Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

That sounds absolutely wonderful. I will definitely give this some more research, thank you! :)

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Having a look at Tonbridge now, thank you. From the short glimpses I've already seen, it looks lovely :)

And yes, poor old Essex is forever doomed by that show!

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

How about Torquay, they have palm trees :D

I worked in Tonbridge for a couple of years, it did seem like a nice spot, if a little slow (says he who lives in thrill-a-minute Brisbane ;))

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Haha, no thanks to Torquay!

Slow is not always a bad thing. As long as there are all the fast city things around the corner somewhere :)

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

I'm from Sevenoaks myself. It's actually quite a nice town, decent shopping centre, good variety of housing from the reasonably priced to the stratospherically high. Excellent train service to London, several each hour to London, fastest journey time about 30 minutes (or maybe a tad higher, maybe 35 mins.) Train service is appreciably better now than it was 20+ years ago. Downside of Sevenoaks is it is busy all the time, roads crammed with expensive cars, disgustingly wealthy people on all sides. I remember when it was a quiet, unassuming little country town....

Countryside, amenities, National Trust properties, beautiful churches & villages... very very good. Hiking is superb, several long-distance trails go past S'oaks or nearby. Tonbridge is nice, Tunbridge Wells is a bigger town with very good shopping. It's an old spa town and beautiful in parts. Hospitals, schools, top notch.

Anywhere you look within commuting distance of London, property prices are closely related to the quality/convenience/speed of the train service.. just a fact of life.

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Torquay (Torbay in general) would be an excellent place to live, frustratingly slow connections though. Once you get to Exeter, the world is your oyster.. fast, frequent trains in all directions. However, the train from Torquay to Exeter (pleasant & spectacular though the journey is) takes about 50 minutes, even though distance is not great...

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Faversham: yes...Sittingbourne: NO
Canterbury; yes...Ashford: NO

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Thanks for this. Sevenoaks sounds lovely - pity there aren't more homes in my price range :( Definitely having a closer look at Tonbridge and TW.

Faversham looks really nice too, thanks for the suggestion. Canterbury still draws me for some reason too.

Any good/bad thoughts about Sheerness?

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

I'm heading to that area in 3 weeks!! So excited to be moving back.

York is lovely as are Knaresborough and Harrogate. The countryside is to die for and the access to the coast is good. It's definitely on the pricey side though as far as the North is concerned.

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Sheerness, to live in? Nope, would not be my choice. Too isolated for a day-to-day thing. I have many happy memories of going there as a kid though. :)

Tonbridge much better for real life.

I shall take your word on the relative cost of living but the countryside and coast is great tho :)

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Perfect, it's great to have some areas that I can cross off the list completely.

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Hey, don't take my word for it ... there could be a perfect life waiting for you in Sheerness, don't discount it ...

<Reality On> No, really discount it :D

I retain much affection for the north Kent coast but would I recommend living there ... no siree :)

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Hahaha - I really prefer the honesty!

A few years ago I bought a house in a brand new area that I had only ever driven through before. I asked the estate agent at the time: "is there a GOOD part of this neighbourhood and a BAD part of the neighbourhood?" She replied, "oh nooo, not at all". It was only after we signed the papers that we realised that we weren't very far from a completely different, much poorer neighbourhood, that made ours a little more dangerous than the other GOOD half of the area that the estate agent said never existed. We fell in love with the house so didn't worry too much about the area ... this time I want to be sure that we have a full picture of where it is that we're living.

So because you've lived in and/or experienced these places, your feedback is invaluable. Much more so than anything else that I could fine online.

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

Sheerness is a definite NO (even though one of my best friends comes from there).

Re: Kent: so confused; no one seems to like any of the towns?
 

LOL, thank goodness we use usernames here then, right? :rofl: