Moving to Kent - help!

[letsdothis5]

Morning everyone!

we’re looking to relocate to Kent. And I’d love some advice or input from anyone that’s moved recently and not looked back, or moved and didn’t like it. It’s really difficult to make such a big decision and I feel like I need a little help 🤣

we’re currently looking at
1 west malling (loved the high street!)
2 leybourne (not the chase development, we visited and it was too built up)
3 Tonbridge (yet to visit)
4 Folkestone (yet to visit)

We have a 4 year old so will need schools nearby, and i will be commuting back into SE London for now.

we just want some more space, peaceful living and some green spaces!

Any feedback will be much appreciated!

Try some other areas too. I wouldn’t choose to live in the ones on your list but that are plenty to choose from on train lines.

4 for example would be an absolute no from me.

Canterbury and Whitstable are nice.

Jumping on this…where are some nice places on train lines into central London?

Surrey and Sussex also commutable to SE London.

@OneNewEagle are there any particular reasons for this? It’s so difficult hearing so many different mixed views!

@silenceinthemindim not sure our budget would stretch that far. I’ll have a look. Thanks!

I'd replace Folkestone with Canterbury.

Folkestone is lovely for a day trip in the summer, with the sunshine and the beach and the harbour arm, but on a wet rainy November day the vibe is rather different.

Canterbury has a good mix of secondary schools - remember that kent is a grammar area, so although the 11+ feels years away its probably sensible to chose somewhere where your dc won't have to commute for ages to their preferred school.

West Malling is lovely. Nice high street. Nice community feel.

The villages around Maidstone may be worth considering - Bearsted may suit you and is considered a nice area locally.

Cranbrook is another little town/village you could consider. . Very good school there.

Folkstone is some where that a few years I’d say avoid but it’s really improved in recent years.

Tonbridge has very good schools. Nice area. Good train links to London.

Leybourne - last time I went was before the new development.

Which London train stations do you need to get to?

I’d also look in different areas , like a pp I would look at Bearstead , Hollingbourne area or Canterbury , which all have access to a good range of schools . The only place on your list that I would consider is West Malling but having said that I’d still rather live on the Bearsted side of Maidstone .

@letsdothis5 What sort of place do you want -town? Village? And where in London do you need to get to? And what travelling commute time?

I would look at farningham

We moved from SE London to Folkestone (village just outside) 8 years ago and love it. Folkestone is great!

I know all the places on the list. I relocated to the SE over two decades ago, I’m hundreds of miles from my home area and moved myself and my DC.

I was in Folkestone under a fortnight ago and no way would I move to there. We drove through and left.

Also not specific to Folkestone but i would not move to a seaside location with children as the education will be poorer.

Canterbury is a student town not a nice small family orientated town. Whitstable is a tourist town also not the same.

This is really not true. Canterbury is a very family-friendly small town (city actually) with excellent schools, rich heritage and lots of nature (easy access to seaside, gorgeous meadows, ancient woodland) and plenty of activities for families. Decent range of shops, restaurants etc. Easy access to London (less than hour to St Pancras). In my neighbourhood people help each other out constantly. It feels safe and is easy to navigate. Students bring life and energy and contribute many volunteering hours to the local community but don't dominate.

I've lived in both and don't recognise your descriptions.
Bank holidays are busy in Whitstable but it's a great place to live too.

I moved from London to Kent about 4 years ago.

I live in Deal and I am really loving it.

Folkestone is a perfectly good place to live and I am always surprised by some of the snobbish comments about this town on threads about Kent...It has had a lot of investment, especially around the Harbour. There are plenty of activities for families to get involved in, a good art scene, a good choice of cafes and restaurants and I always enjoy going to the big indoor vintage market that opened last year. It is still affordable and only 50 minute to London and I have always found people to be really friendly.

Whitstable is nice, arty but can get busy/crowded in the summer and properties are more expensive than in other Kent seaside towns.

Broadstairs and Sandwich are nice too. Margate and Ramsgate are a bit 'grungier' but again they have improved in the past few years.

Canterbury is considered nice place to live. But I am not a big fan because it just feels a bit too busy for me because of its high student population and the tourists. But it has lovely architecture, lots of historical sites and great shopping opportunities and people seem to enjoy living there.

''@OneNewEagle
I was in Folkestone under a fortnight ago and no way would I move to there. We drove through and left. Also not specific to Folkestone but i would not move to a seaside location with children as the education will be poorer.''

What a lot of nonsense. Education is certainly not automatically ''poorer'' just because you get a sea view and you make Folkestone sound like a no go zone when it is just a friendly, normal seaside town.

Seaside towns throughout the country have below average education. Deal for example, as you know, has one secondary school so when a family member got to that age there was no choice.

I was only voicing my opinion. We all like different sorts of things, when I mentioned Folkestone I wasn’t being a snob. I don’t rate whitstable, Canterbury or Deal either. We visit all of them regularly.

I’d vote West Malling. My mum lives in the high street it’s a lovely lovely place to live.

Another place to consider is Tenterden.

Lived in Kent in the 80s and back again in 2000

If Youre commuting consider
Rochester - I’ve lived there and it’s lovely
Canterbury - I’ve lived there and am near now. Again it’s a lovely place to live. there are tourists in the summery months though
Faversham - I live near Faversham now. It’s lovely The main town has retained its historical element. Quieter than the two above

All of the above are OK commutes. Rochester is the nearest

I wouldn’t chose to live in Folkestone

Hey,

I'm a very local person to west malling. Depends on your budget as to what areas to look at and what sort of feel you are after! For village but easily accessible ryarsh/birling/Addington/trottiscliffe are nice. Leybourne - definitely not chase, how people live there I don't know! The other side of castle way is ok though. I'd avoid larkfield and ditton. The edges of Maidstone have some nice places but be aware the traffic is horrendous (think an hour to travel 2 miles)!! You could look at borough green or meopham too - both are well connected. If you like the big estate type vibe then there is also kings hill (not for me but lots of people love it!) also at the top of the downs is Vigo, houses tend to be a little cheaper here however it's fairly well connected with good access to both meopham and borough green stations.

Further down the road you have aylesford, pretty with good links to the motorway.

School wise there are lots of good schools across the area however some are quite sought after so have a tiny catchment!

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about this area 🙂