To move to Bexhill

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Does anyone know anything about this place? Bexhill on Sea? We are looking at moving there within the year but I hear it’s a sleepy town full of OAPs and not much to do (which is fine for me but not so sure about my 15 year old daughter). Any insight would be lovely and very much appreciated please.

The surrounding areas are reasonable but other than the De La Warr Pavilion I’ve never found anything to like about the town itself.

Joke is that if Eastbourne is where your grandparents go to retire, Bexhill is where their grandparents go. I’m not sure that’s entirely fair, but the first shops I saw coming out of the station were a funeral directors and a mobility scooter place, so…

Hopefully others can give more positive experiences.

It has a lovely seafront, which is nice to walk along, and the De La Warr pavilion has a lot of good shows on. I don’t know anything about living there.

Lovely prom but very dozy and high street run down. Lots of retirement apartments, bowls club etc

It's a lovely place, yes it is a bit quiet but still a nice place to be. There are some surprisingly good acts that go to the De La Warr and easy enough to get to Brighton if your daughter wants more stuff to do.

A reasonable selection of independent shops and cafes plus a few regular high street branches
Nice and quiet with a pleasant vibe
the town is small but quite compact , and although it’s small it’s reasonably busy , I’ve seen much bigger towns with endless closed down premises and with less going on
Nice seafront along with the previously mentioned De La Warr ( we haven’t visited so cannot comment )
lovely park adjacent to the town and by the seafront
Easy 10 min train ride to much more trendy St leonards / Hastings or a few minutes longer to Eastbourne or an hour to Brighton
like most places it’s what does or doesn’t appeal to you as an individual
Lots of older people do live here but also plenty of family’s with children too
If you are serious in moving I suggest you try a few short breaks and see if you like it.

Thank you everyone. This is really helpful.

I'd look wider, perhaps Cooden, Pevensey Bay Area - bexhill isn't that nice IMO

I live along the coast in St Leonards on Sea which is 6 minutes on the train from Bexhill. We moved here from London for a quieter life. There are nice restaurants, cafés, arts scene, independent cinema, lovely community, independent shops and Hastings Old Town 5 mins drive away with similar vibe. The DeLaWarr Pavillion is great but Bexhill is very quiet and not loads going on with lots of retirement flats etc. It really depends what you're looking for. I can see a teenager being bored if you're moving from a big city.

My parents lived there until they died. It's pleasant enough (but yes, a lot of elderly people), but Cooden and St Leonards are nicer.

I didnt expect so many responses! Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply.

I live outside of Eastbourne. We occasionally go to Bexhill to the de La Warr to see comedians. They do have stuff over the summer at the seafront too, mini festivals etc. the high street is quite run down but if near the train station then Hastings, Brighton and Eastbourne are quickly accessible.

Personally, despite its reputation as gods waiting room, I actually find that Eastbourne has a lot going on for families. We were surprised as we moved from London to be nearer the sea but mainly to be near Brighton. Our budget didn't allow Brighton though! We hadn't even visited Eastbourne before we made an offer on our house (it's in a small village 6 miles out) but we were pleasantly surprised with all the stuff to do, especially over summer.

i know people who live there and love it, go swimming in the sea in all weathers.
i think the shops suffer from being near hastings but you are between eastbourne and hastings for night life.
and of there there is a train station so that is a positive.

We've just bought a place in Bexhill, we've kept a caravan there for a few years and really like the place. It is quiet but I find it has a lovely range of independent places to eat, coffee shops, and more quirky shops, cafes etc, are popping up. Also there is a lot of money being pumped in at the moment (check out the east Sussex level up plans) so I think now is a good time to invest. We cycling from there to Hastings, alongside the coast, go horse riding in polesgate, padleboarding and kayaking,and now in wooden they have kite surfing. Also I love the de la warr pavilion, they have great gigs and a lovely cafe overlooking the sea. The connection to London isn't amazing at about 1.50mins but I think there's talk to improve that. I love the area as is but with a bit of regeneration as planned I think house prices there will rise, but I would visit and see if you like it first.

Cooden not wooden 🤣

We are Brightonians but are more drawn Eastwards. Bexhill is quiet but accessible. Eastbourne more lively. Hastings makes my nervous system shake with desperation to leave. Folkestone is pretty cool.

Dover for the continent, Bexhill for the incontinent is the old joke. Have friends who live there and it does seem a bit deadly.

Have you checked schools for your DD?

Eastbourne for elderly,
Bexhill for their parents

it seems a lot quieter than Eastbourne,

I grew up near there. I mean it's nice enough. Not very exciting for teenagers but I used to get the train to Brighton or London for a bit more excitement. My friend's raising her family there. She has two teenagers. They seem happy enough but they've never known any different.
It's OK - there are better and worse places.
In terms of the area in general, I love it. Beautiful scenery and lots of nice places to visit nearby.

Quite a drug and youth problem in Bexhill now. Used to be lovely and quiet, but the bad side is taking over in strides. Mostly based around the Sidley/Ravenside/Town Centre/Pebsham/Penland Wood areas is where most of the trouble is. Egerton Park, Old Town and the Polegrove are notorious for Drug dealing and Anti social behaviour. Residents are trying to get CCTV installed in Egerton Park as youths are abusing the wildlife that live around the pond! Kids are really bullied if they are not in a gang, recently one young youth had to run into a restaurant as a gang of youths chased him through town with knives. Another girl was attacked for no reason by a group of youths in Sidley, they didn't know her, but they punched the living daylights out of her, whilst filming for social media. Glass around the De La Warr is forever being smashed and the bus shelters. Houses are forever being raided as they are taken over for growing weed - there is a lack of police presence in Bexhill, so criminals take full advantage. One of my first nights in Bexhill, I had armed Police knocking at my door at 1am, they wanted to get through my back garden as they were raiding a property that backed onto mine! This was Town Centre. The retired folk do try to keep things nice, like the bus shelters and public flower beds etc. but the youths just wreck it all. Also the council has now decide to no longer fund most of the public toilets, so if you get caught short you'll need to go into a restaurant. Cooden is still nice and Little Common is ok - although there is a rough element moving in there too, look at the crime maps. The seafront used to be the best thing about Bexhill, but now the water company regularly releases sewage, no one local wants to go in the water. There used to be fountains by the De La Warr, but the incompetent Council got cowbays to fit it originally and now to fix it will cost over half a million - so they're not bothering. The town is full of hairdressers, nail bars, estate agents, restaurants and the largest amount of charity shops you'll ever likely see! The Council and Town Council are incompetent, despite a large % now being independents, they are actually worse than the old Conservative dominated council of the past. Most folk here are either old conservatives who are now becoming a minority, or very woke lefty liberals.

@Cola133 Thats sad to hear. I live walking along the seafront and there’s always families, dog walkers, roller skaters etc. If I read your description, I’d thought you would be describing Hastings as there’s more evidence of drunks, etc on the seafront. Bexhill always seemed to have better dressed people (sorry if that sounds snobbish) and the promenade area is always well maintained. It’s actually one if my favourite places to walk.

I only visit for walks, live elsewhere.

plenty of people swimming in the sea this week and the locals sea gals meet and swim every day
there are public toilets

Have often stayed near St Leonards and cycled there - and seen some interesting things at the De la Warr.
whether it's bexhill or somewhere else along that coast, aim to be somewhere close to a rail station to give your daughter some independence (and avoid you being a constant taxi service).

It's packed with students and 20-somethings these days.

Cooden and Little Common are the more upmarket areas, but it is certainly popular with retired people. Have never lived there, but in-laws did, so we visited regularly. We don't plan to return any time soon.