Anyone live in Haywards Heath or Horsham?

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We are planning a move out of London next year and wondering about parts of Sussex commutable to London. Haywards Heath and Horsham both look like good bets - does anyone live there? Nice places to live?

Not sure of budget yet but likely to be in the region of 425-500k. Very possibly 550 but unlikely. DH will be commuting to London four days a week. I work from home. We have a three year old DS who is due to start primary school in September 2020. Don't think we'll be able to move before the January application deadline sadly so we'll be applying late wherever we end up.

No but I live in Brighton and looked at both them...can I suggest Burgess Hill, not quite as 'naice' as Haywards Heath but lots more to do and the triangle leisure centre/pool is great

I live ~25 mins from Haywards Heath and do the commute to London 3 days per week.

HH has always felt very "commuter town" to me and so I've always preferred to live further away.

I live closer to Uckfield/Buxted which would have some fantastic houses at that price point. They also have a direct line to London Bridge (I change at East Croydon for Victoria or Clapham Junction depending where I'm off to). Commute for me varies between driving to Haywards Heath for a quicker train line vs. doing the above and changing but not needing the car.

Could be worth exploring commute times and whether you'd get a "nicer" property in those sorts of areas? Also absolutely fantastic primary schools in the area - couldn't name a bad one - our 4 year old starts in September but all reviews from local parents are glowing and each offer something different (probably about 9+ to choose from in town and surrounding villages). We also looked at Newick which is a lovely lovely village and only 15 from Haywards Heath but preferred where we are now overall for school choices etc.

Second Burgess Hill as an option. Lewes was also on our hit list as direct commute possible (depending on where in London - it's the Victoria lines) and you then have speedy access also to Brighton etc. Such a fantastic town but house will be smaller.

Thank you both! I don't really mind a commuter town if it's near other nice places - I'd rather be close to a station that gets DH directly into London. He works 9-6 so I don't want him to have to have a 2 hour commute if possible.

Also I can't drive (I'm unable to for medical reasons) so ideally I'd like to be somewhere I can hop on a train or a bus...

Lewes is a bit too far out for us I think.

I live in Horsham . What would you like to know ?

We live just outside Horsham. Lots of people do the commute but the trains aren’t quick by any means. What else do you want to know? Schools are good but there’s been a places crisis for secondary this year with some of the local village 11 year olds missing out on all the local schools.

Horsham is a lovely place with great schools at all levels, but the London commute isn't as easy as it should be. It is direct, it just seems to take a long time! Although it is likely you would be able to get somewhere very decent within walking distance of the station with that budget. There are a lot of Edwardian/Victorian houses with very easy town/station/country access, if you like period properties.

In general terms, Horsham is a very "naice" town, probably on a par with Lewes. Great food market on Saturdays, big restaurant scene, about to have a second independent cinema, loads of activity stuff/groups around (there are always runners everywhere!), amazing park. Very middle class. Has been Tory forever (safest seat in country I think..). High council tax. But, in general, a pretty good place to live.

Is there much diversity? I am mixed race and that has always worried me about moving out of London.

Is it super middle class competitive? I live in a naice MC area of SE London and cannot be dealing with the hoardes of parents getting competitive over their DC's reading ability.

There isn't as much diversity as you'd think in those areas. Solidly white, middle class but hopefully you wouldn't encounter any racism as middle class people are usually well educated and culturally aware. It will feel very different to SE London. If you want more diversity then look to Brighton/Hove.

Brighton too far sadly, do love it there.

Food for thought. Thank you everyone.

It's getting more diverse - there is a lot of housing development going on around Horsham which is really increasing the population. This has caused the senior school place issue from a PP but has also really improved the diversity. I know a lot of mixed race couples and no-one bats an eyelid (as far as I know!)

Can't help on the competitive front, I'm afraid - I'm a WOHM and have very happily managed to avoid any school gate discussions of that ilk. I do have a lot of mums as friends though and they are generally a pretty decent (and diverse) bunch.

We just moved from Richmond to Burgess Hill - much bigger house and garden for a lot less money. Children are at a great school and prefer it. We live s 5 minute walk from the station and transport to Haywards Heath and Horsham is simple.

