Is there a smaller Brighton anywhere?!

[donttrythisathome]

I live in Brighton and love it, but want to move somewhere a lot smaller and more rural. I've realised that my dream is somewhere like Brighton. Not, as in, for example, lots of drug deaths and hen parties. More the sea, open-mindedness, lots going on. Just smaller, and greener. Somewhere you can walk to countryside easily, and hear owls at night.

Stop laughing, you over there....!

So, is it an impossible dream?

A small seaside place, that is vibrant and progressive, with a great community. And noticeable owls, or at least easy access thereto?! Oh and work for a future childminder and current carpenter/furniture maker?

Now....just to be realistic for a moment, Mumbles is not actually like Brighton nor is it actually on the Gower. It's a nice seaside village attached to Swansea which is full of drunken students. Driving to Swansea is a bit of a shock if you've not gone that way before

Having done the "mumbles mile" myself and growing up not very far from there, I had a hefty chortle at the idea of the mumbles... but each to their own i guess.

And finishing the Mile in Cinders!

Oh.

to be honest ariel - I don;t actually remember finishing the mumbles mile. Not saying I didn't, just that I don;t remember it...

I'm gonna keep a close eye on this thread because I too have the same desire to move somewhere like you say maybe in the next year or so. I'm in south Manchester - a bit like Brighton without the sea lol. Has anyone mentioned Dartmouth on here? Whitby is gorgeous but I'm a wimp and couldn't cope with the bitter winters. Totnes fab but not near the sea. Went to Falmouth last year and felt it had a good vibe going on. Spoke to some incomers who said they absolutely loved it. I haven't explored Dorset properly apart from Lyme Regis (which didn't have the vibe) but heard good things about Bridport. Please keep me updated if you have visited any places on your wishlist.. good luck x

We moved from Brighton to Hurstpierpoint last year (not by the sea, I know. But still, pretty near and god lots to recommend it).

One thing I would ask is for everyone who wants the Brighton vibe to move here - then I will meet all sorts of like-minded people!

you liking it Spot? I am in Hurst every day :)

Oh to go to Cinders again, watching people climb down the cliff to avoid the £2.50 entry, and the DJ playing the same music each week. I loved Cinders.

I'd love to live in Mumbles again but you've said you don't like rain. It rains a lot in Swansea.

Has Southwold already been suggested (it must have been). It's bloody full of owls around there. And has the artiest-fartiest pier you've ever seen. Seriously high property prices though, unless you look slightly more inland (Bungay and Halesworth are both lovely, although possibly a bit small after Brighton).

We're going on a day trip to Leigh on sea tomorrow. Just to have a look around you understand.... Sounds lovely and I'd love to live near the sea.

Mumbles is 3 miles from the edge of the Gower Peninsula, the Mumbles Mile is now a mile of varied restaurants from bistro, wholefood, spanish, italian etc. Not a single nightclub in mumbles anymore either. Not a drunk student in sight as they all now live (& drink) in swansea central and vacated at least 5 years ago - Mumbles Miles haydays were in the 80's and 90's and a lot has changed since then! I would never use Swansea to sell Bishopston/Mumbles/Gower in the same way that I would not use Redhill to sell Reigate (and if you dont want to venture to Swansea, you have no need to with the amenities west of the university). As you say - each to their own :o

"Mumbles Miles haydays were in the 80's" well that quite securely outs me age-wise

I remember doing the Mumbles Mile many times in 2000

Also been chewing over this dilemna for many a moon and have visited/stayed/friends and relatives in many of the places mentioned here. Only places I've been to that have that Brighton vibe without the scuzziness (!) are St Ives and Totnes (and maybe Whitstable). I also really liked Hebden Bridge/Stroud area but no seaside close by.

The area around Suffolk (Southwold/Aldeburgh/Snape) is lovely but sleepy out of season (not much work?) and lots of Boden clad/Hunter welly, second home owners at the weekends/holidays. Lewes again is great and is where Brighton people retire to but imo quite staid and middle class (but v friendly people). Suffolk and Lewes expensive housing.

Wouldn't go for Leigh on Sea (although nice enough place) - not arty/bohemian and too close to Southend/Canvey Island! Likely to stand out if you have a very alternative lifestyle.

Totnes would be my no 1 choice. River through town, lovely houses at reasonable prices and good schools. Nr to Dartmouth. Lots of quirky little pubs. Big enough to find work. Easy to commute to bigger towns (Exeter) if necessary. Good selection of shops/cafes/cinema/theatre etc.

Another place worth a visit too is Bridport/Lyme Regis area.

Never saw an owl in Totnes but pretty sure there will be plenty there!

MABS what are the chances of kidnapping you and dragging you here for a coffee?
I do like it, just feel a bit isolated as made friends quite easily in Brighton and just hasn't happened here yet...

100% chance Spot! love to see you. you just tell me when :) if you still have my no, text me , and if not, send me a pm hunny.

Sorry Kew - you're good company though! Areil it must have been a half or 3/4 mile in 2000, cant have taken you long, was Cindrellas still open? Think Neptunes closed 1999. I remember coming back from Surrey in late 1999 to a distinct (but lovely) lack of hen & stag parties. The then 20 pubs is now down to 5! One has even been turned into a Costa Coffee and 2 of the 5 are up for sale! It certainly makes for a different vibe which is sad for the kids as they have to trek into town for a clubbing night out but great for us a little long in the tooth - somewhere to sit in the remaining few and no fight to get to the bar!

hebden bridge. St Ives

Sorry dontrythis, turned your request to a debate about mumbles watering holes! Its really not like that anymore! I'll shut up now

We have been debating this very same issue (where to move to from Brighton - not the Mumbles pubs!) for about 6 years now and are still in Brighton. We did, strangely enough, come close to moving to Wales (dh is welsh) but never quite made the jump. Gower is beautiful, with some great schools. As is the area around Cowbridge, near Cardiff. I have come to believe that the vibrancy we all love about Brighton is the flipside of its negative points - therefore small, seaside places, however arty they may be, just don't have the same vibe. We are looking at the surrounding countryside - Hurst, Steyning, Wiston etc but you really don't get a lot for your money (especially compared to Wales or Dorset)...let's all agree on a place and move en masse!

I really like Lewes actually, but not sure if it's as quirky as I think it is, or just a tweedy-everyone's-nearly-dead place like my H thinks it is.

Lewes is nice, good vibe there, BUT murder with cars and parking.