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Budget is £250k for 4 beds, study

Not easily achievable near Brighton. You might get something fairly run-down in the Peacehaven/Newhaven/Lancing neck of the woods but even then, 4 bedrooms for around £250K is unlikely. Also most of the cheaper areas are cheaper for a reason. In many cases because there's no quick access to a station (Peacehaven, for example) or the train service to London is longer (Worthing and points westward of Brighton). I really think you'll be lucky to find anything much cheaper than £300K. Don't even consider Lewes or Brighton itself either, let alone the villages around them.

My friend has just bought a house in Worthing (Broadwater) and she loves it, but she did move from Peacehaven!

You could probably get a 4bed in Seaford for that money but ime Peacehaven/Newhaven/Seaford are all a bit grim school-wise, I wouldn't move back there for love nor money (possibly the warmer summers though).

Uckfield was recommissioned as a station (not that we are getting diverted by a side conversation of course!)

PS. Haywards Heath/Cooksbridge/Plumpton/Burgess Hill (despite B.Hill being fairly unlovely) all come at a premium precisely because of the good rail links. You'd have to downsize fairly drastically to get within your budget.

Even in Hastings, you'd struggle to find 4 beds + study + garden + near to station for £250k

Having said that... I did find this, near the West St Leonards station. Not a great area though, and not close to schools.
TBH, in Hastings, none of the decent schools are near a train station and bus to Brighton takes AGES.

Tiggygirl If I remember Uckfield station is old, the line it was on closed many years ago. I think it might have connected to Lewes?

<puts anorak on>

There is a train service from Uckfield and London (not a wonderful service hence many people in the Uckfield area driving to Haywards Heath instead).

The line between Lewes and Uckfield shut in 1969. It is unlikely to reopen.

Thanks for the info guys .Isnt it funny that when you move into an area you just presume that things that are there have always been there .As they say you learn something new everyday.

Angmering, much nicer than Worthing and 30 minutes train to Brighton by train

Shoreham-by-Sea is quite naice. I'm from around there and my mum lives there now. You can get [[http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25678500.html this 5-bed for <£250k. Trains direct to Victoria and Brighton. It's got a 1000+ year old church (if you like that kind of thing - it's a cool thing anyway), access to everywhere.

Link www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25678500.html

Angmering is an awful journey to London though. Not all trains stop there and you are, as you say, 30 minutes to Brighton. From which you need to add another hour to London although the direct London trains miss Brighton since they go via the tunnel at Hove.

I know it's a long shot, but I do live in a part of the country that is known for being pricey at the moment and we have what we need here, though it took us a while to find it. I did think a half hour commute would be pushing it - what if I took that up to an hour or so?

Don't need to commute to east London exactly, just need to get there twice a month to pick up stepkids and bring them back. So don't need to be on a commuter train route to London.

The job is actually in Hove.

I saw a really nice looking house in Uckfield but the trainline.com seemed to suggest I had to go to Croydon and then back out to Brighton - is that right?

Am leaning towards Eastbourne...is Bognor awful? What's Lancing like, really?

Oh I like that Shoreham house, shame it's been sold.

Yes everybody that's why people go to Haywards Heath as its a lot quicker .

Lancing, imo, is a shit hole. But I haven't lived around there for years so it might be OK now. Don't look at Sompting - the nearest rail stations are miles away and it's miserable

This is all my ex-patch and I live in London now and visit as infrequently as possible

Aaaaah. Well I guess that's out. Shame, twas a nice house.

Yes, OP, you would need to change at East Croydon to get onto the main London-Brighton line. Which is why you'd drive from Uckfield to a station on the mainline.

Bognor (IMHO) is vile. Eastbourne OK but there's a lot of choice from lovely to not so lovely. I find it a bit boring but then I love Hastings which isn't to everyone's taste.

Has anyone suggested Rottingdean or Saltdean yet (sorry if I've missed it, I have scanned this thread). You can get a really decent amount of space particularly in Saltdean and only half an hour from town.

Another vote for Worthing. Yes it has an older population but so many younger families have moved along from Brighton. The 700 bus runs every 10 mins along the coast (my DS goes to work in Hove on the 700).

The town centre is a bit depressing but is probably similar to most town centre ATM.

The train service to Brighton and London is also very good. My younger DS's school has just been rated outstanding by Ofsted so the houses around here will be out of your budget for a 4 bedroom (£350k +) but there are other areas that are cheaper.

There are a lot of areas around Worthing that are developing too (for better or worse with rumours of an ikea opening.

I used to live in Shoreham by Sea all my life before marriage but that has just become a suburb of Brighton and has lost it's soul (I think personally).

I'm in Lancing and I really like it. It was the closest to Brighton we could afford. The only other area we could afford was the part of Shoreham around stoney lane/hammy lane, which we were advised to stay away from.

If I was going to move to the South Coast I'd I wouldn't live inland. For instance; Shoreham has the sea, the river and the Downs. It's actually beautiful round there. And you can fly to Paris

'Lancing, imo, is a shit hole. But I haven't lived around there for years so it might be OK now. Don't look at Sompting - the nearest rail stations are miles away and it's miserable

This is all my ex-patch and I live in London now and visit as infrequently as possible'

That's interesting, I did the opposite, moved here from Islington and much prefer it!

The job is actually in Hove.

No - the job is actually in Hove, actually!!

(Hove is always known as that as it is posher than Brighton & it's what people who live there are reputed to say when asked if they live in Brighton).

Actually, we tend to call Hove "West Brighton". It winds up the residents no end....