To move to Brighton and Hove

[Decisionsdecisionsss]

I've name changed for this as I'm giving away lots of info but I am a regular poster.

We made the decision to relocate to B&H from Bromley (South East London suburb) but we are now at the stage of offering on a property and I'm getting really cold feet.
I've been told the secondary schools are too risky due to the lottery. We would be moving away from an area where the schools are consistently good with the option of grammar school (probably wouldn't go to it but it's an option) so it's important that we don't sacrifice a good education for our three boys (currently under 6). We have seen a property we like in Patcham, which would mean our children going to patcham infants, juniors and secondary school but I've heard mixed things about it.

Has anyone made a move like this and was it worth it?! Does anyone live around there they can give some advice?
We wanted to move to be close to the sea and the downs, and we love the vibe and atmosphere particularly in hove and more relaxed lifestyle than London, but we can't afford a big enough house with a garden in the part of Hove we like, so would be looking at Patcham. We are also considering Shoreham.

Any views on these areas would be great. Im wondering if this dream of mine is a bit selfish and whether the kids would be better off staying put, but I've wanted to be near the sea forever, so I'm so torn, and Id also love the opportunity to get into water sports for ourselves and the kids, but would that even happen if we are further up from the sea!?
So. confused! Help!

congrats !

get a dehumidifier asap !

Just give me a shout when you're down 😊

You'll love it. You will be one of many many young families who have moved from London.

Poets Corner is a great location. Parking is a nightmare though!

To clarify it sounds like you are down by Stoneham. The parking isn't as bad there. I wouldn't let it put me off.

The George Payne is a good pub and so is the Stoneham.

The beach is close and often the "mums" hang out on nearby George Street for the cafes and charity shops etc.

@Anewdayanewdawn any chance of revealing the area of Brighton you live in?! Have just moved down and are renting at the moment with the hope to buy in a year or so. Sounds lovely where you are and exactly what we want!

@SarahBcn they mentioned Poets Corner, in Hove.

Don't do it
I did woth my family worst mistake ever
Brighton is not for children

@Madridista this thread is well over a year old, it's long since done.

Would you mind updating us? We are thinking of a similar move (also from Bromley). Our DD is 7, so any school recommendations or experiences - if you are happy to share?

Yes of course. We made the move in November 2022, we rented for 6 months then ended up buying a house near hove park.

Honestly Brighton and Hove is a fantastic place to live. It is completely unique. It is open minded, very friendly, tolerant and kind. I have been blown away by the difference in atmosphere here compared to Bromley.
To the person who said it's no place for kids, utter nonsense. The whole city is geared up for and accepting of kids!

Schools wise, you can't really go wrong at primary, in the nice areas, all the schools are great. My son goes to school near hove park, which he loves, small and very nurturing, he was happy from day one. Happy to PM you more details.

Secondary wise the schools are a bit mixed which we knew before moving. We are aiming for Kings or Cardinal Newman, both have a great reputation but have faith criteria. Apart from the private schools (which are apparently good but I know little about) all schools in B&H are true comps, they take a broad intake, and that's all part of the ethos down here. There are no grammars. Blatchington mill has a good reputation, as does Dorothy stringer and Varndean. You need to consider where you live in order to be in catchment. I wouldn't buy outside the catchment of those three schools personally. Again, can PM more details...

Really consider what you want if you move here. A lot depends on budget. We ended up not living in poets corner as the houses just felt too packed in and small gardens. We regret it slightly, as it has an incredible community atmosphere and close to the seafront. However where we live we have a nice garden and lovely view and a bit closer to green space and a lovely park. So it really depends what you want. B&H can feel quite built up and busy in places, so some people prefer being further out nearer the downs, but it's totally personal preference. To get close to the sea you need a good budget, but the portslade side of Hove near the sea is more affordable.
Don't be put off by permit parking as it can actually be quite handy having a permit! Parking id a bit of a nightmare in the whole city.

The one thing I miss about Bromley is the very large free London parks. Brighton has some great parks but they are smaller. I loved Beckenham place park, kelsey park, Greenwich park, crystal palace etc and spent a lot of time in them. Also loved the London markets and proximity to London. Bromley is incredible for green space and you might miss it. But I am yet to fully explore the downs (as it's not easy with really small buggy dwellers), and some people rave about it.

I wouldn't change the move. I love having the sea right there, in the summer it is like being on holiday and hove beach has such a lovely atmosphere. In the September heatwave we went down after work and everyone was relaxing, music playing, having BBQs, having drinks, but all very civilised and chilled. It doesn't get dumped on by day trippers either like Brighton beach.
I can get into London easily too, 1 hour 8 minutes from hove station into victoria.

God I've gone on a bit 🤣 feel free to PM me if you want more specific details.

Decisionsdecisionsss You might like Tilgate Park near Crawley. It's about 25min from Brighton and there's a long paved circular walk round the lake you can do with a pushchair.

Sorry I haven't read all the posts so this may well have been mentioned but I would really look in to Chichester if I were you - I lived there a few years back (before I had kids, so can't comment on schools) and it is really lovely.

