Anyone live in Leigh-on-sea?

[Hollywood40]

Thinking of moving to the area. We have a 2yr old and thinking of having another. Is it a good family area with lots to do? My 2yr old is very active and currently spends most of his time at the park it's not a retirement place is it? Also need recommendations on good nurseries I work 2 days a week and would want to carry on with it. Thanks everyone x

Hi... Could anyone please tell me what the secondary schools are like in Leigh? Also is it easy to get a job in Leigh? Thinking of moving to this place, I love being near the sea...

Lots of unanswered questions on this thread!

Leigh is a great place to live. Yes to beach, woods, good transport to London that's relatively inexpensive and v good on reliability.
There's one health food shop in the Broadway too - Green's.
Affordable housing? Depends on your view of affordable, cheaper than London but not rock bottom. In a good area, close to station, in West Leigh catchment ( there are other good schools but WL probably the most popular) a large 3 bed semi with garage is about £400k.
For secondary schools we still have 11+ / grammar so, again, depends on your opinion on that. The grammars are not 'super selective' so achievable for bright kids and get great academic results. Obviously with the top25% or so 'creamed off', the other secondaries don't get great results but Belfairs is definitely improving at the moment and has great facilities as it is a brand new building.
Work? Most (not all of course) but many work in London, local pay is not great for LoS house prices.

Hope that's helpful!

Hi all, my husband, myself and our two boys (6 months & 2yrs) are thinking of moving to Leigh on sea this summer, can anyone recommend the nice areas ? I hear west Leigh is very nice?

Cheers
Chalky36

Hi,
We are also looking to move into Leigh this year (mainly for schools and area). I have two sons aged 3 & 2. Can anyone recommend any good pre-schools or nurseries please? We are looking at houses in the West Leigh Catchment area as I will have to apply for my eldest son towards the end of this year.
Any help or advice great fully received.
Thanks

Hi everyone,
I can see the thread was still active as at last month. And it is good to know there are a lot of families moving to Leigh area from London.
I have a 3 yr old and another one due anytime from now. We will be moving to Westcliff on Sea in April. I will also like to know about the schools with nurseries and childminders in the area pls.
I have lived in Southend before, moved to London 10yrs ago and decided to move back to the area now.

Hello, I have only just taken over this site as the Local Editor. I will attempt to fill the childminders section quite quickly and shall also ask on twitter as people can then add their own details.

Hi there,
Saw your messages regarding moving to the area and thought I'd tell you abit about my own move here and classes, pre schools etc. I also moved from London to Leigh about 3 years ago. We chose to live just above london road in Leigh as the roads were more spacious and less busy. It's generally abit less chaotic this way.. However we do have a 15 minute walk to the broadway area. I now have a 2 year old son, and have found Leigh to have lots on offer to entertain him. Here's a few of the groups for babies/ toddlers I've come across:
Little steps gym
Bright sparks toddlers group ( Leigh road baptist church)
Buttercup club (Leigh community centre)
Leigh children's centre (multiple groups/activities) darling hurst school
Talking tots
Jo jingles

Currently I have a place for a pre school for my son in Little Acorns but here's a few others:
Phoenix pre school
Smiley pre school (Salvation Army)
Leigh road baptist church pre school

Please feel free to ask me any more questions about the area..

It's nice and much more affordable than other Home Counties such as Surrey, Kent and hertfordshire. A lot of folk from East end have moved out there. It's slighlty more brash and in your face than other Home Counties but that's essex for you. Overall good value for money, you'll not buy a house as big anywhere else half decent.

I'm thinking of moving to leigh on sea with my 15 month old and baby number two on the way and wondered if there was still lots of baby groups in the area? and would like the opportunities to meet a few local mummies? x

Hi there
I moved to chalkwell end of Leigh on sea. I have two boys one 4 and one 2 the oldest goes to a pre school now. I have been here for 6 months and was working so didn't really get time to meet other mums. Now I have left my job so would like to start taking my little one to some groups and would be lovely to meet some other mums in the area aswell.
Let me know if anyone else would like to meet up as well
Thanks

Hi there I sore that you was thinking of moving to Leigh on sea. Did you move here? I live here now and wondered if you would like to meet up sometime if your here?
Let me know
Charlotte x

Hello,
We're moving to Leigh from Walthamstow in a couple of months and I'm looking for a preschool/nursery and childminder for my 3yr old and my little one when he turns 1 in Feb yr - any recommendations really appreciated! Also love to meet up with anyone who's made the move. Do any of you commute to London? Is it ok? Bit worried about not knowing anyone and the commute. Also need to do a lot of building work so if you have any local tips let me know!

L xx

Having moved to Leigh-on-Sea for a few years now with 2 DS at primary school age, I would like to offer anyone moving here or with children starting school in the area answers to any questions you may have. I will try my best to help if I can.

We have personally used Leigh Village Day nursery who we cannot fault. Not used any other so cannot compare but have been told Sandcastles Nursery are good too.

Hi everybody, and thanks for the offer Muminleigh.
My husband and I are newlyweds and are looking for our first home, in Leigh :)
Could you give me an update on the commute to London with the new C2C timetable? We'll both commute every day and I've spotted a few angry tweets and threads about people having to stand. Living from Leigh station should be ok as a few trains start there, but I'm not sure if we're on the Chalkwell end.
Any advice/feedback would be greatly helpful. Thanks!

Hi Tabyria,

Congratulations on your recent wedding, hope you had a great day!

My husband and I moved to Leigh on Sea from north London last year just before our wedding. We both commute and although it's clearly longer than Kentish Town to the City, it's manageable and I haven't found it an issue. If you can get on the starter train that's fine & you can more often than not you get a seat.

How are you finding the relocation? I'm quite new to the area and missing my old social life so if you fancy a coffee, let me know :-)