Moving to Kent or Essex

[clarabella1987]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and am looking for suggestions for places to live in Essex/Kent.

Ideally we would like a nice village/market town close to London (30-45 minutes away). We are planning on starting a family in the next few years so an area with good primary schools would be nice.

Does anybody know of any nice places fitting this description? What areas are nice in Kent/Essex and which areas should we avoid?

Any help is very much appreciated!

Clara

Sounds like you're looking for Sevenoaks.

I would rather have feathers inserted into my arse than live there again, but it's very nice in many ways. 30/32 mins or thereabouts on the train to Cannon Street, more like 35 mins the last time I looked to Charing Cross.

Thank you for your quick reply.

Yes I have heard that Sevenoaks is a nice place.

Are there any other market towns?

We live in Epping , gorgeous Forrest , market town. Good people , lovely places to take kids, We moved from Coventry in 2009 my partner works in London . We now have 2 children and are very happy with where we have settled . I recommend looking at Epping and surrounding villages .

Yes, I'd check the towns on the Central line from Epping all the way to Southwoodford.

Good state primaries along the line are: Churchfields in Woodford (or St Anthony's if you are practising Catholics), IG8; St Johns in Buckhurst Hill or Buckhurst Hill Primary (also very good if you cannot afford the St Johns catchment), IG9; Staples Road in Loughton, IG10, High Beech Primary in High Beech, IG10. I am sure there are more, these are just the ones I know by reputation and through parent friends.

The whole area is leafy, pleasant, good amenities, a quick tube to the City, and the Epping a Forest as your playground.

Hi Clara, welcome.

Much easier to reply if you give an idea of budget and what you hope to achieve for it.
At that distance from London and with good schools and facilities, it won't come cheap and so you need to be realistic.
Whereabouts would you be moving from?