Kent - tell me about it should I move there

[sunshineoverthehill]

I'm looking at areas my family could move to in the U.K. we are a mixed race family, my dh white British and I am brown but only know British culture. Our dc is tanned. I think this may make a difference to where we live hence me mentioning it. I am happy for an all white area but not one that would exclude us.

I have put our budget in and 'England' into Zoopla, would ideally like to be fairly close to London ie max 2 hours away by any transport and Kent comes up with a lot of nice houses. However have noticed on statistics it has a very high crime rate as a county.
Is it nice or should I cross it off the list, any areas to 100% to avoid?

Unfortunately I only ever see it negatively on the news for all the channel crossings atm!

Thanks @jaundicedoutlook a lot to take in when looking

I always want to know if anyone actually moved to these places they ask about @sunshineoverthehill update this time next year ?? 🤣

@snazzynamechangetiming good idea we definitely will be moving it's just a case of investigating all the areas.

I live in Kent and am very upset at posters implying it is a racist county. Not in my experience.

I live in Kent and what an absolute load of tosh has been written on this post by people who don’t even live here! The apartheid comment was particularly vacuous.

Like many counties, the demographic varies by area. Thanet & Medway are very different to North West Kent where I live in Sevenoaks for example. The Rochester/Chatham area is Nigel Farage territory and it tends to have a less well off demographic. I don’t know it particularly well so can’t comment on the views of the people.

Sevenoaks/Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells/Maidstone I do know well. Is it mostly white & Conservative, yes but a lot of people in this area are also ex Londoners and that’s reflected in the mix of political views you’ll find. I campaign for a non Tory party locally and while there might be a Conservative majority, on the doorstep I find a healthy mix of Labour/lib dem/green voters as well. Like anywhere outside of the major conurbations it is mainly white ..but there is a downward movement of people from the SE London area that does include BAME families. Where I live between Sevenoaks and Maidstone & we have (for Kent) a relatively decent ethnic mix. Walking down the High street at mid day you will see a number of people of colour. It’s not exactly 50/50 but it’s certainly not all white. Yes there are some racist knobheads but you’ll find them everywhere - I remember passing loads of BNP graffiti daily when I lived in SE London.

I raised an eyebrow at the Tonbridge based PP calling Tunbridge Wells a dive (it’s far from it!) but then Tonbridge has been looked down on as ‘Scumbridge’ for years by Sevenoaks and TW residents so maybe there’s a bit of Tonbridge getting their own back there. Tonbridge to be fair is a nice town and doesn’t deserve its local rep. It has some lovely buildings, nice housing stock and good bars and restaurants. The majority of the shops are all a bit downmarket though.

Maidstone is pretty diverse - there are quite a lot of Eastern European and African families. It does have a less well off demographic than further West and there are some visible issues with drugs and homelessness though. There are some really nice parts though and some of the villages surrounding it are great.

You’ve asked about the Grammars OP - we have a mix of normal (DC just need to pass) and Super Selectives (DC need a high score). In my area the Maidstone grammars are the least oversubscribed.

Why don’t you spend some time down here and get a feel for what is going to suit you and your families needs best? It’s a much prettier place to visit than much of Essex (🙂)!

The Rochester/Chatham area is Nigel Farage territory

What does this mean?

@DameAlyson, it was a bit of a throw away comment Dame, I’m not sure it takes much scrutiny and apologies if I’ve offended you. UKIP won Rochester in 2014 and it was their second seat at the time. Farage campaigned quite a bit locally. It was also a strongly pro Leave area. I’m not going to go down the route of implying that therefore everyone in Rochester, Strood and Chatham is therefore an anti immigrant pro Leave racist because that would be rubbish - in 2019 he was trapped on a bus there when he met a couple of locals opposed to him. There is currently a Tory MP. The fact though that UKIP won the local election does suggest though that the policies of UKIP weren’t unpopular!

Thanks that's very helpful @Thejoyofslippers & I get the Nigel comment!

I have been to TW many years ago and I found it nice and expensive for property but I know some places have changed in recent times. I think I'm going to take a few trips over to Kent in the near future and do some investigating.

Have a look at Bromley and Beckenham (London Borough of Bromley). I grew up in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge and prefer it in LBB as it's more diverse, quicker to get to London proper yet a short drive to countryside. Medway, which I know a little, is whiter and poorer but with magnificent countryside and much cheaper houses. Although that latter fact does tell you something - low demand compared fo surrounding areas.

School places were in very short supply but BREXIT and the falling birthrate has eased things a little. Births peaked in 2012 (so I predict a squeeze on secondary places around 2024).

The crime rate is probably high as there's plenty to nick .

Where was the property you liked? Just because honestly Rochester is quite different to Tunbridge wells. Chatham is completely different to Sevenoaks. Some beautiful Victorian houses yes, but you have to consider if you are happy with the overall area.

As an aside when I was 25 I was walking along the high street in Maidstone at 2pm and I apparently looked at someone funny, and a mixed sex group started on me, it's not a very pleasant story, but hey that is the only place that has ever happened.

Having lived inside the M25 a number of friends and relatives have moved out into proper Kent due to prices. It's ok but as pp said it's cheaper for a reason. I would research Medway towns.

I moved sideways into Surrey rather than into Kent. I now live in a garrison town which is cheaper. Pros and cons to everything.

@sunshineoverthehill What kind of property are you looking for and what's your budget? If you specify it would be easy to give examples on the market and you could ask more about the areas if anything took your fancy.

Just on Tonbridge and its shops, there's a huge Waitrose and I gather a mini one coming as well. No Waitrose in TW. Property is or was slightly cheaper than TW and Sevenoaks and the train connection is very good because it's on the junction of the two main lines.

But TW has the M&S foodhall, two department stores, more interior design shops than you can shake a stick at, designer boutiques down in the Pantiles, Whistles, Oliver Bonas, Mint Velvet etc etc.

But if you want a Lidl, Bonmarche or Peacocks then Tonbridge is your place.

(Apologies PP, this is slightly tongue in cheek! I agree on the good points you make about property prices and easy commute. Tonbridge has a lot to offer even if the shops are a bit rubbish. But the same could be said of Sevenoaks too though which is where I live).