To ask is there a better version of Brighton

[Wondergirl100]

Sorry a bit cheeky to put on AIBU - but - it's an important question!!

Brighton - great vibes, creativity, open mindedness good schools - but overpriced and the countryside isn't amazing and there are no gardens.

So what is the alternative! Where else is open minded and fun and has sea air and countryside but is not ruined by hen dos and property prices. And needs to have good schools.

Sadly, I have to write off the whole of Kent as I don't approve of grammar system. Unless there is somewhere in Kent with good secondary moderns.

I found Bridport to be just as alternative but far less pretentious. Not sure about schools etc though.

OP now you've said you like Hanover and Queens Park areas in Brighton I'm getting a clearer picture of what you're looking for.

Believe me, you are not going to find anything remotely similar in Eastbourne, Dover, Hayward's Heath or (and I suggested this) Seaford!! The nearest places with a similar vibe are London and Bristol so I think you may end up in Brighton after all!

If you do, Queens Park is nice but I would avoid Hanover as it was built as temporary accommodation for Victorian workers during the mass expansion of the town and wasn't meant to last. A lot of people I know who've lived there say their homes were money pits as they were always having to fix things unfortunately.

Norwich? good local creative vibe, good creative university, and university of the arts and its far cheaper than Brighton (and only a hop to the sea.

Sitting on the bridge watching the canal boats 😃

Is there anywhere better than Brighton? I know the answer to this one! Anywhere, absolutely anywhere :D Do you know what a 'furry' is? Just asking ...

As a, presumably, fully paid up member of the Wokerati I'm sure that womens' rights won't be of the slightest interest to you but I would pay any money not to live in a place like Brighton. I don't want to live amongst hordes of up themselves, white, middle class to$$ers, busily congratulating themselves on how inclusive they are whilst knowing feck all about the reality of other people's lives. If you do find somewhere just like Brighton please do a post about it so I know never to move there. Thanks 👍🏻

No sea, but north Derbyshire has stunning rugged countryside, rivers and a canal. We're near New Mills and it's got a great community feel and is developing a bit of an alternative vibe. I can see Kinder Scout from our house yet we're only half an hour/forty minutes from Manchester and Sheffield is over the Pennines. I'm a mancunian and I love it here.

@HugeHoveFan thanks that is a really useful tip about the house. It's such a lovely area but the houses in Brighton are so higgledy piggledy squashed up.

I live in SE london and we have a decent sized house but I feel we would almost be trading down to Brighton - though of course we wld have sea and downs.

@MiaChia I literally have no idea what you are on about calling me woke! You have no idea what I think about the issues you are talking about. Brighton is an open minded place in some regards, I take on board the point that it's a bit of a bubble about some issues - I'm perfectly capable of seeing the nuance.

miachia I had to hold my phone back a bit as my hair was moving from the force of your rant and which by the way made me laugh and which,lastly, I’ve always suspected about Brighton (don’t know it well and haven’t ever felt any desire to).

I live in Shoreham which is just along the coast from Brighton. You can definitely get a garden, beach, river, an arty farty vibe and good transport links and schools. However you do have to sacrifice the city buzz, nightlife, some amenities and put up with a Tory MP.

Rye -nice little town, near the coast,

Seaford, if hasn’t already been suggested?

Worle near Weston-super-mare. We've just moved here. my 3 kids are at a great school, sea air, countryside is beautiful and I've got a great garden with pink blossom apple trees!! Not sure if it's as cool as Brighton I love it!!

Rue is great but like Totnes up thread (and Down line) isn’t it just too tiny for someone wanting not london/not Brighton but everything Brighton-esque. ??

How about Margate? Gorgeous new art gallery, very indie and a bit scruffy and arty. No idea about schools, though.

It also has Pete Doherty. I wouldn't fancy sharing a small town with him

Rye not ‘rue’ - can you imagine a town called rue

[quote Youdose]@Helendee
Yeah, I live in Brighton. It's awful, don't come. Too many parks, and green spaces, the Downs within walking distance, 5 miles of beach, great primaries, inclusive good secondaries that don't just focus on academics but on the whole child because the people here are basically a bunch of hippies who are always banging on about tolerance, acceptance and 'the arts'.
Far too many yoga studios, and gyms, and independent shops, and a council that seems obsessed with the environment and making the roads safer for kids and cyclists. In fact the whole city is obsessed with kids, the month long arts festival literally starts with the children's parade. Every other street has an annual street party now, car free, and monthly 'playing outs' where the little blighters get to run around for the afternoon on traffic free streets.
And don't me started on the new craze for all year round sea swimming... thousands of women of a certain age chucking themselves in the sea together, watching each others kids so that everyone can have a dip, drinking their herbals teas afterwards and encouraging passers by to give it a go. Hippies...[/quote]
Love this

Lived in Brighton and Hive-Brighton was an expensive dirty place last time we went two years ago- Hove hadn’t changed much which I love but wild horses would have to drag me back there now- Devon is beautiful

@HeronLanyon

Rye not ‘rue’ - can you imagine a town called rue

You’d regret living there every day?

Yes bizarrely in another thread where I think the op did move to Rue. Or Nether Rue.

Chichester?

I live in Hove and it’s great. If you’re looking for a house, then yes, you may need to look further out as it is expensive. But you can get a 2 bed flat with a little garden for £400k. It’s about choices.
Plus points: plenty of good jobs, tech hub, fantastic restaurants, nice outdoor lifestyle and sunnier, good public transport. Yes there are some homeless people but it’s a city. I used to get hassled far more in the town of leamington spa than I do here!

If we'd had more cash when we moved down here we would have bought in Hove. All the benefits of Brighton without the downsides.

Sorry I haven’t RTFT but OP, I’m not sure there are “secondary modern” schools any more. In the state system there are comprehensives, academies and grammar schools.

I didn't know there were secondary moderns any more, only comprehensives.

What is wrong with the 'grammar system'? I have relatives in Kent and they have good comprehensives as well as grammars. Kent covers a huge area, there are good places and dodgy ones in the county.

There are some lovely areas near Brighton, you don't have to live right in the hub of it to enjoy Brighton.