Hastings vs Folkestone, DH needs to commute, which would you chose...

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

DH will need to commute to work at Vauxhall, I will work locally. DD is nearly 8. I like Hastings, I find it interesting, quirky with lots of nice countryside around and art galleries too - plus the lovely Alexandra Park. Commuting time is 1hr 40 mins. Folkestone is near where I grew up, so am a bit put off by teenage memories, but better to commute to the smoke at 55 mins.
There are plans for a high speed rail link to Hastings but it's not a done deal and won't be for ages.
We have a budget of about ??360k

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

Thanks QOD very helpful.
So Folkestone:
Cheriton has a good school but is rough
Wear Bay - nice houses but in a bigger rougher area
Sandgate - good school but impossible to get into it
Saltwood exceptional but not much on the market
Hythe could be a goer
Wye, Adlington and Lympne worth a look

Lots of food for thought there, much appreciated

[QOD]

Cheriton has a couple of good primary schools but the secondary are bad in Folkestone (Cheriton is kinda in Folkestone)
it's a minefield!

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

Can I live here please! Slightly over budget though

[ThreeRuddyTubs]

See personally i dont tink there is much about hythe town to recommend it. Hythe is a ~12-15 minute drive to folkestone central so your husband will have a fairly long bike ride and the high speed train only cslls at folkestone central and folkestone west before ashford so being able to get to sandling station wont help unless he wants to change at ashford.

Dont go as far as palmarsh (which has a bad rep but is actually a pretty nice area to live in...i grew up there) but theyre building a massive development of about 1000 (i thijk) houses which will gridlock the a259 when its done...its a busy road already and it cant sustain that many more cars every day!

My sister lives in cheriton and she likes it but then she didnt have the budget you have!

[ThreeRuddyTubs]

I used to go to brockhill and it wasnt particuarly nice....the farm is brilliant if your dd likes animals though they have an activd young farmers club

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

Thanks Ruddy. Where would you recommend? I guess we need to be near the station so we see as much of DH as possible.
(We only have our budget thanks to the overheated London housing market.)

[Allbymyselfagain]

Sarf promise it's not that close. There's a small footpath locals use to walk along that cliff and its wide enough that even scared of heights me will use it. But it's an incredible view. And the gardens are huge.

[Ta1kinPeace]

Hythe is nice.
But yes, you are in Grammar school land and the SecMods in East Kent are pretty poor

[SarfEasticatedMumma]

Why Ta1kinPeace are you insinuating that my DD isn't a dreadfully bright brain box! To be serious, she probably could make it to a grammar, but I don't really want her in a highly pressurised environment. We have had terrible dramas over the 3 times table, let alone A levels!

allbymyself really? I might give it another look then. Is Capel a nice villlage? Can I buy a flat white there?

I'm going to go down and have a wander around next week, will go and see if I can see the track

[QOD]

Capel is nice! Nice primary
Hawkinge is too but ... rammed with people and houses

[Ta1kinPeace]

Tee Hee.
I just love the people who assume that their kids will get in and then run around like headless chickens when they do not : its always worth knowing your options

[SarfEast1cated]

I have been alerted to the possibility of changing trains at Ashford, so am now thinking about Rye and Wye! There are so many place to chose from. I really love Littlestone Beach so Rye would be handy for that!

[QOD]

Long drive from Rye to Ashford.though? Or is there a train?

I love St Marys Bay

[Ta1kinPeace]

Wye is nice, small but nice

[SarfEast1cated]

There is a train from both Wye and Rye that stops at Ashford, and then you pick up the high speed train from there. If you time it right it takes an hour.

I want to live here. Sadly too expensive.

[QOD]

Rye doesn't have a grammar school, Wye is much closer to Ashford which does.
rye is lovely but it's a long drag out to the coast somehow. I live off jct 11 so 10 Mins if that by car and 3 Mins from sea view
there are places like Lyminge Arpinge Stanford North, Sellindge, Smeeth ...

