Ashford, Kent (or anywhere else really)

[Help2moveplz]

Hi everyone,
We are looking to move from North London (tiny houses, high rent, high independent school fees,...).
We were recommended Spring Grove Primary School in Kent by someone. It looks good. And if we live in Ashford it will be great for our commute ( to kings cross/Warren Street). However we know nothing about the area. The online reviews don't seem nice. The house prices seem unbelievingly low though. Our budget is max 700k for a 3 bedroom place so we could somwhere else as well if it's a better area. But don't want to increase on the commute time. Will really appreciate your honest reviews on the place.
We are new to the country so haven't set a foot there.
Thanks.

I dint know much about Ashford, but Sevenoaks seems really nice (well, villages around). I think Kent has grammar school system...

Do you want to be in London or outside of it?

We’re down in Sutton, zone 5 south of the river. There are direct trains to St Pancras and you would get a seat both ways. Several preps to choose from and loads of senior schools within easy reach. Prep fees in the region of 3-4.5k per term. You could but wouldn’t need to spend 700k on a 3-bed house.

Thanks everyone. We aren't really used to the London life. We moved here just around three years back. Don't have any family around. Have a young child. So any area with young families, playgrounds, access to green areas etc will be great. Also, will be good to have a lower crime rate. Had a burglary last year which really shook us up.
We do like having a local high street, woods and playgrounds around, plus lots of activities for our child.
We are looking to keep our commute to 45-50 mins to Warren street/kings cross.
And are looking for primary school for our daughter - looking to spend around max 13k annual fees.

Bromley and around that area is nice and not so far out, Ashford has nice countryside around, but nothing else going on, the centre is very down at heel. I personally wouldn't move there.

Have you thought about Tunbridge Wells? Good schools and very popular with families. Much more upmarket than Ashford .
Nice High Street and good links to London.

You’ll probably need to visit a few schools to see which ones you like.

Around Sutton, under 12k in fees can be done at Sutton High (all through GDST school), Seaton House is a very highly rated girls’ prep but v affordable too. Collingwood is a small homely coed prep.

For those schools, you could live in South Sutton, Carshalton Village or Beeches. All v green, parks, playgrounds and countryside within walking distance. Very safe and family oriented so tons to do for children - anything from ballet to bouldering. Sutton has a large town centre so a lot of shops, cinema, restaurants and cafes etc. Carshalton has a smaller high st and Beeches a parade of shops with everything you’d need day-to-day but Sutton is only 1-1.5mile away if you need clothes/bikes/musical instruments etc

Other than the slower St Pancras train, there are Victoria and London Bridge lines so you’ll have plenty of commuting options. 50 mins should be fine if you live close to the station. DH prefers the slower St Pancras line as he can get lots of work done on the way so he’s at home more than he was living in zone 2 and wasting all of his commuting time on being a sardine in a tin.

I just wanted to say to bear in mind that senior school fees are higher than prep so it’s worth budgeting more. If it isn’t easily affordable, then it’s a common choice to go with state at primary and pay for independent at secondary.

Ashford is not somewhere I would recommend living at all. The surrounding area is nice, but a bit remote and the twin itself has almost nothing I would say is worth moving for.

We moved from London to Kent. Ashford is a bit something and nothing to be honest...the villages are gorgeous if that’s your thing, but the town itself is a totally meh. Canterbury is beautiful with good schools, but for family life I would recommend 100% Folkestone which is where we decided upon. No private schools but all the local primaries are good (we took ours out of prep into a local state and were very happy) and the Grammars here are outstanding and less competitive than London. Huge exodus from London and Brighton to here but you would get something lovely for your budget. DH commutes daily to Kings X it’s 54 mins and a pleasant journey too. Best thing we ever did.

This is the sort of thing you could buy in Folkestone for your budget. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96851198.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72502086.html And you would have the best of all worlds...beach, countryside, woodland, pleasant commute, Europe on the doorstep for mini breaks via channel tunnel (in more normal times) . We looked all over Kent, Sussex and Suffolk (we had come from overseas with no family ties) and this was such a lucky find as we had never heard of it before a friend of a friend mentioned giving it a google and we really couldn’t find somewhere else that offered so much. There is so much investment going on here we are spoiled for choice of entertainment at the weekends and lots of independent restaurants and cafes. Def8ntely worth investigating 😁

Thanks @Letsgobritishcaledonian, it looks like such a beautiful area. But it's a longer commute than my husband would like. But I will show him the area, maybe he will change his mind.

@TheBitchOfTheVicar, thanks. That's what I have read about Ashford.

@Help2moveplz

Thanks *@Letsgobritishcaledonian*, it looks like such a beautiful area. But it's a longer commute than my husband would like. But I will show him the area, maybe he will change his mind.

Tell him not only is Ashford not a great area he also won’t get a seat on the High Speed as they all get filled at Folkestone 😂

I really like the area around Folkestone and think it would suit outdoorsy people given the attractive countryside and the coast. However, it might be worth factoring in that the sought after Village primaries are mostly church schools, the non-selective secondary options are terrible and there are no independent schools around.

