Devon or Kent?

[silvershells]

DH and I are looking to move out of London to live nearer the sea. Our top two locations are Devon and Kent, as we really like both counties from what we’ve seen on various holidays over the years. The problem is, we can’t decide which one to go for!

We both work from home so we’re not tied in that sense. We have a budget of £300,000 and good schools are important for our son, who is currently 8 months.

Does anyone have any advice?

We live in Bexleyheath

With all of Kent to choose from, I wouldn't choose Bexleyheath!

Kent has much better rail connections than Devon. A lot of towns have more than one rail line, so if there's problem on one line, there's still an alternative. I don't know what bus services are like in Devon, but they're not bad in Kent - not equal to London, of course.

As pp said, one of the major plus points of Kent is being able to get to the coast or to London quickly and easily. The best of both worlds. And Kent itself has lovely countryside and walks and lots of historic places to visit.

I live in Kent but we often holiday in Devon. If we had the choice of either without commuting issues, I’d choose Devon every time. It’s just less built up & the countryside is prettier (not that Kent is ugly, it’s not). Schools here are an issue - good secondaries are fewer and often over subscribed and grammar places are highly sought after with private after school tutoring for the Kent Test often starting in Year 4. If you have the option of avoiding living in a selective County, I would.

As for diversity, it depends on the town but it’s still very white. Politically (and the same may go for Devon) it’s very pro Tory, pro Brexit with some areas of Medway being UKIP.

Not that you’d know it from the above but I’m very fond of Kent! Just given a free choice it would be Devon.

I would go for Kent to live although prefer Devon on holiday.

Friends have relocated to Devon from north Kent and although had a pleasant decade are now looking to come back to the SE and the house prices have not kept up so are now struggling. Also their children have ended up moving to the SE as young adults as there are not as many job opportunities in the SW. Long term you might find it quite isolating.

I live in Devon and love it but I think although it's a long way off, your child(ren) will find it easier to get careers underway with a base in Kent. Obviously a lot of kids leave for uni and don't come back to to the area but that's almost guaranteed if they are ambitious and are Devon based.

As a quick alternative suggestion, how about East Sussex? It’s got very pretty coastal towns like Rye, it’s very rural, there isn’t a grammar system and the house prices are better than in Kent. It’s a longer commute to London than Kent (not that this is an issue for you but thinking much longer term for DC) but it’s still do-able. Battle is a very pretty town with lots of history, a good secondary and in easy shot of the coast. It’s on the mainline to London and is surrounded by pretty countryside.

Again, it’s just a suggestion!

I've just visited Margate/Broadstairs/Ramsgate in Kent, and Exmouth in Devon. Out of the two counties I did feel more relaxed in Exmouth, and there seems to be a lot for young people to do there.

I think it depends where in Kent as it's so varied. Like, I don't particularly want to live in Thanet but have friends who love living in Margate. Love the area around Canterbury and Whitstable but I know people who dont. Have you spent much time here?

some places in Kent are UKIP central (mostly relates to the older generation)!
Folkestone is different by all accounts - quite liberal and arty.

I only know about the area in Devon around Honiton / Exeter - friend lives there, it's really nice and not regressive.

I've lived in Devon and Kent. Devon is fine for holidays, but I absolutely hated living there. It seemed so cut off and backward. Kent has so much nearby, London, France and Canterbury. It's easy to go to London for shows etc. There are some lovely towns. I like Deal, Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Faversham.

If my town is anything to go by then Devon is rammed today. Traffic jams are worse than a normal August Bank Holiday.

I love Devon , my sister lived there for a while but Kent is lovely and gives such easy access to the coast , Europe , London and the countryside that it makes it a more sensible choice .

My vote is Kent.

But then I've always lived within a 30 minute train journey of London. And an easy drive of Gatwick/Heathrow and I wouldn't really want to sacrifice either of those things.

Well I live in South Devon and we have some very good grammar schools and some very good secondary schools.
Obviously Devon is a lot cheaper than Kent for property prices so you could get much more house for you money.
I think every area has issues of some sort but generally I love living by the sea and the pace of life is definitely slower in Devon.
I'm only a 30 minute drive from Exeter which is good for shopping and the train to London Paddington is only just over 3 hours.