crawley - milton keynes or kent

[msbhatti]

Hi. i have a limited budget and on my reseach .. i can buy house in crawley
. milton kenyes or kent areas like Grays, Gravesend or greenhithe.

i have two kids . 3 years and 1 year so primary schools are important .

commute wise ... i need to go to central l
london once or twice of week.

please advise where should i buy out of these three areas.

thanks .. budget is 280 for 2 bed room house.

Milton Keynes - the fast train will get you into Euston within 30mins, and due to the road layouts you virtually never have traffic. It’s possible to get to the station in 5-10mins from pretty much everywhere in the morning. The only issue is secondary schools - you need to pick your area carefully due to postcode gang violence. But that issue is a million times worse in the other areas you mentioned.

I’m in MK if you have any specific questions 👍🏻

I’d be careful with Crawley - so much of the local economy is based around Gatwick and the area is going to struggle unless air travel makes some kind of recovery post Covid.

I don't know the others but some parts of Crawley are really nice and the schools are good etc.

But - your budget is a bit too low for those areas and what people say about the economy could well be a problem coming up.

Plus - commute into London is from three bridges station - not Crawley itself. Something to bear in mind!

The commute from MK is really easy and there's loads of really lovely green space. As previous poster said, it's so quick to get around the city, even in rush hour.

In my opinion MK is hugely underrated and unfairly slated
We have always had great service from the hospital
Good schools
Easy to get around
Diverse community
So easy to get to London/Oxford/Cambridge/the big airports, it is very central!
V good train service
Lots of things for kids to do and great opportunities, eg sailing at Willen Lake, fab rugby and football clubs around, v good gymnastic clubs, lots of parks and green space (have a look at the Parks Trust), pre-covid a thriving arts scene. Basically whatever your child fancies, somewhere someone will offer it!
Beware of the sewage smell around Broughton when you house hunt!!
No overhead flight paths!

Good luck with your search x

I grew up in Crawley. If you look at Pound Hill or Three Bridges, you have a very good link from Three Bridges station into Victoria. The schools in this area are also good, I’ve got friends who live there with kids. For your budget, you’ll get a 2 bed house in these areas.

I know MK and not all the secondary schools are good. Some haven’t been great at all down the years. There are nice areas and not so nice areas so get into a decent catchment area for secondary - check Ofsted history. Most primary schools are fine.

The other area I would consider is Aylesbury. It has grammars but a fairly decent rail service. More of a community than MK. However I would suggest Waddesdon. It has the best school that’s not a grammar in the county. It’s a short commute to Aylesbury Parkway station. It’s further out of London than MK but it’s a village with a strong community. Your money would get a small 3 bed terrace but they are popular due to the school.

Milton Keynes is nice. Crawley has a bad rep but has lots of nice areas. I second ensuring you are near to Three bridges station which has much faster trains. With Kent, I personally wouldn’t move their due to the grammar school system which is really stressful for children.

It may be worth looking at some of the towns along the st Pancras line. Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering and market Harborough.

You will get more for your money than in MK but still have the benefit of fast transport links into London.

The 11 plus isn’t that stressful. It’s of DC in Milton Keynes take it and loads of MK children are in Bucks grammar schools. It really is a case of what parents want and the DC who know they won’t pass can opt out. It’s only stressful for the borderline ones and the ones with parents who prep their dc to the nth degree. However the flight of DC from MK to Bucks grammars can leave West MK schools short of the brightest DC. Their schools are comprehensive but with a top slice missing in some instances.

Lots of DC in MK take it.....

I like Crawley, despite its bad reputation. Three Bridges has more trains to London. That and Pound Hill have good primaries I've heard. Hazelwick is a great secondary school.

@Guymere

The 11 plus isn’t that stressful. It’s of DC in Milton Keynes take it and loads of MK children are in Bucks grammar schools. It really is a case of what parents want and the DC who know they won’t pass can opt out. It’s only stressful for the borderline ones and the ones with parents who prep their dc to the nth degree. However the flight of DC from MK to Bucks grammars can leave West MK schools short of the brightest DC. Their schools are comprehensive but with a top slice missing in some instances.

Choose carefully if you are thinking of the Bucks grammars as catchment only reaches Newton Leys and West Bletchley or some of Stony Stratford now. Look on Bucks CC website for allocation distances last year.

I would factor in the London travel costs, parking and travel time.
Crawley would be a no from me.
Milton Keynes or Kent I'd consider.

Kent def no - worked for Gravesham BC for many years and had to travel the borough...no thanks.

Worked for Crawley BC, again lots of travelling around borough....it's OK but very densely populated. Tilgate, Ifield, Southgate are OK. Hazelwick and St Wilfs (Catholic) are very good secondary schools and Oriel is OK.
If you could stretch to Horsham or Horley which are kind of either side of Crawley.

Top choice would be MK.

Mk is fab. Loads of nice areas (just avoid the older central areas that are laid out like a grid, although even they have some nicer parts) and lots of good/excellent schools, although the best ones are obviously over subscribed so you may not be guaranteed a place as an in-year application.

The sewage works mentioned can be an issue in a hot day for areas close by (east Willen and north Broughton) but you can see on a map where you are in relation to it, so just avoid those! It’s no worse than living somewhere where Farm smells are a bit pongy a couple of times a year tbh. If you want easy access to the station there are more useful areas anyway.

I drive around Mk as part of my job so I’m familiar with most areas - if you want a local opinion on any areas/houses here feel free to PM me.

Crawley has never been the place it hoped to be. Its reliance on Gatwick for employment and associated services means the area is in for a very difficult time economically, although property may be cheaper.

I would opt for MK. Those areas in Kent you suggested are not particularly nice and being close to the Dartford tunnel traffic is horrendous. It only takes one crash and you could be stuck for hours.

@GrumpyHoonMain

Milton Keynes - the fast train will get you into Euston within 30mins, and due to the road layouts you virtually never have traffic. It’s possible to get to the station in 5-10mins from pretty much everywhere in the morning. The only issue is secondary schools - you need to pick your area carefully due to postcode gang violence. But that issue is a million times worse in the other areas you mentioned.

Thanks for your advide

so based on recommendations so far ... priority it will be MK or crawley.

no more kent areas . as no recommendation .. i know few kent areas are nice but those are out of my budget.

Crawly no doubt alot depends on airport . i have a friend there . he told me the same. apart from that he was happy in terms of schools and connections to Central london from three bridge station

We're there any parts of Kent u thought were ok, like Maidstone?

Where in Kent can u get faster travel times into london?

Some of Kent is lovely - Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Canterbury, Hever, Penshurst, Rye, Deal.

But there’s posh Kent and deprived Kent and they’re two different worlds.