Lothianlad

I am very much into Roman archaeology in quite a big way...which is why I think Colchester is a fascinating place to visit, it really is.......the whole place oozes history going back 2,000 years - during the Roman occupation of Britannia (54BC - 410AD) Colchester - or Camulodunum as it was called by the Romans - was the largest town and capital of Roman Britain.

If you are not into that sort of thing Colchester is quite a modern, lively and vibrant place with good shopping centres and has many good eating places of all kinds.

However, it has a reputation for the sort of thing which currently affects most other places across the UK especially in the late evenings and early hours of the morning, and more especially at weekends - binge drinking and resultant anti social behaviour. That is not made any better by the fact that the area is home to large military establishments the inmates of which are not known for their "off base" sobriety and "orderly conduct".

A recent TV series on anti social behaviour in England, almost always alcohol fuelled, did not show Colchester in a good light at all - except, and very significantly "except" - the fantastic services provided by its local NHS emergency and paramedic personnel having to deal with the drunken "casualties" out on those cold, late night streets of Colchester - the patience and forebearance shown by those people was bloody amazing.

Perhaps unfairly, Essex itself has a rather negative reputation across the UK generally - or rather the younger elements of its population does....so called "Essex Boys" and "Essex Girls" - vacuously mega materlialistic but precious little in the way of intellect.......as shown in "The Only Way is Essex.

Other than that, and away from places like Basildon and its like, Essex is really quite nice and picturesque away from the southern fringes of the county and areas closest to London.

jasey

On the surface of it, from Google Images/Flickr/YouTube, Chelmsford and Colchester look beautiful. But it's the perception (and results of the perception) that worry me. Are more and more people getting out of these areas because of the perception and, if so, will this not become a self-fulfilling prophecy where eventually only the not-so-hot elements are left in these parts ... leaving new home owners with far less value in their homes than they started with, and very little option but to stay?

Brigette

I too worry about Essex! I will be moving there (temporarily) when I move later this year to stay with family until I get a job and place of my own. Not where I really want to be but it's free and allows me to get myself established before going on my own.

I'm still working on not staying with family when I move, but thus far doesn't seem likely. It's good to have a backup plan though

ann m

Epsom

Sally Redux

Highly unlikely. Lothianlad tends to trot out the same old media crap.

chance to be

Sorry if grammar etc comes out rubbish - am typing from my phone with sausage fingers!
Born and bought up in Colchester. Excellent schools, loads to do for all ages - wish I'd been able to move back there as its excellent. Have always felt safe in Colchester. 50min train to Liverpool street. Chelmsford 20-30 min by train. My Sis and BIL live Chelmsford. He's working in the city within half an hour. I could live in either town but prefer colchester as I know it better and it seems to have more culture and better local live music. Chelmsford has just got city status which may make prices rise. The excellent schools both have (consistently outdoing the private sector) keep house prices stable.
The best thing about Essex is the people it's very friendly. Forget the t0WIE tag as being bad. What is bad about what you see is what you get? There's certainly no pretentiousness - wish I was there. Anything you wanna know pm me as I'm in both towns all the time
Best wishes
C

scrubbedexpat097

Aint nufing wrong with Essex and the people wot live there is there Sal??

Sally Redux

Salt of the Earf

scrubbedexpat097

Yeah, don't giv us Essex girls no bovver..

Funky Florist

I lived in a village just outside Colchester for 10 years, having moved from the heart of London. I felt safer in London than I did in Colchester after about 8.30pm. I would say that the posting above is pretty fair actually.

FWIW, if I was moving back I would look to some of the small villages outside of the town, rather at Colchester itself.

luvwelly

Maybe it's my age and life-stage but I am rarely out after dark wherever I live so all this 'anti-social behaviour after dark' stuff shouldn't affect me.

Brigette, Colchester and Chelmsford are both 'nicer' than Harlow.

Can't stand the Essex accent though...'salt of the earth'......would be sth like 'sowlt ov the urf'

hairdresser

Hi i am 23 used to live in brentwood, essex. Moved to portugal 3 years ago. Couldnt wait to get out of there to be honest. I needed a change.
I went to school in brentwood and i found that the standard got worse every year. Lots of 'rough' people moving down frm other areas and living on the 'estate' near by. If your intellegence level was average or below you get forgotten about as teachers focus on getting the high results out of the clever people. In the classes i was in teachers often said things like; "if u dont want to learn go to sleep". Kids would smoke during lessons, abuse teachers, and distroy school property.
When i left school i found going out in essex in areas such as basildon, romford, brentwood pretty bad. 85% of People are fake and out for all they can get. Chelmsford was a little better.... In brentwood you have some people with more money the sence. They turn up to the 'sugar hut' in limos then when they get out stand in the street and piss all over the floor. Next they go into the bar and throw £3000 at the bar staff and demand a bottle of the best champagne! They wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a £10 bottle or £3000 bottle! If they dont get served straight away then they get abusive to bar staff because they arnt being treated as 'special'.
Brentwood town centre is a disapointment. there isnt even a cinema! Its mostly chain bars and resturants.
Unfortunatly i have to resturn to brentwood for 8 months - year to earn some savings. After that i am hoping to move to canada. If i HAD to stay in the UK i WOULD NOT live in essex!

Sorry, good luck

jasey

@hairdresser, that's a pretty good summary of why NOT to move to essex. thanks

johnh009

I went to school in Great Baddow. Most of the working poulation worked at the Marconi plant on Beehive Lane. It was always considered the "posher" part of the Chelmsford area. Like anywhere, Essex has its good parts and bad parts.

BadgeIsBack

Don't read these boards much but I'll jump in here. I know people who lived in Colchester and they would back up this post.

It's all relative. If you have lived in the Home Counties or Oxford all your life you would find aspects of Essex life amusing - and some of the cultural references are true. But people are mostly likeable. In some ways they are the UK's 'Australians' (some). All 'new', cashed up and out to have fun. Perhaps not the deepest people.

I would never rule out the best parts of Essex. But they would cost.