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

I have always lived in and around Southampton as an adult (other than for uni etc) and I've worked in Portsmouth and near Chichester. Its rare to get good secondary schools in cities. In Southampton for years the middle class parents got around this by living in Upper Shirley or Chilworth and shipping their kids to Hampshire schools. Rapid house building has made that much less likely now so unfortunately you probably won't find what you want. Winchester is a city and has good schools yes, but prices reflect that. Its still got homelessness, empty buildings on the main shopping streets and traffic problems though. There is a reason most families move to the soulless suburbs!

Problem is that they are both catholic schools.

Very oversubscribed (for obvious reasons) and not an option for many.

From there I'd look at the village secondary. Very highly recommended.

I'd avoid both the academies.

For those saying traffic in Portsmouth is awful I don't experience that!

I travel out at 7am and back in at 4.30pm and both times I'm going opposite the worst traffic.

Urg. I mean top of the Avenue/ top of Bassett not Chilworth.

@Winchesterlife we live in Bath but I like winchester a lot too and I like both for the same reasons you do. Enough to have a life but with a smaller community .

I live on the edge of Southampton and New Forest and I think it’s great. You have the best of all worlds - 15 mins to the city, same for the forest. Bournemouth is 45 mins away with all the nice beaches nearby. Also good access to Winchester, Salisbury and of course Dorset/Devon is not too far. Isle of Wight too!

Schools are pretty good.

Lots of things for kids to do nearby. (Calshot activity centre, water sports, ski centre, trampoline parks, Moors Valley country park, Paultons park, Marwell zoo, Science centre all not too far).

It was a strange place to live if I’m honest. Very posh in parts and even the more working class roads were mostly white middle class. Also experienced lots of racist comments. It’s very sleepy too. Best bit of it was being able to access lovely beaches easily.

Some of Portsmouth is really run down, but lots is great.

I love that from the north of the city, you can drive to southsea and the beach in less than 15 mins, countryside and villages in 15 mins the other direction.

City centre isn't great, but I don't go shopping as a hobby so that doesn't bother me.
Loads of supermarkets, buses, (although these are rather pricey) tourist attractions,

Others have said there aree no green areas, but i think there are afew, milton common, southsea common, baffins pond, hilsea lines and hllsea lido

Good motorway network too.

Southampton is much bigger, takes ages to get around and is not really comparable at all.

Chichester again is totally.different, much more affluent, feels more like so.ewhere I'd visit for the day rather than live in.

I guess it depends on what kind of place you like.

Lots of schools have Sixth Forms (although not all). College might offer a wider range of A levels and vocational subjects though.

But you’re right that the Scottish and English systems are quite different as schools will go through to S6 (although in our previous Scottish city the college offered Highers / Advanced Highers as well as vocational quals).

I'm originally from Portsmouth (was born in Southsea) and lived there till I went to uni in Southampton where I met DH who was born and grew up there.

After I'd graduated we moved to Southsea where we lived till I was 40.

Personally, I hate Southampton and find it soulless/boring compared to Southsea, although I admit that much of Portsmouth proper is a shithole. Admittedly if you want big shops such as Ikea, Southampton is good, but we're more into independent shops. Palmerston Road shopping in Southsea used to be great but we've not visited since Knight & Lee (John Lewis) and Debenhams closed as we left the area completely. We also loved Marmion and Albert Roads independent shops with their arty vibe. Also Waitrose in Marmion Road.

Imho, the really nice areas to live in Southampton aren't well serviced by shops. Southsea/Portsmouth also has more to offer seafront and history-wise. Love Old Portsmouth with its cathedral too.

I can't speak for the state schools as DS was privately educated from 4 (PGS).

Chichester is lovely, but small - a great place to visit for the day or long weekend. We briefly considered moving there, but felt we'd tire of the small town vibe. Ditto Winchester which I don't particularly like anyway. We have family living near the New Forest which is a stunning location but too touristy by far.

I just want somewhere quiet and safe. I have 12 tear old twin girls 1 if them with autism. I've looked into special schools and there us 1 which seems OK in southsea. I just needs somewhere close to a good secondary school and is safe.

