What’s going for it? Every time I go to Rochester it surprises me. I forget how ravishingly beautiful it is, the Norman castle and ancient cathedral high on a bluff above the Medway, curling lanes of old houses, bookshops and flint walls tumbling down the hill. The views! The long Medway valley, lined with the foothills of the North Kent Downs, is dreamy. The history! Pilgrims and scholars, naval bases and Dickens. There’s no escaping him here. Dickens spent much of his childhood in Chatham, next door, and his latter years at Gad’s Hill Place, just outside. The Swiss chalet in the garden where he wrote his novels now sits, surreally, on the High Street. Nearby, you’ll find the Satis House, of Miss Havisham fame, the Pumblechook’s chambers, and crystals and karma at the Little Dorrit new age shop.

The case against Rochester’s economy, and that of Chatham and Gillingham, has for centuries been tethered to the navy. A substitute has yet to be found since the dockyard’s decline.

Well connected? Excellent. Trains: stations in Rochester and Strood; every 15-20 mins to Victoria (45-60 mins); every 20 mins to Margate (1hr); every 30 mins to St Pancras (40 mins), Charing Cross (1hr 15 mins), Canterbury (50 mins). Driving: the M2 passes by, with the M25 and Maidstone 20-30 mins away, Whitstable 30 mins, Canterbury 45.

Hang out at… For its size, it could do with more energy. Try Topes restaurant or the Coopers Arms.

Where to buy The old heart is a delight of lanes and every period of property from medieval on. Start around the castle and cathedral, Crow Lane and the like, before heading up the hill of St Margaret’s Street. It morphs into the more suburban Borstal Road along the river cliff top, with great views. Choicest suburbans lie south close to the M2. Fine Victorians on and off Maidstone Road and Watt’s Avenue. Strood, across the river, is a little cheaper; towards Chatham, a lot cheaper. Detacheds and town houses, £300,000-£1.5m. Semis, £220,000-£450,000. Terraces and cottages, £200,000-£350,000. Flats, £120,000-£320,000. Rentals: one-bed flat, £575-£850pcm; three-bed house, £850-£1,500pcm.

Bargain of the week Quite a few. This one’s on a busy road, but close to the station at Strood: Victorian five-bedroom terrace house, £290,000, robinson-jackson.com. Tom Dyckhoff

From the streets

Joseph Stewart “It’s a quick ride into London, yet still (relatively) affordable. The high street has picked up, but it’s a war zone at weekends. There’s class tension, a lack of local work, and a divide between grammars, comps and independents.”

Jill Zago “Thankfully, former MP Mark Reckless left. Overrun by weddings and hen parties at weekends.”

• Live in Rochester? Join the debate below.