There are lovely parks/playgrounds and I used to see lots of families. Good range of shops and restaurants in the centre. This may have changed, but when I was living there the local hospital (St Richard's) was very good and seemed better than other NHS hospitals I've worked in.

You are just a 10-15 minute drive from the Witterings which is a completely different kind of beach - stretches and stretches of sand and beautiful local countryside. We used to take lovely walks by the canal - you feel like you are in the countryside within a short walk and personally I love that, especially with kids.

Again this may have changed, but 5 years ago properties were marginally cheaper than in Brighton but the quality of properties on the market seemed really good (for reference, I now live in Oxford and you have to shell out ££££ for tiny damp properties with major construction issues 🙄).

Also I used to drive from Chichester to Surrey frequently and it's a beautiful drive!! And if you were to fancy a trip to Brighton (I used to go a lot) it's easily reachable by train/car.

Sorry only just spotted this is 2 years old!! Glad it worked out for you in the end 😊

@Decisionsdecisionsss I have read pretty much this whole thread haha, we are in forest hill and seriously contemplating moving to hove with our toddler..I've found your thread super helpful as I think we have some similar priorities, and thank you so much for updating it with the end result!! So good to hear you took the gamble and it's paid off (like you, I know how much I'd miss those London parks!).

We're really on the fence for a no of reasons and our budget is smaller - ideally no more than 650 for a 3 bed that could be extended one day. I'm worried we'll struggle to get into good catchments with that and wondered if you had any advice on area?? Should we consider patcham? Were keen to not feel too far from the 'vibe', we're too used to London to live somewhere that feels too suburbia.. we've got a nice 2 bed flat with a huge garden on forest hill, but we'd like a house somewhere we can put down some routes...

We're late 30s and work in creative industries so could potentially find work in Brighton but most likely London hybrid

Hey! Sorry only just saw your post. We initially had a 850k budget but just around the time we were about to buy, our budget dropped to below 700k due to the Liz Truss saga. We ended up getting a 5 bed for 670k, but it needed a renovation.
You could definitely get a 3 bed for 650. I can see one for sale on Holmes Avenue for example, thats a nice road. Poets corner 3 beds are sometimes around the 650 mark too (small gardens though, depends if that bothers you) and we saw a nice house in the Aldrington area for around that price, I love that area! Portslade is also an option.
Now is a good time to buy, you would probably get something for under asking price.
If you're in the creative industry you'll love Hove.
If you have any more questions happy to help 🙂

In terms of location having a 'vibe'. Poets corner is your best bet in Hove. I don't know Brighton side that well but Fiveways is probably similar.
I felt a bit gutted at first that we weren't in the Poets area, but over time I've made friends and I love being close to hove park for the kids so I'm less bothered, but there certainly is an amazing community feel in that area. Everyone is so friendly and you have all the cafes on your doorstep. I just wasn't willing to sacrifice a decent garden for our 3 energetic boys.
I don't think patcham will have that kind of vibe but I liked it there when we looked around, felt a bit more open and spacious. Depends if you still want a London feel or not.

@Decisionsdecisionsss hiiiii and thank you super helpful 💓 tbh we're leaving London to have a bigger house and less financial pressure so I don't think poets corner will be out best bet. What's your honest opinion on portslade?? We can get a lot more for our money there, for a reason I'm sure ....
Do you guys commute? How do you find that?

Thanks so much xxx

My son goes to nursery in Portslade so I have made quite a few friends who live there. I really like it there, it has a real community feel. It's where a lot of Brighton people move to when they can't afford Brighton, full of arty, quirky people, but it is also very poor in places so it's very mixed and can feel quite run down in places. Secondary schooling is more limited unless you're religious (or willing to pretend to be!). The people I know there are happy. Some move out to Shoreham instead which is also really nice but nothing like Brighton.
I commute once a week into London, 1 hour 8 minutes from Hove to Victoria, very doable but expensive so I wouldn't want to do it loads. The portslade train is one stop before Hove!

@Decisionsdecisionsss ah thanks that's really reassuring about portslade... We're in SE London so I guess we're used to the mixture of run down. Very much not religious so secondary could be a challenge... But we can afford a better house and that feels soooo important when youve got small people!!

I heard the hove- London train gets pretty rammed, how do you find it? I'm hoping to commute just once a week but it might have to be twice....

@Decisionsdecisionsss i know an old post but stumbled across as am also from Bromley and friend looking to retire to Brighton & Hove (or Chichester). Any thoughts with your move in the end?

So in Portslade if not religious you'd have a choice of PACA or possibly Hove Park secondary wise. I have friends in Portslade who have children at both. Both are Ofsted good and have OK reputations but I don't know them well as my kids are too young. There's also Blatchington Mill in Hove but you'd be unlikely to get that if in Portslade. Both areas have decent primary schools, but the Hove primaries are particularly good, you're spoilt for choice. Patcham also has a really good primary and good secondary from what I've been told.

I get the train in rush hour, usually the 7.20 train and I get a seat every day, I often have 2 seats the whole way! You just need to go to the back of the train. Train home is fine too. Portslade would be even better as it's a stop earlier in the morning.