Where to live in East Sussex?

[LovePrawnCoctailCrisps]

Looking to move away from London and very keen on East Sussex. I suppose would still need to be within commutable distance to London (hybrid working makes it easier) and just be peaceful place. Ideally detached house and bit more private but appreciate budget might enough

any recommendations / ideas would be extremely welcome!

East Sussex is a big county! Where are you thinking of? Closer to sea or London? Which bit of London? Are schools a consideration? And, most importantly, what’s your budget and how big a house do you want?

Lewes is very nice.

Unlikely to get a detached house unless you have £££ and/or are quick off the mark

@HippyKayYay - thanks for getting back. Appreciate my criteria aren't very clear. Let me try to help

Sea doesn't matter much, forest and green spaces are more important than sea. It would have to be commutable to London. Charring Cross/ London Bridge. But any of main stations are fine.. we don't have children and hopefully will do final IVF by the end of the year. So could very likely be that schools won't really matter. I think £750k would be the absolute max (but then no money left for renovation etc). Ideally £500/550

Why don't you start by looking at the train service to charing cross and look at each station and how long it takes to get to and from London from that station and then have a look on line at the estate agents for those specific towns and see if it's in your price range and also what the amenities are in that town?

@Tarquina good idea. Very methodical approach too! A lot of desktop research could be done

Horsham is in West Sussex but sounds perfect for you

like a normal person would who understands proximity of railway station to place of work, capable of saying ‘let me try to help??? without any irony whatsoever

cocktail

brilliant
(meant to say)

I would be cautious about how reliable Southern trains are for your commute in to London. They have always had a terrible reputation & I experienced it first hand when I lived in Eastbourne & regularly got the train in to London. Trains from Lewes, Eastbourne etc go in to London Victoria & for London Bridge you have to change at East Croydon which is a bit of a faff. A friend moved to Brighton & was incredibly fortunate that her London job became mostly remote after covid as she was finding the commute in to London a nightmare with all the Southern delays, strikes etc.

Why East Sussex then? Are there parts of it you've visited that you like?

Agree with pp about commuting - I'd start with that. Look at stations on the routes out from your preferred London terminus and start exploring.

Thameslink is generally better than Southern, in my experience, an a more useful train line (goes through central London) and has (much) cheaper fares

Battle is lovely.
£550k won't buy you much in West Sussex, it's much more expensive than East Sussex. Lewes is overpriced, full of traffic.
we live on the outskirts of Hastings, I'm from hailsham. Dd is at school in battle. I was Schooled and lived in Eastbourne for many years. Have worked in uckfield, crowborough and now been working in Lewes for 10 years. 5 mile radius of battle would be my choice. Seaford would also be quite a nice option. Hailsham is being hugely overdeveloped, deffo avoid. Loads of houses, shit services and roads. Bexhill is also a great option, bustling town centre with lots of independent shops

£600k will buy you a decent house abd garden here in the east of the county. We have a 4 bed detached in a quiet road and it's worth around that. Lots of people commute to London from this area

We went to Eastbourne at the weekend. I’d forgotten how lovely the Western edge of the town around Meads Village is. It’s got a proper old fashioned seaside resort feel. The beaches are beautiful, and it’s right where the South Downs Way finishes for you have immediate access to 100 miles of bridleway across unspoilt rolling hills.

This would be a good buy, depending on how much garden you want. It's just off the main road that runs through battle to Hastings abd you could walk to the station in 20 minutes.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147013343#/?channel=RESBUY

there's two health clubs nearby (bannatynes and crowhurst park), golf and a riding school/livery yard at Beauport. Easy links to all the big supermarkets in st Leonard's and a variety of indie shops in battle high street.

Agree about the question of how reliable trains are. Lewes and Forest Row are unique places and your lifestyle needs to fit in, agree about the merits of Horsham though in West Sussex.

Oh and Battle takes you to Charing Cross

It's not quite east Sussex but very close. I'd look at Hurst Green near Oxted (actually just looked and it IS in East Sussex) it's close enough to Oxted that you can use that station if there are issues (often when trains stop) I would also consider Crowborough.

Partners family grew up in crowborough and his folks live in five ashes. Houses tend to be quite big. Re commuting would you consider tunbridge wells

Lewes is probably the best place IMO but the traffic can be a pain and property is expensive.

Hastings is cheaper and supposed to be up and coming (and Fairlight nearby is really nice).

Frankly, you'd do better looking across the county border in Kent really though.

you see I think Lewes is horrible, I definitely wouldn't move there. Overpriced and full of "artisanal" shops selling crap which could be described as the Harry Enfield character "I saw you coming". Full of DFLs getting ripped off for their smashed avocado on handcrafted sourdough just like SLOS 😂

Lewes has changed considerably in my 48 years of life, working there on and off since I was 18. I'm not sure it's improved although if you like overpriced farmers markets then you'll fit right in.

but I'm local born and raised and remember Middle Farm when it was just John Pile selling turkeys from the kitchen door from crimbo and when Bills was just a fabulous greengrocer that expanded into a cafe after the floods...

For London Bridge/Charing Cross, you're better off looking at the Southeastern and Thameslink rail lines, rather than Southern - although most of the stations are in Kent rather than E.Sussex. Totally depends how far you're willing to consider for a commute, and the cost of the commute. Having done a long commute myself, being able to walk from the mainline station to your office makes a massive difference.

That's why I suggested battle - it's south eastern direct to Charing Cross.

Good thinking, @Tarquina ✔

Thank you ladies, some very useful insights 💐💐

I need to do some proper research looking into all your suggestions. (Might get back with more questions.) But it certainly gives me a good start!