Is Margate commutable to London?

[HellonHeels]

Realistically? I've taken a fancy to some of the pretty houses there (and the equally attractive prices). Would love to have thoughts from anyone who knows or lives in Margate - thanks

Apparently it is the new (affordable) Hoxton for hipsters so that would put me off.

My old boss commuted from Whitstable to Canary Wharf 3 days a week and WFH 2 days a week. Seemed like 3 days a week was ok but she got really annoyed when she had to come in 4 or 5 days! Her WFH was not like an 'official protected WFH day.

It is a good fast train into Stratford and St P, but expensive. Consider over your working lifetime how much extra house the train ticket would get you.

Also... margate..... being called Shoreditch on the Sea...... it is nothing like Shoreditch. It it BREXIT / UKIP heartland, lots of poverty and little in the way of economic opportunities.

It depends if you are happy with the £££ cost of the commute and the time.

I Would advise you to go and stay for a couple of nights and commute in the winter as if you were living there to see if it is something you want to do.

Great suggestion by coffeeagogo to trial the commute for a week in winter.

Good suggestions, thank you! I might be more put off by the Brexit/UKIP aspect than anything else. Trial run of commuting is a great idea.

Too long/far IMO.

As PPs say it also makes a difference how many days.

How many minutes (in theory) does the train take, and what’d be your journey at the London end?

I do it, and it's expensive but doable

* I might be more put off by the Brexit/UKIP aspect than anything else*

Margate is not the place for you

Agree with the Brexit comment, that’s what it felt like to me. Went for a weekend recently and didn’t get what all the “Shoreditch-on-sea” comments were about at all. There are a few trendier restaurants & shops but very much the minority. It was busy and buzzing during the heatwave but I imagine it will be hard going in the depths of winter. And I’m not sure I’d want a ~90 min commute each way

Yes you have the fast trains now when in my day it took me 2hrs with the slam doors to get to LDN and back it is half the time now.

Personally look outside of Margate i.e Westgate on Sea, broadstairs etc. Margate is not the best place to live very benefit town with lots of crime and drugs.

Cost of commute would be horrendous.

Season ticket is £5,512

Assuming a 20 year working life left and 2% annual inflation that's £133,927 you could have spent on a house closer in, but instead gave to Southern.

Broadstairs is much nicer, and slightly nearer too. Gorgeous but less busy beach, lovely houses and schools.

You could also try places like Walmer, Sandwich etc look at the outskirts of Margate do not be fooled by Margate it is honestly not an ideal or nice place to live.

Beaver you beat me to it! I was just about to say there are nicer places nearby! Walmer, Deal, Sandwich, Westgate, Whitstable (expensive but nice) are so much nicer. Having said that Margate does have a sandy beach! Not sure if Westgate is on the highspeed trainline.

I live in Maidstone which has high speed to London (40 minutes) and it about 45 mins drive from Margate.

However my colleague is dealing with the planning application for the new Thanet Parkway train station which will have a direct route to London!!! So in a few years time it will be possible.

Sandwich is my home town. Happy to discuss in more depth by pm if op wishes.

It is VERY expensive - not just cost of rent/mortgage but council tax too. Locals are very much being priced out.

But, if you can afford it, it is an amazing little place, beach is shingle but still lovely, schools are fantastic, great pubs and cafes/restaurants.

If I could afford it I'd move back there in a heartbeat. It's lottery winner money now though. The only non-rich people I know living there have lived there a long time and/or inherited property there.

It's also a little further out so longer commute time and I'm guessing more expensive.

Deal and walmer are also lovely. Deal is busier and walmer more rural. Walmer beach is lovely.

Margate is such a shithole.

Margate is still pretty grotty, housing aside. People have been muttering about it’s gentrification for decades and it is happening, but painfully slowly. Folkestone has as good, if not better, period housing and a better (though as expensive) commute to St Pancras. We wanted seaside living and impulse bought in Folkestone. DH commutes daily and it’s not a problem. Quality of life for all of us is infinitely better. Some areas aren’t great, but no worse than parts of London. We still go to Margate often (family there) but I am confident we chose the better location.

According to an article in today's Guardian you can have 'sound therapy' from some woman who has moved out of London. It is a 'combination of alchemy crystal singing bowls and her own voice'.

She used to be in marketing.

I visited Margate in November and it was grim and depressing.

Grew up in Thanet, family still there in Westgate, Broadstairs and Cliffsend.

Moved away and never looked back. Margate may be getting slightly more hipster with independent shops and cafes, but the people are still mostly assholes with entitled attitudes (but no career motivation to back it up).

If you definitely set your sights in the area, go for Broadstairs. It's the more expensive part of Thanet and the people are generally nicer. You will commute for a good career though for the rest of your life, as there's isn't much going on in Thanet itself.

There is also a reason people call Margate 'Marghetto'...

Thanks everyone. I am lol-ing at some of the comments, you paint a very expressive picture

My wife and I are looking to relocate to Broadstairs and do the commute.

We are trying to find out how busy the train is in the morning . . . Thinking we would get the 7:19. . .. . .

Is the train busy, would we get a seat?

Would we be able to sit together?

Also, are the trains back to Broadstairs at night very busy, what is likelihood of getting a seat?