Moving to Essex from London... Good or bad idea?

[hayleybalmers]

Hi all,

My husband and I are considering a big move. We have a 5 month old daughter and are bursting at the seems of our current home in SW18. Originally we were looking at St Margaret's / Kew / East Sheen but a friend suggested we look at Essex, specifically around Sheffield / Billericay / Stock area. Having seen the vast difference of what we could buy (around £1-1.2m) we are definitely tempted! I'm also keen to be somewhere a little less polluted as I feel like I'm practically swallowing petrol walking around Clapham and Wandsworth sometimes.

We don't need to be near these areas in Essex but it is a good place to start and we have no draw to anywhere (any of the home counties would work actually which makes it harder somehow).

The trouble is, moving our of London is a little scary to me as I love it and it is what I know. I appreciate the trains in are super quick (and actually commuting isn't much of an issue as my husband works from home and I will work locally) but it feels like a million miles away.

I would like to live somewhere with a similar feel to what we have here, green spaces (we live v.close to Battersea Park), lots of nice cafes and restaurants (not that we eat out in the evenings anymore but we can dream!) and a very 'safe' feel. Schools are top of the requirements, non religious and state - primary for now but it would be good to be able to consider grammar schools down the line. Along with 4-5 bedrooms and a decent sized (not huge) garden - we would need to practically double our budget around here for such lengthy requirements.

I've tried to find a list of primary schools in the area and associated catchment areas. Richmond has a fantastic site clearly defining catchments and showing Ofsted ratings etc. and I can't quite find the same kind of thing for Essex though it's no doubt there somewhere.

Any thoughts or experiences would be really appreciated. We are meeting a friend next week to have a look around the general Brentford area to try and get a proper feel for the place. Essex seems to get such a bad rep which is why I'm assuming house prices are so much more reasonable but I know it isn't all bad!

Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts, please do comment.

Hayley

[melomal]

I've moved around quite a bit and I spent a fair share of my time growing up in Lewisham/Eltham from there I moved into Essex and lived around the Romford area and right now both of those areas I wouldn't recommend! However the move into Essex was a welcome treat and I enjoyed growing up there too!

But now I'm in Hertfordshire and I have to say if you look at Radlett or St Albans, you're in for a treat. Incredibly beautiful places and very hard to find a 'rough' area by London standards. If the Home Counties is a consideration I'd highly recommend Herts for sure (having spent time living in East Sussex, Bedford, Northants, Essex, London and now Herts I've been around!).

[MrsCakesPrecognition]

Billericay is very popular with young families moving out of London. Take a look at the Billericay Families and Billericay Parents websites, the Children's centre is very active in the centre and at the local library. Lots of outdoor spaces, cafes, Waitrose etc.

[melomal]

I should also mention that I went to Primary, Secondary School and College in Essex and when it comes to schools there really is a great divide between the good and bad.

My secondary school in a period of 5 years after I left went from terrible, to sports academy and now it's a fully fledged academy but literally 5 minutes down the road is an all boys school which is one of the best in the county for sports and education. Essex is an incredibly varied place!

[seaoflove]

Moved from the SW London/Surrey borders to Billericay and I couldn't be happier. It's a very family oriented town, and if you're north of the station, you are tripping over playgroups, preschools and primary schools.

[northeastMove2015]

SORRY to bump your post be I couldn't find how to start my Own discussion.
Im need to find a place to live in Essex due to relocation (work)from the North East of England.
I will be working in Barking/Dagenham area and I have found Lainton, Basildon and Langdon Hills and I wondered if anyone can tell me which is the best/safest area. we are looking for safety, friendly/community/ good shops where we can get everything we need, good resturants/bars and things going on. If there are other areas that anyone can suggest can you please help me Thank you

[werenotreallyhere]

Hi northeast, what's your budget and will you driving or catching train/tube to work?

[MerryMarigold]

We're moving out to Essex but only just. Still on the tube, still v accessible for London, especially museums/ theatres, 5 min walk to Epping Forest. It's a bit mono cultural but I think it's changing. Not sure about grammars but the secondaries seem good and the primary is outstanding Where we're going.

[WireCat]

What is your budget?

[Spickle]

northeast Out of the three you mention, Langdon Hills is the nicest, but bear in mind that they all form part of the Basildon area as there are no clear boundaries. A far nicer area would be Upminster, possibly West Horndon, also Emerson Park near Hornchurch is lovely but pricey. These all on the mainline to Fenchurch Street if you need to be near a station. Smaller villages such as Orsett or North Stifford are attractive.

[northeastMove2015]

Hi I will be working in Dagenham/Barking so we are looking to live in Basildon, or Laindon with a budget of 800 per month, for our first year of renting.
I was going to commute to Brighton, but its too far, but still looking for a vibrant place to live.
Need the property by the end of june, would prefer private as the agencys charge big fees

[MerryMarigold]

Basildon is rough IMHO and I live in East London in a v poor but vibrant borough. What size are looking for on that budget?

[MerryMarigold]

If you want a Brighton feel parts of e London are your best bet, but 800.00 won't go far, prob get a 1 bed flat.

