Potentially moving to Essex NEED HELP!

[Sam3571]

Hello my husband and I are currently living in Medway but are looking to move to the Essex area. Dh works on the Underground and I’m looking to get a job in London too so we would like to live a little closer, specially as we both get free travel on all TFL services.

Looking at houses around £350k - £375k for 3 beds, parking, nice garden and closer travel links to London by train and motorway links back to Medway for visiting family.

Schools wouldn’t be a huge issue atm as we don’t have any children yet.

We have been looking on Rightmove in the Hornchurch, Gidea Park, Brentwood, Harold Wood and Billericay areas but we don’t know much about these areas. Also are happy to consider elsewhere if suitable. DH was told by his colleagues at work to avoid Dagenham, barking, Romford, rainham, grays and Basildon.

Any recommendations?

Have you looked at Elm Park OP? The houses are a little cheaper there but it's a nice enough area and it has a tube station.

Vicarage Road and all areas around that part of Hornchurch are generally cheaper as closer to Romford, you would need to get a bus to Hornchurch station although could walk at a push. If you want catholic schools St. Mary's which is right by there is a great school otherwise you would need to check schools carefully.

Is £400k your max budget?

Plumpton is on the Racecourse Estate, this area is generally fine not as nice as other parts of Hornchurch however you are walking distance to station, you have Hacton parkway which you can walk right through to the country park that you went to and there is a fantastic school there, Hacton. Slightly longer walk into the high street though. But at that price these will be the areas you will be looking at.

That area is fine. If you didn't fancy the walk, there's a bus that runs every 8 mins that will get you to Romford station in 5 mins. The tesco that's in walking distance is the nicest one around here. Harrow Lodge park is a short walk away and has a nice lake and fab cafe. The only thing I would say are the primary schools aren't the best round there if you want 1 really close. They're not horrendous, just not as good as others in the area.

Maximum budget probably around the £385,000 - £395,000 mark.

Not looked at Elm Park, we have been advised Hornchurch is more desirable.

I think we would be prepared to compromise on being a 20 minutes walk away from a station if this meant we got more for our money (as long as the area is nice all be it further away). I looked on google maps and Romford station is 1.3 miles walking, 1.2 miles to Elm Park and 1.4 miles to Emerson Park. Which doesn’t seem too bad tbh.

Oh that’s nice to know cellophane, if we didn’t fancy the walk the buses are frequent to Romford station. Thanks for stating about the primary schools, that of course would be something to consider.

@ Awkward Paws what is a YMCA?

I actually lived in that area, near the tesco, but moved to elm park as wanted a bigger house and couldn't afford it round there. Elm Park actually has better schools, some parts are better than others. Main Hornchurch is nicer overall though. I'll have a look on rightmove later and see what's about. I love an excuse to go on there anyway, haha!

I grew up in the area, lived in Rainham and went to school in Upminster. I moved away 17 years ago and definitely wouldn't move back. Friends who live there still report huge amounts of car thefts and burglaries. That probably hasn't quite reached Hornchurch and Upminster yet but its only a matter of time.

Sorry thats a bit bleak!

Re Hornchurch the nicer bits are nearer the High Street and station. The parts heading towards Romford (what I think of as down past the old bus garage, albeit theres not been a bus garage there since the 80s!) has always been cheaper/ less desirable, distance to station the main factor I think, and proximity to Romford which was never a selling point.

I don't know if you are completely committed to moving to Essex but if not have you considered Kent (specifically Bexley borough)? It's zone 5/6, trains from Sidcup are 20 mins to London Bridge. It's the area I live in now, and whilst its not perfect, it's better than where I lived previously.

There arent many houses at that price point within a mile of a station (they are usually snapped up super quickly if under 400k) but they do exist: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73695200.html

A YMCA is a youth hostel. It also has a gym. It's ok for the gym but I personally wouldn't want to live right by it.

You seem a bit unclear on your budget; it would be a good idea to see a mortgage broker and get an AIP, as without knowing what you can't really start making offers and a lot of estate agents don't take viewings until you have one.

Houses around here seem to be going for near asking price; a neighbouring house recently went for £372k with an asking price of £375k, and another was £398k and it was on for "offers in excess of £380k". Rightmove has a house prices section where you can view sold prices which might help see what similar places have sold for.

VelvetSpoon- I don't think there is any more crime here than in most other London boroughs. Looking through the Upminster and Hornchurch Facebook groups you will see that there is a lot of car theft, we were victims last year, but car theft in general has increased enormously across the country mainly due to keyless systems. I think it would be hard to find an area to move to within the tube network that doesn't have its fair share of crime?

Reason I estimate top end budget because it depends on two factors, the amount we are able to sell our house for and the salary of the job my wife takes as the whole point of us uprooting and moving to Essex is so we both work in London and take advantage of free travel.

