Commute to Liverpool St thoughts?

kasqueak

There is not much other than flats for 250k in the Southend/Rochford/Hockley areas. Commute time is under an hour though. 

zpargo

MysteryMe said:

zpargo said:

Comes down to Harlow / Chelmsford and Colchester./ Eastwood / Rochford / Southend. Don't 'know anyone in these areas. As long as people are friendly not an issue although that depends on which area. 

I don't know about specific house prices in those areas, just general info on a couple. I know Colchester and Chelmsford pretty well, the latter is more expensive due to being much closer to London. Not sure if by diversity you specifically mean ethnicity or sexual orientation or both but I would say you would be safe in both locations.
Chelmsford has Anglia Ruskin campus and Colchester has nearby University of Essex plus quite a few foreign language students so there are people of all ethnicities even if they are not permanent residents. Both places have facilities catering for the LBTQ+  community. Colchester has quite a thriving arts scene. Although there are no large numbers of people from ethnic communities in either town there are a few ethnic shops catering for people who like Eastern European, Asian and African food.  
My scant knowledge of Rochford is that it is a fairly small place. I don't know Eastwood. Southend seems to have something that caters for everyone. Harlow is not everyone's cup of tea but like everywhere there are some parts better than others.  
As for trains, you can get inter city non stop trains from Colchester into London, some stop at Chelmsford before next stopping usually Stratford and then Liverpool Street but the season ticket from Chelmsford is close to £5500 pa with a travel card and £6800 for Colchester.  I think it will cost a lot less on the C2C lines in the south of the county but unless you are close to London the journey times may not be much shorter and the trains are more typical commuter trains.
I agree with you on Bishops Stortford, it's overpriced due to having great links to the M11 and Stansted Airport. The town itself is OK and I would pick it over nearby Harlow. I have a friend who lives in Sawbridgeworth, it is very nice but pricey and may not have the diversity you seek.

Thanks for this. I may as well do a day trip to Colchester to check the place out. I've only ever lived in big cities many of which are diverse so yeah feel a bit like will I be safe in a not so diverse place. I guess its about socio-economic background as well - I think I'd be ok with people of similar socio-economic background. If people unemployed and not as well educated and so perhaps high crime area I may have an issue.  Being a uni town sound like it'll be ok. 

zpargo

kasqueak said:

There is not much other than flats for 250k in the Southend/Rochford/Hockley areas. Commute time is under an hour though. 

Yeah it's coming down to either I travel 1 hr 20-30min each way per day so I can afford a house or get a flat around £250k mark. With the former I'll be exhausted and have little time or energy to do other things. With the latter I feel its a bit of a minefield with some of the leases. 

macman

What is the problem with a leasehold property? Most of the most expensive properties in London are leaseholds in Ken and Chelsea or Westminster. 

Ally_E.

zpargo said:

kasqueak said:

There is not much other than flats for 250k in the Southend/Rochford/Hockley areas. Commute time is under an hour though. 

Yeah it's coming down to either I travel 1 hr 20-30min each way per day so I can afford a house or get a flat around £250k mark. With the former I'll be exhausted and have little time or energy to do other things. With the latter I feel its a bit of a minefield with some of the leases. 

Look for a converted flat with a share of freehold, could be the best option for you currently.

amanda_p

Sudbury is lovely but the branch line to Marks Tey is awful.Most people drive to Marks Tey.