Moving to Kent or Essex? Nice places to live - places to avoid!

[JudyPink]

Hello all,

Me and DP have decided, after much deliberation overdue quality/space V's rental costs, we're going to move from Central London and out towards Kent or Essex.

As we're originally from little market towns in the North East, we'd love to move somewhere with a village feel - but anywhere that is family friendly is a must really. As I say, we're not originally from London, but know London pretty well after living here for 3 years now, anywhere outside of London and we're clueless! We've had some recommendations of places to move to from friends and colleagues, but as we've not yet said we're TTC towards the end of the year, nobody really knows that we're after somewhere that would be suitable for an impending family! We can both easily get to work, on foot, from either Liverpool Street or London Bridge stations - so a direct rail to either of these stations is essential really. Depending on season rail costs, we have a rent budget of between £800-£1100 pcm for a house/bungalow/cottage with a min of 2 beds.

So Mumsnetters, do you have any suggestions on nice places to live in Kent and Essex? And places to avoid? I know that everywhere has it's rough or dodgy areas - but any definite no-go areas you know of would be very much appreciated! I've had a look through some old (2008 old!) posts on similar threads - but obviously, they're a little out of date now.

Much obliged!

[EwanWhosearmy]

ZOMBIE thread. You will get more responses if you start your own.

[user1471720061]

Will be relocating to Essex early next year.

Can anybody recommended good areas to raise a family, and places that should be avoided.

Advice needed

[howrudeforme]

Nope Browners - thankfully London born and we considered ourselves to be Londoners when my dfather made the worst decision of our lives. When we got there after one year we all thought - wft.

Typical thorpe bay comment - like we live in Southchurch. We aren't chavs - your comment is pure chav. Pure TB.

Happily we've been back in London with our tribe for years. Bad memories of TB though.

[Browners1974]

Chav alert ....I don't think anyone can take an opinion seriously that is dotted with totally random expletives. When you say you lived in Thorpe Bay, I suspect you meant Southchurch. Thank god you moved away.

[Trazzletoes]

I second (third?) Billericay/ Stock/ Ingatestone/ Chelmsford. Chelmsford has good grammar schools (biased!) and Billericay has 2 good comps, as well as some good primaries. Personally I wouldn't live much further out of London because I couldn't hack the commute. I used to work near Liverpool and was on about the 8.02am from Billers to get to work and walking out of the station on my way home at 6pm. But I obviously had a very 9-5 job!

[leanora26]

THANKS!

[DowagersHump]

Whitstable is nice but very overpriced compared to the rest of the area

[leanora26]

Thanks guys!! Is whitsable nice?

[purlywhite]

I'd avoid the Medway Towns, Rochester is ok but the others are a bit meh.

The Weald of Kent is beautiful, Canterbury is lovely, Maidstone's ok.

[sleeplessinderbyshire]

somewhere near Sevenoaks would be ideal (if you can afford the house prices).

[ClaudiaWinklepants]

What about Rayleigh in Essex? It's on the Liverpool street line about 40 mins away. Cracking schools including 2 high achieving secondary schools, Fitzwimarc & Sweyne Park. Property reasonably priced too

[leanora26]

ok thanks. what areas are ,'not so nice?' :-)

[charlottehere]

Chelmsford and surrounding areas, some nice villages and good links to l'pool street.

[leanora26]

Hi :-)

I'm thinking of moving to Kent in November, from the West Midlands, where are the nice areas?

Thanks!

[drummerboy1]