We were making the same decision a couple of years ago and opted for Horsham.

We just found HH quite soulless. The one positive to HH (in my view) is that there's a direct train to Brighton, which Horsham is lacking

Really glad we went with Horsham as its a lovely town with a great community feel. Everything is close together so you can walk everywhere and it has everything you need. Beautiful period properties and you'll get something nice for your budget.

As for diversity, I'm also mixed race and have never experienced any kind of racism at all. Many people here have also lived in London/other cities so its just not an issue. You will be a minority but personally that doesn't bother me. I grew up in Brighton and it's not particularly diverse there either.

I also WFH but commute to London a couple of times a month. The train to London Bridge is 50 mins and I've never experienced any issues with it and always get a seat!

Happy to answer any more questions if you have any!

Have you considered Dorking? The train that goes to Horsham runs through Dorking, plus additional trains - you have both Southern and South West trains, handy if one of them goes down, you have the other as back up, or of Waterloo is closed, you can go to Victoria and vice versa. There is also a train line running to Gatwick airport, so very commutable.

There are a number of good primary schools, not all over subscribed. Two excellent secondary schools.

I live / have lived in both - happy to talk commuting / education etc if you want to pm me 👍

my aunt lives near haywards heath so her husband can commute they have lived happily there for years.And i wish i lived there to lovely place

I live in between Horsham and Guildford.
Guildford trains to Waterloo are much faster, but Guildford traffic to the station is horrible - takes twice as long in rush hour as other times (and getting worse due to spate of new developments). Season ticket is circa £4k, parking £5/day. The serving train companies for Guildford and Horsham are Southern, SouthWestern, and Thames Link - best of luck in deciding who has the worse reputation for reliability and running to time.
I work in Westminster / Shoreditch. The latter takes 2.5hrs each way; the former 2hrs.

£500k buys you a 3 bed semi.

I'm also suggesting Burgess Hill - lots of London 'expats', close to Brighton and the South Downs. Unlike Haywards Heath there are two train stations with direct services to London so you've got more chance of living near one, if you see what I mean.

Re: diversity, it's obviously not as diverse as London but there are plenty of people of different races and from lots of different countries.

Oh, and crucially you get more for your money than HH or Horsham!

I've lived in both

HH is much better transport wise - trains are more frequent and faster. Also easier to get to Brighton. Something to consider if one of you is in London 5 days a week.

Horsham is a lovely town. HH is nice but alot less to do and as a PP said, quite soulless

I live in HH, but looked at Horsham when moving as it has a bit more going on and is naicer. We chose HH based on the much easier and quicker commute and cheaper house prices though! You would get something nice for your budget here.

Horsham is lovely. Lots there and little shops too. HH seems to be a constant traffic jam. Of the two, I'd chose Horsham. Or how about Horley. It's not very big and it isn't centre of the universe - rather dullsville, but it has good train links and bonus of walking to Gatwick to get trains from there. Lots of new building happening. Easy to get to everywhere else like Horsham, HH, east Grinstead, Brighton, Croydon. Very near countryside and lots of walks and bike rides. Crawley is more diverse but not as naice, in fact distinctly rough in places as is Redhill. Reigate is just another traffic jam and is full of mummies competing over whether Joshua's reading age is on a par with Priscilla's. Oxted is nice too although probs very expensive.

I would definitely not recommend either Horley or Burgess Hill as you will be looking for schooling unless you are either planning on going independent or are Catholic - secondary schools anyway.

HH and Horsham both have good / outstanding primary and secondary schools although as someone commented earlier there is a secondary school deficit of places in Horsham but this will be remedied by the time you need it with new schools in the works.

I disagree with @suziedoozy - dependent on where your catchment is in Burgess Hill there are excellent secondary schools. we have a child at Downlands and have another starting at Oathall which also takes a lot of children from Burgess Hill. However, I would advise against Burgess Hill Academy.
Our children did better at a needs improvement primary in BH than they did in an outstanding primary in Richmond as the class sizes a lot smaller and they were not heaped with expectations. Although I appreciate that also depends on the child and teachers.