Are there any decent, liveable seaside towns in UK which aren’t silly expensive or horribly rundown?

[Moidershewrote]

Basically that - DH and I would really like to relocate with our 2 primary aged kids to live by the sea (near a sandy beach) in either England or Wales - ideally we’d like a half decent primary / secondary schools, friendly community feel with clubs / kids activities etc and not run down/full of pound shops etc and access to train station within approx 5 miles and local buses would be great. We’d love to live somewhere that is walking distance of a beach.

It feels like we’ve looked into so many places and for one reason or another we end up discounting it - usually because either schools seem crap or no train station or no community feel.

Places we’ve immediately rejected are:

• Kent (grammar schools / Kent test)


• Brighton (too expensive / pebble beach)


• Portsmouth/S’ton/Plymouth (too big / towny feel)


• Essex/Somerset coastline (not the right vibe for us)


• E/W Sussex (not sandy😆)

Would love to hear any personal recommendations from people who have moved to another coastal town with kids / or live in one and think it’s brilliant (and why)🙏 We do love Devon, Dorset, Anglia.. Would consider Wales, or NW/NE England.

The North East has lovely beaches and some areas are lovely to live in. Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Whitburn, Seaburn, South Shields, Boldon all have decent areas and some decent schools. Beautiful beaches. We don't often have beach weather if you want to spend days at the beach though. It was 27 degrees inland today but the sea fret meant you couldn't see the sea from the beach 😂

The entire north east coast is anything but run down. In fact lots of regeneration going on in many areas. Some are better than others for schools and commuting etc. you should try a holiday in Northumberland. Even further down as other have suggested to the north Tyneside coast in places like Tynemouth and Whitley Bay are beautiful (unless there’s a sea fret like today 😂) and those areas have good schools and transport links. Then further down again across the river to South Shields downwards. No idea what the schools are like south if the river to be honest but lots more sandy beaches done to the Yorkshire coast.

Tynemouth is expensive for the NE, but considering the OP currently lives in the south it’s still likely to be cheaper than comparable property in her current area. It’s all relative.

Saltburn By The Sea a lovely unspoilt and not too commercialised seaside town, not too big has a supermarket there, butchers, bakers, train station, doctors and dentists all within the centre and quite a compact place so you can easily walk to places as listed above and there's a golf club and a fair few other independant shops and a bonus of lovely sandy beaches and the people are so friendly and helpful !! 😁

Please see the below link regarding the primary and secondary schools there -

www.saltburnlearningcampus.co.uk/

Good luck with your relocation hope all goes well x

I’d say Bournemouth. There are nice little areas surrounding it if you don’t want a big town feel such as Mudeford. My grandparents lived there and I spent every summer of my childhood down there and it was such a happy time of my life.

Most will dismiss Seaton Carew near Hartlepool out of hand but I love it here. Have lived here for 20 years and have no plans to ever leave. Has beach (beautiful sand but definitely on the cold side unfortunately), rail station and bus route, outstanding Ofsted primary school feeding into outstanding secondary school, friendly people and great parks. (On the downside it does have a nuclear power station on the doorstep but it does offer decent job opportunities 🤣). Probably not what you are looking for but I love it and I hope you find happiness wherever you end up x

I love Seaton Carew. My family live there so we visit often from Devon. Everyone is so nice up there.

Yeh you probably, as some suggest, need to list your priorities.

You can get nice beaches & rurality, AND amenities / lots of activity & culture....
Or where you might, the cost I am excessive.

Don't even consider Sunderland, Hartlepool, Middlesbro, & up into Northumberland...Blyth or Ashington areas. Just don't even look or ever visit...!

New brighton (wirral).

Sorry, my last post is full of typos. Can't edit or delete, which is annoying

Why rich or fantasising? The OP clearly has a SE budget, they’ll be fine getting something nice in Tynemouth or Whitley Bay (which isn’t a big drinking destination anymore - maybe 10 years ago).

It’s colder than the south but only by about 5 degrees, not an entirely different climate. And so much drier than the west.

The NE has a reputation because people spout out of date shite. The Meadowell riots were 30 years ago and literally no one is suggesting OP moves to Meadowell. Can’t say they negatively affected my life 3 miles down the road at the time either, problems like that are very localised.

Sunderland?! Are you taking the piss??? It's an absolute shit hole!

@Mammyloveswine have you been recently??

there are some lovely parts of Sunderland and the beaches at Seaham, Roker, Seaburn and Whitburn are beautiful.

Also South Shields was recently rather top beach in the country according to the Times.

Monkseaton, Whitley Bay Cullercoats etc are all nice but more £££. Alnmouth is lovely. Amble has had huge redevelopment. There are Even nice parts of Blyth!

Anyone said Felixstowe yet? Lovely beach there and the rest of Suffolk to explore.

Formby. Beautiful beach, National Trust run park in the sand dunes, with red squirrels. On the train line straight into Liverpool. The biggest problem is that when the weather is good, all the roads are full of parked cars from day trippers as the car parks fill up quickly, but for the other 48 weeks of the year it is super. Oh. And if you are into golf, you are spoilt fir choice of championship golf clubs

Saltburn in NE is lovely but bit pricey (well depends on your budget). I liv

Another vote for Hampshire/Dorset border. Suggest Christchurch area - good schools, river, sandy beaches, close to New Forest.

We have lived in Southport since 1988, and the town centre has been devastated in recent years, as a lot of high streets have. However, there is a lot of investment at the moment, the guy who took over the fairground is spending big, one of the hotel owners, at the North End if Lord Street is pumping millions in, and the old market hall has been turned into a trendy food hall with a mix of street food, and a nice cocktail bar. We have loved living here, but you need to choose where you buy.

We live in Clacton which is in Essex but we have a lovely sandy beach. There are some really nice areas in and around Clacton like St Osyth, Thorpe Le Söken, Weeley, Frinton On Sea. Frinton has a nice parade of shops but is more expensive than the other areas listed. It does have a train station as does Thorpe Le Söken. Dont discount Essex completely, we also border Suffolk

I was going to suggest Penarth like pp.

the beach is part pebbles and sandy at low tide but it has a pier, a promanade, nice schools and a train station. Close to theatres and museums in Cardiff.

Coastal towns are either all bought up by rich folk or some of the most deprived regions in the country. You're not going to find a hidden gem; the island has been pretty well combed over by now.

I'd do Yorkshire, personally. Stunning landscape and beaches, brilliant cities close by, and you won't get too snooty neighbours coming up as the worst sorts of posh folk turn up their noses at us :)

The Sefton coast (Crosby/Formby/Ainsdale) is pretty cheap and not too horrible (though can be touristy)

Also the Wirral (Caldy, West Kirby, Hoylake, Parkgate has no sandy beach but plenty of ice cream) - though the Wirral does have grammar schools.

Both areas are close to Liverpool but far enough away...

Filey, North Yorkshire

Bournemouth? Has outstanding clean sandy beaches. Central Train station into London and beyond. Great schools, including some grammars. You could buy a lovely family house in neighbouring regions. I've family who live in Westbourne which has its own local amenities and shops with a 20 min walk to centre of Bournemouth town or towards the beach. Lots of lovely beach areas like Alum or Durley Chine and activities for children to do. If I was going to move my family to a seaside town that's where I'd go!

Gullane, East Lothian