Nice villages to live in Essex???? Help!!

[dani141]

We're looking to move into Essex to be closer to family but we know very little about the areas!

My husband works in South London and has to drive to work (cannot use trains as he works as a printer so sometimes has to work into the middle of the night when no trains are running!) so we cant really go any further north than a couple of miles above Chelmsford or as far as Maldon. So we're looking for a really nice, but affordable (£300k for 3 bed house) village, anywhere in that search area! We would like a village (rather than town or outskirts of town) with a few shops and school (we have 2 young children).

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :-)

[Alilb]

www.homes-on-line.com/essex/valerie-loveland.313/full_agent/f313_lb1301.htm
You'll be straight on the A12 from Little Braxted. It may be a little over budget though.

[MrsCosmopilite]

I am very near to Brentwood and I dislike it. Mainly because it's noisy at night and because of it's notoriety derived from TOWIE.

Ingatestone is nicer, and far quieter.

Forgot about Doddinghurst. That's quite nice too. Chelmsford is likely to offer best prices, or certainly cheaper than Shenfield or Billericay.

[Littleturkish]

Brentwood really is the best option for you, if you need to drive to London. Pricey, but a great time to invest before the new train links make the prices rocket.

[SeasonDance]

Sorry Hanginggarden, I shouldn't have made such a sweeping generalisation. I'm sure some WB people are perfectly lovely. I might have even met some of them but probably assumed they lived somewhere else! Shows up my inverted snobbery more than anything, I suppose.

Still don't move there though, OP. No facilities except a couple of pubs and shops and a village hall that costs £32 per hour to hire. £32!

I'm still backing Hatfield Peverel.

[Hanginggardenofboobylon]

That's rather unnecessary about WB Season. I have found it incredibly friendly and I don't have a rich husband or do nothing but gossip thank you.

[SeasonDance]

Another vote here for Hatfield Peverel. Good facilities, good school, good transport links.

We live in Great Totham and it's friendly and nice, but there is very little here. Great school though.

Definitely avoid our neighbouring village of Wickham Bishops. Full of women with rich husbands who don't have anything to do except gossip. Horrible place.

[SimLondon]

If your looking for nearer the A13 and proximity to the dartford crossing - then Orsett is quite nice. If i had to live in that area again I'd probably go for there.

[Spickle]

or this

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29125893.html

[Spickle]

Ingatestone is lovely, mainline station, shops, sought after Anglo European school. Houses are pricey and selling fast. Close to A12.

This house is one of only two still for sale in your budget:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29580234.html?premiumA=true

[MichelloBarner]

Bromely? By south London I was thinking she meant somewhere more central. Bromley from Essex is a trek. I know because I used to live there too.

[MichelloBarner]

I was going to suggest Terling as well - it's gorgeous. Easy access to HP station and A12, but it is pretty rural, so not easy in the ice and snow. I think given the OP's husband's travel requirements she need to be careful she doesn't put herself somewhere idyllic but impractical.

[hiccupgirl]

Another one I suddenly thought of is Terling - just north of Hatfield Peveral but a lovely village and it does have a village shop, school, preschool and swimming pool.

Sandon and Galleywood I would second as lovely even though they are technically in Chelmsford. They are both very villagey, close to the A12 and amenities. Ok not in the middle of nowhere but also not miles to drive on top of the big road bits.

[Spickle]

There are a lot of cars going through the Dartford Tunnel before the 6am charging period starts, but the traffic should be lighter at that time.

Maybe you should be looking slightly south to suit your need to be within reach of Colchester and your husband's journey to Bromley. I'm thinking East or West Hanningfield, Galleywood, Downham, Ramsden Heath, Runwell, Battlesbridge. I would also repeat Sandon. A friend of mine lives in Boreham and absolutely loves it. I have lived in and around the area all my life and my son attends Colchester Uni and commutes there from home. Stock is beautiful (but expensive) and would probably take slightly more than 30 mins to Colchester. I guess Wickford would be out of the question as it's a town, but you get a lot for your money there. It has good schools, shops, parks, excellent facilities really and the mainline train station, and excellent links to the main roads. It would take around 45 mins to Colchester though! The villages mentioned above are prettier but limited shops and secondary schools, and houses cost more!

[dani141]

Agree with you all about the A13, since Saddlers Farm has been 'sorted out' it has made a massive difference time wise! We use to queue there every time we used it, it's far better now, yesterday we timed the journey from South Woodham Ferrers (just used that as a guideline) and it took only 20-25 mins to the Dartford bridge (We did just about stick to the speed limit I promise! ;-)!! Fab!! This was however at non rush hour time, but then my husband will always be travelling in non rush hour times as he will leave about 5am! He also works 3 x 12 hour days so he only has to consider the journey for those 3 days a week! We timed his journey all the way from SWF to his work in South London (Bromley) and the entire journey was 45 mins, we also timed Marks Tey junction on A12 to work and that was 1hr, 15 mins, he's prepared to travel an hour (and will use the A12 or A13) so taking those times into account I've got to revisit the map to look at areas that fit into the 1hr time bracket!
We still have Writtle and Blackmore on the list but they're the wrong side of Chelmsford to get to family and, though they are closer for my husband getting work, it still puts us a fair distance to family near Colchester and the idea of the move was to be within a 30 min distance.
Ingatestone is somewhere we haven't yet looked at??
Hatfield Peveral I think is going to be the furthest point we can go but still within the limit, having just looked at the map, we weren't sure about it when we first went there but having seen your recommendations I think it's definitely worth another look round. Although lots of countryside is lovely I really do like the idea of shops, a childrens park etc and actually having accessible facilities. We seem to always be popping into our village co-op and we go to the kids park which is currently walking distance frequently! I think the distance does definitely push the Great Totham area out of the equation tho. Argh! Decisions!!

