Worthing

dontevenblink - the Dome cinema is still there - and has been renovated to provide great function room over looking the sea, there are two screens and love that you can enjoy a glass of wine during the film from the bar downstairs. The end of pier nightclub is now a smart cafe/bar venue ; a great place to watch the sun go down. Worthing Sixth Form recently relocated to the old Norwich Union site at Broadwater - not so good for lunchtime swims but really good facilities and apparently very convenient for KFC or Starbucks according to my son.

Ah Rubberducks, always smelt faintly of dog and House of Pain's Jump Around at 2am to signify the end of the night. Happy days.

We also used to go to rutherforda nightclub when we were about 15-16. It's no longer there, now a nice-ish looking brasserie/fish and chips place. For kids, splash point and Beach House are great as is the play park on the seafront at west Worthing and the walk to Goring. The Fish Factory restaurant is fab.

Oh god Rutherfords! Or Scrubberknobs as we used to call it back then (mid/late 90s). I used to work in a pub about 20 minutes up the A24 and go there after an evening shift. So usually sober. Surely can't be still going. Used to like Worthing and nearly bought a flat there. Mum used to take us to the seafront for rollerskating practice.

Actually do think that Worthing is on the up - have been here for 15 years now having moved here from London. Lots of community organisations including art initiatives involving children and adults. Check out the Sunny Worthing Facebook page for examples of many positive things happening in our town.

dontevenblink the night club at the end of the pier has just taken me back 20 years! Rutherfords? They had under 18s nights on Wednesdays. We thought we were so sophisticated ...

I'm biased but I would say south of the railway line :) I like the sea.
If you need to head East towards Brighton live on the East side of town, you then have a choice of two stations to use and avoid the A27/A24 roundabout.
If you want travel to schools to be easy don't live north of the A27.
West Worthing is growing at a fast pace due to new estates. Traditional parts of West Worthing and Goring are boring (rhymes) and still have the staid image even if the property is sought after.
Think Heene to Ham! especially with three boys. Unless you like ferrying them around!

Worthing is great for running. Really good promenade all the way to Brighton and beyond to the east and easy access to the South Downs to the north.

I run from just a bit further a long the coast and the running trails in the Downs are fantastic. Views to die for and so peaceful.

Worthing has good train links, but the A27 is hell on earth in rush hour because it narrows to single carriageway.

I grew up in Worthing and visit regularly (DParents &DSis still live there).

It has changed a lot recently and is definitely more family friendly than when I was small. You could do a lot worse than Worthing!

I grew up in Worthing, in Broadwater in fact :), and was a really nice place to grow up in. From Broadwater you can easily walk up into the Downs and we used to go and climb the trees up there and do some really great walks. The Green in Broadwater used to have different events on in the summer. We also used to walk down to the beach and go on the pier, or for a swim, the Sixth Form College (the schools didn't used to have sixth forms so everyone went to the college instead, don't know if this is still the case) is near the beach in Goring and we used to go swimming in our free periods in the summer :)

I wouldn't have ever described Worthing as dire, the main high street always had most of the shops you need, they did a lot of work in the 90s modernising and pedestrianising large areas. The Guildbourne centre was definitely grotty - is that still there? We only had an old cinema then, The Dome (is that still there?) which was pretty rubbish as we had to go to Brighton to go to the cinema, but Brighton wasn't far at all as the train was so quick to get there, so if you want nightlife and more shops etc. they are definitely very easily accessed. Sounds like there are cinemas in Worthing now anyway. Our nightclub used to be at the end of the pier Worthing was never cosmopolitan, but Brighton is there if you need it. My parents moved to Worthing in the 70s as Brighton was considered very grotty then and Worthing was seen as more upmarket!

Worthing was always very sleepy with lots of old people, but for a family it has always been a nice place to live imo. I went to the local girls high school which was a brilliant school in the 90s, not sure now though. The boys school also had a good reputation then too. Competition was always fierce to get into these though.