Also we currently live in Kent but further out in Medway, we have looked at Essex as we get free travel on TFL services. If we lived somewhere like Bexley we would still have to pay for our travel. So would save us around 4-£6000 a year!

Very interesting to hear houses are hitting their guide prices in this area. Elsewhere in other areas I have heard the opposite

Obviously at the minute we’re not in a position to go round houses and bidding etc. But just trying to get an idea of the nice areas we can afford, and what we can look to expect to achieve. I.e a House that needs major work, one that needs small amounts of work and one that doesn’t need much at all.
I am very thankful for everyone’s time, opinions and guidance though!

Happy to be corrected but I have friends who work for TFL and live near me, and afaik they get free travel within zones 1-6 on all public transport, train, tube or bus - one actually moved from Essex to Kent making sure their new home wasnt further out than zone 6 to keep their free travel entitlement.

It's already been said but please avoid Basildon and Laindon at all costs! Basildon has some lovely new developments but yeah... the whole place is one big dump. The people are never nice, I find. I lived there for 10 years.

School wise, avoid De La Salle, Woodlands and St Anne Line at all costs if you do have children and live there/near.

Grays, Tilbury, Chafford and Chadwell St Mary - Avoid those too.

Velvet I am sorry but you are incorrect. DH has a colleague that commutes from Bromley south, he has to pay for his NR travel.
The TFL employee does still get 75% discount on an annual season ticket, however I wouldn’t get any discounted travel so this is why we have set our eyes on the end of the district line area.

Summer is nearer thank you for confirming our minds. We had heard these places were less desirable and thus wouldn’t really have considered them.

I think we are pretty set on living within the hornchurch area now even if we can’t afford to be towards the centre, seems perfect area to be honest.

Schools seem good.
Green spaces seems brilliant
Reputation seems great
Transport links seems very good
Shopping seems good.
People seem friendly

I have to thank every single person who has contributed to this thread, it would’ve been impossible to make up our minds on areas without your help and guidance. For now I guess we will just have to play the waiting game, hopefully i’ll get a London job soon and then we can put our current house up for sale and start the exciting stage of viewing/bidding on houses!

I hope you find somewhere you like OP. I've lived in this area for a very long time and like it.

It's not perfect by any means but if you want no crime then an island in the middle of the ocean is going to be your best bet!

Im sure you'll be very happy here.

Summer thank you for dismissing me as "not nice" all because I live in Laindon.

St Anne Line school was amazing with my autistic son. Beyond brilliant and in his year group was a girl who got a sought after scholarship.
De la Salle were crap with his needs but that was down to the ineffective SENCO.

I just love people who dismiss others solely based you where they live. Snobbery mostly I find.

OP bits of Basildon and Laindon are fine such as Langdon Hills. However many of these are new builds so not what you want. That's the only reason I'd say to look further towards Billericay and surrounding areas.

Obviously the market could be very different a year from now with the uncertainties of Brexit, but well worth keeping an eye on the "house prices" section of Rightmove to see what places actually went for

If you will be in a new job I'd recommend finding a good broker as they can advise which lenders will consider your application (quite a few won't if you are in probation / on a fixed term contract, as I found out when we remortgaged a few years ago!).

And good luck!

Delores I lived there too. Not everyone isn't nice, obviously. But I find a very big proportion aren't. I have friends and family living over there still, like my DMum and sisters, brother and dad.

I went to St Anne Line not all that long ago, and De La Salle. I did well at DLS (some really lovely teachers who want the best for you), but St Anne Line... I think I spent most of year 6 doing nothing but a few work sheets. No actual work. And the Head most certainly had his favourites - If you're sporty and good at maths, you're in.

Hi Sam3571,
I know it’s a long shot.. but I would go ahead anyway. I work in TFL as well.. and I am trying to move to Brentwood/SHENFIELD area. Can we please tell me if u ultimately moved there? If yes, what schools would u suggest for my 3 year old twins plz? There is a property we liked and it’s about 1mile from Shenfield station. Still unsure if we should go ahead.

I think that you'll struggle to find something for 350-375k in Hornchurch and especially Gidea Park (unless you'd manage with a flat). If you want a house in Gidea Park, you'll be paying minimum 600k+

I bought a house in Rise Park (back of Raphael Park, behind the A12) last year for 500K and even my house is a fixer upper. I don't think anyone has mentioned Rise Park, but the area is decent. I personally wouldn't go further into Collier Row than Rise Park. Collier Row is not the best area in the world and is even further out from Romford Station (you'd need to bus to the station).

I think Harold Wood would have more options for your budget and it's still a fairly quick commute into London. I don't know too much about the area but you should be able to find something that suits you there.

Areas slightly more East like Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath are closer in on the Elizabeth and should have homes which also suit your budget.

Good luck!