Which house?

[WildOnce]

There is hardly anything in the market but with our budget there will need to be a compromise. These seem to be our options:

Buy at top of budget, be a bit stretched but walking distance to an excellent primary school. Out of the town but in a nice village with frequent buses v close to where we are now. House is not the prettiest and layout odd but does offer us the necessary space. Doesn’t need work. Will need second car for commute. Or,

Move out of area to cheaper ‘up and coming’ seaside town. Not a lot going on there and run down in areas but lots of families and we love the sea. Get really lovely much bigger house. Walking distance to station but longer commute. Walking distance to the town and seafront. Schools good but not outstanding. No need for second car. Won’t be financially stretched.

Or just wait it out for the right house where we are? There’s nothing on the market and we’ve sold.

You’ve mentioned primary schools but what are the secondary schools like? That may well sound like a crazy question if you have just little ones. But secondary schools in seaside towns can be very hit and miss. And you will be looking at secondary schools before you know it.

It sounds like neither of those are right.

I'd say House 1 out of the two if I had to.

When were the schools last OFSTED inspections? I've been in many an 'outstanding' school that is actually a pile of pants that hasn't been inspected for a decade. Not that OFSTED is the best way of judging a school in the first place.

I'd say B as it's not a good idea to stretch to the top of your budget especially as you will need to buy another car. Also the odd layout comments don't sound like A is a winner.

Neither are perfect but we can’t afford an extra room where we are now which is the perfect location really. There are so few houses on the market that I fear we will have to make more compromises than I’d hoped.

Secondary schools are better at option 1. The secondary in the seaside town is rated good. However, most kids who want to go the ‘prestigious’ grammars closers to option 1 can still get there from the seaside town - it’s about a 25 car journey or 40min bus ride.

I don’t need to be cryptic really - the choice is a village just outside Canterbury (we are central now) or Herne Bay. Or Faversham.

Honestly I’d move to Herne Bay , if your children / child passes the 11+ the grammar option will be the same for the Canterbury village and Herne Bay and there is not a lot to choose between the high schools in Canterbury / Herne Bay or Faversham .

I had a feeling that this might be Canterbury/Herne Bay. I’d be very, very tempted by the Herne Bay house.

Will the "up and coming" seaside town be busy in summer ? Will you be fed up with the influx of traffic/holiday makers ?

but we can’t afford an extra room where we are now which is the perfect location really

What's the cost of an extra room compared to estate agent/solicitor/moving costs ?.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget where we are which is near the centre, much more. 80k difference usually.

@DebtheSander haha busted

I suppose the reason I’m so tempted is because Herne Bay is very much in the orbit of Canterbury so it wouldn’t feel like we were moving out of the area. Plus we are at Whitstable/Herne Bay most weekends anyway.

Is the house at the beach actually at the beach? I'd love a 5min walk to the beach.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz You can see it from outside the house. House has a tiny garden though.

[quote WildOnce]@DebtheSander haha busted

I suppose the reason I’m so tempted is because Herne Bay is very much in the orbit of Canterbury so it wouldn’t feel like we were moving out of the area. Plus we are at Whitstable/Herne Bay most weekends anyway.[/quote]
Yep, and because of the grammar system in Kent, secondary school kids tend to have friends all over. My niece and nephew grew up in the area and friends in Herne Bay, the villages, Faversham.

We are in West Kent and it is similar here. Lots of kids go to school not in their own town/ village area.

I can see why you are tempted by Herne Bay. The equivalent square footage in Canterbury would be an interesting price!

I wouldn't necessarily choose a house based on being close to an outstanding school rather than a good school.
I know how hard it is to achieve a good status & believe me, 'good' is 'great'!! Visit both schools & go on gut feeling & what suits your children.

@LizzieBet14 that’s good advice thank you. I often look at these ofsted reports and the areas of improvement never seem of great concern. You are right it’s the feel of a place.

My friend lives in Herne Bay with her LO, he's 5. Loves it (bar the travel fun atm!) really nice place. Canterbury is gorgeous but has some serious issues with the night time economy and as for the one way system/town traffic

I'd go for option 2

Huge numbers of very good schools are “good”. I would check the government stats on attainment though. What type of dc will yours be with? Have you checked entry requirements snd catchments? Are there spaces if you are not going into YR for Sept 23?