Anyone live in Lewes and can talk to me about pros and cons

[waterrat]

Moving from a city to Sussex and have looked long and hard in Brighton but it just seems a bit poky and lacking in gardens. I think lewes is lovely and used to live nearby but am a long time city dweller and wonder what life with kids is like somewhere quieter. On summer evenings do children meet and play in parks..is there a nice atmosphere and somewhere you will always find people hanging out on a sunny day .might seem weird questions but I rely on my local London park so much for that sense that I'm not alone on lonely days !

Wee bump....

I went to Lewes once on a Sunday afternoon. It was eerily quiet and had the feel of being somewhere where they might burn a wicker man occasionally, for larks.

It seemed a nice place otherwise, though. Decent high street, some nice pubs. We walked down to the ruins near Ann of Cleves’ house and that seemed like somewhere people would play and sit in summer. I have a couple of colleagues who live out that way, so I imagine that like a lot of places within a 50 mile radius of London, it’s a mix of locals and ex-London dwelling commuters. I think that when you move outside of London and most people have private gardens, there’s probably less use of local parks for socialising and recreation, though.

Yes maybe I suppose smaller town you just don't get the kind of life you have in a London park and I need to accept that....sigh....hard to balance all the different things I want in life

I really like Lewes - I work near there and would move there in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the fact that my DCs are in school here. It's a very community-centred town, with lots going on, lots of independent shops etc etc. That said, I grew up near a small market town, and currently live in a village, so I am not coming to it from a city-based perspective.

@ComtesseDeSpair

On the subject of burning wicker men for fun, the Guardian had this article recently!

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/08/bonfire-night-sussex-lewes-tories-papier-mache-matt-hancock-naked-dominic-cummings