I live in Gravesend (Kent) and you can get to Liverpool Street or Kings Cross on the High speed in around 25 minutes. It is definitely up and coming - has a bit of a bad name and reputation not great but have certainly noticed more affluent commuters moving in recently. The area around the town centre is not too shabby though the bits further out are more variable.
You can buy a big 4 bed semi-detached for £350k. It's not as posh as St Albans but has just as much to offer in terms of amenities with Bluewater nearby if you can't cope with the town centre. I have lived in St Albans and although the people are generally more pleasant and the place a bit more up market, there is not too much difference except for an extra £200k for a house.
There are other villages nearby with excellent primary schools and the Grammar schools are good that are a short drive to Ebbsfleet International. Perhaps this is the slight weakness of Gravesend though there are still some decently rated OFSTED schools.
A high speed ticket is in the region of £4160 to either Gravesend or Ebbsfleet (excluding travelcard) though you can get to Kings Cross or Liverpool Street with it.You can also use the slow line to Charing Cross, Cannon Street or make a single change to get to Victoria. Journey times to those destinations are around 50 minutes
I'd be happy to tell you more (I'm not an estate agent by the way!).
