Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Best place to live in Essex?

28 replies

Gemmu · 13/04/2019 11:45

Hi all
We're hoping to buy a new place in Essex for under 300k and were hoping for some advice.
We currently live in Loughton and although we love the area, the forest and the tube, the knife crime has heightened and we couldn't afford a house here.
Our budget has pushed us out of our original choice of Rayleigh.
We would like somewhere great for young families, a low crime rate and preferably semi rural with access to London for work.
We have been looking at Braintree but I keep reading terrible reviews about the town. We love the idea of Halstead, Kelvedon and Maldon but I'm not sure if the commute to London would be to much of a nightmare. Burnham on Crouch and Wivenhoe are also on our maybe list.
We're originally from Chelmsford and Brentwood and we aren't keen to move back to either area.
Any opinions would be most welcome. We would like some guidance from families in the know Smile
Thanks in advance

OP posts:
pinksquash13 · 13/04/2019 11:52

Hockley, Hawkwell and Hullbridge could be good options for you.

Inferiorbeing · 13/04/2019 16:23

I live in braintree and it's fine, people just can be a bit snobby! It's a decent enough area, we were priced out of a house in chelmsford so managed to buy a 3 bed very reasonably. The secondary schools aren't great, notely is probably the best though and the town is quite small so we tend to go down to chelmsford (and bond street!) For the main shopping. I also work in halsted which is an adorable town but the commuting would definitely be a hassle! I also used to live near wivenhoe and its really nice too, but the train to London is so long, rowhedge is another one we looked at but had the same issue of travel.

ShutTheFridgeUp · 13/04/2019 16:26

Another Braintree one here! It's not so bad, much like any other small town to be honest. Have you considered witham?

sazzle27 · 13/04/2019 16:51

Nowt wrong with Braintree!
We're selling a three bed under 399k, walking distance to Freeport, primary school and Notley High.
It's Chelmsford side of Braintree and we regularly access Southend side of Essex as well as Colchester end for family needs, as not too far from the a12.
For us it's been brilliant, cheaper than Chelmsford and with all amenities required close by!

theploughinn · 13/04/2019 17:48

Avoid Redbridge/Ilford

AwkwardPaws27 · 13/04/2019 17:52

Ilford is in the London Borough of Redbridge - which isn't in Essex anyway Wink

AwkwardPaws27 · 13/04/2019 17:58

OP, the Maldon / Burnham on Crouch / Southminster area is lovely (I've got family in St Lawrence Bay, and I considered moving to Southminster before) but a bit of a slog in to London - probably ok if you can WFH once or twice a week but I wouldn't want to do it every day.

There's some lovely villages around Colchester but then you'd need to drive to the station and park, which is more time and money (considering the cost of a season ticket from Colchester being pretty high to begin with).

Wickford might be an option - the high street is rather tired but it's safe and friendly with a shorter commute?

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 13/04/2019 21:31

Do you need to travel to London at all?
Do you need to be near a station? On the mythical CrossRail (if it ever arrives Hmm )

My DS goes to Stratford for University and travels in , there's the cost of travel to consider , the further out you go , the more £ it gets.

AlexaAmbidextra · 14/04/2019 00:14

I live in Maldon. It’s a lovely town. There’s no station so you need to drive to either Witham or Hatfield Peverel. The train is only 35-40 minutes to Liverpool Street though so absolutely possible on a daily basis.

Singlenotsingle · 14/04/2019 00:21

I'm in Braintree too. Nothing wrong with it but it's not special. Halstead is nice but you'd have to drive 5 miles into Braintree to get the train. Dunmow's lovely. Colchester is nice and it's got a main line railway station.

Tartyflette · 14/04/2019 00:37

Dunmow is indeed very nice but I don't think there is a lot on the market for under 300k. There are a few around 325k.
Have you thought about Stansted? Good rail links to London and Cambridge, nice town and of course not far from the airport.
(Bishop's Stortford is closer but that's in Hertfordshire)
There seem to be a few properties for sale under 300 k, you haven't said what you need in terms of house or flat, bedrooms etc but there are a couple of 2-BR End terraces or similar.

