Romford or Grays or Basildon

Cornucopia

All of the area is within 1 hour of London by rail. (Probably more like 1.5 hours by car, outside of rush hour).

Crossrail will run on to all the stations on the Romford line (as far as Shenfield). Capitalising on new transport is a good idea, however, I think Romford itself is already more expensive due to its proximity to London.

I would suggest looking at the areas beyond Romford: Harold Hill, Brentwood and Shenfield. They are all better areas than those on the other rail line through Tilbury.

The tricky bit is getting a property close enough to a station to benefit from Crossrail, without paying a premium for a location you won't benefit from (not being a rail commuter).

Also look for school catchment areas and schools doing well on the performance tables. A good general secondary school will have language teaching and musical instrument lessons available, and will have after-school activities, too.

slowpoke_rodriguez

It's gotta be Sarfend.
or if you want Posh, Burnham on Crouch.
oh golly, oh gosh...

Elfbert

Are these kids actual kids who exist now, or are they possible future kids?

Because if they're future kids, schools go up and down in quality, policies on learning instruments etc. change. No one can predict the future 12-15 years ahead.

If they're real kids, then depending on their ages, check out appropriate schools, and ask how most kids get to them - probably bus or walking, or possibly a lift from a parent, depending on area.

Cornucopia

spezial wrote: »

also, how will the kids go to gym and school? under 18 they can't drive, so I will have to drive them to and back?

Do kids go to gyms?

As a general rule, the more rural the area, the more ferrying around (by you/other adults) there is likely to be.

It's all a balance and a compromise. It looks like you need to make a list of things you want, and evaluate each of your options against them.

There is no short-cut to all of this, unfortunately. Even if you are lucky enough to find someone on the forum who lives in the area, it's unlikely they will be in the right age group and set of interests to help you with all of your requirements. Google is your friend, though.

SG27

spezial wrote: »

also, how will the kids go to gym and school? under 18 they can't drive, so I will have to drive them to and back?

I grew up in Wickford. I walked to school and the gym. Not sure about foreign language classes. Possibly, if not I'm sure you could drive to a nearby town that offers them like basildon.

spezial

SG27 wrote: »

I grew up in Wickford. I walked to school and the gym. Not sure about foreign language classes. Possibly, if not I'm sure you could drive to a nearby town that offers them like basildon.

how did you deal with having in Wickford only Aldi and Iceland, which are almost out of stock midday and offer limited products, and you need to drive alot to go to an Asda/Tesco?

spezial

how do you find my approach to search for residence? any comment?

Landofwood

spezial wrote: »

how do you find my approach to search for residence? any comment?

I think you place a strange amount of priority on supermarkets, gyms and foreign language classes.

Are you British?

booksurr

spezial wrote: »

how do you find my approach to search for residence? any comment?

in all the very many threads you have started you show a consistent inability to look things up for yourself, a marked habit of asking vague and biased questions and a marked leaning towards being a troll

spezial

Landofwood wrote: »

I think you place a strange amount of priority on supermarkets, gyms and foreign language classes.

Are you British?

why does the nationality matter?
you implying that people don't base their decisions on these?