Suffolk vs Sussex.

[PickledLilli]

I'm planning a future move and I'm not completely sure where I want to move to but I've been looking at Sussex. However a friend who lives in Suffolk is desperately trying to encourage me to move there. I know little about it. I'm currently in Scotland.

My budget would be £550,000. I'd be working from home and I have no children at present. I'd like to be within an hour of a city or larger town. I'd probably want to live in the suburbs but would consider something more rural. I like a quiet life so nightlife isn't important but I enjoy visiting larger towns and cities occasionally for shopping, museums and theatre.

Which county would you prefer. I appreciate that it varies by area but I'm trying to look at the pros and cons of each location. I have some relatives in Norfolk so that's a plus for Suffolk.

Any ideas/thoughts/opinions would be appreciated. TIA

Sussex; we're looking around the Hastings area, its vibrant, alive, not dependent on seasonal seaside tourism. More for an early 20's still-at-home to do in the way of career.

We have looked at Whitstable/Tankerton - too retirement

Like you we have friends who are urging us to go to Devon - but that is just too far away from London

Hastings area - Cooden, Bexhill are all within reasonable distance of the mainline to London, or its an hours drive.

Lots of the UK is pretty, but for me, I have to be within striking distance of London

I’m in Sussex , specifically Arundel and I love it but your money would go further in Suffolk.

I'd go for Sussex but only because I know it better. East Grinstead is nice - an hour to London by train and close to Brighton too, but surrounded by countryside.

I’m on the South Coast of Sussex and I feel completely suffocated here. Everything is stacked in between the Downs and the sea, the traffic is forever busy whatever the time of the day, more and more houses are being built without the services to support them.

I have family in Suffolk and it never feels as congested there.

Both are lovely counties. I don’t know Suffolk very well but in Sussex somewhere like Horsham could work. It’s a lovely town but for your museum/theatre fix, both Brighton and London would be easily accessible.

Part of the appeal of Sussex for me is being so close to London. I won't be going to the theatre or concerts that often but I like the idea of having the option of having theatre, multiple museums and concert options available should I choose to go. I have a major UK city on my doorstep, not on the scale of London of course, but it's nice to have the option of going into the city with relative ease. Whether that outweighs the appeal of a quiet life I'm not sure,

Thank you for all the opinions so far.

I know both we’ll.
Suffolk is slower paced, gentler but big towns are not at nice. Property is cheaper. Bury St Edmunds is nice as is Norwich but the A12 is a long old drag. Good sailing in places like Orford and Woodbridge.
Depends what lifestyle you are looking for.

Sussex is hugely varied. Ranges from coastal deprivation in places like Hastings and Littlehampton to quite smart towns and cities. Brighton is cosmopolitan, lively, young. Chichester is sedate, quieter. Beautiful beaches and the Downs. Inland are some nice market towns like Horsham with good trains to London and airports.
Most of Sussex has quite high housing costs but there are cheaper patches.
It really does depend what your needs, red lines and considerations are.
We moved Suffolk to Sussex for better schools and employment opportunities. We liked both for different reasons.

Chichester has excellent theatre. Good music events too and P Glyndebourne is Sussex, of course. Brighton has a very lively cultural and fringe scene. Then Snape has fairly impressive concerts.

I moved to Battle, east sussex 2 years ago. An hour to London Bridge although we tend to stay in Town if we to a concert etc.
15/20 mins to hastings/Bexhill. Simply stunning countryside, enough going on and a doctors where you can book an appt.
No motorways or even dual carriageway so getting anywhere by car at peak times is a pain. We tend to get out and about by train at the weekends.
S

This is going to sound a little odd.
I’ve lived in very flat places before, and I’m not keen. I’m a person who needs proper hills, and I love the South Downs, and the way they roll down to the sea. Much of the East of the country is just too flat for me!
I also like being close to London, Brighton, huge amounts of history and some amazing towns like Lewes, Hastings and Chichester.

The lack of hills is a plus for Suffolk as I hate walking in hilly areas due to a disability but I can see hills from my window and perhaps I'd miss them.

