Please could I have advice about where to live in Canterbury?

[SchubertsSwans]

It seems to tick our boxes, quick rail service to London where our DCs live, lots going on, near to Whitstable and other coastal resorts, easy access to Eurostar at Ashford, theatres, restaurants etc.

Does anyone have any experience of living there, places to live, to avoid etc?

We work from home and DC grown up, so schools not a consideration, although we need to attend meetings in London about once a week.

The budget is £700 - £750k.

All advice gratefully received!

Please, can anybody help with any advice?

Be aware that the area within the City Walls is like something from the seventh layer of hell most Friday and Saturday nights as 1000s of drunken young peple hit the streets. Great if you are under 25, less attractive as you get older.
Also teeming with tourists at other times. Not unattractive but busy.
Check flood risk. Lots flooded a couple of years ago.
The areas up by the hospital and cricket ground are attractive and just within walking distance of the stations. You would get something very attractive for your budget.
Otherwise lots of great properties within your budget further out. But the traffic into and out of the city is terrible at times.

If you want to be right out of the way, Petham is lovely. If you were open to other areas nearby, Herne Bay is beautiful - and easy access to everything. Petham not so much, but depends how busy/quiet you want it to be

The traffic in Canterbury can be hell on earth during busy times so neighbouring villages or outskirts might be advisable unless you want to be closer to the train stations?

It's a great city though, so many nice places to go, eat, etc.

Thanks, that's very helpful. I would prefer to be close to the stations and don't intend to drive much, so I am not too bothered by the traffic. The main part seems to be pedestrianised anyway. Traffic seems to be a major problem in most cities at certain parts of the day. It's just a sad fact of modern life, I suppose!

St Dunstans area followed by St Stephens, both near West Station. Avoid the East Station side going towards Wincheap. St Dunstans by far my favourite, lots of eateries, individual shops. Yes, busy, but you can usually buy a parking permit and easy walking distance through the Westgate Towers into the city. Lovely park called Westgate Gardens. What I would say though is Canterbury is becoming more crime ridden although still not on a par with other places. I personally don't like Herne Bay although the properties are lovely. Properties in St Dunstans area come up for sale rarely and sell very quickly

St Stephens or by the hospital are good. Villages just outside like Chilham would be good too - has a train station so you can get to Ashford and then onto the high speed (or straight to London if you prefer).

Thank you Not and 300. We do like St. Dunstans and it is close to the west station, so I think we will look there.

St Augustine's estate in Chartham is lovely

I would suggest around West station rather than East. There is a 1990s? development around the Kirbys Lane area which is nice. You might struggle so close to town if you are looking for detached though.

Ideally we would like a period property, maybe a Georgian townhouse. Do you think that would be achievable within the budget ie up to a maximum of £750k (but that would have to include any works needed, so ideally no more than £700k.

I used to live in the St Dunstan's area. Some beautiful old townhouses, specifically Orchard Street area. Very close to Canterbury West for fast train to London. Beautiful walk to city centre via Westgate Gardens. Surprisingly quiet.

I would also consider Wye, which is a 15 minute train journey from Canterbury West. My parents used to live there, and I still have family there and visit regularly.

It's a large village with excellent facilities (3 pubs plus a micropub, café, post office, churches, primary school, small Co-op, butchers, bakery, chemists and a few other small shops). Lots going on there in the local community too.

It's quieter than Canterbury without feeling at all "dead", but only 15 minutes by train, or there's a bus which takes longer. Also very easy to get to London by train (5 mins to Ashford, change there and get highspeed which is 39 mins to London).

Thanks Norman. I will look into Wye too.