Is Maidstone a nice place to live?

[Sofia109]

I moved the Reading area for IT work and everyone said it was a great place, but it's actually not very nice at all.. there are pockets of nice areas, but its really ugly and not aesthetically pleasing at all.

Is Maidstone also going to be a disappointment?
I wish i'd known about Reading before i moved here. I did visit but its hard to get a feel for a place until you live there.

Would appreciate some sound advice about Maidstone - one the one had i read its a middle class town, on the other people are laughing at the suggestion anything about Maidstone could be middle class....?

Maidstone town is just another big town but there are some lovely villages all around - wateringbury, Ditton, east farleigh, east Peckham, yalding.

Absolutely what @itbemay said. Many beautiful places surrounding the town itself

Reading is very built up and has that London orbital look. Maidstone is a lot smaller and has got great villages around and the downs, the pilgrims way is just beautiful. Look at Bearstead or Penenden heath. Both have a village feel and are great communities.

I live in Maidstone OP, and grew up here (lived in London and various other places before moving back).

I wouldn’t live town centre but as op said there are loads of lovely chocolate-box villages within 20mins of the centre depending on where you’ll be based. Shopping in the town is ok, big cinema/bowling/trampoline park type place, lots of retail parks on outskirts (which have sadly impacted on town centre, there are quite a few empty units now).

Maidstone used to depend heavily on its nighttime economy but has suffered since clubbing went out of fashion. There are some nice bars and good places to eat, but pubs are more our scene and there are LOADS of those in surrounding villages.

One issue there is in the town centre is that lots of old office buildings have been converted to flats, a proportion of which have been occupied by some ‘problem’ tenants, both from within the county and from outer London. As such there’s been a bit of a bump in crime in the town centre at night.

Would it be possible to rent here or do you need to accept the job first? Feel free to pm me what any specific questions.

The town centre is awful. Lots of nice surrounding areas but central Maidstone has really gone downhill.

Wondering if OP means Maidenhead -about 15 miles from Reading (both in Berkshire) rather then Maidstone, about 100 mike's from Reading and in Kent?

@Lifeisdinky haha it wouldn’t surprise me actually, several news stories over the years about people confusing the two 😂

Haha, im not surprised you asked that but sadly my budget does not cater to Maidenhead :)

Thanks, ill PM you

I'll be in Maidstone itself.. I know there are lovely villages nearby but my budget didn't stretch, just as it didn't stretch to T-Wells :(

So basically Maidstone itself is a big no-no! Can anyone do a comparison for me - I'm assuming its no where near as bad as Stretham or East London or East Croydon.

I've been to Maidstone a few times now, and i have met some very nice, well-spoken people who id guess are from the surrounding villages, and i've also met some people who have really rough accents. I actually really like accents, but this was like a fog horn, where i felt like i needed to move away fast! I am trying not to draw assumptions, but if most people in the town centre sound like the latter, will i also have to put up with a lot of anti-social behaviour, kids who think its cool to rev their engines around in souped up motors, and just the general behaviours we all know we'd rather not live amongst? This is nothing to do with snobbery btw, but i guess its about feeling comfortable and safe.

The area im looking at is not in the really bad areas, but obviously not in the most desirable areas either..

Haha, im not surprised you asked that but sadly my budget does not cater to Maidenhead :)

Are you aware they are regenerating Shepway - will that help at all?

If your budget will stretch to Maidstone but not the suburby areas, and if you drive or happy to use public transport, I’d look into parts of Medway that aren’t too rundown. Walderslade has some nice houses, Wouldham, Burham etc are all really easy to travel into Maidstone.

Tonbridge is cheaper than TWells.

Can anyone do a comparison for me - I'm assuming its no where near as bad as Stretham or East London or East Croydon.

This is a bonkers question! For example, East London is a MASSIVE area which includes some very very naice places to live in some very expensive properties.

What exactly are you asking OP? You're making it sound like you're an alien from another galaxy who hasn't a clue about the south east.

Yes of course there are lovely parts everywhere, but i think most people would avoid East Croydon where possible for example - apologies for the generalisation and no offence if you are from any of the towns i have mentioned. I do not spend my spare time travelling all over the south-east so correct, i dont have intimate knowledge of the different areas.

Shipway is Folkestone (which is indeed getting a lot of rejuvenation) and Hythe not Maidstone

Shepway obvs

Streatham has better parts and worse parts just like Maidstone? I’d much rather live in a nice part of Streatham than a rough part of Maidstone … (in fact I’d rather live in Streatham full stop).

There is an area called Shepway in Maidstone , I wouldn’t live in that part of Maidstone personally .

You seem to have a very wide area which you could settle in. Maybe give us a bit more idea of your exact criteria and we could give you some alternatives to Maidstone.

An hour from London approximately, and being able to buy a 3 bed house less than 20 years old, around the 360-380k mark. Also somewhere aesthetic - not too ugly, and just a decent feel about the area. Near a decent bar scene, which doesn't include london as its too far :)

Hi OP
More tact will be needed if you want useful answers. Some people actually live in the bad areas you mentioned. I think it sounds like your budget wont stretch to the nicer bits around Maidstone anyway as I am sure you found of the surrounding villages to Reading.

i stand corrected, thanks!

Not wishing to offend anyone on this thread and apologise if any offence has been caused. Simply looking for information on the area, that is all.