I moved away in the early 2000s, as did my parents (they weren't originally from there) and now live abroad so can't comment on what it is like now, only what it was like growing up there, but I have fond memories :)

I lived and worked in Worthing area for 5 years and absolutely loved it. Wish we could go back.

Ferring and Goring to the west of Worthing are lovely - the best beaches. You can buy freshly caught fish from the fishermen on the beach at Goring Gap.

Steer clear of Durrington.

What is your plan for work? It's a long commute to London. The sea front is great, but most of the shopping centre is shabby. There are certainly some nice places opening there though. I like the west Worthing end. We go there on day trips quite frequently

Saltdean is nice if you want to be close to Brighton. The houses aren't particularly pretty - 60s bungalows mostly - but they are very practical to live in and all the houses we looked at had views of either the sea or the downs. They'll reopen the lido in a year or two as well.

Oh also we are in Broadwater and it's got everything you need but not too far from town either. I LOVE that I can walk everywhere.

We moved to worthing from London via brighton and we love it. It's a great place for families and getting better all the time. It's small and cosy but with plenty going on. Best move we ever made and we wouldn't leave now, it's the place that felt the most like home to me (and I've lived in a lot of places) and I also think for the DC in the future that London and brighton and Chichester are all good universities and they won't be too far away ( sad I know)

Worthing was dire about 10 years ago but has gradually improved. It's full of families from London's suburbs that don't want to live in Brighton. It also gets Brighton people that want more space and a less frenetic town once the DCs arrive.
There are decent schools.
Everywhere is easy to get to within the town. Commuting on the A27 is awful unless you get up at < 6am. The trains along the coast are every 20 minutes and you soon get to know the fast trains or, if you need, the trains to London that don't go into Brighton.
A few good bars have appeared in the past year, The Wandering Goose on the seafront near the pier and The Rocking Horse on Brighton Road to name just two.
I like Washington and we often nip up there on a Sunday(Franklands Arms) but don't be tempted by somewhere that is neither near the sea or the Downs like Durrington.

Washington is luffly!!

List of schools in and around Worthing: www.findmyschool.co.uk/results.aspx?results.aspx?lea=West%20Sussex&cat=Primary%20Schools&town=Worthing

Another one here who thinks what you are describing OP is Eastbourne, not Worthing.

It does sound as if Worthing would suit you then OP. We are spoilt for outdoorsiness here on the Sussex coast with both the beach and the Downs.

Just don't be expecting a buzzing, cosmopolitan nightlife cos that's what Worthing ain't.

If it's outside space, proximity to the sea and Downs you want, you could do worse than looking at Eastbourne (similar retirement reputation as Worthing but it actually seems very good for young families). My brother and his family live there - good schools, great surroundings, and you get so much more for your money propertywise than in Brighton. Rubbish trains into London though. I wouldn't count on transport improvements happening any time soon. Links from the south coast to London actually seem to have deteriorated rather than improved over the years. And yes the A27 is just awful.

It's true that lots of families are moving to worthing from Brighton so there is some change in its character recently. Worthing is fine, nothing special but not dreadful. It has a nice beach, nice cinema and swimming pool. The A27 is indeed a beast.

My daughter and her husband live in Worthing. She commutes up to London 2 days a week and works the rest of the week in Hove. They love Worthing,over the last 3/4 years there has been a huge amount of investment in Worthing..and a lot more in the pipeline.After living in Fulham for 10 years she loves the fact that you can come home from work,walk down to the beach (5 mins) and have an evening swim. The sea is on one side and the South downs on the other...what's not to like?. Lots of good restaurants,new cinema complex planned,good shops and markets and plenty of things happening throughout the year. Worthing is not as expensive as Brighton,but has some very attractive properties. Lots of Brighton families moving up the coast,and a lot of London buyers who have seen the light and appreciate what Worthing has to offer . Talk in the future of a faster rail link to London.As far as I am aware the schools are generally good and some rated outstanding. Go down and spend some time there..I don't think you will be disappointed.