What it's like to live in Broadstairs

Across the Thanet council area, 11.9% of homes are socially rented, below the England figure of 17.1%. That splits into 4.7% council and 7.2% housing association. Owner occupation runs at 61.4% and private renting is high at 26.3%, which is typical of a coastal area with a lot of older housing stock.

The main social landlords in Thanet are Thanet District Council with about 3,169 homes, Orbit Housing Association with 2,712, The Riverside Group with 706, Southern Housing with 514 and Town and Country Housing with 429. Average weekly social rents in 2024/25 were around £95 for a one bed, £107 for two beds and £122 for three.

The age profile leans older: 23.7% of Thanet residents are 65 or over, against 18.4% for England, while 25 to 44 year olds are under-represented at 23.2%. Demand for social housing is real. At 31 March 2025 there were 1,219 households on the council's register, which is not a simple queue, and 100 homes were let through the council in 2024-25 alongside 25 mutual exchanges.

There is a solid spread of primary schools close by. St. Mildred's Primary Infant School is around 0.2 miles out, with Upton Junior School at 0.4 miles, St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School at 0.5 miles and Callis Grange Nursery and Infant School under a mile. Haddon Dean Preparatory School is also nearby if you are looking at the independent side.

For older children, The Charles Dickens School is about 0.7 miles away. Wellesley Haddon Dene School sits half a mile out, and Bradstow School and Stone Bay School are both within two thirds of a mile, which are specialist settings. Hilderstone College is close to the centre too. Always check current admissions and catchment with Kent County Council before you commit to a swap.

For family life outside school, the parks do a lot of work: Pierremont Park, Balmoral Gardens, Victoria Gardens and Holmes Park are all within half a mile. Broadstairs Library is close in, the Palace Cinema is a short walk, and the beaches are free entertainment for most of the year. Across the Thanet council area, 17.8% of residents are under 16, slightly below the England figure of 18.6%.

Broadstairs station is about a quarter of a mile from the town centre, which is a real advantage if you do not drive. Dumpton Park is just over a mile away and Ramsgate station is under two miles, so you have options if one route suits your journey better.

By road, you are at the far end of Kent, and journeys inland take time. That said, Margate, Ramsgate and the wider Thanet towns are all short drives, and the hospital at about two and a half miles is an easy run. Parking near the front and the old streets can be tight, especially in summer.

On foot, the town centre, the library, the pharmacies, the Tesco Express and several parks all sit within half a mile of the middle of Broadstairs, which makes day-to-day life manageable without a car. The seafront and clifftop paths give you flat, pleasant walking between bays. Bus services link the Thanet towns, so check the specific route and timetable for the road you are considering, as frequency varies between the central streets and the outer estates.

The sea is the main event. Broadstairs has sandy bays and clifftop walks, and Garden on the Sands, Pierremont Park, Balmoral Gardens and Victoria Gardens give you more formal green space within a few minutes of the centre.

For a town of its size, the social side is well served. The Palace Cinema is a small independent in the town itself, with a Vue about two miles away if you want the big screens. Pubs cluster in the centre, including The Counting House, the Prince Albert, Bradstow Mill and Mind The Gap, all within a few hundred metres of each other, so a night out does not need a taxi.

If you like keeping fit, Bannatyne Health Club and PureGym are around a mile and a half out, with The Gym and Obsidian a little further. Broadstairs Library is a quarter of a mile from the middle of town, and Retort House and St Peters Memorial Hall host community groups. Add Margate and Ramsgate within a couple of miles and there is more to do than the population figure suggests.

Be realistic about work here. In the wider Thanet council area, 51.3% of adults are in work, below the England average of 57.4%, and 5.3% of 16 to 64 year olds were claiming unemployment-related benefits in September 2026, against 4% for England. Unemployment itself was 3.6%, close to the England figure of 3.5%, but the lower employment rate reflects an older population and fewer local jobs.

The big local employers tend to be public services and the visitor economy. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, about two and a half miles away, is a major site for health and care roles. Schools, shops, hospitality and tourism provide much of the rest, and summer trade means some seasonal work.

If your job is elsewhere, the train matters. With Broadstairs station in the town and Ramsgate and Dumpton Park close, commuting out is possible, though Thanet is a long way from the big employment centres and journeys are not short. Before you swap, work out the actual door-to-door time and cost for your job or the jobs you would apply for.