Moving from North London to Kent areas

femster82

vicki2221 wrote: »

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.

Really surprising to hear that Maidstone isn't that great, I am driving there the next two weekends to get a better feel for it.

You're right about T.Wells cannot find anything within my budget. Definitely nothing in Sevenoaks unfortunately.

NeilCr

femster82 wrote: »

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

Which terminus do you go into in London.

People may have different suggestions depending on whether you use St Pancras, Charing X, Victoria etc

vicki2221

femster82 wrote: »

Really surprising to hear that Maidstone isn't that great, I am driving there the next two weekends to get a better feel for it.

You're right about T.Wells cannot find anything within my budget. Definitely nothing in Sevenoaks unfortunately.

It's not terrible, I lived near the town centre which probably wasn't the best - we had 2 cars broken into, I was grabbed and groped when walking over the bridge from station late at night, we had kids sitting outside our house smoking weed and playing loud music in their car every night. However, there are areas surrounding the town centre which I think are nicer. Teston seems nice. Wateringbury is lovely. It depends on whether you need to walk to the station or not.

There is also Kings Hill nearby Maidstone which is very quiet, albeit a little soulless, but there is a lot of property for sale there at good prices. Not sure about schools though.

vicki2221

Also, someone mentioned Ebbsfleet. I have commuted from there a few times and it is a DREAM if you are OK with going to St Pancras. There are plans to turn it into a garden city, but apparently some of the new build homes are pretty shoddy. I read this about it recently:
https://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/buying/first-time-buyers/the-commuter-town-between-london-and-paris-being-reborn-as-a-garden-city-a117346.html

It might be an up and coming area if they get it right. And you're right by Bluewater and Lakeside which are good for shops and cinemas.

euronorris

Staplehurst is nice, and my brother commuted into London from there for years (just started his own business so no longer doing that commute). He's raised his 3 kids there (now 15-17), albeit they went further afield for secondary schooling (Tonbridge) as they didn't like the local option and only got in, I think, as their Mum is a devout church of England member, and made the kids go with her for years too (the school is church of England).


Orpington has some lovely areas, but again you'll be priced out of the nice areas due to your budget and size requirements.


I found Greenhithe more affordable when I moved out of Orpington, but no idea what the schools are like as I was not there very long.


Other than that, as others have suggested, I think Gravesend and Dartford are your best bets. Unfortunately, I found in the past that the further you went out, the closer you got to the coast and then prices went up again. It's very difficult to find the middle ground and still retain good transport links with London (or anywhere for that matter).

victoriavictorious

Although a bit further out, there are still some decent properties in that price range in Ramsgate which has a direct rail link into St. Pancras.

Browntoa

Another nice area in Medway is St Mary's island, low crime , close to the cinema and dockside shopping centre where there is also a good selection of restaurant and bars

JoJo1978

Have a look on the Life After London website and Facebook for more advice from people who have made similar moves

femster82

Thanks all, have to do some more investigation.

Chandler80

Just thought I'd add a bit more info on Maidstone. We've lived here for 4 years and really like it. There are some really nice suburbs which are ideal for families with good schools as well.

I would say with that budget your best bet would be somewhere like Downswood or Loose. Both very family friendly areas with good schools and lots of open space nearby.