Hayward's Heath/Burgess Hill?

[NakedMum33and3rd]

Hi everyone!

We currently live just north of London. DH works in Fulham and I work in North London. I've got a job interview next week for a job in Brighton so naturally I am planning for a new future somewhere (prob won't get the job but it's nice to dream!).
New job would require a house move. DH is on board as we have always wanted to move nearer to the coast.
Anyway, I've been looking at Hayward's heath and burgess hill.
Both are appealing but Hayward's heath is better for London commute and burgess hill you get more for your money.

My issue is, I have 3 DS. 2 in primary and a 1 yr old. I'm terrified of moving them.

Which is best for a young family? Thinking about schools and things to do etc?
Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Bumping

Schools are good! Both are nice places. A bit quiet after Fulham.

Sorry just noticed you don't actually live in Fulham!

Have you considered Horsham? It is supposed to be one of the nicest places in the SE to live. (I don't live there.)

I have to say that I don't consider either BH or HH to be near the coast.

Thanks balloon.

They are a lot nearer a coast than we currently are so would be a massive bonus for us.

Horsham is lovely but it would be too big a commute for both of us.

Neither they are appalling shit holes. Haywards Heath is as boring a place as you can possibly imagine and people who live there are standoffish and awful with a particular trait of feeling that they are better than everybody else whilst actually being arseholes (I worked in both places for years before moving to the west country), you will die of tedium before you have been there 6 months and it takes ages to get to the sea from there.
Burgess Hill is a dump full of chavs, drugs and rough council estates, I certainly wouldn't want my children to be brought up there.
Horsham is much nicer and lots to do there plus a quick train ride to London. I lived in Horsham for years and was very happy there.
Also HH and B/hill they are just building endless samey expensive estates all over the countryside there.

Chichester- good town, good train links
Worthing- good town, ok train links
Horsham- very nice middle class town, good train links
East Grinstead- good town, ok train links
Crawley- good town (not as middle class as other options in list), good train links
Copthorne- more rural, very nice, poor train links
Crawley Down- more rural, very nice, poor train links
Haywards Heath- nice town, good train links

Crawley is a good choice for commuting- easy to get to Brighton and London from both Crawley and Three Bridges stations.

Would you rather be closer to Brighton? Worthing may be ideal then as it does feature a coastline, easy to get to Brighton, maybe a bit longer to get to London.

I think you will find both are boring and not even pretty. Have you thought about Brighton or Hove?

I would also strongly advise against Crawley!

Sorry- just wanted to add that of the above, I'd want to live in Worthing, Crawley or Horsham.

Is Brighton itself not an option?

It depends on where you live in most of these locations. Having done primary supply in all the places mentioned for 6 years, I’d say that Horsham and Haywards Heath have the most consistently decent schools, including secondary. Crawley, stick to the east side/Pound Hill.
I used to live in the exciting inner city with small children. What was fantastic as a student was grubby, crowded, polluted and noisy as a parent.
I found that I liked boring, where the parks are clean, your front garden isn’t full of rubbish, the car is undamaged, the dealers discreet and my Christmas wreath stays unnicked for the whole season.
Burgess hill is 20 minutes to the sea by train.

Oh, Chichester is lovely, and the schools are good.

Yes I think boring sounds quite appealing.

We can't afford the type of house we would want in Brighton and those two places seemed ideal for commuting to both.

It's hard in lockdown because I just want to go exploring but can't!!

Haywards Heath has a fantastic new Waitrose. That is literally the only thing of note in the entire town.

Haywards Heath out of the two for me. Life is what you make of it isn't it? What's boring to one person isn't to everyone.
Haywards Heath has lovely big villages near by - Cuckfield and Lindfield for example.
I think Haywards Heath is a great place to live because it has easy access to so many other places; Brighton, Lewes, London, but is really practical for day to day living. There's a lot going on for young children and teenagers start to venture down to Brighton and go out there when old enough.
For me it's the best of both worlds but I understand how that wouldn't be the case for everyone.

Like I said, boring means my children have had a lot more freedom than they would have done in our previous location. And a large garden, safe cycling, good schools.
Brighton is a great starter city for them gaining independence, then London is less than an hour on the train. You’ve got cities, fantastic countryside and the sea relatively close at hand. France close by.
But a very close friend lives in Manchester, and finds our little lives dull. He’s a restaurants/exotic holiday/nightclub/change your partner with your bedsheets type. Schools, parks and activities for children aren’t on his radar.
Depends what you want.

Both are equally good, decent schools in both and plenty of activities/groups for families. Despite being neighbouring towns there is a friendly rivalry between the 2 with BH being described as the rough end of HH! Completely unfounded and in fact there is more crime/mindless vandalism in HH. However compared to London both are quiet commuter towns. Trains go regularly from both stations (and if you live in certain are of BH you can catch a train from Wivelsfield. Not so good going to London but more options when coming home!). There is also a regular bus service to Brighton which might help with your commute.
I would advise though that the demand of school places is high due to the new housing being built around the area so dont presume you'll be able to get places in the nearest school. West Sussex Admissions would advise you where has places for both your children.

This is really helpful everyone. Thank you. Fingers crossed I get the job! X

I grew up in the area and moved back to Haywards Heath almost 2 years ago after spending about 10 years in London. We’re very happy here and our daughter loves it. My sister lives in Burgess Hill and they’re very happy too. The town centres are not brilliant but there is lots of lovely countryside around, Brighton a short train journey away and other interesting places not far away. Horsham is lovely but close by for a weekend visit. Good luck with the interview - happy to answer any questions if you want.

I live in HH after moving from Brighton and it was a brilliant move. We have a great house, a good school on our doorstep, lots of nice walks nearby and lovely neighbours. We certainly don’t have the nightlife of Brighton, but there are enough restaurants for a meal out and enough shops to get what you need. It’s a step up from BH, but you do get more house for your money there.

The commute to London and Brighton is really easy too, with very frequent trains. Horsham is much less frequent, albeit is a much nicer town.

HH might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we really like it!