Areas on the up in kent/Essex, suggestions please?? location location

[Poppie2023]

Hi all.

What areas are on the up in the above locations that people would have once run away from?

Any suggestions?

I live in Kent, don’t know much about Essex.

Kent is really varied, it’s urban in the North and the nearer you get to Greater London. It’s coastal (Folkestone very much on the up, love it there) as well as the Thanet towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. Desolate, beautiful and very rural on the Romney Marsh. Bucolic beauty in the Weald, posher and more pricey the nearer you get to Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks (will never get why T Wells is so popular, the centre is a bit crap).

It really depends if you want to go somewhere already gentrified (Whitstable being a prime example), want to start in a town which will no doubt be gentrified but is currently a bit fighty (Herne Bay, looking at you). Towns of two halves - Margate, Ramsgate or Folkestone). Or be out in the sticks!

What sort of place are you looking for? I think @bozzabollix has summed up Kent well.

Tenterden is another area which is touted as being nice, and apparently there’s a lot of investment going into Ashford.

Tenterden is fab, I know it well.

I'm in Thanet, the whole area has pretty much double in price. Rental market is fiercely competitive and houses are rocketing. When I moved here 12 years ago before everyone else found it trendy .. our 5 bed detached house was just under £350. That very same house is now way over double 😳 it's a great place to live but been dubbed Shoreditch on sea for a reason!

I live in Deal, Kent, which is a really nice small seaside town.

Folkestone has a lot going for it and good transport links to London.

Sandwich and Broadstairs are quite pretty. Margate & Ramsgate have also improved in the past few years and house prices have gone up.

Whistable is more expensive but nice.

Hello, apologies for the late reply and thank you for your very detailed response, I've heard Folkestone mentioned quite abit in various circles but not familiar much with the others so very helpful. 😀