Honest opinions of Grays, Essex

[hopefully2021]

Hi,
Just looking for some honest opinions please - me and my husband are currently buying our first home and will be moving from Hackney in East London - our chosen areas are Aveley, South Ockendon and Chafford Hundred (due to our budget - you seem to get the most for your money in those areas), however I've seen a few really nice houses in Grays. I was always under the impression that Grays was a bit rough but would value some advice from people who currently live there or have recently lived there (and why you decided to move)
Many thanks!

I used to live in South Ockendon. I think the best of those would be Chafford Hundred. Plus you have lakeside on your doorstep when it reopens!

Sorry just to add we moved because we moved to be nearer family, but South Ockendon at the time was quite soulless and industrial. The other areas you mentioned don't have a brilliant reputation either but I didn't live there, it was just what I heard from others

My Granny used to live in Grays. I also have family in Aveley but don't really know it myself.
On the plus side - it's a short journey into London, property prices are low, the weather is great (it always seemed sunny when I visited) and I get the impression that families stay in the area. There's quite a lot of employment opportunities.
But, it's not the most glamorous of places. It's a lot more diverse than when I was growing up.
Not sure what the town centre is like now, suspect Lakeside and Bluewater have hollowed out many local shops.
Chafford Hundred is more of a new town. I think a lot of London people move out there for more space.
Everywhere is very flat!

With parts of Grays and Chafford Hundred you should bear in mind that if there is trouble with the crossing the traffic around Grays can get backed up for miles and cause lots of local road chaos.

Air quality notoriously not great, again, largely because of the crossing.

If you have, or plan children have a look at school catchments as there are a couple of good ones and a few to avoid.

You used to get loads for your money but prices to seem to have risen a bit lately.

PP is right that Grays is more diverse than it used to be.

Chafford Hundred feels a bit like a giant new build estate (even though it's not new anymore).

South Ockendon used to be properly rough, not sure if still the case (I left a while ago).

Can't speak for Aveley.

Thanks all, its so hard when picking somewhere new to live - We've lived through Hackney before it was the 'in' place to be but sadly property prices are shocking here so we can't afford to buy what we want, for our budget it's either buy a flat here in a local authority block or move further out and buy a 2/3 bed house with a garden and as we are planning children in the future and have quite a large dog it seems like the best solution but as it such a big financial decision I just want to ensure we don't end up regretting our choice!
I work in the city so will mostly be commuting via train (with working from home a few days a week) so traffic not an issue for me, however my other half will need to drive into London everyday but can be flexible with hours so hoping he can avoid the normal rush hour when lockdown eases
To be honest, we have lived the London life for so long I don't mind a bit of boring - I just want a nice house with plenty of space where family and friends can visit and stay with a few shops nearby so I don't feel like I'm isolated if I'm home alone and fancy going shopping etc

Another one here who wouldn't recommend Grays. I can see how it looks tempting though, if you're browsing houses on Rightmove or whatever. You do get so much more for your money... but as previous poster said, there's a reason for this.

I'm not that far away. Could you perhaps share your budget in case there're other areas that might work?

I live in a not very nice part of Essex, not far away. The only one of those I'd consider is Chafford Hundred, although I think Basildon or Stanford Le Hope would be better and similarly priced.

Basildon is a much easier commute.

@CellophaneFlower our budget is around £350k and we would like a 3 bed house
@Toorapid Basildon would be too far for my husband who will have to drive into east London every day unfortunately! We are looking for an area which is a 30-35 min drive from Bethnal Green plus an easy commute on a train into central London (for myself) so it’s very difficult to find somewhere that ticks all the boxes...

Another person advising against areas around there. I used to work around there and hated it -the congestion, crime, lack of facilities etc

Friend moved there about 20 years ago as was cheap...he stayed about 7 years and moved on....found it a bit desolate and nobody ever visited...I would continue searching...prices are meant to dip this year so you could extend your search or look for a decent purpose built flat, in a block or not....

I moved there from London after I got married in 1996. We lived in Chafford Hundred. Bought our first house there as it was affordable. It was also soul destroying. I lasted 6 years, got pregnant with my second and said no way to staying. We moved back to London and I don’t regret it. East london to chafford hundred will be a massive culture shock. Don’t discount that at all.

Wouldn’t move there if you paid me.

@Wiifitmama can I ask why you found it soul destroying? Why was it so bad if you don’t mind me asking?

Avoid avoid avoid...I was born in tilbury, moved to Ockendon then to Grays. As soon as I went to uni I never went back. My parents also moved as soon as my grandparents died..just to be away from the area...its so rough even cats carry flick knives...what about Horndon, vange, they couldn't add too much to the journey?

Chafford Hundred would be the only one I'd consider. Grays is quite run down with a lot of crime but does have its own small shopping area. Aveley is good but absolutely nowhere to walk to. You'd be using the car a lot more if you move to these areas. Do you have 2 cars?
How about Purfleet very close to the old A13?

@restie when you say rough, how rough are we talking? I grew up in Hackney and was used to seeing people beaten up and robbed sometimes on a daily basis, even now we suffer from a huge rate of knife and gun crime with it not being surprising if someone is shot in broad daylight - surely these areas can't be worse than that?
What areas would you recommend?

Yes, I was surprised to hear Grays was 35 min from Bethnal Green.

Yep, it's no rougher than what you have experienced...but it has the feeling of being edgy, so I never felt comfortable walking about (I know 2 people that only work in Grays and they said they dont even venture out in their lunch break as it 'feels' rough ... a bit extreme)I think I found the racial hatred, small narrow mindedness in general stifling when I grew up. Ofcourse it's not all bad and there are decent folk there... but I think it is soulless as others have said. Are places off the A127 too far out?

Where are you getting the 35 minutes from Bethnal Green from? Google maps says 48 minutes I’m afraid.

Looking at the roads in and out I’d be considering Ilford and Redbridge but I don’t know if they’re nice or not.

The route in from Romford is slow, otherwise it would be a contender.

Can you compromise on your criteria a bit? Do you really need a third bedroom? I don’t think you’ll get three bedrooms 35 minutes drive from Bethnal Green.

Actually, what about Loughton?

@ThePricklySheep outside of rush hour times, we can do the drive to lakeside in about 30 mins from Bethnal Green

I’d be considering Ilford and Redbridge but I don’t know if they’re nice or not.

Mixed, but £350k is a small budget for a house. You’d possibly get something requiring quite a lot of work for £350k in Dagenham, but it would be in the roughest area you could find.

Also agree that the a roads leading into London from Essex will very rarely only take half an hour. OP have you driven the route pre lockdown, in a normal rush hour?