Nice places to live in the Canterbury area

My husband's been offered a job in Canterbury so we're going to be moving to Kent very soon.  He's already looked at a couple of houses in Kent & Faversham and is going to see a few more this week.   Can anyone in that area give us some tips? What are other nice towns/villages near Canterbury? We are thinking about Whitstable, what's that like and is it an easy commute to Canterbury? And what are the best parts of Canterbury itself to live in.  We have no car and have a 6 month old baby so want to be near shops, transport, parks/scenic spots.

Any tips would be great as I have only ever been to Canterbury once and know next to nothing about Kent.

Thanks!

Sounds good... are you looking forward to getting out of London (and playing that Aztec Camera song a lot!)?

I sure am!

Good luck on your move Britwife.  Last I heard you were hoping to move to Swansea.  It would have been wonderful to welcome you here.  But wishing you every happiness in Canterbury.

Thanks, yes we really tried to move to Swansea or anywhere in south Wales and in fact my husband had an interview for a job in Cardiff the same week as the Canterbury interview ... but in the end it was the Canterbury job that came through.  But who knows, we may still end up in Wales one day ... til then, there are always holidays.

Have you found a place yet?

Yes we have found a small house just inside the city walls. Just waiting for the letting agent to do all their credit & reference checks.

Congrats BritWife! Caterbury is very nice and the fact that you found something inside the city walls is a good thing....no need for a car! 

I am sure you are very excited about your move....best of luck! 

Julie

Thanks Julie! We just got the approval from the letting agent today so it's all action stations now!

That's brilliant! 

Thats excellent news Britwife! 

We only visited Canterbury once over a long weekend....but I will say the people there were very friendly. Add that to the fact that its a lovely town...I am sure you guys will be happy there! 

Julie

Canterbury is a lovely place - and they host one of the BEST beer festivals!    See you in July! 

they do? is that in the Dane John Gardens? cause our house is right next to it.  I notice there is a gay pride picnic coming up next month too and the British Food Festival in September. Sorted

The festivals at the Dane John Gardens are very cool - we went to a "multi-cultural" one last year and the food and music were great - as was all the stuff to buy!

But the beer festival is at the Merton Farm - in a cow shed!  It is SO cool - the food is amazing (a lovely olive bar and curries) and the variety of beers is very respectable.

I can honestly say that if we had to move from the Medway area, I'd be looking seriously at Canterbury.  I love visiting there.  It's only 45 minutes away from us by train...

Love Canterbury. I go shopping there any chance I get. Think you will enjoy living there. Its a nice place. Rather expensive to live..I hear. There are some great places to eat and good pubs.

http://www.canterbury.co.uk/

http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/

http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/

http://www.thycotic.com/canterbury.shtml

http://www.thycotic.com/guide/main.html

http://canterbury-pages.co.uk/Kent/Canterbury/

About good places to eat that don't have rude owners?? I haven't run across that problem. Sorry to hear you have.

http://homepages.tesco.net/~jamiep/frames/cantfood.html#top

http://homepages.tesco.net/~jamiep/frames/cantpubsn-z.html