Leigh on Sea/ Thorpe Bay/ Southend

beanie414

Hi,

I have been looking through the posts on Leigh on Sea, Thorpe bay areas and see that there are some Essex people on here.:) I was wondering if I could pick your brains about these areas.

We are thinking of moving next Spring and are looking online at Leigh and Thorpe Bay. We have been put off Westcliff as some of it seems bit rough even though the houses are fairly affordable.

Southchurch might be another option or near to Southend East station.

I have to be within one mile of a C2C station as I work shifts and need to travel into London each day.

Any thoughts? Thorpe Bay seems very nice but quiet and Leigh seems very nice but it is expensive. We could go up to about £350k but would prefer to buy for less obviously. We want a 2 or more bed house, no kids but 2 little dogs and a few cats so would like a garden.

Are there any parts of Leigh/ TB or Southend that we should avoid?

I've heard that the area around Southend Central is not that nice and the Kursaal area is the same.

Southend1

If you don't like westcliff then you won't like southchurch or anywhere near southend central either (with the possible exception of prittlewell square).

If area is very imoortant to you then Leigh would be the best bet or chalkwell. Have you looked at the area around chalkwell station?

I don't know Thorpe bay so well but it's well regarded though parts of it are next to a council estate which it sounds like you would probably prefer to avoid.

beanie414

Thanks for the response.

Yes, it seems like there are some nice areas near Chalkwell station and that would be a good choice for us. It seems like parking is an issue in Leigh but we don't have a car so that doesn't bother us.

Whereabouts in Thorpe bay is the council estate? We have lived in Dagenham for years and we would prefer to live near to other homeowners rather than council tenants as some of them (not all obviously) have definite anti-social problems. There is a couple on our street that has the police called to their house on an almost monthly basis!

I have seen a few nice houses on Maplin Way. Someone told me that Southend gets better if you move more to the Thorpe Bay borders?

3d3

Why not rent for a year and get to know the areas, you can aways move if you don't like it. Southend is alright, the seafront is poor, shopping is adequate, train links are very good and cheap compared to the rest of the UK. Maybe use the UK crime maps to identify areas you like: police.uk/essex/90/crime/

Southend1

The council estate is immediately to the East of maplin way

beanie414

3d3 wrote: »

Why not rent for a year and get to know the areas, you can aways move if you don't like it. Southend is alright, the seafront is poor, shopping is adequate, train links are very good and cheap compared to the rest of the UK. Maybe use the UK crime maps to identify areas you like: police.uk/essex/90/crime/

We might have a problem because of our pets with renting. That is a good point about the crime stats I will check that.

Southend1 wrote: »

The council estate is immediately to the East of maplin way

Oh right, thanks!

IvorBiggun

I think you want to be in Leigh, south of the London Road. This will put you close to the station and Leigh Broadway with it's caf!s, boutique shops and other amenities. If you don't want off street parking (which if I had a car I would insist on) plenty of choice in your budget. Chalkwell is also very nice. Some areas of Westcliff are very nice but most of it is flats and bedsits, personally I would avoid. Southend is OK if you are young, single and like a drink but I sense you have passed that phase. Thorpe bay is nice with a lot of big houses and money about however it is the wrong side of town so it takes longer to get anywhere. Do you have children, primary schools are a big factor in house choice in the area and the 11+ still exists and you will want to get them into the grammar schools (private tuition highly recommended).

beanie414

IvorBiggun wrote: »

I think you want to be in Leigh, south of the London Road. This will put you close to the station and Leigh Broadway with it's caf!s, boutique shops and other amenities. If you don't want off street parking (which if I had a car I would insist on) plenty of choice in your budget. Chalkwell is also very nice. Some areas of Westcliff are very nice but most of it is flats and bedsits, personally I would avoid. Southend is OK if you are young, single and like a drink but I sense you have passed that phase. Thorpe bay is nice with a lot of big houses and money about however it is the wrong side of town so it takes longer to get anywhere. Do you have children, primary schools are a big factor in house choice in the area and the 11+ still exists and you will want to get them into the grammar schools (private tuition highly recommended).

No children. I keep reading that south of the London road is the nice bit of Leigh and it does look lovely from what I've seen online, obviously I will be visiting the whole area before we start looking properly.:D

I have heard from a bloke at work about the number of bedsits in Westcliff which is a shame as there are nice and affordable houses there and it would be closer to London then Thorpe Bay. I looked on the streetview thing on Rightmove and the area looks a bit rough.

We aren't worried about nightlife as we are quite boring and stay in most nights.:p

Southend1

I don't think you can judge solely on street view. You need to take a walk around all the areas you're considering.

One other thing to be aware of is that asking prices in the area have gone crazy recently. A 3 bed terrace in my street in westcliff sold for £132000 about six months ago and is now on the market after being redecorated for £234000!

beanie414

Southend1 wrote: »

One other thing to be aware of is that asking prices in the area have gone crazy recently. A 3 bed terrace in my street in westcliff sold for £132000 about six months ago and is now on the market after being redecorated for £234000!

Oh I know, my wife has kept an eye on the prices and we would have been better moving a few years ago but we want to move for personal reasons now so we are just going to get into more mortgage debt. It's depressing but at least we will be living in a nicer part of the country, hopefully.

We were wondering if the election next year might bring down house prices. We need to wait until next year to move as we need to save the stamp duty.

I really need to go around the area and see for myself too. I have been there for days out when I was a kid but I'm mid forties so it must have changed a lot.

Southend1

Prices have gone up over the last few years yes but I meant more to be careful of the currently overinflated asking prices. The house that is now on the market for £234k will probably sell for something like £195k. There are some estate agents round here even dodgier than normal too! Watch out for Haart in particular.