Where to live in Southend?

AndyBSG

There's only really two main routes into Southend.

London Road/A13 is pretty much a single lane road running all the way from Hadleigh which is pretty much like the world longest 'High Street' with shops running the entire length and very busy.

That leaves the A127 dual carriageway which is ridiculously congested during rush hour, prone to grid lock and not somewhere i'd ever live purely because of the pollution and noise levels.

If you can buy North of the A127 so you don't have to use it to get to and from work it will make a huge difference to your journey and stress levels!

Tiglet2

Personally, I would look at the areas around the airport such as the area around the Anne Boleyn pub, or in Rochford which is a nice "oldie" looking village/town. Or the areas around Eastwoodbury Lane, North Crescent/South Crescent, Alton Gardens, Manners Way. All these areas shouldn't cause much aggro with the commute and actually are very close to the airport. My aunt lives in North Crescent and I have never heard the aeroplanes from there. All these areas are within a 15 minute commute.

A few properties as examples:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71151710.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71007188.html
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67512410.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71278451.html
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64324780.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63575881.html

Apologies, I don't know how to do links!

pimento

The local pub is The White Hart. They do good food in there, too. There's also the Royal British Legion where the beer is a lot cheaper and they have entertainment at the weekend.

Of course, there's the added bonus that I live near there!

pimento

OUNN wrote: »

When you say there isn't much of a rental market, is that because people aren't making properties available to rent, or there isn't much demand from people looking to rent?

Probably a bit of both. Marc Francois' (the local MP) constituency has the largest percentage of home ownership in the country, I believe.

There are some rental properties available but the overwhelming majority are owner occupied.

Everyone is fairly friendly, though. A lot of the working age people commute to London five days a week (myself included) and my late husband always used to say that Hockley was full of OAPs and ladies that lunch during the day.. (he worked from home).

hazyjo

Tiglet2 wrote: »

Apologies, I don't know how to do links!

Just see my post in #6 - you can just post them, you don't actually need to do them as links (unfortunately links don't work on my computer at work).

OUNN

Thank you to all of those who took the time to reply and help me out.

It's been a fun few weeks - lots of viewings done (including at least one property listed here on the thread), areas explored, that sort of thing.

We've had an offer accepted on a property in Hockley. :beer:

Looking forward to the adventure!

hazyjo

Fabulous choice, sought after area, lots nearby too :beer:

Enjoy! Hope it all works out!