on the line to the capital. Rye is stunning, we’re very near, it’s the only place I really yearn to live in besides here!

Original poster
almostautumn · 30/08/2021 22:03

Oh dear, my house is over your budget in a "grim" town. Sorry OP, I don't mean to piss in your chips.

Oh, you’re not at all! I’ve seen some lovely looking places within my budget in what appear to be nice parts of Kent. I’m just not sure I want to live in Kent Confused

OP posts:
Passmeamenuatthetottenham · 30/08/2021 22:04

Do you travel elsewhere in the UK very often? I always think Kent would be such a pain in the arse place to live if you want to travel pretty much anywhere else, you are on the 'wrong side' of London for going anywhere!

Icequeen01 · 30/08/2021 22:10

@thecatsabsentcojones

I live in the Weald of Kent, about 25 mins to the coast, 20 mins to the high speed rail service in Ashford. It’s glorious here, really beautiful, Kent has a really incredibly varied landscape, it’s green, rural and bucolic around here, but for example Romney Marsh is bleak, beautiful and other worldly with huge skies. People talk about it being overdeveloped but that’s really only the large towns. I can find a road with grass running down the middle very readily round here!

The villages around Canterbury and Canterbury itself are lovely and very good for getting to the high speed rail link to London. I love parts of Thanet, the coastline is stunning there, but it’s a place of two halves with a lot of deprivation amongst the up and coming parts. Folkestone is similar but also naturally beautiful, with the Harbour Arm being a real focal point.

It sounds like you want to be less urban so I’d avoid Medway as it’s a conurbation where several towns merge. Sittingbourne ditto although some of the surrounding villages are stunning.

Tunbridge Wells is nice but guessing you don’t get much for your money, ditto with Sevenoaks which is real commuting land. Whitstable is also pricey, with a London second home property boom. Herne Bay just along the coast has some amazing features but can be a bit rough I’m told.

We drove through one side of Kent to the other over the weekend, personally I love it’s variety, it’s a big county with lots of coastline and there’s lots to find.

More than happy for you to message me about various places.

Oh and we’re about 15 mins from East Sussex here, it seems more rural to me with less easy comms to London unless you’re further up on the line to the capital. Rye is stunning, we’re very near, it’s the only place I really yearn to live in besides here!

I think we must live in the same area. Totally agree with what you have said.
FlumpsAreShit · 30/08/2021 22:16

I know nothing about Kent but Oxford and Oxfordshire are very different...there are loads of very quiet rural places in Oxfordshire.

Crikeyalmighty · 30/08/2021 22:21

We lived in Canterbury for 8 years- that’s pretty nice as are chartham, chilham and Wye - good for coast, good for train. Medway is horrible in my opinion— my own choice would be Kent/East Sussex borders

CrimeJunkie01 · 30/08/2021 22:50

I live in a rural village in Kent, I love it, my house anywhere else would cost nearly £1 million. Here it was half that. I can be in a field or by the river in minutes as well as a shop and in London in less than an hours. Best of both worlds.

MinnieGirl · 30/08/2021 22:55

@TSSDNCOP

I'm not at all sure Medway is what the OP is looking for. Speaking as someone from that necked the woods.

OP, you need to look at the Weald villages.

I live in Medway, and I agree 🤨
Conchita0792 · 30/08/2021 23:03

We live in Deal, originally moved from London and it is the best move we ever made. Deal is a beautiful coastal town, very friendly people and a reasonable drive/train journey to London. If you weren't particularly keen on living in the town there are so many smaller villages/towns in East Kent that definitely deserve to be shortlisted. Sandwich is a beautiful town and Wingham is a beautiful village although, you would probably need to stretch the budget a little for Wingham

Rainallnight · 30/08/2021 23:08

If you have DC, make sure you’re fully clued up about grammar schools and the 11+. Friends moved there fully expecting their DC to go to grammars but one of them isn’t academic enough to do well in the test. The local schools aren’t great, because of all the creaming off for grammars, so they’re going to be paying independent school fees.

Floralnomad · 31/08/2021 00:16

@TSSDNCOP

Not fair on Medway hospital though. Fantastic care in my recent experience.
I think you must be in a minority congratulations ! Medway hospital would be a good enough reason to not move to Medway / Swale .
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