Areas in and around Portsmouth? Chichester?

[imnotprincessbubblegum]

I did post a while ago on a different section but had no response so hoping it's okay to post here.

Looking to move to Portsmouth or surrounding areas. Which areas would you recommend? Or which areas should we definitely avoid?

We have secondary school aged kids, so good schools is a must. As are places with to do for those sort of ages within walking distance or easy transport, as they're getting more independent and like to meet with friends as much as doing family things.

DP insists Southsea is up and coming however last time I visited there wasn't much to do at all and didn't seem as great as he's making it out to be, plus for our budget (which is very low) no parking, no gardens etc.

I found some nice houses within budget in Havant with "good" schools, however a quick search on here suggests Havant isn't the best area.

Can anyone advice?

Advise

I used to live in Southsea a long time ago. The traffic In and out was bad then but it's terrible now!
Emsworth, Chichester or Hedge end way is quite nice. Chichester have good schools and there Is a road where west Ashling and Funtington are which are lovely. Its easy to get into Chichester from there. DM me if you want specific info.

Hi there, I would say Southsea is great fun but as you say parking is an issue, as well as garden space. Lots of students so can be noisy depending which bit. For a family have you looked at Portchester? House prices are reasonable, schools are good. Port Solent has a cinema and bars and restaurants overlooking a marina. There are good public transport links, including a train which would take you very quickly to portsmouth/southsea/Chichester. Chichester is lovely but heinously expensive and again parking/gardens may be limited.

I lived in Southsea for 15yrs and wouldn't want to live anywhere else on the island. Lots of my friends now live in Copnor / Baffins.

Parts of Havant are nice, but huge swathes are an absolute dump (Leigh Park etc).

Emsworth, Bosham, the Witterings, Birdham .

Chichester doesn't have good secondary schools at all. I've lived here all my life.. over 35 years of knowledge Chichester is expensive for what you get and the area is a Tory stronghold with poor quality support for the disabled or anyone with SEN.

However, some of the little villages around Chichester are lovely if you have £££ Bosham, Funtington, West Ashling etc are all very quaint. Emsworth and Prinstead are lovely but again, very expensive.

Portsmouth is quite rough in a lot of areas compared to Chichester, no idea about Southsea, lovely and close to the beach which is a bonus if you enjoy that sort of scene.

No idea on schools but moved to Southsea about 3 years ago and love it (partner from here, been coming off and on for 10 years prior).

We don't need to drive often as it is really easy to walk to lots of shops / bars / restaurants etc. There are not a lot of roads out of town so if you need to drive for work everyday it would get tiresome I imagine. Parking where we are is good though I note from walking the dogs it does vary though so it pays to check out the local area at different times.

Regarding students, this is one aspect you don't notice as much now. There has been significant investment in multi-storey student accommodation so the old student houses are being sold off from investors now.

Love living by the sea and walking the dogs down the seafront every morning is brilliant. There are the usual morons you get in every city but by and large I have felt safe in Southsea.

HTH, feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful
Would you guys mind if I posted some roads and tell me if you'd recommend or no?

Unused to live in Southsea and loved it. There were a lot of students, but as pp said this may have changed now
Denemeade is nice