Anyone live in Leigh-on-Sea?

[TurmericSpiced]

Hi,

My husband, puppy and I are currently living in Greenwich, but we're looking to move to a village outside of London so we can buy our own home (and escape the hectic London lifestyle!). We found an amazing home in Leigh-on-Sea, and from what I can tell the town looks beautiful. It seems to have great community spirit, quirky cafes and decent transport links.

I have a couple of initial concerns, and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with Leigh, especially commuting into London? I'm worried about the 1.5 hour commute and I've also heard that Southend-on-Sea can be quite dangerous. We're looking to start a family soon (I just turned 28 and my husband is 34) and I am concerned about safety. I'd also like to make friends in Leigh - I moved to London last year and have found it difficult to make friends as I work for a tiny charity. Are there many young professional mums in Leigh like me (I work as a copywriter at a charity and my husband works in finance)?

Any advice is much appreciated - I'm feeling quite overwhelmed so I'm grateful for the help!

Oh and this is the house, it seems to be in a good location:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58546108.html

I wish I lived there but I settled for upminster instead which is also very nice just to avoid the season ticket! My friend who lives there says the best parts are the areas south of the A13.

I don’t know Leigh at all, but what a bizarre / interesting house (depends on your perspective!).
It’s been on the market for a while. Is it expensive for the area?

@Pomegranita, it is very interesting! We are viewing it this weekend so we'll see if that changes perspective at all. It is expensive for the area, which is what worries me a bit - the houses nearby sold for 200-300k, nothing wrong with that, but we don't want to feel like the odd ones out from a money perspective. Hoping Leigh has people from a range of backgrounds?

I think you'll find it a world apart from Greenwich and a bit of a culture shock.

I’ve just moved from near Leigh on Sea . Parking around that area is a nightmare. I wouldn’t call it village like to be honest. It really depends what you’re looking for. Lots of yummy mummies around . I did the commute by car and train, when it works it’s fine when it doesn’t it’s a nightmare. The trains are horrendously crowded unless you’re on the 0615 am and even then getting a seat can be a bit hit and miss.

For that money , there are nicer areas especially if you plan on a family.

I haven't been to Leigh-on-sea yet, but I've heard many good things! There's apparently a firm cultural presence there, with folk music festivals and other events. A colleague who has thoughts of moving there, recently went there to wander around, and got a good impression. I like the examples of art deco architecture, and old fisherman cottages (as seen on rightmove). My colleague ended up walking to the neighbouring Southend, which looked very rough and deprived. It's only 25 min with train to Barking, and a lot of connections to central London from there. I think it sounds like an interesting place, although I only have second hand information!

I wouldn't class Leigh on sea as a village at all - Parkings a nightmare and traffic can be very busy!

This is all great advice - thanks so much to everyone for being honest about the pros/cons. I'm definitely worried about the commute (I would have thought there would be plenty of seats! Standing for 3 hours a day on tubes/trains would be brutal.) Are there any specific areas of Southend to avoid or is it mostly rough?

It may sound funny (and maybe this is the American in me misunderstanding the term), but I like the sound of a town with yummy mummies - I'm in my 20s and plan on staying home for a couple years after having a kid, hopefully relatively soon! Are there opportunities to meet other mums?

The Leigh shops are lovely - and there's lots to do in the local area, Old Leigh is gorgeous for walks.

Trains can be very rammed and unlikely to get a seat - it feels like a very long commute into London!

Southend itself is not very pleasant. The High Street has all the shops you need, and there's some restaurants but I would say can be very rough in the evenings!

WOW I really like that house!

I live in LoS!

That house is not a good buy, sorry. There's a reason it hasn't sold and appears cheap for the style. It is set in a back alley behind shops on the London Road /A13, including a fish and chip shop.

There are a lot of young families in Leigh, lots of baby/toddler groups to meet people & there is a big community amongst the school mums. It is definitely yummy mummy land, albeit an Essex version, not London. There are many families who gave moved out of London. To be honest, most Leigh dwellers rarely visit Southend.

I commute, the train is good. I usually take the 07:48 which gets to Fenchurch Street at 08:35. Total journey obviously depends on distance from there and distance from the station. I always get a seat, unless there have been major problems which are rare.

Schools are a problem, be careful with your catchment areas, rightmove is wrong. You need to go to the council website and look up the road. Be aware there is a consultation going on currently which changes the catchment areas. West Leigh and Leigh primary are the most popular. Be aware too that it is an 11+/grammar area. The grammars are great schools but obviously your children would need to go through the exam prep & pass. The only non grammar secondary that is okay, really is Belfairs so you need to be careful with secondary catchments too.

You may be able to tell I love Leigh. Beach on one side, woods on the other. Easy access to London & 2 theatres. Lovely community feel. Great schools.

If that house represents your budget & you like modern, this is a good location.

Most of Leigh's housing stock is 30s. like this.

'Done up' houses on the marine estate (closest to station and in good catchments) go for £650k and up.

this is in a quirky location

It's a steam punk house!
I don't know the area, but you said you had a puppy and those stairs don't look very dog friendly (or child friendly come to that).

Definitely be aware of school catchments changing-we had something through the door last week about this.

Leigh is fine but it’s very densely populated and parking is a total nightmare. Seats on the train won’t be fun either. What about Thorpe Bay-probably more for your money and you’ll be first on the train! Look at houses in Bournes Green catchment.

Echoing Lucisky I would be terrified of that staircase with a baby or young child. But the house is attractive.

Hope OP returns to let us know how they got on! Was a beautiful, sunny day yesterday.