Bexleyheath and it's surroundings will be good for you. It's in zone 5, nice area and a lot of grammar schools. It's close to Woolwich (DLR) and direct buses to many Grammar schools in Kent.

The surrounding villages of ashford are nice but the town itself is lacking. There are some good schools but as the kids get older you will be driving them everwhere. As a previous poster stated, canterbury is nice, plenty of good state primaries with a mix of kids, theres independant schools and boarding schools if you're into that. Its great for family life and completely walkable. High train fares though and much more expensive than ashford. Folkestone also nice, especially hythe side. Parts of faversham are nice.

£700k on a house in Ashford?! Sorry but would agree with others that it just isn’t very nice!

Kent is lovely with some beautiful towns and villages and countryside. Because of our education system, it is somewhere you have to really carefully look into before you buy though so you don’t end up in a bad school area if you don’t plan to go private (and to be clear, you really don’t need to go private unless of course it’s your preference).

Sevenoaks is usually where a lot of people start looking as the commute is circa 30 minutes. £700k would get you a decent if not huge property! On the state school side - if DC are bright then the Tonbridge boys and girls grammars are in catchment (Weald, Judd, Tonbridge Girls Grammar). If DC don’t pass the 11+ then the comp (Knole Academy) isn’t most people’s first choice but is better than its poor reputation.

I’m technically Sevenoaks but live in one of the villages surrounding it (Borough Green). There are lots of very pretty villages here but you’d want to avoid the ones with no train station as the drive into Sevenoaks of a morning is a nightmare! You’d get more house for £700k here & next door Wrotham & Platt than you would in Shoreham and Otford. We also have our own train station (Borough Green and Wrotham), frequent trains into Victoria and Blackfriars, good/outstanding Primaries, a good state Secndary (Wrotham) and we’re in the catchment area for the Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone grammars.

Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are both great options if you want a town. Tonbridge properties are cheaper than Tunbridge Wells, the commute is better, the good school options a bit broader too if you don’t go the 11+ route. The shops and feel of Tunbridge Wells are more upmarket though.

Avoid Maidstone. It’s over the 45 minute commute. You’d get a big property for £700K, it’s got decent shopping and some nice historic buildings in the town but it does have big problems with both drugs and homelessness. With apologies to anyone living there, there is a definite rough element. Some of the villages surrounding it are lovely but not all have stations. If DC don’t pass the 11+ or you’re not Catholic then the state options are poor.

Also take a look at Meopham (Pronounced Mep ham -it’s state Secondary (Meopham) is currently I believe the best state secondary in Kent. You’d also be in a couple of grammar catchment areas. I believe (I’ll check in a minute) it has its own station. The house prices are all decent too. It’s not the prettiest town in Kent (but neither is it the ugliest) and the shopping is limited though.

Altogether, moving here is a bit of a balancing act between commute, house prices and schools but plenty of us have done it from London. Good luck. Feel free to pm me.

Checked - Meopham has a train station and the journey in is between 39-54 minutes to London

@chukwe

Bexleyheath and it's surroundings will be good for you. It's in zone 5, nice area and a lot of grammar schools. It's close to Woolwich (DLR) and direct buses to many Grammar schools in Kent.

Sibling living in Bexleyheath. Their commute is longer than DHs to King X. You’d be looking at closer to an hour and a half to Warren Street from there easily.

Around Bromley, Bickley, Chislehurst and Beckenham would get you a nice house, fast trains to Victoria then a few stops on the tube to Warren Street plus the Thameslink trains to Kings x. There are very good schools both private and state, plenty of green open areas and shops.

Sevenoaks
Tunbridge Wells
Ashford
Folkestone/ Canterbury

Placed in order of property prices and it is reflected in the distance from London and commute time!

I have lived in TW, worked in Ashford and Maidstone and now leave in a small town in East Kent so know the areas well!

Like everything it depends what you are looking for, what schools would suit your children, whether you want town or country!

West Kent is different to Mid Kent and East Kent is different again.

It is a big county with a grammar system

All towns have 'rough parts' and homelessness and drug problems ime

£700 is a healthy budget.

The villages around Maidstone are really nice and there’s good train links to London.

Loose

Bearsted

Maidstone isn’t that bad and all places have drug and homelessness problems, even the nice places mentioned above.

If you need to get to Kings Cross, wouldn’t it be easier to move out to Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire?

@Letsgobritishcaledonian That's not true. Direct train from Bexleyheath station to London Victoria station is 43 minutes. Then 3 stops on the Victoria line is warren street station in less than 6 minutes

I think we’ve been done this road before @dingledongle and with respect, I’m going to disagree again as someone on the ground. Yes all areas will have bits that are considered rougher but Bat and Ball in Sevenoaks is a very different proposition to rough areas of Maidstone. I go into Maidstone regularly and it usually takes about a minute from Maidstone East station to spot a homeless person or smell the skunk coming out of the park from the crowds of teenagers. I took my DD this week and we walked along the river, various men day time drinking and one with his knob our pissing into the river. These are commonly held opinions by people living here and are pretty much reflect the official demographics.

Again, I think we are going to have to agree to disagree with apologies!