I would like to live in Brighton and Hove

Hi. I’m in Cambridge. It’s a small beacon of light surrounded by a sea of conservative (and probably Reform). East Anglia is a beautiful but politically divided and fiery place. I get it, the fenland towns are on their knees, but, as so often happens, those worst affected blame the wrong people and believe the lies of the hate mongering politicians.
There is hope though, as Cambridge expands (the massive housing boom and the rise of awful new build wasteland like estates aside) places near Cambridge are changing from decades of staunch conservatism. Places like Ely (lovely) have thrown off their Tory leaders!
I’m not a political party person, they all have huge issues. So I’m very much a floating voter and will vote Green or something if my vote won’t change who’s in power but might gain a following, but Lib Dem (or similar) if they stand a chance of pushing out the right. But it is nice to be surrounded by a mix of thinking. Quiet centre conservatives or labour people, those fighting for a better climate future and fairness for immigrants, and those that value the arts and thinking and beauty and nature over this money, money, money, culture.
That said, we are thinking of moving as our child is taking over and we need a bit more space. We won’t be able to stay here as prices are ridiculous!

Steyning is cute, not too far away and a little cheaper. None of the rough, night vibes either.

We have been looking to move to Hove and although we can find flats within our price range the service charges for most are extortionate.We will keep looking v

I went to university in Brighton and lived there for many years. It's expensive because SE England is expensive and it is a commuter town for London.
It's always been scruffy, or at least it was in the 1980s. It has large gay population and a large vegetation/vegan population.
It also has pockets of deprivation and people who may have lived in Brighton for many generations who are not benefitting from the affleuence in parts of the city.

I loved living there, I wish I lived closer as I have connections there. However it gets very congested in summer with traffic and tourists.
Could you stay fpr a week in an Airbnb and get a feel for it?

The problem with Brighton is that it contains both the best and worst types of people. On the one hand, you have the gay, arty, hippie community - cool, friendly, and civilized. But you also have another sort. I mean the violent drop outs who move there to live a life of drug abusive and benefit fraud.

People like that don’t understand that living an alternative lifestyle doesn’t mean doing whatever you want. You still have to be polite and quiet and consider other people’s feelings.

Also I loved the North Laine and Infonity Foods and still miss it. We moved away 20 years ago for work and I'm not sure I'd move back now.

Look further afield like peacehaven or eastbourne - hassocks even, or burgess hill (much cheaper) I have friends who live in hurst and love it but is ex - we used to be in kemptown but moved now. You wont get much for 250k - you'll have to move further out. The denes are nice too.

Totally agree with this. When we were looking in Brighton it was very tempting to keep pushing further out to get more house for our money but as you say outside the centre it's not really Brighton. To be fair places like Sydney are very similar. They just don't have the "collection of villages" structure of London

And Bristol is equally if not more expensive I believe.

@Cosimarocks thankyou! Very interesting.

May I recommend Littlehampton, just a little further past Worthing and far cheaper than Brighton without all the hustle and bustle

@0hIdoliketobebesidetheseasidewondering what you decided to do? Hope all is well.

Please take a walk down Littlehampton high Street stop have a coffee and people watch for half an hour before you consider moving there

FILTH is the answer!

Failing In London ? Try Hastings !!

Portslade or Peacehaven way much cheaper and still close by… or get something that needs work? Brighton is a fab place to live, we go to the beach daily, swim, walk, the downs are easy to get to, schools are decent, there’s always music or arty stuff to go to, people are genuinely live & let live, it’s all v walkable and safe for kids to walk around. Our young teens can get everywhere they need to go to on foot or by bike or by bus.

Bless. There’s F all going on in Steyning, pretty though it may be and it’s full of Tories. Which may be your thing, OP - if so you just have to travel a little East or West of Brighton and it’s chocko block with Tories and Reformers

Love it here. Brought my family up here and it has so much to offer.
There are the usual social problems, it’s very liberal so attracts a lot of homeless etc but violence in that community is broadly contained within it.
I feel safe and my older teens do too.
you might get a flat with a balcony for £250k but not a house.
Personally I wouldn’t want to live in Worthing!

I live here and walk down the high street most days. It’s fine.

Brighton is a great city if you’re the kind of person who wants a city with a lot of outdoors. The outdoor 50m pool & sauna/s on the beach, the outdoor cafe culture, being able to run along miles of seafront , or up into the hills.
Some people may not like things like the month long arts festival, the new bands festival, the kids parade, the slightly crackers solstice stuff, the music events, Pride, the beach festivals, the old car London to Brighton runs, the charity bike rides, the naked bike ride, the fact that you sometimes see people wandering about dressed in Steam punks gear or as Victorians or clowns for no apparent reason, but we quite like it.

Your generalising when you say people in Brighton are nice. I bet there's some horrible people in Brighton.
On another note the football team are riding high.

We lived in Brighton for many years, three kids born there, always said I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in England. It was funky and fun, we felt really lucky. We have been in Sydney 20 years now and went back to Brighton last year, omg what an absolute dump. Absolutely filthy, everywhere stinks of dope, I felt unsafe on the streets at night which I had never done before. DD (now an adult) was horrified that it was where she was born. You couldn’t pay me to live there now which is so sad as it really was quite special. I think there must be much nicer places to live by the sea these days.

How rude and ill-informed!

This is why these kinds of threads, while interesting, don’t help the OP to make a decision because we’re all different, and where a person enjoys living comes down to their lifestyle and personality more than anything.

I love living in Worthing. I am aware of its flaws, but its pros outweigh its cons for me and I have no desire to live elsewhere. I wouldn’t want to live in Brighton because it’s too busy and too hectic; I like a quiet life and I like the fact that I sometimes get my local beach all to myself, even on summer evenings! We live 500m from the beach- no way in the world we could afford that in Brighton.

Well Bristol is the most expensive renter city outside of London and it's pretty rough but wonderful. I guess with these more liberal places you get more leniency with drugs etc and are more likely to attract a variety of hmmm characters I'd say. Anyway Brighton is great my SIL lived there for years and wants to move back. A fun city with great food and entertainment

You forgot the Zombie Walk! That’s one of my favourites.

I am born and bred here. I love it.