Thank you all for the advice so far. It's very helpful. I'm still leaning towards Sussex because of its location, but I need to do do even more research on Suffolk and budget may be a consideration if I can get more for my money there. I could stretch the budget a bit but I'd prefer not to do so unless it's really necessary.

I grew up in Suffolk and went to uni at Sussex. I thought this thread would be about getting the two confused!
Suffolk does have decent links to London via Ipswich or Colchester if further south. Parts of it can actually be quite hilly. See villages like kersey, Lindsey, monks eleigh, boxford.
Coastal areas are lovely, a bit quiet for me! Maybe outskirts of Ipswich like Woodbridge. Bury is lovely, but trains not as good.

Sussex is warmer! Because of the South Downs, we have less rainfall and warmer temperatures in general.

Chichester theatre is lovely, there are links to Brighton, London, Southampton, Portsmouth. .There are pretty villages that still have good links to bigger places.

My dream location is Walberswick in Suffolk but I am older than you and fancy myself as the protagonist in a chick lit book! There are many

Our part of Suffolk (west) has pretty decent weather. We holiday in the UK and the weather is always better where we live than where we go (typical!).

Bury St Edmunds is nice. There's a theatre, a more modern events venue, nice shops etc. Driving is essential. Yes you can get trains (and buses in the towns), but as someone above said they aren't great.

Pace of life is slower (that's changing sadly) and the roads are clearer than my limited experience of Sussex.

Big city and culture wise Cambridge and Norwich are accessible, and lovely cities. I'm from much closer to London originally and I really do miss being that.

Budget wise £550,000 is pretty ok for round here. Depending what you want you could get a 4 bed detached house in a village, or the outskirts of BSE, or a place in the centre of town (on the medieval grid but parking would be more of an issue.)

Warmer is good. I'm not too fussed about rain though less rain is a plus, but I'm hoping to find somewhere that generally has milder Winters than my current area. I hate Winter.

Ultimately though I think it may come down to ease of access to other parts of the UK. I'll have to make compromises of course. I was/am considering Devon which I adore but it feels too remote.

I’d say Sussex but be so careful about location. West and East Sussex are both large with some suprisenly poor road connections between towns.
. West Sussex really is congested as a previous poster said, despite looking rural. Anything near the popular beaches especially Wittering and you literally will not be able to leave your house on a sunny day.
Also Southern trains are well known to be shocking for getting to a London. Although maybe not such an issue if it’s just for a day trip.
Some really poor towns like Bognor.
It does have good weather though.

Not keen on Suffolk. Always seemed a bit soulless.to me but only really went to a small small villages and Bury St Edmunds.

Thank you, NothingComesForFree. That's helpful. I may start another thread on Sussex to get some more opinions on areas but I will visit when I can too. I'm not 100% set on Sussex but it ticks a lot of boxes for me. I'd consider Kent but I know very little about it so will have to research again. I'm going to take my time because wherever I go I'm planning on settling there for a long time. I'm not a fan of frequent moves.

I live in Horsham in West Sussex and I love it. I moved from the North West 7 years ago and just love Horsham because it's really cute with lots of restaurants and also so close to London and Brighton. There are also some gorgeous typical Sussex villages around and places like Arundel which a previous poster mentioned is such a nice place! Good luck!

Suffolk is lovely and the housing is much cheaper.

I used to live in Suffolk and loved it.

Bury St Edmunds is a lovely little market town - you can get the train to Cambridge, Peterborough, Ipswich, Stowmarket, Norwich, Ely and London pretty easily, you're about an hours drive from the coast and there's plenty to do.

I live in East Sussex, and I do love it here. I would say a lot of the coastal towns though have real issues with deprivation, so you need to pick areas carefully.

Eastbourne may work for you. It has theatres, an art gallery, the beach, and loads of shops / restaurants, and is only about an hour and a quarter to central London. It's much more affordable than say Brighton or Chichester too.

Thank you all. It's very helpful to have a list of recommended towns and cities in both counties so this is perfect. I'll read up on all of them.

It always surprises me how long it takes to drive to/from Suffolk from other places in England (perhaps just from where my family and friends are - ymmv!) . Airports are that bit further too.

Also, is there any way you can spend a few days in each? I find that the different counties have a very different feel, and people tend to feel more at home in one or the other.