Where to live in Kent/Surrey

[absentpresence]

Good morning all. I'm wondering please if anybody has any recommendations of nice areas to move to in Kent or on the Kent/Surrey border. My partner and I currently live on the SE London/Kent border, but would like to move further out.

We would consider going as far out as Canterbury, Ashford, Cranbrook, Crowborough, Crawley. Areas we would like to avoid would be Dartford, Gravesend, Chatham, Orpington as they are too close to London for us.

We will be first time buyers and have a one year old child. Unfortunately we are a bit restricted budget wise , around £215k, which is based on the last conversation I had with a mortgage adviser who said we would need at least a 10% deposit at the moment. We have around £18k saved however we probably won't be looking at buying until the new year, so this will increase.

We have had a look round the above mentioned areas, but it would be nice to have the opinion of those who have lived near/around them thanks in advance!

Surrey is going to be more expensive than Kent.

As your budget is limited (perfectly understandable) you really might be best putting in your budget on Rightmove and seeing where comes up in that price bracket.

The only other thing to factor into the equation is any commuting as property prices get cheaper the further out you go but so does the commuting get more expensive.

Commuting costs - remember to include the cost to/from station if not within walking or cycling distance.

Ashford and Canterbury have fast and slow train lines. Fast is expensive, slow takes forever.

Putting your budget into Rightmove and specifying the type of property you want and seeing what comes up is sensible advice.

Ashford is probably one of the cheaper areas you mentioned. It has the outlet centre, and a lot of new developments. Netflix plan to build studios there so prices may increase in the future, which is good if you can get in before the increase.

Cranbrook has a very popular school which tends to push prices up. Lovely village though.

Canterbury is lovely, and has a range of houses.

Sorry, can’t comment about the other areas.

Cranbrook is lovely but pricey. Crowborough probably cheaper especially now Kerry katona's moved out 😉 (just kidding, my hairdresser did her hair and said she's lovely!) Ashford and Canterbury will be cheaper but a lot further out, so that's why. I really like Canterbury.

I personally wouldn't recommend Ashford although it is good if you commute into London by train. Ashford town centre is pretty grotty these days and there are a few areas in Ashford which are best avoided. There are huge amounts of new housing developments on the outskirts of Ashford, one development being so big its getting its own school. Ashford does have two grammar schools though if you are interested in sending your little one to a grammar school when the time comes. These new housing developments may have incentives for first time buyers though.

Cranbrook is lovely but very pricey due to the catchment area of CranbrookmSchool. What about somewhere like Tenterden or Wittersham or even Rye?

I’d be very surprised if you can find anything in Crowborough(which is East Sussex btw) for £215,000 to be honest. Our one bed house sold for £180k 4 years ago and prices have gone through the roof since then .

We are in Folkestone which is a very mixed bag of middle class west and deprivation in the east. We are in the east. For your budget I would recommend it, you should be able to get a 2 bedroom house with a small garden at least. There are lots of facilities eg lovely sports centre, theatre which does childrens shows cheaply in normal times. And a sandy beach.

I don't know Ashford that well but I would strongly suspect its likely to become more desirable in time, due to the 37 minute commute to London. There is some lovely countryside round there. Canterbury is quite expensive already.

A big factor is where you work, because if you are commuting into London some of these recommendations will involve a long commute and whilst some locations have fast trains, they are expensive, e.g. an annual season ticket from Ashford on the fast train including the tube network at the London end is approx. £7,800. Mind you, it's £6,100 on the slow trains.

In comparison, a season ticket from Dartford including tube network (I know you ruled it out, but just for comparison) is £3,500, or £5,800 on the fast train.

Cranbrook may well be nice - and expensive - but it doesn't have a station; do you drive?

If you / DH are not commuting, or not to London, or not every day, it makes it more practical to be further out (depending on where you are working).

@Icequeen01

I personally wouldn't recommend Ashford although it is good if you commute into London by train. Ashford town centre is pretty grotty these days and there are a few areas in Ashford which are best avoided. There are huge amounts of new housing developments on the outskirts of Ashford, one development being so big its getting its own school. Ashford does have two grammar schools though if you are interested in sending your little one to a grammar school when the time comes. These new housing developments may have incentives for first time buyers though.

Cranbrook is lovely but very pricey due to the catchment area of CranbrookmSchool. What about somewhere like Tenterden or Wittersham or even Rye?

This is super helpful thanks so much. Really appreciate your comments!

Funnily enough my ancestry originates in Tenterden, so it would be lovely to move out that way. However I have looked a few times on Rightmove over the past few weeks, and all that comes up in our price range is park homes!

Don’t bother with shitty Ashford. What about Romney marsh?

@thedarkling

Cranbrook is lovely but pricey. Crowborough probably cheaper especially now Kerry katona's moved out 😉 (just kidding, my hairdresser did her hair and said she's lovely!) Ashford and Canterbury will be cheaper but a lot further out, so that's why. I really like Canterbury.

Cranbrook is beautiful isn't it! I do have some family near Crowborough so it would be nice to be close to them

Canterbury is gorgeous, I can really see myself living there. It's one of the areas I have more experience of too, so it does feel a bit more familiar.. I have come across a few affordable properties too which is promising!

@eightlivesdown

A big factor is where you work, because if you are commuting into London some of these recommendations will involve a long commute and whilst some locations have fast trains, they are expensive, e.g. an annual season ticket from Ashford on the fast train including the tube network at the London end is approx. £7,800. Mind you, it's £6,100 on the slow trains.

In comparison, a season ticket from Dartford including tube network (I know you ruled it out, but just for comparison) is £3,500, or £5,800 on the fast train.

Cranbrook may well be nice - and expensive - but it doesn't have a station; do you drive?

If you / DH are not commuting, or not to London, or not every day, it makes it more practical to be further out (depending on where you are working).

Thanks for this, the information is very helpful. My partner is a tradesman with a van and I work in a role for the NHS which (I think/hope) won't be difficult to pick up somewhere else, so train costs are not too much of an issue, which is a big benefit for us. I also drive

It's crazy how much the prices really ramp up, there seems to be no winning ... you either pay huge amounts in mortgage and less on transport, or more on transport with a smaller mortgage!

Maidstone way is more popular recently with those moving out of London. Some of the villages outside of Rochester are a mixed bag too if you need good road links and trains to London.

Everywhere has gone up alarmingly in the last few years even in Chatham as there is still a mass exodus from London into the towns within a hour train from London. I wouldnt have thought it possible but Chatham is more grotty than it ever was before and its always been bad.

Surrey I think will be universally out of your budget everywhere as even the towns bordering Hampshire and Sussex are eye watering.

If I search Rightmove for houses in Kent, 2-4 bedrooms, £180-230k there are 1,204 properties. If I remove sold / under offer, there are 170. This limited supply doesn't make it any easier. Hopefully the market will stabilise soon, but who knows. Roll back a year, who thought the property market would be this hot or second hand car prices would be increasing?

Come to East Kent and work for EKHUFT! The trust is most definitely improving under the new CEO with lots of opportunities if you want them. House prices are reasonable, living here is lovely with beaches and countryside, lovely towns like Canterbury, whitstable and Margate. And very easy access to France for day trips.