[magimedi]

Another vote for Eastbourne! We moved here 10 years ago & have never regretted it.

Schools generally good, but I have adult DC so that is just what people say & not experience.

Here's a couple of houses that are in your range & in nice areas:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51063787.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51842849.html?premiumA=true

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52825949.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36489336.html

The last one is about a 5 minute walk from the beach!

[SarfEast1cated]

Yes, you're right QOD, you don't feel like you're close to the sea in Rye do you. I'm going to go on a trip around the area this week (via Sissinghurst) so will have a look. Am not too fussed about grammars though, because I think that it puts children under a lot of pressure. My DD puts herself under huge pressure to achieve already at nearly 8, so would rather send her to a senior school that is more relaxed.

[SarfEast1cated]

Ahh Magi I do like Eastbourne, but sadly its a long train journey to London. There is talk of a high speed rail link from Hastings at some point, is there anything similar planned from Eastbourne?

[magimedi]

Sarf There has been talk of a faster train once an hour for some time but I don't know how soon it will be happening.

It's 1hr 32 mins at the moment.

[RatOnnaStick]

Hamstreet is a nice village, it has a railway station very close to Ashford. The only properties going in the village right now are newbuild though.

[Callmecordelia]

Rye is one of those places that's nice to visit, but not so great to live in, particularly for teenagers.

My DD is in a primary school in Folkestone, and I have friends with children at most schools on the west side of Folkestone, Cheriton and towards Hythe. They are all happy with them, with the exception of Hythe Bay and Morehall. Hope that helps.

The Gurkhas are a fantastic asset to the community, and there is no problem in any pubs - from them at least.

Tbh, if you come from SE London Cheriton isn't that bad. We live in Sandgate, within walking distance of Folkestone West, but also Cheriton and the sea front. I think it's a pretty good position to be in, Cheriton has the library, bank, post office etc, Sandgate has a good Mexican, pubs and lovely sea front walks.

I wouldn't move to Hythe if your DH wants to use the fast train. My husband commuted from Hythe via Folkestone central, and that extra few minutes to park etc really added to a long commute.

[SarfEast1cated]

Thanks Calmecordelia very interesting. Sandgate looked good to me too, but when you don't know an area it's hard to judge. What do you think of Wilberforce Road? What are your reviews of Sandgate primary?
I guess we won't have much choice though as we will be applying out of year. We are going to have a recce this week, and will swan into Loaf for a coffee
Thanks very much for all of your intel!

[somethingerudite]

I'm interested to read this thread (and others on MN) about Folkestone having just been down for the first time to explore (and house hunt) yesterday.

Admittedly, the weather was drop-dead glorious, but I was super-impressed with what I saw - live blues in the rotunda on the Leas, the beautiful architecture of the west end, the creative quarter, a ska festival going on in the harbour, the relaunched harbour arm, plus some lovely, leafy, wide-avenued, suburban streets and parks.... I was really wowed.

I passed through what looked like the main shopping street - Sandgate Road? - which was bustling and perfectly presentable, if not particularly upmarket. I also drove past a big ugly shopping centre, and some ugly modern office buildings, but they seemed very easy to avoid if you wanted to.

What on earth am I missing? Why is it so ridiculously cheap? Why isn't everyone moving to Folkestone? It seems to have WAY more going for it than the other very affordable / less-than-80-mins-from-London coastal towns (we were also looking at Margate and Ramsgate).

I saw some grotty bits to the east of the creative quarter, but as a South East Londoner like the OP, I'm very used to grotty bits (albeit grotty bits in which it costs a million plus to buy a house). What's the catch??

[Rivercam]

Have you considered Canterbury - it has a great atmosphere ( not sure what the commute is)?

Went to Margate earlier this year. Compared to when I last went five years ago, it has improved a lot, with boutique- shops, retro shops etc.

Apparently, sandwich is nice.

For towns nearer london, consider Maidstone, tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and the villages around. They all have fairly good train links.