Is Brighton a good place to start again?…

[Rossetti47]

Hey all, I am desperate for some advice. I am sitting in my half empty house which my ex-partner left today. I am 💔. We had our problems but I never thought we’d split up. My house sale completes next week and then I have no ties to anywhere at all. I have some good friends locally but they’re all married and busy. The area I live in now is a very conservative commuter town with little going on. I am financially secure but I’ll definitely need to score a job whilst I’m training to be a counsellor to cover day to day expenses. Do I have a delusional view of Brighton, thinking that it’d be a great place to meet people and get a job? I think it’d be ace to train there, but I’m in such a start of turmoil I’ve lost my inner guide! Thanks :)

@Johnbowlby Ha! True!

Cool username, and Brighton is lovely. You should do it

Thanks :) @clarepetal

If you have no ties Have you considered Edinburgh ? Lots of culture and definitely has a heartbeat.

South Queensferry is lovely and isn't too far out of being near the water is important.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81556650#/?channel=RES_BUY

Yes go for it. I wouldn't live anywhere else.

£600k will get a lovely 2 bed close to the sea, possibly even with parking.

Hove is the slightly less studenty "gritty" side.

No denying that there are problems here but that goes with the territory.

Personally I would not move to Brighton, I was so excited to move there because it seemed fun and different and I was also excited to live by the sea. Unfortunately, there is as others have said quite a seedy side to the city, especially regarding drugs and anti social behaviour and it has quite a run down feel in parts. One of my friends came to visit me for the first time and the first thing she saw when I took her into town was someone coming out of Pret and chucking soup over someone else. I moved away and felt quite relieved. For me I’d say:

Pros

• there is always something going on, lots of events, museums etc
• very good transport links, I don’t drive and was fine
• good access to different shops

Cons

• frequent drug issues and seeing drug deals in the street in the middle of the day
• anti social behaviour
• city feels dirty

@alicewasahorse this place is lovely! I’m exploring now!
@Elzzzx your list of cons is what concerns me. I’m no wuss (I’m a SE London girl before gentrification!) but I don’t want to go back to that. And the dirty vibe is real. It’s shocking, really.

I live in Surrey and wouldn't consider Brighton to live. I'm only 29 but I just find it all too fast paced. I like littlehampton, wouldn't rule out there as my nan is in bognor, but still I think I would rather leave the south behind and explore up north or even ireland in the future. People seem so much friendlier in those areas...but then maybe I am being delusional with my southern rose tinted glasses

@wednesdayweather

On being a counsellor - are you realistic about earnings potential? I had a friend who worked as a counsellor, in an expensive and affluent city. She had a social work background, decades of experience as a counsellor, referrals from agencies and still only made 18k a year by the time she was in her 50s (working full time as a counsellor). As a private practice counsellor she also had to work evenings, which will affect your ability to go out in evenings and make friends in a new place. You've probably already thought of all this, but just a thought.

On the topic of earning money and maintaining a social life as a counsellor...in Wales all local authorities maintain a counselling service to schools ( so school hours and term time working if you fancy). We struggle to recruit to that team in our area. And many counsellors mix school work with a day or twos private practice. So...how about Cardiff?

And yes, sorry to hear about your break up

@Tickledtrout thanks for your kindness :) I’m deffo struggling just now. I used to live in Wales, it’s lovely. Will give serious thought to!

Yeah it wasn’t great, it’s not even that I necessarily even felt unsafe but it was more just very unpleasant to witness on a daily basis, just created a bad vibe for me

We've just moved to Hastings from London. It's nice. Property is cheaper than Brighton. There are still exhibitions and a literary festival etc. And there's a Facebook group devoted to helping people meet new people (I haven't gone to any of the meet-ups though) and of course there's a beach.

@Puffykins thanks for this. Off to rightmove to check out. I hope you’ll be really happy there!

@Rossetti47 me too. Incidentally your namesake Dante Gabriel came on holiday here - there's a house in the old town with a plaque on it bearing his name (which we considered buying. But didn't.)

@Puffykins this feels like a sign from the universe!

We live just outside of Brighton but I work city centre and it’s a 100 times better than london. We moved almost 13 years ago from london.... I’ve never looked back, for the first 5 years it felt like we were on a long holiday. It sometimes still does now. So much more to do, for all ages and genuinely a nicer place. Obviously it’s not angelic and has its demons but for the most part is pretty amazing .

Thanks for this @Timeisavirtue. Sounds utterly like you made the best decision

My husband is from Brighton, FIL is there still, go for it! Great place to meet all kinds of people and £600k will get you something nice.

We live up North near my family but definitely wouldn’t rule out a move in the future.

I used to live in London and frequently visited Brighton which is great but the seedy side I found hard even as a visitor.

I moved to Manchester a few years ago, mainly to retrain more cheaply as a counsellor than in London. Some people from my course who qualified before me are earning over 5K a month from their private practices seeing 30 or so clients a week. I'm assuming you've just finished a Level 3 certificate course? I'd be very careful about where you do your the core Diploma qualification because in general you're taken more seriously if you have the diploma from a university or somewhere with a good reputation like Metanoia or the Minster Centre rather than a FE college. PM if you like.

Liverpool is another place with sea and river links and within 1 to 2 hours you can be in the Lakes, North Wales, Yorkshire & the Penines. It's a lively Port city with good transport links to the rest of the country, Ireland and the rest of the world.

I live in Saltdean, five miles along the coast from Brighton Pier. I'm 56 and prefer a slightly quieter life. Living 2 mins walk from the sea is absolutely wonderful, and having a sea-swimming dog makes it even more joyous. Brighton seafront and centre is only a ten minute bus ride away, less time than if you lived in north Brighton. Houses are pricey, but Zoopla will find you somewhere affordable. The sea has a way of lifting your spirits in any weather, so come on down and start smiling again xx

@Brightonhome

I live in Saltdean, five miles along the coast from Brighton Pier. I'm 56 and prefer a slightly quieter life. Living 2 mins walk from the sea is absolutely wonderful, and having a sea-swimming dog makes it even more joyous. Brighton seafront and centre is only a ten minute bus ride away, less time than if you lived in north Brighton. Houses are pricey, but Zoopla will find you somewhere affordable. The sea has a way of lifting your spirits in any weather, so come on down and start smiling again xx

This is so so lovely :) thank you. I’ve had such a horrible afternoon, this has helped enormously xx

I find Brighton quite depressed- lots of homeless people, crowded, dirty. Hove is much nicer.