Tell me about Margate please

[Almondmilk]

We are both creative, europeans, no kids yet. I don't want to live in London anymore to avoid pollution and stress. But we wish to be able to commute there once a week. Budget K260-280 cash. I would love to hear your thoughts about Margate. Thanks

Margate doesn't strike me as a fantastic place for creative Europeans. It's a bit UKIP heartland. Economically depressed. Tourist so v busy in summer and dead in winter.

Has got nice art gallery.

If you are only looking to commute once a week you could go almost anywhere in England!

What are you after? A good creative scene? Countryside for hiking? With your budget I would move to another city like Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield. Probably Leeds or Sheffield. Enough of a creative scene, nice countryside and train to London in 2h.

YelloDraw hey thanks for your point of view. Sounds awful! I guess I'd like to stay as close as possible to London without being in London. We are after an open minded scene, a lot of space (house) in the country if possible but with easy access to London. Margate was suggested to me by a friend.
We are living abroad atm but want to come back to the UK.

Well there is a Tate gallery there. Despite their best efforts though Margate doesn't seem to be coming out of its slump very fast.

Broadstairs is much nicer architecturally and has art and music festivals. Your budget might get you an apartment, which you may also be able to let during summer months.

Brighton surely ?

She wants to commute Jenny - you surely wouldn't advise anyone to live on a Southern line

It's a dump

Also it's almost 2hrs commute to London Victoria from there

Look up into Essex

I went to Margate in September, there are loads of art galleries in Margate, it's definitely on the up and is attracting the hipster/creative community. I would definitely be moving down there if I could, but looks like I'll have to wait another 10 years or so.

I went to Margate years ago as a teenager- don't remember much!

DH and I looked up property on Rightmove just for a laugh.
4 bed houses were on for around 200k!
We could buy a massive house there...but our jobs are in London.

Sorry this message isn't very helpful!

Margate born and bred..... we left 5 years ago as there are no jobs. Now live in Norwich and visit "home" every summer.

We're moving down to Ramsgate soon. Selling our two bed flat to get a six bed house with a garden by the sea. Ramsgate seems a bit more family orientated than Margate which suits us better. I would definitely recommend visiting to get a sense for the area. There's lots of "East London hipsters" (for want of a better word) moving down, opening up little shops, bars and cafes. With High Speed rail the commute isn't too bad. It does have a bit of social deprivation and some dodgy areas but it's not that bad.

I visit quite a lot to walk the dog ( live about 40 mins away) and I think it is improving albeit very slowly , I would definitely steer away from the Cliftonville end . Whitstable area could be a compromise although you won't get as much house for your money or Herne Bay which is cheaper than Whitstable but quite close .

Have always lived near to Margate. In the last few years it has improved enormously although, as with all areas, there are places which are not so good. Loads of outdoor things to do and fantastic beaches, the train journey is a bit slow but there are high speed options available. Certainly property available in that price range. Too many people happy to moan about the place but it is definitely improving. Look at villages nearby which are also on the train line - Westgate-on-Sea and Birchington-on-Sea - great places in my opinion!

My brother lives in Canterbury, knows the area quite well, and also says avoid Cliftonville, lots of drugs and deprivation. Not good.
Broadstairs is a lot more middle class with probably better schools, Ramsgate used to have a grammar school (probably still does). It's true hipsters are moving to Margate and opening pottery workshops/ cafes etc, but there are still social problems there, lack of employment etc. Very varied housing stock and some beautiful properties at a lot less than half what you'd pay in London though. 1 1/2 hour by train on the HS1 from St Pancras.

Brighton is fab but prices are high. One hour to Victoria train station only though.

My DD lives in Margate and whilst she has a beautiful flat, on the sea front, and we enjoy visiting, it is fucking grim!

But just down the road from Margate you have broadstairs which is beautiful and only another few stops on the train, has quite a folksy vibe to it as well as British seaside town.

280k would buy you a terraced house in Whitstable, i'd rather a terraced house in Whitstable than a detached house in margate.

Live near margate. It's a shithole, go to whitstable instead

Thanet is VERY VERY UKIP
Margate will be blighted until the guy who owns the seafront dies
Ramsgate is better
and remember that if there is a hard Brexit, the whole system of East Kent will go tits up when border and freight customs controls return

Yes, it is basically UKIP heartland as mentioned above (although to their credit they didn't actually vote for Nigel Farage in the general election).

I would be looking at areas that voted Remain if I were you.

Look at Birchington or Herne Bay NOT Margate.

My friend's just bought a BTL in Margate and I know of several people (Hackney creative types) who have bought there too. I have a feeling it's on the up and will end up like a mini haven for hipsters priced out of London.

Margate has a vibrant arts scene, but is very deprived and has lots of problems. Folkestone is similar but has had a lot of money pumped into it. Deal or Broadstairs are nice. I'd avoid Whitstable. The traffic problems are absolutely chronic. If you aren't too bothered about being by the sea, have a look at Faversham, which is lovely and you can get up to London in not much mor than an hour.

If you're looking to stay around Kent you could look at Canterbury or whitstable. Vibrant scenes, quite busy generally and easy train lines to Victoria or kings cross.

Minster
Birchington
Broadstairs
Villages closer to Canterbury/Sandwich, ie, Wingham, Chilham, Chartham.

There isn't much employment except for the NHS, teaching, council, university but rail connections are improving hugely and what's at rock bottom moves up eventually and the area is probably poised for a revival.

I was brought up in Thanet and it is a part of Kent that seemed far removed from the Home County it was in.

Some stunning beaches, excellent schools - Chatham and Clarendon House, improving transport and some lovely property pockets nearby, perhaps not far from Margate.

a close friend moved there a few years back. she is part of a mixed race couple and hasn't reported experiencing any racism or other dodgy attitudes (unlike when she briefly worked in the SW of England). It's a long commute to London by rail or road though, despite the comparatively short distance - she ended up taking a more local job. But I guess it's manageable once weekly.

She has said that while there are definitely pockets of gentrification she really wasn't happy with the state primary schools there.

With your budget, If I only needed to commute once weekly I'd look at the cities much further North that are well connected by rail - Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield - where you'd get a good house in a quiet and leafy part of town. Probably Birmingham too but I don't know about housing costs there

No sea around those cities though. But yes primaries were crap 40/50 years ago. There was a good one at St Nicholas at Wade (it still is) now there's a thought! And one in Westgate. A lot of us went private to 11 and switched to the grammar school then.