We visited Canterbury mainly to view houses and we didn’t need to rent a place or live there for months to know I loved it.

We arrived early and spent the whole day exploring. We walked from one house viewing to the next, from 10am until our last one at 4pm. The best part? That walking took us through nearly every corner of the city. Once the viewings were done, we had the rest of the evening to enjoy Canterbury on our own.

It’s honestly one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen in the UK. Storybook houses, some tilting slightly with age, canals cutting through the streets and a vibrant mix of tourists, students and locals. It all created this perfect balance between history and young energy. Even the Pret a Manger looked elegant from the outside.
Of course, we had to check out the flat white coffee shops (very important to us) and we found Fringe + Ginge Coffee, highly rated for its creamy froth milk and the quality of the coffee grains. Highly recommended.
From the historic centre to the surrounding neighbourhoods, I felt completely safe walking around. We heard there are some areas like The Barracks that are better avoided, and you might see a few homeless people in the city at night. Overall, Canterbury felt peaceful.

We absolutely loved one of the houses we saw. Canterbury is our new home.