Moving from North London to Kent areas

femster82

Hi,

We are currently living in North London and are looking at buying our first property. We have 3 Children, aged 10, 2 & 9 months. We are toying with the idea of buying a 3 bedroom with a budget of about £270k max.

We are exploring the option of moving to Kent areas, having looked at Maidstone firstly but from there we are seeing lot of other areas that seem to be quite good.

So I guess my post is for advice about where to search as it's getting confusing just looking at property websites.

1. Good Schooling
2. Safe and family friendly areas (low crime rate)
3. Decent commuting times

elverson

Re point 3 - commuting to where?

ftb_deena

You'll probably want to look at areas like Swanley, Dartford, Gravesend and surrounding areas. Best for commuting times, some good schools, unsure about crime rates, but I've never had an issue!

ejury

I used to live in Tonbridge. Sevenoaks is a lovely area and good for commuting.

vicki2221

I would recommend Tunbridge Wells. It ticks all your boxes. It's attractive, has great shops, pubs, restaurants and is well known for its good schools. Low crime rate and I've always felt very safe, and I am relatively nervous and paranoid about walking alone. It's on a fast line to London, under an hour. Train goes straight to London Bridge with no stopping.

I have lived in T.Wells and also Maidstone. I personally didn't like Maidstone at all, parts of it are so grim, I experienced a fair bit of crime there and my commute to London was such a pain. The commute from T.Wells is a dream in comparison. Sevenoaks is also lovely.

I would steer clear of Medway (Chatham, Rochester etc), I also lived there for a while and personally hated it.

However I'm not sure how much £270k would get you here. Maybe a smallish 3 bed terrace at a push.

csgohan4

Ashford, Kent, good schools and 40 mins to St pancras high speed train

LadyL2013

Re. Medway.


There's actually some fairly decent areas here and house prices are still relatively cheap and fantastic train and coach links. Medway often gets a bad reputation because a few places within it, spoil it, but there's a lot of good too, especially schools.


Areas wihin Medway which are decent:


Rochester near the Grammar schools and Borstal and High Street areas.


Chatham: parts of Walderslade and Lordswood are actually quite affluent and nice. AVOID LUTON ROAD AREA.


Strood towards Higham way and Cliffe are very nice. AVOID DARNLEY ROAD AREA.


Gillingham: Rainham and Hempstead are nice. AVOID GILLINGHAM ITSELF AND HIGH STREET.


IMO, Medway isn't a bad option at all. It has all you're asking for as long as you stick to the right areas and much cheaper than say, Sevenoaks or Tunbridge Wells.

Mahsroh

Tunbridge Wells & Tonbridge area would definitely tick the boxes re: Schools and Crime Rates, but as has already been said, you may struggle on a budget of £270k.

Commuting wise, somewhere near Ebbsfleet would be a good shout with the high speed links, but I couldn't give you much advice on the local areas/schools etc, but house prices probably cheaper than RTW/Tonbridge.

Cornucopia

Yes, £270k for a nice 3 bedroom house is going to be a struggle for most of the nicer areas.

Hempstead and Walderslade are also a fair way from rail links (though there are commuter coaches).

Rainham/Newington are definitely in price range, and both stations are easily accessible. Trains go to Victoria and St Pancras taking about 1 hour.

Ashford could be 4 bed or detached for this price range.

l0islane

I agree with the comments Re. Medway, we have some undesirable areas but there are some nice parts and it's still relatively cheap and very well connected.

Rochester is an option to look at, you'd easily get a 3 bedroom house for £270K, the high street is nice, lots of cafes, restaurants etc. The cathedral and castle are pretty. 38 minutes on the train to St Pancras, 10/15 mins longer to Victoria and Cannon Street. Factor in the cost of a season ticket though, especially if you intend to use the high speed (also true for Gravesend/Ebbsfleet).

femster82

elverson wrote: »

Re point 3 - commuting to where?

Mainly London, and getting around the UK as I work in Cardiff & Birmingham at times