Moving to kent and need help please!

[SouSou80]

Hi, we are a family of 5, kids all under the age of 6 and we are possibly moving this year from Cheshire to Kent and not sure where to go?!
Husband works in London 3 days a week so ideally commute in under an hour, budget around 550k.
we have been looking at Maidstone, Rochester, West Malling and Bearstead but have no idea if these are good areas for families and whether any should be avoided?!
Any advice greatly appreciated 😊

My house will be going up for sale soon.

I'll message privately the area but I'll give you the highlights.

• lived here since 2001.
• primary and secondary schools nearby. Walking for the former, driving for latter.
• 20 minutes walk to supermarket.
• 10 minutes drive to shopping centre.
• lovely park, woods and views within minutes.
• very quiet.
• people tend to move in to this road and stay.
• all age ranges live on my road and the next.
• minutes from two places you've mentioned.

Forgot to say train station is about seven minutes drive but there's also a coach service about five minutes walk from my house.

Bearsted is lovely. Train service a little over an hour to London though. Walking distance to good schools, fantastic pubs etc etc. Maidstone centre isn’t great. Nice roads around Oakwood school, mote park main entrance otherwise I would avoid. Rochester is other side of the north downs. Again some nice areas and trains good but I prefer the south of the Downs.
West Malling lovely.

There have been a few moving to Kent threads lately that several people have commented on so do take a look at those.

My main piece of advice would be to look at the school system in Kent. It’s the main reason we’ve just moved away with DD9.

Honestly for a commute under an hour….well Rochester ticks that box but I wouldn’t want to live in any of the North Kent/Medway towns. I don’t like Maidstone and the commute is longer than it should be.

Perhaps an Ashford way village would be good for you? Tenterden, Cranbrook, Sissinghurst?

I also live in Kent in folkestone, but with that budget I would want to avoid the kent grammar system- whole lot of stress especially with 3 children and I think you can afford to live elsewhere such as hertfordshire. If you do decide to go for it Canterbury is lovely with a lot going on.

I live in Kent ( meopham) and have a 45 minute trip to London that I do three days a week.
It's very much a village, with supermarket ten minutes away and bluewater 15.
We have schools in the village, pubs, like Tesco and I love it here. Beautiful walks from the front door and London one way, the coast the other

I’ve sent you a pm .

Maidstone is quite unpleasant now .
Don't expect the likes of John Lewis, White Stuff, Seasalt etc... it's vape shops, pound shops and grubbiness.
Surrounding areas are ok ( Bearsted) but there's a significant deprived area too.

Much further afield would be my voice but south of the M2 regardless.

We moved to Canterbury last year and really liking it so far. It’s obvs further out than Rochester etc but if you’re near Canterbury West station then the train to London is under an hour. We actually ended up nearer Canterbury East but DH has a Brompton to get to the other station (less than 10 mins). He goes in 2-3 times a week and ok with it so far.

There’s a decent amount going on here - good theatre, cinemas, restaurants etc. Of course the cathedral is also a focus. I quite like having tourists around and the students haven’t bothered us at all (there are certain areas/roads to avoid). Also just a short drive from Whitstable on the coast.

Thanks so much everyone, a lot of food for thought!
We are visiting next month to get a feel for some areas and can narrow it down a bit now!

Further out East is actually quicker to London because of the high speed. I live in Kent as do a few colleagues, office is central London. My train is much quicker from Ashford than it is for many from the villages and towns nearer in but only on the slow line.

West Malling is lovely but will be beyond your budget. Check out Kings Hill though, close to West Malling but more choice in properties. It’s a great community for young families.