If you choose chichester area, make sure you move near a train station, then you can get train to Portsmouth/Soton/London etc and when the kids are bigger they can take themselves off where ever.
It is sleepy yes - so boring for teenagers, 20 year olds etc, but great for families. Now my (18 and 20) head off on the train to Brighton, Chichester, Portsmouth, Southampton. They can get the train to Bosham, and then cycle down to the meadow for the summer teenager gatherings etc. It is lovely being by the sea, kids take themselves off paddleboarding etc. There are pros and cons to sleepy.
We used to live in portsmouth but moved out when we had children, in order to get a big garden, parking, fresh air etc. Gardens in portsmouth are pretty tiny and parking is horrible.
It only takes 20/30 mins to get to southsea to enjoy the things going on there,.
We have been happy living in the middle of nowhere, but near a train station, and going to the interesting places when we wanted to.
Ths schools my children went to - infants great, juniors ok, high school absolute shite. Still my DD has done really well despite her school and has received widening participation lower A level offers due to the low raking of her high school. For both, going to college at 16, due to lack of 6th forms, was really good for them and they were glad to get away from the more stupid rules that the schools have, uniform etc. College treats them like young adults, and assumes they want to be there. Again your location near a train station is vital so that you dont have to drive them to college every day.
You can have a great time with younger kids, going to the beach, hayling, witterings etc, into the national park, up kingley vale, but might not find the city vibe you are looking for.

Thanks so much every one of you lovely people for your comments! This is so helpful.

Few things to note: we need to be able to get east to Kent / Sussex and W
west to Bristol / Cardiff (and back to B’ham!) for family - hence looking at the aforementioned cities.

By ‘city vibe’, I suppose I meant we need to live so where with a bit of life, culture, community - want to be able to join a gym, pop out for lunch/dinner without too much effort and for the kids to be able to have friends nearby. Being a short drive to the beach/coast would be a bonus but isn’t a total dealbreaker. I WFH and husbands new job would be in Southampton AND London AND international travel, so being nearish to airport / H’row is also useful, but he would also be WFH a few days a week, so the commuting isn’t a huge daily issue.

This.

Chichester to Gatwick is about an 1 hr 10 by train, about the same by car. Heathrow about 1 hr 40 by car, depending on traffic - otherwise I think it’s bus to Woking and then train.

Chichester to Southampton by car can be hard going because the A27 is not a great road.

So whilst I’d say Chichester for quality of life (we like small cathedral cities and have lived in a couple of others), I’d take a close look at transport requirements for DH.

Petersfield might be an option?

Based in your last comment perhaps consider Emsworth. There are some lovely places to eat-out, really nice little centre and community feel. There’s a train station so when the kids are older it doesn’t take much for them to go into Portsmouth (or other cities) by themselves.

I commute to southampton from that area and on a good day it takes about 40min to get to the city centre in southampton but I allow around 1hr. If you go from Havant station to London, it’s around 1.5hrs.

Havant has some nice housing to the south east of the station and also has a reasonable town centre shops wise (there is a big tesco, hobbycraft, next, M&S, etc) It also has a leisure centre. The gym is good but the pool at the Mountbatten centre in Portsmouth is nicer and only takes 15min to get to.

Langstone, just south of Havant but before you get onto hayling island, has a lovely community, two very nice pubs, and you can walk to the centre of Havant.

From all three of these places you can be in the bustle of Portsmouth within 20min.

Most people I know have left Portsmouth once they’ve had children. They’ve ended up in Purbrook, Horndean, Clanfield, Petersfield, Drayton, Farlington, Bedhampton, Fareham (Harrison Road primary has a good reputation), Porchester, or the places I’ve mentioned above.

Ah yes of course. I've heard that it's an excellent school.

My DPIls lived in Chandler's Ford but Hiltingbury which is a catchment for Thornden school - which as I recall was as an extremely good state secondary but the catchment area is small would be good for school ( also decent primaries ) but as others have said - it isn't a pop out to lunch place - safe nice but pretty much getting into the car for everything except school.

I think if you want access to H'row , the other thing I remember ( if by car ) the bit between Soton and Winchester on the M27 is a real pain - v slow. I don't know all the trains between those towns . Eastleigh to London is a decent train service but I would not want to do it every day.

