Anyone live in Worthing, West Sussex?

[Inthenightgarden1]

To be closer to our parents we are considering a move to worthing in West Sussex. We love about an hour away but are used to countryside!
What is Worthing like? I saw another thread about it and it had a few negative responses. Is this accurate? I want my children to be able to spend more time with grandparents!

It's not as bad as it used to be. I moved away 30 years ago then it was Heavens waiting room, that's now Eastbourne

Thank you. Is crime bad? That’s what the other thread seemed to talk about!

https://www.timeout.com/uk/news/this-is-officially-the-best-british-seaside-town-to-move-to-in-2023-030623?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&cid=%7Elondon%7Enatsoc%7Efacebook%7Eechobox#Echobox=1678110862

It is what you make it really. Lots of people move here from Brighton as it is a lot cheaper, so it is gradually having more money pumped into it. I would say I find it a bit dull (in my 30s), BUT there is the beach, pier, lovely countryside nearby, and lots of young families as well as old people! If you have family here, spend some time checking it out to find which areas you like. There are lots of places I would rather live (in theory), but it's definitely not the worst by far.

Not particularly I don't think, at least in my area. Brighton is far worse!!

I think it's gentrifying quickly as lots of people who are priced out of Brighton move there.
The secondary schools I don't think are as good as many in Brighton or mid Sussex though.

Better than Brighton

We live in a town about 30 minutes away

Yeses! Love it, especially in summer. Great schools, community, beaches, countryside, pubs/restaurants.

Thank you.
I think we had pretty much decided (after a health scare for my Dad) that we really want to be nearer parents and Worthing whilst not the same town as them offers being a lot closer. Then I saw the other thread and panicked! People said they don’t feel safe going out after dark? It would be rare that we would as DC are small and we would have no one to babysit but don’t want to feel like this!
Any areas to avoid? DC are in reception and year 1 which is not a great time to move I know but we are trying to get the best long term outcome for them!

I’ve lived here all my life and I love it. It’s not for everyone but it has what most decent towns have. Good sports/leisure facilities. A reasonable local theatre. 2 cinemas. The beach is great and close to the downs as well so best of both worlds.

The main negative is the shops in town aren’t that great but not awful. Depends what you’re looking for.

There are periods of crime, especially younger teens but it isn’t constant and, in my experience, the community is very vocal about it on SM and it dies out pretty quickly. My DCs say they like living here. There are plenty of decent schools.

The traffic is awful. And the town centre is rough. It's got a lot better in the last few years but I still wouldn't move there.

Personally I would avoid Durrington (North of the town) and East Worthing. Being near Goring Road is a good shout. Depending on your budget, nice areas are Tarring, Ferring, Findon, High Salvington and Goring south of the railway line.

Depends what you are after. It’s less crowded than Brighton in terms of housing density and population, but much more so than a lot of the pretty Sussex villages not far outside. You can walk everywhere in town though and to the beach, so it’s great for teens to be self-sufficient, and the train service is excellent for London and Brighton. Like all big towns it can be a bit lively in the evenings compared to a village but I wouldn’t say it’s unsafe. As people get priced out of Brighton and Shoreham there are lots more families in Worthing now so it’s a bit less retirement community than it was 10 or 20 years ago (but still has a bit of that going on).

What about Shoreham?

Or Bexhill?

Areas of Worthing aren't good - Google it. There have been a spate of teenager violent attacks.
Worthing is a Big place so head for Ferring, Goring, Findon areas. Bus services are good - and all these places stated above are a 5 / 10 minute car drive.
I wouldn't live in Worthing town - but areas around are good.
There are issues generally all over the country. The beach is lovely, nice parks., Cafe, restaurants etc.
There is limited things for kids to do in Worthing, there are 2 cinema, Pool, Bowling but a car drive there are other activities for example 'Out of Bounds', Soft play, crazy golf, Climbing walls etc.

Out of town there is a lovely place called Arundel - Castle, cobbled streets by the River, antique shops etc. There are pros and cons.

In addition there are some amazing country side on your doorstep - and Brighton is just down the road!

All the best

K

Shoreham is nearly as expensive as Brighton nowadays. I've got a soft spot for Burgess Hill but it's not on the coast which is a shame.

St Leonard's / Hastings is nicer

But Worthing is definitely a good place to invest in too

Lived here all my life. The proximity to the beach and the beautiful South Downs are selling points. It's a pleasant town.

In recent years there's been a surge in the number of lovely restaurants in the town centre, so it's great if you're a foodie. The shops aren't great but we just go to Brighton instead. There's decent theatre and cinema. A skating rink in the winter months. Several gyms.

There's been issues with antisocial teenage behaviour in the past couple of years but I doubt it's worse than other towns. I let my teenage boys go out with friends but caution them to be sensible and not hang around in parks etc.

I'd avoid Durrington or East Worthing. Goring and Ferring are the best areas IMO. Broadwater, Offington, Thomas a Becket are nice too. There's a good choice of schools, although the best ones are oversubscribed.

Public transport is good. 700 bus goes the length of the coast road. Easy train links to London and Brighton. A27 is awful though, has been for years... we need a bypass!

Traffic is horrible. I wouldn't choose to move to this area now if I didn't already live here!
the town is nice enough and yes there have been recent incidents of antisocial and criminal behaviour in the town centre but this is an issue everywhere. People saying they don't go out after dark must be VERY scared people because that's absolutely not necessary.

Agree Arundel is so lovely

Also Steyning

Any advice on schools? A number of people have said schools are "decent" but I wondered if you had any more detail? (My daughter is going into Year 1 in Sept.)

The secondary schools have all improved a lot in recents years, and I was very impressed looking round them as options for my DS. Primary schools are a bit varied, Thomas a Beckett has a good reputation, as do Springfield and elm Grove, but it changed very quickly.
Have a look at catchments because there are a few 'dead spots' and weird areas where you are not necessarily in the catchment you would expect. (My friend is 2 minutes away from a primary school, but her catchment school is. 40 minute walk away).

Where are your parents? A good alternative if you want a beach/pier etc is Southsea and surrounding areas. Worthing isn't very nice in my opinion, having spent a lot of time in all areas along this part of the coast I wouldn't ever choose to live in Worthing.

Thank you v much for some excellent advice! I was there on Saturday and did a lot of walking around and peering into school grounds. I have to say, Broadwater primary school did NOT look appealing (neither did Broadwater). Both St Mary's Catholic Primary School and Elm Grove looked much nicer and I spoke with a lady who works at Elm Grove (and planning to send her own daughter there), who said it is lovely because it's so small, but also that it perhaps makes joining big school an even bigger shock. In case that helps anyone!
TBH, I am just not sure Worthing is for me. It seemed to be streets and streets and streets of houses and the only area with any life was a few streets in the centre of town. And then where do you send your children to school when it's a good half hour walk to West Worthing? I get the impression everyone mostly drives around in cars ...
Apologies for the long, slightly stream-of-consciousness message. I feel v depressed as I can't seem to find anywhere I want to live and I can't afford to stay where I DO want to live, which is Hackney.