Hoping to move to south coast but can't decide where - sell me an area!

[ojbsmum]

There's a possibility DH will be made redundant in not too distant future. I'm currently a SAHM but was teacher up til last year.

Looking for a silver lining to redundancy we think this may be our opportunity to live our dream of moving to the south coast, has been impossible because of DH's job but now...

Our idea is that I'd find a job in new location and he'd have a turn as a SAHP while he assesses a new career choice...(As we both earned the same as long as one of us is working it doesn't financially make much difference who.)

We both love Brighton, having lived there in the past but doubt we'd be able to afford to move there now. PIL are in Worthing at the minute which we also like but they plan to retire overseas so no real ties to any particular area.

We're wanting to be able to buy at least a 3bed house in catchment of a good school, preferably no more than a mile or two from a beach for around £200,000. Ideally somewhere with enough to do as the children grow up (currently 3 and 1) without us having to ferry them everywhere when they're teenagers, but still easy to get to London for day out/weekend trips.

Is this possible anywhere? Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset all up for discussion!
Come and pitch your town/area to us!!

Portsmouth (where I live) is much cheaper than most other areas on the south coast. It has its problems in some of the 'inner' areas, but just off the island is good for families.

Southsea is also great, but schools leave quite a lot to be desired, unless you have the money for private...

I'm just outside Southampton. Five min from the new forest for fantastic walks and picnics. Not far to gorgeous beaches. Lovely towns like romsey, lymington, Winchester nearby. Schools good in my area. Mainline to Waterloo from Southampton. Houses good prices, cheaper in Southampton and more expensive as you go into the forest. I love it.

Try looking at Eastbourne. Not sure it fits in your budget but it's a great place to visit with kids and not far from Brighton. Also, parts of hastings are said to be on the up.

Thanks for those suggestions. Will definitely look into them as on rightmove there are houses in each within our budget which would look worth investigating. Without knowing the towns though it's so hard to know where to start.

Any suggestions of good schools we should be trying to get near? That is obviously one of the top things on our list when looking to move. We'd be wanting to move in the next couple of years anyway for that reason, even if we end up staying roughly where we are now as our local schools leave a lot to be desired...