Giveitago - you do protest a little too much, me does think! I love living in Thorpe Bay, with its gorgeous green and flower beds overlooking the seafront, Thorpe Bay Yacht Club providing hours of entertainment as I watch the sailors messing about in their boats to my left, to my right I can see Southend Pier (the longest pleasure pier in the world), oh yes Thorpe Bay Tennis Club and Thorpe Bay Bowling Club are also there to be enjoyed...lots of friendly, well-mannered people who open doors, drive courteously, smile, walk their dogs and like to chat...I'm afraid your multiple protestations make you sound just like one of those people who live in the Southend area and wish with all their mite that they lived in....Thorpe Bay!!!! Anyone who is completely confused about the merits of this little haven of civility in South East Essex please do come and have a look - Thorpe Bay has the most expensive road in Essex I do believe (Thorpe Bay Gardens on the Burges Estate) - I really can't imagine that all those who choose to live there are wrong.... Yes there may be some "snobs" but I have always generally found that it is the "green-eyed monsters" which make many people consider well-educated members of society to be snobs. The majority are no such thing, just decent individuals who are proud of their friendly, well-tended and well-cared for community, and who undertake various unsung charitable works. I am actually rather happy to live in Thorpe Bay amongst people with "old-fashioned" values and I suspect that is why the mention of Thorpe Bay to those who know the place often incites jealousy.

Leigh-on-Sea is also very nice but unfortunately some areas to the west of Southend are under the flight path from Southend's newly regenerated airport. It also has a lot of parking issues unlike Thorpe Bay. I detest parking at the best of times so Thorpe Bay is a better bet for me at least.

Also Thorpe Bay railway station is presently undergoing massive refurbishment (including a new upmarket restaurant) and is to be the flagship station on the C2C line into Fenchurch Street. (C2C is the most reliable line on the network I do believe - the journey takes around 50 mins from Thorpe Bay). So...Thorpe Bay is fine by me (and I am glad I had the benefit of a Southend Grammar school education too - woops, does that make me a "snob" in your eyes for saying that?)

[ifitoldyouiwouldhavetokillyou]

I grew up in Chelmsford and live in Tun. Wells now. West Kent is definitely better than mid-Essex. Nice places in Essex when I was little: Ingatestone, Stock. The Easters (no train).

[drcrab]

We live in Canterbury in Kent. Rental you're looking at between 800-1000£ for a 3 bed terrace near Canterbury west station which on the fast train will get you to St pancreas under an hour. We have friends who commute. Her office is in kensington. Lovely nursery near there too (busy bees). Very doable!!

[Icoulddoitbetter]

Stock is nice and close to Billericay (which has a station). Not sure about rentals but I sure couldn't afford to buy there! Ingatestone looks pretty cute too.

You could move out along the Central Line, epping, woodford, loughton?

[quirrelquarrel]

We know people in Tunbridge Wells- lovely place! Bit cliche, when you think of Kent, but worth considering?

[giveitago]

Leigh rocks.

Thorpe bay - zero soul - zero culture - and given what I've seen makes me worry for local inbreeding.

Kent is better OP.

[hocuspontas]

I suppose it never really had what you'd call 'soul'. Leigh on the other hand I thought was rocking but much more common! I actually grew up in Eastwood which was also a bit soulless.

[giveitago]

And I'm so convinced of my opinion I'd ask any thorpe bayers to argue the toss. But I don't think they could. It is what is it is. Cheapest property in the west. end of.Nowt else.

[giveitago]

Hocus - depends what you want -nice big fuck off house cheaper than you'd find in easter europe then fine. Golf club (we weren't members of) , nice yatch club (we weren't member's of) etc - it was great when we moved from london in the 1970's 0- really fucking great but then my parents
realised they'd made a huge mistake. No culture etc.

Many years on I live in the area we're from (in London) and ds loves thorpe bay - but when I go back I see people from my old school married to one another - it's the same old same old. Horrible.Even ds thought that this time it was a bit strange.

Like groundhog day.

But if you want the cheapest big fuck off house in the western hemisphere and a few good junior schools and a 10 min walk from a sludge beach then just go for it.

Leigh is far posher than thorpe bay. Much much better imo.

[hocuspontas]

Are you saying Thorpe Bay is cheap? I grew up in Leigh-on-sea in the 60s and Thorpe Bay was the place you drove around with your tongue hanging out at all the palatial type houses. Am shocked!

[natation]

Faversham has a market town feel to it. It is family friendly, we absolutely adore the open air and indoor pool complex right in the middle of town, sports centre at the Abbey secondary school. It also has a mixed sex grammar school called Queen Elizabeths. It is also not far from Canterbury for better shopping and facilities or the other way to Bluewater for shopping heaven. It's just over and hour between Faversham and London Bridge.