If you can afford it I would do Winchester ( approx 1hour 10 mins or 90 mins on train to London but you need to check the times ) You are then a reasonable drive from the South coast towns So Southampton , Portsmouth etc but it will be a drive to a nice beach but not onerous to Heathrow once in a while if needed Personally I would prefer to live in Winchester but only you will know when you investigate . I do like Chichester but don't know schools or trains - DH and DS went to the theatre there and it is good. It feels more "out of the way to me " but that is purely personal.

So however rubbish it is that is my take.
I wish you well @Tellmewhyyou

Avoid Chichester for Southampton commute as the A27 that way is always heavy traffic.

If you're going Southampton commute look at Fareham area (stubbington and Lee too), hedge end and west end way. All easy access to M27 and M3 for Heathrow.

With those criteria, what about Romsey?

easy into Southampton - a plodding but enthusiastic cyclist could do it, there’s a train, bus, and driving options.
Decent gym at the Council leisure centre, and a fair few small other choices springing up.
lots of lunch options, a few but not as many dinner options.
Ok (this isn’t London) public transport for getting out.
good community vibe - Eg arts festival, several times a year the Main Street is closed for community events.
drive to parkway or to Winchester for the London train.
Good schools.

Second @Whattheladybird re Romsey.
It is lovely but it definitely isn't 'city vibe' it is 'small market town' vibe.
It has reasonable transport links in all directions but isn't necessarily 'easy' for anywhere - you're not on a motorway in 5 mins, and the train is between S'oton & Salisbury, not direct to London.

@Tellmewhyyou depending on where your DH has to travel internationally then Southampton airport is very easy to get to from all the places you mention but you will only be able to get to europe from there.

From Portsmouth there are direct trains to Gatwick, and to Bristol and Cardiff. The drive to Heathrow is about 1 hour 15 mins with no traffic, Gatwick about 90 mins (I always get the train if it's not an early/late flight) much cheaper and easier.

Personally, I find many of the places mentioned such as Whitley, fareham, outskirts if Portsmouth very dull, standard suburbia but I know many love them. DP did move out to Drayton with his ex and child but they split and both moved back to Southsea as they found it too boring 'on the hill'

Can you have a few weekends away to sense the places you are thinking of?

@femfemlicious there are very much little pockets of Southsea that are quiet (we have found one) and there is decent parking which is unheard of! I've always felt safe in Southsea, there's the usual crime you will get in a city but the convenience of being able to walk wherever we need to go pretty much is the deal breaker for us.

I'm afraid I don't know about schools though pp's are mentioning st edmunds as being good.

I've come back on to clarify that the comments I made about Southampton are about area within the city limits. Another poster said that there are nice country parks near Southampton. That is true, but they are outside Southampton City control. The parks I was referring to are the parks in the actual centre of Southampton.

I live fairly near the city centre and the reason I made the comments I did about Southampton being a shit hole are because the council is rubbish whether it is under Tory or Labour control. One gets in power and spends all it's time undoing what the previous party had done and then they get voted out and the cycle continues, so there is little continuity.

For a big city I am often surprised by how many things Southampton doesn't have. For example if you require dental treatment under sedation on the NHS you will have to travel to Southsea. When I required medication urgently out of hours my partner had to go to Portsmouth to collect it even though we have a large teaching hospital. Public transport by bus is not great. We've just had our major bus company pull out of the city and although another company has taken over some of it's routes lots of the city doesn't have good public transport links, or requires 2 buses or more to travel a couple of miles.

So I just feel that a lot of the advantages that city living should have, aren't available in Southampton.

But if you have the budget to live in one of the more affluent areas on the outskirts of the city (I don't, I live in one of the cheapest most run down areas which is probably colouring my judgement a lot!), and things like public transport are not so much of an issue to you then there are nice areas although I would say they come under Hampshire rather than Southampton. I think some other people mentioned Petersfield, there are other villages within the Meon Valley that are very nice, but not too far from the motorway or major roads. There are lots of lovely villages around Winchester depending on what your budget is.