r/Essex

Hi everyone,

I'm currently researching commuting behaviour in the UK as part of a university startup project.

I'd really appreciate hearing about your own commuting experiences.

A few questions:

1. How do you usually commute to work?
2. Approximately how long is your daily commute?
3. What is the most frustrating part of your commute?
4. Has commuting become noticeably more expensive over the last few years?
5. If you could change one thing about your commute, what would it be?

I'm looking for honest opinions rather than right or wrong answers.

Thanks!

Do you want a say before the Government scraps all Essex's councils including Essex County Council and every one of the 12 district or borough councils in most of Essex? Essex Conservatives say residents must be in charge of the decision. What do you think?

This is a last resort post! Tried Google and specialist sites but to no avail.

My partner (35M) and I (38F) are in a (straight) femme/sub relationship, and looking for BDSM/Kink events in the area.

Has anyone got any recommendations please?

I’ve just moved this way and I’m looking for cool hangout spots/ ways to meet new people. I know there’s gotta be lots hidden in the area I just don’t know where to find it!

I’m a 32 yo M, interests in music, arts, nature ect.

If you could only recommend one chippy anywhere in the county, where would you send someone? I'm happy to travel if it's genuinely worth it. Bonus points if it's consistently good rather than somewhere that was amazing once five years ago

I signed a tenancy a few years ago with a ‘partner’ this was extended - when extended I didn’t sign or initial the paperwork again- ‘partner’ & landlord did. I need to leave the property due to relationship breakdown and concerns over mental abuse remaining in the relationship- control over remaining in the property until the extension on the tenancy is up. Where do I stand please I have a teenage child also

I am always looking to do new things with my daughter, so all answers welcomed.

Morning all,

Planning a bike ride along the seafront, so can access any along my route. Need a carby reward. Quick service preferred.

Must be open on Sundays.

Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for freelance tattoo artists who do home visits for appointments, based in Essex ofcourse. Please DM if you are such a person and we can talk business, I will want a lot of work done over the next few years, so the right artist will have a regular customer.

I'm a single guy looking to move out of London to Chelmsford.

I am very interested in a house that's only a couple of roads away from the prison. Just wondering what that area is like?

I've been to Chelmsford Town centre a couple of times but don't really know the places to avoid/the nicer places to look at.

I’ve had an offer accepted on this flat in Chelmsford:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/73206035/

It was listed at £350k–£375k and I agreed £340k. The estate agent has now taken it off the market, but obviously it’s still all subject to contract.

It’s a 2 bed, 2 bath flat near Chelmsford station/town centre. It’s top floor/penthouse style, has a balcony, allocated parking, lift access, and seems big for a 2 bed flat — around 968–1,000 sq ft from what I can see.

The good points are basically:

- good location near the station/town
- large for a 2 bed flat
- 2 bathrooms, so having a lodger would be realistic
- allocated parking
- balcony
- advertised as long lease (119 years) / no ground rent
- I’d be able to live there myself and potentially get a lodger to help with costs

But I keep going round in circles about whether I’m overpaying or not.

It sold for £350k in 2022 and I’m buying at £340k in 2026. On the face of it that’s £10k less, but obviously with inflation it’s quite a bit cheaper in real terms. Still, flats don’t seem to have done that well compared with houses.

There’s also another flat in the same building that sold for £310k in 2022 and is now listed around £290k–£300k. It’s smaller and only has one bathroom, so not directly comparable, but it does make me wonder if the building has basically gone down/flat since 2022.

Another one in the building apparently sold for around £338k in 2022 and looks like it may have been bigger than mine, although I don’t know the full details like layout, floor, parking, condition etc.

My main worries are:

- It’s a leasehold flat, not a house, so resale might be weaker.
- Service charge is around £2,700 a year, which feels high.
- I need the solicitor to confirm the parking space properly because there seems to have been some renumbering/relining issue.
- I’ve heard something about the original developer/freeholder having liquidation issues, which I need checked.
- I need to confirm whether a lodger is definitely allowed under the lease.
- I don’t want to buy something that will be hard to sell later.

Financially, I’d be putting down around £70k and borrowing around £270k. Without a lodger, it’s doable but feels quite heavy. With a lodger, it becomes much more comfortable.

I’m currently living at home cheaply, so part of me thinks I should just keep saving and eventually buy a freehold house instead. But this flat would give me independence, a lot more space, parking, central location, and the option of lodger income.

My current view is that £340k might be fair if the solicitor report is completely clean, but it’s not exactly a bargain. If anything comes back messy on the parking, service charge, lease/freeholder or lodger issue, I’d probably renegotiate or walk away.

Would you be comfortable buying this at £340k, or would the leasehold/service charge/same-building comparisons put you off?

Also, what would you specifically ask the solicitor to check before going any further?