Considering a move to Kent

[Sparrow399]

Hi I wondered if anybody could give me an idea of where to start with this! Forgive my absolute ignorance but the seeds of moving have really only just been sown so thought I would find some general ideas of areas here before going to look at places and this move might not take place for 2-3 years.

We currently live in SW London with 2 children and work in London once a week. We love where we live, walking distance to a town for amenities, close to river, royal parks but 30 minutes into London. We also have a sort of country club place we go to at the weekend for kids swimming/tennis etc which we really love so would be great to have something similar to go to.

We currently live in a 4 bed period property but the 4th bedroom is tiny. Now we don't have to go into London so much we are considering moving out somewhere where we could get a little more space, ideally a 4/5 bed period property with garden but can be flexible on the period bit! We have very good schools near us too so hoping to replicate that in the grammar school system. Kent seemed a good place to explore as we love going to the beach at the weekend too!

I might be asking for too much but is there anywhere that springs to mind that would tick most boxes?! Thank you so much!

It sounds as though you have just sold your own home/location/lifestyle back to you.
You certainly sold it to me.

If you have children make sure you know all about the 11+ before you make any decisions.

Agh yes I was thinking that myself rather! The only thing we are lacking is a bigger house I think and maybe proximity to beaches!

I vaguely know about it but any help gratefully received! Here we have one grammar school that we would hope they would get into but realise it is not a given, and the other non grammar schools are good/outstanding so would hope to find a similar situation I think to cover all bases! Thank you!

Think carefully.

Lots of good things I don't need to sell to you.

But....

The number of Kent grammar schools means that the other secondaries won't have a truly representative demographic.

Your no doubt lovely children aren't guaranteed a place, competition is still intense.

Coastal Kent can be very beautiful but a lot of the towns are quite deprived. And pretty Brexity.

There are some awful traffic bottlenecks and although links to the coast are good, the towns themselves are a long way out of London - eg Margate is 90 miles, Hastings is similar.

If in a rural setting you'll likely need a car for just about everything.

I grew up in Kent. I now live in London.

I probably wouldn't move in your situation.

Grammar schools are fine if you have the right sort of child (hard to.know that in advance) but they are hard to get into and jam packed. There is little money available for pastoral support and Kent is atrocious for SEN.

Now maybe none of that will apply to you, but driving the kids around everywhere definitely will!

It sounds like you're well off. How about a holiday home in Broadstairs or something?

Are you in Kingston? I think moving from somewhere like that to Kent is less of an adjustment then say moving from Brixton or Hackney.

Moving to Kent from London is rather like moving back to the 70s in terms of social attitudes; expect casual racism, sexism, homophobia and a general worship of all things UKIP.
The people I know who have moved but still have ties with town tend to keep themselves to themselves, and move in circles of people with a similar background.

Thanks so much all, food for thought!

Yes to Kingston!

@Ifailed "Moving to Kent from London is rather like moving back to the 70s in terms of social attitudes; expect casual racism, sexism, homophobia and a general worship of all things UKIP."

Blimey! Have you heard of-just as an example-Canterbury?

We moved from Walton to Whitstable 10 years ago

Great move for us. Kids were small/not yet born and great community here, kids have thrived. Housing stock is a bit limited though and Whitstable is A LOT more expensive than other areas in Kent but you still get a lot more for your money than SW London. Faversham might be an option.

high speed rail link to either.

Grammar schools in Canterbury and faversham - but yes, very uneven demographic in schools due to this. Local comps currently have decent reputation but they were woeful when we got here so are probably due a dive. Primaries are universally excellent.

Nothing like the amenities you'll have where you are. Public transport is dire. Everything leisure-wise is a bit more "low key". (No country club lol)

Very very white out here. Whitstable itself not to racist/insular due to artsy crowd/tourists but can be a bit tense further east. Canterbury is pretty diverse thanks to the uni, but the centre of the city is looking pretty drab these days. It's getting a face lift though so hopefully that'll help

Faversham is very lovely and also on the fast trains. Bit sleepy but easy to get to Canterbury and London for things to do.

Personally I'd avoid Medway and Margate.

Not so familiar with south Kent. Folkestone is very mixed but got a bit of "up and coming" about it. Ashford a bit soulless. Tunbridge Wells is probably pricier than Kingston.

Thank you!