I'll ad a bit more in response to some of the replies
I move here 25 years ago after London, Brighton seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to London & commuting (which I definitely wouldn't advise) it always felt like a huge relief & a big smile automatically spread over my face when I got of that train in Brighton
What I have found after london, is that to me Brighton is like a combination of York & Camden by the sea. It definitely as it's seedy side & drugs & crime, lots of beggars & dirt, but what visitors need to realise it that they bring the rubbish & beggars with them & those living here wish they'd pick up after themselves & take there shit with them. We definitely do have homelessness here, but most of what you see are street drinkers, who aren't homeless & beg to buy their drink & drugs. Professional beggars follow the tourists here too & much of what you see on the street are begging gangs coming down from london for the day the same as you & street drinkers. The locals know the genuine homeless & along with charities her to do just that, do look out for them as best we can with no housing to spare. Unfortunately like london we now have a lot of oversees investment in property, so new builds of apartment blocks are high end & out priced for locals & generally friggin ugly too
Lockdown made it screamingly obvious where the mess comes from as despite locals still using the beach etc, it was still spotless & that was even without street cleaners working. The council like all, are struggling with cut backs, so just don't have the money to keep on top of the mess left by hoards of often drunk & even more often messy & pig like visitors who think if the bin is full, just leave there rubbish next to it, or leave it where they are sat. If you are visiting, pick your crap up & take it home, you carried it here, it's not that friggin hard. Teams of locals volunteer for beach cleans etc to keep on top of it, especially for the sake of our wildlife, but WTF should we have to, dirty gits take your shit home. In normal times in summer, we don't use our local beach as it's too busy & often with drunks & so we head out a bit to quieter beaches near by as most locals do. We love it out of season though & even in winter for its wildness & ever changing scenery & the best sunsets in the county I'm sure
Usually I love the bustle of living in the centre & right on the beach, but Covid has changed that as at times we have actually been busier than usual, as during lockdown people thought a day out at the beach was in order, I couldn't even open my door without walking into people & it was constant & seemingly more aggressive too. Our local supermarket is practically our corner shop & was absolute hell. So from that, living by the beach isn't as great as you might think it is during a pandemic, but fantastic in normal times.
We are a student town, that can be a pain if you find yourself living next to a student HMO & some good areas such as Hanover can be blighted by noisy students. The Unis though are mostly good at coming down hard on persistently antisocial students & it's usually sorted out after a few weeks of the new term.
AirBnB houses are now taking over a lot of rental property as greedy landlords like to make £800 for a 2 day weekend with no responsibility to tenants over a normal rent & family & they are becoming a real problem as there's little legislation or help with problem guests & tbh, using the garden everyday & all day for bbqs etc is a nuisance when someone living there would be out at work etc
Bungaroosh, if you buy here watch out for it, many of our older houses are built from it & putting anything on a bungaroosh wall is a real challenge. It's damp here too as we are on top of chalk cliffs, so avoid basement properties or check very, very, thoroughly. Your budget will afford you something decent though
Underneath all its glitz, glamour & sometimes seediness, it's a small town, with a small town mentality, so can be as gossipy & clique as anywhere else, but generally it's a friendly & very welcoming place to all. Step outside of the Brighton & hove bubble though & that can be a different story. If you are cis white etc, then you'll be fine, but not if you don't like bigots & like to challenge them.
I agree Shoreham is lovely & if I were to leave Brighton centre, then that would be tempting as friends who moved out there from the centre before us absolutely love it there. Rottingdean & Peacehaven are great to & friends living there after central Brighton, love it too. We also love Lewes, but it floods & no sea.
You don't need a car, local transport is very good, & parking is horrendous & expensive if you don't have a drive or garage with your property.
I love it here for all of its arty quirkiness & anything goes, but I do fall into the artsy category. Making friends here is easy with so much going on to join in & I've seen many like yourself who've arrived on their own & quickly settled in. Some areas such as Hanover are well known for their community ethos & welcoming newcomers
If I didn't live here, I think York is the only place I would go, lived there for years too & would go back if I didn't have Brighton. So that's maybe somewhere else to look at