Thoughts on Chelmsford

I know that I'm probably killing you guys with my questions about various locations in Essex but I'm trying to plan our house hunting.  

We are looking at Chelmsford, which seems to be fairly affordable and not far from where I will be working.  Thoughts? Issues? Any info would be helpful.

We are very concerned about schools as our son will start year 1 in a couple of years.  Public transportation is also important as my husband won't have a car (I will need it for work).

ETA: Diversity is also important to us. We are an African American family (if that makes any difference)

Well i i cant help too much, but i spent 3 days in chelmsford and enjoyed myself. I quite liked the area actually. Maybe someone else can further help, but i thought it was a nice town, nice people, area, little bit of everything there from what i could tell. Good luck!