Move to Lewes area or Bath area?

[Daisyroseandhyacinth]

I am trying to decide between moving to one or the other. I know the Bath area to some extent. Thinking of Corsham or Frome possibly, or one of the villages with good transport links to Bath.

I don’t know Lewes but a family member has just moved there and we have family in Hove , Birmingham and London. Important things are being able to get to London within a couple of hours for family reasons, good public transport

Moving with adult son who doesn’t drive and will need to find work, probably in Universities and FE Colleges. Otherwise we aren’t constricted by other considerations. Good public transport, cultural activities, a good community and friendly people very important. We have a budget of up to around £750,000. Which doesn’t go far these days!

Things we want to avoid are heavy traffic, air pollution , noise and crime. Hopefully a house with character and a nice garden , detached preferably. I know that’s a big ask in Lewes area in particular.

Bath is nice but some of the surrounding villages and towns are seriously expensive as is the prettier parts of bath. It's crazy busy with tourists for half the year, took me over 30 mins to go 3 miles last week when i went to my hobby (I live 30 mins away). If you have a son who doesn't drive, Bristol is a better option for employment opportunities and public transport, the villages have poor unreliable transport and first has been cutting services a lot recently not to mention randomly missing buses out (when they are only hourly to start with!

@butterfly990

Clevedon is ok if you are 60

Good ice cream stall and we swim in the marine lake but it's seriously old fashioned.

You could get a lovely 4 bed detached on the coast for that money btw, less pollution and they say we are getting a train line but I wouldn't be counting on it - 45 mins to Bristol

I like Frome. But as with most places in Wiltshire and Somerset you really need to drive - most of it is pretty rural.

Whereabouts in the coast if you don’t mind me asking?

I'm really sorry you had this experience, but I have lived in Lewes for 12 years (moved here from London), know loads and loads of families in a similar situation, and have never heard of anything remotely like this happening to anyone. It's certainly not typical!

There is a bit of a town v gown, locals v incomers thing going on under the surface, but generally this is an incredibly welcoming and vibrant town with loads of stuff to do! For a small town, there are always events on, we have loads of great pubs, plus a 3-screen arthouse cinema, two new craft breweries, loads of good shops... and you're surrounded by stunning countryside. Plus Lewes is full of interesting people - a bit Guardian-reading and liberal admittedly, but that's what it is. Most families here are very happy and could not imagine wanting to live anywhere else in the world. Bit smug, sorry.