[MichelloBarner]

I must admit I thought the same about the Jarvis Field house. I'm not sure whether it's just because it's one of the few affordable roads in LB and they are normal sized family houses that there is a higher turnover as people move up the ladder.

But it is definitely worth checking out whether there is anything going on like a gypsy camp or a new landfill/incinerator planned!!!

I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand without checking first though.

[Blondieminx]

The A12 used to have a dedicated clear up crew but it was cut in 2011 it is a very bad road...

[hiccupgirl]

The Sadlers Farm interchange by Basildon is much, much better and you can whizz through from the A130 to A13. But you can only get on the A130 at Chelmsford or Wickford so he's planning to do that route then you don't want to be far from the junctions. Hatfield Peveral would be a good choice for that.

I'm very suspicious of that house in Little Baddow - I'm in Chelmsford and look at rightmove from here a lot. There have been lots of houses up for sale on that very small road so I would wonder why tbh. The one in Danbury would be more my choice - its down the further end of the village though and the road is extremely busy to walk along to the shops...think lots of huge lorries thundering through while you walk along a narrow pavement. Not good with small children.

[Spickle]

The A13 is a much better road, but I'm not sure it would save much time if you live in Great Totham or Purleigh? Presumably your husband would travel on the A12 then A130, then A13 to M25 - not convinced it would be noticeably any quicker than A12 to M25? You need to think carefully about the journey to South London. Hanginggardenofboobylon is correct about the interchange near Basildon, it has been improved - the junction at Sadlers Farm is now bypassed if you're travelling on the A130 to A13 but from your favoured villages, it is quite a long journey.

[Hanginggardenofboobylon]

Oh and there is a lovely little play area by that little baddow house. I often meet friends there in the summer or go to the generals arms up the road which has a great climbing frame for kids

[Hanginggardenofboobylon]

Yes A13 is much better and I think now the interchange near Basildon has improved I think it's less of a nightmare to 'cut through' - don't quote me on that though.
The a12 to the m25 is not that bad providing you avoid the 'Chelmsford rush hour' between 8:30 and 9:30.

[dani141]

Thank so much to everyone for all the info and thoughts, sounds a bit pathetic but i'm really 'touched'! We were aimlessly driving around essex not really getting anywhere before this forum and now we've got so much info to go that I feel like we can make an actual decision!! Thanks for the house links as well, weirdly enough the one in Little Baddow looks perfect in what we're looking for, we would really like to buy a property in need of 'updating'!
Definitely a couple of areas we've 'crossed off the list' now! And I think Great Totham area, HP, LB, and possibly Purleigh, have gone to top of the list!
My husband will have to cross the Dartford Bridge to get to work so would prefer to use the A13 (family in Colchester have said numerous times that A12 can be a nightmare, which from our constant trips up to Colchester I would tend to agree with) so the A13 would avoid the A12 traffic and means less time on the M25! So I think our next 'drive around' will need to also be working out journeys as well!
Thank you again :-)

[MichelloBarner]

There's this for 300k in Danbury but for location I don't think it's a patch on the LB one. Although I think this one might be in catchment for Danbury Park. That is a big factor in prices in Danbury btw.

[MichelloBarner]

Can you stretch a a little bit above 300k? Because if you can, buy

this.

Little Baddow is absolutely drop dead gorgeous and I am amazed there is anything there at all for this price. It's at the bottom of the hill away from the Danbury end, which is no less lovely but it means relatively painless and speedy access to the A12 junction at Boreham. The main road through Danbury can be very congested, so being able to avoid it is a good thing.

This might not look like the most exciting house or street, but it's a good solid buy and the overall area is beee-oo-tiful and highly sought after, so you are getting prime location here. the inside needs a bit of updating but that can be done in time. I'd bit their hand off for this if I were you.

It's only a short drive up the hill to Danbury for shops and schools etc., but I don't think you would be in catchment for Danbury Park school, which is the preferred one, it would be St Johns, but you could try Hatfield Peverel or Boreham schools as well.

[MichelloBarner]

You won't get anything around Billericay for that money, and some of the more affordable south Essex villages are too close to Basildon and Grays for my liking.

Also if you want to be near your family you need to stick to mid or north Essex.

Personally I would swerve Bicknacre. It is very much Danbury's poorer, plainer, rougher cousin I'm afraid. It's not all bad, but Danbury it certainly ain't. I personally couldn't recommend anything on the 'wrong' side of the line that goes from Maldon to South Woodham Ferrers, via Bicknacre. The countryside is just featureless scrubland, and the road links are completely crap. and some of those places are like Duelling Banjos country, trust me. There is the odd nice little pocket, but generally they are all pretty lacklustre areas full of run-down bungalows with bits of old cars in the front garden.

The other thing to bear in mind is the route, as well as the distance. Try not to pick a village where you have no choice but drive though one side of Chelmsford to get out the other side to access the A12. It might not look far but traffic/time wise it will be a nightmare. Look for somewhere with good access to a not too busy junction.

[MichelloBarner]

Wickham Bishops is lovely as well. Just outside Witham, quite posh, very pretty, not too far for the A12 and station, but more expensive than HP.