Can you tell me pros/cons of living in Portsmouth, Southampton or Chichester?

[Tellmewhyyou]

We are a family of 4 with 2 kids primary ages and are thinking of relocating to the south coast due to husbands work.

We'd like a city vibe and want to be centrally based on south coast with access to east and west south coast for visiting family in both directions.

Give me your thoughts and experiences :D

Same here!

I was going to suggest going for a suburban town with access to the cities but not in them.

Best of both worlds.

Definitely Chichester . It's a middle class area so housing is more expensive but it's lovely .Portsmouth is horrible and Southampton I don't know so much as only go to West Quay for the shopping .

@yepmelady you are wrong. My daughter's school(very much not private) is rated outstanding and their results bet all the other high school including fee paying in the area. Yes in Portsmouth.

Agree . Fareham has gone really downhill. Whitely becoming gridlocked with traffic and loads of new build. Wickham was lovely but won't be in the future given the new garden town Wellbourne .
In fact in 20 yrs the whole of south Hampshire will be one big housing estate and gridlocked roads .

*high schools

I'm seriously thinking about moving to pompey . Where in southsea should I live and what secondary schools do you recommended , thanks

The secondary schools in Portsmouth are awful.

Fareham is dull with pretentions. Southampton is a good city as well. Loads to do for families. Again you get your good and dodgy bits but compared to some other cities, it's fine. It is so handy for the gorgeous New Forest and South Downs.

@onlyconnect not my child's secondary . Once of the best in the country . And it is not private.

The problem I have with Portsmouth's education is all the schools have moved to Academies.

Also look at other areas such as Portchester, Stubbington, Lee on Solent, Havant, Hayling, Waterlooville.

All areas have pros and cons.

Don't forget a lot will depend not just on what schooling is like but local amenities that are useful for you, transport links, medical care etc.

I'd love to know which one this is!!!! I can't think of any I'd recommend 🤷‍♀️

Please can you pm me the ename of the school please.

Traffic is a big problem in all of them due to not many roads in and out! I was in Southampton today and Portsmouth last week and queued to get in, that’s jsut what you expect for city! It’s quicker to Waterloo from Southampton or Southampton airport than from Portsmouth. There’s lots of good green space in both. I would discount Portsmouth because of the traffic but that’s just me. There are fewer ways to get in and out than Southampton. M27 is a car park in most directions at rush hour. I’ve commuted both ways and out to Bournemouth as well over the years!

Portsmouth is a very mixed area, lots of nice neighbourhoods but also some very rough estates. I like that it’s nice and compact, you don’t necessarily need to drive in Portsmouth as it’s so small. All the services - big hospital, retail and leisure are there and easily accessible. Lots of things for families to do. Yes it could be better - Commercial Rd is a bit of a dive, parking is a nightmare if you don’t have a driveway/garage. Big uni population but if you stick to family neighbourhoods - Old Portsmouth, Baffins, Copnor etc

Chichester I found was very up itself. People would speak to me so rudely when I worked there it has really put me off the place.

@femfemlicious what sort of thing do you like? Prices south of Albert rd will be higher than north.

@itsgettingweird if you look up the results and Ofsted rankings you can see, like everywhere else. Also there is more than one in the area. Obviously oversubscribed, but there are at least three good secondaries in the city. We live in one of the poorest parts of Pompey and it is 5 minutes from us.

Winchester is nicer than Chichester but Chi has better theatre and is nearer the sea. Both good for naice shops. Neither has what I think of as a city vibe.

The only places I'd consider living in Portsmouth are Southsea and Old Portsmouth. The traffic in and out of the island can be a nightmare which is the reason we've ended up in Fareham. We live in a lovely road in the Downe End area but holy crap, Fareham itself is dire. There is nothing there, not even an M&S! I don't like any of the surrounding areas either (with the possible exception of Drayton which has some nicer restaurants).

Portsmouth and Fareham secondary schools are dire ( we are in the process of trying to pick to which shit one we will send our eldest) but Oaklands in Waterlooville has a good rep. It is quite a way outside of Portsmouth and Fareham.

I personally think Whiteley, Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford, Hedge End and the like are just urban sprawl full of barber shops and cafes. Definitely no city feel there either.

If you can afford private school, buy somewhere in Southsea and send your kids to PGS, PHS, Mayville or Churchers.

@femfemlicious As I said Southsea is the trendy part. Personally ,if I had the cash, I would look at parts of the North of the city rather than Southsea as the latter gets very crowded and is full of students. Parking is dreadful everywhere in South tbh.😂 I would move to parts of Drayton, Eastney or Copner if I was moving from here( the rough auld city centre 😂) . Also keeping with the Pompey and surrounding area, Porchester is gorgeous.

Just looked up the top secondary schools in Portsmouth as always assumed it was Admiral Lord Nelson (used to live in the catchment) cannot believe it's Ark! When I was at school the one it used to be was the type that people moved house to avoid their kids going to! Things change for sure

Parking in Copnor is so so much worse than Southsea!

Southampton is a hell hole. We moved there and I couldn't believe what a dump the whole city was. We moved back ASAP.

@SorrelForbes and yet there's a Pompey High school that is non fee paying that beat Mayville, Pgs, PHS etc etc and does so consistently but you might have to mix with estate kids !😂

@Mummys is Ark not failing ?

I just looked at a site that suggested it was the 2nd best behind st Edmunds which not everyone can go too I don't think but could well be wrong.

@onlyconnect St Edmunds . Fantastic school. Great teachers .