House move pros and cons of areas in Essex.

[TeacherBeccy]

Hi we're looking at property and have 3 on the shortlist in Rochford, Wickford and Westcliff. Does anyone have any insight on each of these areas?
Thanks so much!

I’d give wickford a wide berth. It’s a soulless commuter town with mostly charity or bargain shops on the ‘high street’. Rayleigh just a few miles up the road is much much nicer, through the traffic is a nightmare.

could you stretch to Leigh....?

@bumblebee1000 Sadly Leigh isn't in budget given the size of house we need.

Agree about Wickford- it’s rather rundown. Rayleigh is much nicer but as another said, traffic can be a nightmare ! Parts of Westcliff are nice and parts of it are very run down and have very high levels of crime- lots of properties don’t have driveways so the roads get very congested with residents parking on the roads. Leigh and Eastwood are very nice. Billericay also very nice but pricier than Wickford ( and for good reason!) Rochford is ok but hugely expanded in past years so not sure what the infrastructure is like. Local schools are not great unless you get into the grammars

Westcliff is quite nice. On the Estuary, the Palace Theatre and Cliffs Pavillion on the doorstep, nice parks. Walking distance to Leigh, which is lovely.

Westcliff varies a lot, there are parts I would happily move to, and others I would avoid. Where specifically are you looking at? Close to Chalkwell Park is good, as is the Somerset estate.

I hace been looking at Leigh on Rightmove as might downsize at some point. some houses are reasonable if you are further out and away from the station and broadway, i would only need a small 2 bedroom...have you found anything yet..?

Wickford used to be known for flooding, Don’t know if that is still true. But it is a lower area for social demographic.

Do you need the Fenchurch line?

It flooded once in the 1950's. Since that major catastrophe, the banks of the Crouch have been contained by concrete walls. The water rises from time to time but hasn't flooded since.

Westcliff offers the most of those 3 if you are careful about the road. Some roads have quite a lot of houses made into HMOs. Nearer to Chalkwell Park is better. Plenty within walking distance such as the beach, Adventure Island and 2 theatres.

Westcliff has nice areas, if you go for either Chalkwell park end or the conservation area near to the retail park closer to the high street.

Rochford is also nice but you’ve got the airport to think about now which can make certain points noisy. Canewdon and Hullbridge are nice though, as is Hockley.

I’d avoid Wickford as it’s very commuter-y and not a lot there at all now.

We're looking at Ramuz Drive and the roads around it.

We still have those 3 houses/areas on the shortlist. We looked at Chelmsford and Witham yesterday too.

What do you mean by a lower area for social demographic?
We need to be able to get back.into Stratford within 40 minutes or so for work.

If you can get closer to Chalkwell park from Ramuz, it gets nicer.

Wickford is awful. Was OK 15-20 years ago but is now not a nice place to live. No community feel, feral kids roam the town centre, very poor shops and higher crime. House prices have stagnated for a reason. Its just a commuter town with nothing going for it.

Rochford is better, Leigh is a bit fashionable and therefore higher prices.

@TeacherBeccy not a sociology teacher are you 😂.

As you need Stratford have you considered Chelmsford?