What it's like to live in Margate

Margate's housing stock is varied: Georgian and Victorian terraces near the squares and seafront, plus later estates spreading inland. Social homes in Thanet are let by several landlords, so the one you swap with may not be the council. Thanet District Council is the biggest with around 3,169 homes, followed by Orbit Housing Association with 2,712, The Riverside Group with 706, Southern Housing with 514 and Town and Country Housing with 429.

Social rents across the Thanet council area in 2024/25 averaged about £95 a week for a one bed, £107 for a two bed and £122 for a three bed. Those are averages for the whole district, so your actual rent will depend on the landlord, the property and the type of tenancy.

Demand is real. At the end of March 2025 there were 1,219 households on the council's housing register, and the council let 100 social homes that year. Twenty-five council homes changed hands through mutual exchange in the same period, which shows swapping is a genuine route into the area rather than a long shot.

There is a good spread of primary schools close in. Holy Trinity and St John's Church of England Primary is about two hundred metres away, with Salmestone Primary and Drapers Mills Primary Academy both under a mile. Silver Slipper Performing Arts School and Emmanuel Church Sunday School are also nearby for extra activities outside the school day.

For older children, Hartsdown Academy and Cherry Tree are both under a mile, St Anthony's School is just over a mile, and St George's Church of England Foundation School and Ursuline College sit within two and a half miles. That is a reasonable choice for a town this size, and several are walkable rather than needing a bus pass.

Family life outside school leans on the parks. Dane Park, Tivoli Park and Hartsdown Park give children room to run about, and Fort Hill and the seafront are close. Margate Library is a short walk from the centre, with Cliftonville Public Library a mile and a half away. Community centres at Saint John's, Cliftonville and the Compass Charity Community Hub are worth asking about for groups and holiday activities.

Margate station is about half a mile from the centre, which puts the rest of Kent and London within reach by train. Westgate-on-Sea station is under two miles away and Broadstairs around three, so if you end up on the edge of town you often have a choice of stations.

The town is flat enough in the middle to walk most errands. Shops, the library, pharmacies and Hawley Square are all within a few minutes of each other, and the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital is under a mile out. That matters if you do not drive or if hospital appointments are part of family life.

By car, Margate is at the end of the line geographically, which means journeys inland take a while, but local trips across Thanet to Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Westgate are short. Parking in the older streets near the centre can be tight, as it usually is in Victorian and Georgian terraces. Buses connect the Thanet towns, so check the specific routes near any home you are considering before you commit.

The seafront is the main draw, but the town centre holds its own. There are pubs and bars almost on the doorstep, including Crybaby, Mariachi, Sheldons Free House, the Wig and Pen and The Two Halves, so an evening out does not need a taxi. Kabuki covers the later end of the night for those who want it.

For films, the Carlton Cinema is around two miles away and a Vue sits just over two miles out, both easy enough to reach across Thanet. Margate Library is a short walk in and is useful for more than books.

If you like keeping active, there is plenty within a mile: hotpod yoga and Infinity Fitness in the centre, Gym 13, Red Hot Pilates and Urban Fitness slightly further out. On free days, Hawley Square, Fort Hill, Dane Park, Tivoli Park and Hartsdown Park give five different green spaces within half a mile or so of the middle of town, which is more than many seaside towns manage.

We do not have detailed employment figures for the Thanet council area to share here, so treat this as a general picture rather than numbers. Thanet is a coastal district and, like many coastal districts, it has a mix of seasonal work, public services and small independent businesses rather than one dominant big employer.

The clearest anchor in Margate itself is the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, under a mile from the town centre, which is a significant local workplace. Retail, hospitality and care work are visible in the town, with supermarkets, pubs, cafes and community organisations all employing locally.

If your job is further afield, the train station is the thing to look at. Margate is a long way east, so commuting inland or to London means a real journey rather than a quick hop, and you should check times and costs honestly before you move. Plenty of people here work locally or from home instead. If you already have a job lined up, work out the door-to-door journey from the specific street, not just from the town.