Moving in to the area... Advice/ Tips?

[angrywoman]

Me and my DP are thinking of relocating to do our PGCE's. They don't have the subjects where we live in the North and we think we should at least relocate somewhere we like.
I do have 3 children and obviously this will be an upheaval.
We won't be rolling in money. A friend has suggested Shoreham and Worthing as possible places to live/ commute to Brighton from.
I love the place and the idea of living by the sea, even if just for a year or two I am sure my children would find positive aspects.. (aged 11, 8 and 6) Or am I being selfish?
Any opinions and advice on the area appreciated. I have no friends or family there just a couple in London.

Hi - if you look down towards the end of the first Brighton page there is a recent discussion on Moving to Worthing. There are also discussions about areas outside of Brighton in the other direction along the coast such as Woodingdean and Saltdean. There are regular discussions about moving to various areas on the local pages -so if you scroll through past pages you will find a lot of hopefully useful info.

Worthing and Shoreham are very nice and a bit cheaper than Brighton for renting/buying but travel costs could eradicate the difference. Are you looking to buy/rent - do you need a house or flat? I found rightmove great for researching likely prices when I was planning to move to Brighton. If you want to stay in Brighton, the Hanover area has really cute houses and is a young family/student type area with lots going on with good travel connections to the unis. A friend lived in a Sussex uni family flat for her postgrad and loved being on campus and the great small community feel among the families in her block.

I moved to Brighton with my DP and Dc a few years ago - we had no friends or family here but the children really love living here ( as does DP). I spent all my life living in warzones and the grittiest urban areas so it has been like having a really restful extended holiday for me. The scenery is lovely and everyone is so polite and nice, its all so gentle - I am still not quite used to it. For children its fantastic - you have beaches and just outside of Brighton you having the stunning North Downs. My Dc have much more freedom here and for younger children there are also any number of great parks - and the weather is a lot milder and sunnier than in the North - so you can really take advantge of the outdoors.

Good luck and just ask with any more queries as they arise

Shoreham and Worthing are both lovely- tho Shoreham is a bit small and yummy mummy cliquey.

Both are very, very easy to get to Brighton from on public tr;ansport.

Javo, think you'll find they are the South Downs!

All of my family are born and bred Brightonians but we've all had to move to the outskirts because we just can't afford to live there anymore. My mum is in Shoreham, my sister in Lancing and I'm in North Portslade (border of Southwick), all much cheaper than Brighton or Hove but pleasant enough and getting into town isn't too difficult. Funnily enough although we are all in different towns (not actually that far apart, I can walk to my mum's in about 15 mins), we have all ended up in houses backing on to the Downs as it's so lovely. Generally for this part of the coast the bits nearer the sea are a bit more 'industrial' as it's mostly harbour/timberyards etc, rather than seaviews and promenades, although you can get on to the beaches.

Yes, sorry - of course they are. Loaded with a chest infection atm- sorry for typo

Oh dear, hope you feel better soon. The Downs are all north of us I suppose anyway .