Move to Canterbury?

[MrsFlorrick]

We are now thinking about moving to Canterbury.

DH will commute to central London and I will sah with DC.

Any advice?

Canterbury seems very nice. Been quite a lot over the years.
What are the best places to live in? Not rural but as close to the centre as poss. Budget around £1mil.

Which station will be be commuting from? East or west? Will he want to walk to station or drive or will you drop him off or will he take a cab? Will your kids need state school or will you be private educating them?

Hi
DH will be commuting from West station (fast train link?). Oldest DC is currently enrolled in a prep school and we would probably continue with that.

Not looking to live rural in any way. Pref close to town.

Oh and DH could either cab it or drive to station pending parking arrangements.

Well the more expensive properties are probably out of town (stone street etc) but there are some big houses for under that price in st Stephens area (they are large detached big gardens). Houses here mean he can walk to west station (5-10 min). It's also on the side of st edmunds and kent college which are the private schools. Junior kings is in Sturry which isn't that far (maybe 10-15 min by car away). There are large town houses in orchard st (I think). Again on the same side of town as west station.

South of Canterbury is popular and can be expensive too. Large Victorian type houses near ethelbert road which is near the hospital. Large houses and big gardens too (not just Victorian). Or near the Langton schools - large houses big gardens. For half a mil or more.

It's not so near to west station but I know people whom commute from west and who live there.

Takeaway2. Brilliant. Thanks. I will start looking.

I assume you are local. What are the upsides and downsides of Canterbury in your experience?

Can't link but there's one at school lane in Blean for £610k which looks great. Blean is not rural in that its on the bus route into town but there's Blean woods right on the door step and it's on the same side as the west station. A taxi ride from station to Blean is about £5-6.

I like living here. We've been here 10 years now. Both of us not from here. The tourists don't bother me - I work ft so I'm not really in town and with kids and their activities I don't really get to go into town that frequently. We can get most things we need from the shops around. There's a Fenwicks which is posh enough and a waitrose. But we also have lidl and aldi. We have a rather bad odeon (dated, small) but the university has a great theatre and cinema which has lots of gigs, plays and up to date movies as well as cool ones.

There are the big cinema chains about 30 min drive away in Ashford or Westwood cross (margate) together with the usual Frankie bennies type food things. Ashford has an outlet store with gap, Clark's etc.

We are near the beach in Whitstable (pebbly) or joss bay (sandy). Whitstable is nice in that there are lots of standalone shops that sell nice stuff plus award winning seafood places. There's an oyster festival in July I think. Can get crowded round those times or weekends but its fine. We bring kids there regularly and don't really get het up about it!

Everything is also near enough. So childcare is 10 min away from work which is not far either. Kid walks to school with dh. Neighbours v friendly.

Downside is I suppose it can get 'boring' but i like it. I've done enough excitement living!

Ask away!

..another Canterbury person here..

Moved down from the "Big Smoke" around 19 years ago - as we had jobs related to the Channel Tunnel and HS1 ... seemed a good place to live at the time ...

Almost love it now - but it has taken me a long long time to settle..

Happy where we live - although a couple of years ago, we did consider moving into the centre of Canterbury - as I thought that it would be easier to be in the middle of "things".

We decided against it as most of vendors that we talked to were considering moving out of the centre into a village for more of a "community" - whether that stands for areas like St Stephens etc etc I am not sure...

Our requirements now are different - having armed the children with the use of a car when the bus service ends at 6.00 p.m. - things are easier and the taxi light can be switched off...

If you want to PM me - please feel free...

Don't forget that the HS line runs from Ashford too - in fact the journey from Ashford to London is much much much quicker than from Canterbury - and there are some nice villages quite close by..

Come down - visit some School Fetes and get a feel for the places..

..but remember if the Village you choose has a Pub and a Shop - make sure that you support them - as they disappear fast if you don't !!!

I live near Canterbury.

Upsides - the only city in Kent, and quite a good theatre and arts scene both in the centre and at the university. The centre is beautiful, and easy to walk around. Shopping is improved a lot with Whitefriars. Some nice restaurants and a couple (not many) of nice bars. Great state schools, particularly Simon Langton Boys. My favourite places to eat - Cafe des Amis, the Goods Shed, and the Boho Cafe.

Downside - while it is a city, it is also a bit provincial. It is actually quite difficult to get to Canterbury from anywhere. The HS line has helped, but it is expensive - and note that it only runs from Canterbury West, and the traffic around there is a nightmare, which you should take into account.

Don't think that it is all gentrified - some of the most deprived parts of Kent are in Canterbury, and there are plenty of students. Again this is something to bear in mind if you are looking near Canterbury West - the main university buildings are further up that road.