[northeastMove2015]

Yes, for 800 pounds I have found 1 bedroom property's in Basildon. There is only 2 of us, so we are lucky we don not need a big place.
we both have jobs in Essex to go to.
will I get a 1 bedroomed flat for £800 in London?
and is it easier to live in London then Brighton or Basildon ?
we are from the Northeast and some parts are Rough with the nicest people in them..

[MerryMarigold]

It depends what you're after with London. I live near wanstead park station which has direct access to baking on the overground (I think) and not v far at all (maybe 15 min). Forest gate station is 10 min to Liverpool St. There's a lovely, huge park near us, less than a minute away and the Olympic Park not far. Public transport is fab. All that London offers is very close if you like that sort of thing (galleries, museums , theatre, political groups). Where will your partner work? I've never lived in Brighton but i certainly wouldn't commute to barking from there, I reckon at least 2 hours. Look up E7.

[MerryMarigold]

Is very multicultural so you can get food from all over in the shops. Nice cafe, nice market. Restaurants mainly Indian, Turkish. Well be a bit of a culture shock, but if you're young and no kids, nothing beats London imo.

[Spickle]

Not sure why Brighton has been mentioned? You can't commute from there to Essex surely? Brighton is on the south coast and it would take too long to contemplate a commute from there.

If you are renting to go to a job in Barking and Dagenham, why don't you look in those areas rather than Basildon? Will you be getting to work by public transport or driving?

Yes you can get a rental for £800 a month in the area but I wouldn't describe Basildon as vibrant though there are decent shops. There are a lot of walkways/alleyways in Basildon so I wouldn't feel safe when it's dark. Langdon Hills definitely much nicer but choice of shops not so good. Laindon is suffering from shop closures and frankly looks tired. There is a huge new housing estate (Dunton Village) going up but transport links from there not so good.

Have a think about Chafford Hundred, modern houses and close proximity to Lakeside Shopping Centre and a lot nearer Barking and Dagenham.

[werenotreallyhere]

I agree none of the areas in Basildon are very vibrant. I'd prefer Romford to Basildon tbh, I would have thought you could get a 1 bed there.

How about Chadwell Heath? Close to Dagenham and always looks reasonably nice when I drive through, anyone have any experience? Good transport links as well.

[Gusthetheatrecat]

crashes thread
MerryMarigold - I know we have said this before, but we must live SO close to each other!

[WardenessOfTheNorth]

We are moving from Romford to Essex very soon and can't wait. Romford/Hornchurch/Gidea Park etc are all in a London Borough even tho our postal address is Essex. Prices reflect London prices because of this hence the move so we can actually afford our own home!

Stock is beautiful and would move there in a heartbeat if we could afford it. Coggeshall, Kelvedon, Peldon and Ardleigh are really nice too. Coggeshall has a fantastic school.

I may be mistaken but when researching the place we are moving too (Abberton) we heard that Colchester Grammar no longer has a catchment area?

[WardenessOfTheNorth]

werenotreallyhere I personally don't like Chadwell Heath. It's 5 minutes from where I live now and one of the reasons we are moving is to get the kids out of the area

[breward]

The Colchester Grammars do not have a catchment area. You can live in Scotland and be awarded a place if you score high enough. A long school run though!!!

The Chelmsford Grammars have a catchment area of a 12.5 miles radius from the centre of Chelmsford.

The Southend Grammars have a catchment area of all Southend postcodes.

Hullbridge and half of Rayleigh are in the 'Golden Triangle' of houses that are in the catchment for ALL Essex Grammar schools

[northeastMove2015]

thank you all so much, our jobs are Dagenham and a place called thurrock Essex.
we are both 46 years old, our children are adults, so we want a Nice place to live, good community and somewhere on a Friday night (for e.g.) we can pop to the local for a nice meal, maybe a live band.
our wages are not that great, id say we would be on 43,000 between us, so we only need a small property with parking..some propertys are 1000 pounds plus to rent so I guess that would leave the other 1000 for the other bills, .
I wasn't sure if to live in Dagenham if im working with the community , don't really want to bump into my service users.
we need a property by the end of june, but Basildon is crossed off our list now thank you,,any more ideas, as we are looking thank you so much

[werenotreallyhere]

How about Cranham? It's about half way between the two jobs, it's very close to Upminster town centre, probably a 20 min walk or there is a very frequent bus service there. The train/tube also stops at Upminster so good for your kids to get into london when they visit. This one is slightly over budget but it has two bedrooms and I think you could something similar. Shops very close to this one, bus stop also (buses about every 5 mins) a pub that I've heard is nice with beer garden and Upminster has tons of nice restaurants. Also it's very safe.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-49954168.html

[werenotreallyhere]

Sorry I don't know how to do links on my iPad!

[scurryfunge]

Northeast, we rent on the Dengie. An hour plus commute to East London but fantastic location. Good ( but long) rail commute if need be. Very rural, good local pubs, restaurants and a great arts, sailing culture. If you can put up with the long commute you can rent a 5 bed farmhouse for the same price as a two bed flat in East London.