Holidayshopping · 14/04/2019 00:39

Priced out of Rayleigh-I’m surprised! WhT did you find there?

Singlenotsingle · 14/04/2019 07:27

South Ockendon? A friend has just bought a 3bed mid terrace there for 300k. All modernised, nice area, decent garden.

Spickle · 14/04/2019 09:22

Another one here surprised you couldn't find anything in Rayleigh, but I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

This house (needing modernisation) is in Billericay - which is a nice town, great schools and close to rural areas. It also has a station for trains to London (trains are crowded though):

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-79673087.html

This one in Rayleigh only has two bedrooms and no floor plan, but looks as though there is scope for a loft conversion. It's also within walking distance of the station and close to great schools.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61263906.html

I don't think South Ockendon will be rural enough for you and there are some not nice areas.

Gemmu all the areas you mention will involve a long commute and Maldon doesn't have a train station. Not sure why you wouldn't consider Brentwood or Chelmsford. There are lots of new houses going up in Chelmsford so would be more chance of finding something that suits you, plus the town has had a lot of money spent on it in recent years. Brentwood is a bit "Towie" and also expensive.

Holidayshopping · 14/04/2019 10:14

What about places like Canewdon, Stambridge, Paglesham?

OutingOutlander · 14/04/2019 10:19

Hi,

I currently live in Braintree and it's okay, but not that pleasant and although it has more shopping availability than places more rural, it's not a great place for children imo as it's busy, there's not a lot of green areas and people aren't very nice here.

I also grew up in Halstead and plan to move back there. There's less shops but a lot of parks/fields, it's got a lot of younger families and people smile and say hello there. I still visit often and it's not changed.

I hope this helps but if you have any questions, fire away.

OutingOutlander · 14/04/2019 10:22

By people not being nice, anyone who knows Braintree should know about the Foyer here and I'm close to there so it's a lot of drunk/high people who scream arguments most nights where I am.

PoshNorthEssex · 14/04/2019 11:25

DH commutes from Kelvedon - we live in Coggeshall and he cycles to the station although there is also a community bus for prime commuting time and we know lots of people who drive to the station. HTH!

RosaWaiting · 14/04/2019 11:28

I don't know all the places listed here, but of the ones I do know, I'm a bit confused because Loughton seems the nicest by far.

Also have you checked the stats on knife crime? They will probably be very similar, or higher, in other parts of Essex.

RosaWaiting · 14/04/2019 11:29

oh I just thought - are you in Loughton or Debden? That muddies stats a lot.

I tend to think of them as very separate - spent some of childhood years in Debden, but I think it's changed a lot.

Inferiorbeing · 14/04/2019 12:00

There is no way the OP can buy a new build house in chelmsford for 300k! You can just about get a 2 bed in Springfield for that.

PerspicaciaTick · 14/04/2019 12:04

If you were looking at Rayleigh, I'd take a look at Wickford.

Spickle · 14/04/2019 13:09

There is no way the OP can buy a new build house in chelmsford for 300k! You can just about get a 2 bed in Springfield for that

No, but if you do a rightmove search of 2+ bedrooms in Chelmsford of properties for sale between £270,000 and £300,000, approximately 99 properties come up, compared to approximately 12 in Rayleigh and 12 in Billericay. OP hasn't stated how many bedrooms they want.

I'm a bit confused because Loughton seems the nicest by far

Yes, it probably is but OP says she can't afford a house there. I assume therefore that they are currently in a flat and now want a house, so are having to look further out to get a house for £300k.

Branleuse · 14/04/2019 14:09

Wivenhoe

Original poster
Gemmu · 14/04/2019 20:48

Thank you so much for all these amazing responses! It's my first post and shows what a great community this is!
I should have clarified that we are after a 3 bed. Thank you so much for all the tips and advice on braintree and all surrounding areas. It is definitely food for thought.
Brentwood and Chelms are on the dearer side for us for what we need. And yes we are in a flat and desire a house which we can't afford in loughton. We are in between both loughton and debden and have had a few sketchy instances whereby we no longer feel safe.
We had our place valued today and our budget has reduced to 250k so we are sadly more limited but fingers crossed we'll find somewhere x

OP posts: