Crawley - what's it like?

[rainbowinthesky]

Anyone commute from here into London? What's the area like re schools, employment, house prices??

TIA

Good shopping, a few nice areas, lots of not so nice areas. I would look at Horley, Reigate or even Horsham over Crawley tbh.

Crawley is cheaper than the Reigate, Horsham and I think Horley. You need to be carefully in Horley that you aren't on the flight path for Gatwick, also applies to parts of Crawley. Can't comment on schools in Horsham or Crawley, state schools in Horley not brilliant at senior level. Reigate senior schools ok, juniors have had problems recently with not enough spaces. Fair number of private schools in Reigate at senior and junior level. Reigate expensive for housing, 4 bed in town will set you back upwards of 500k, most are more. Horsham not quite as expensive, further out so longer commute.

Thank. Food for though. I like Reigate although don't know the area well.

Horsham is much better for schools, def at secondary level and I think at primary too. Crawley has many more not so nice areas. Horsham is worth a look much bigger than Reigate and less expensive.

You need to be picky where you pick, but there are some very nice parts that are close to fast train lines (Three Bridges is especially good). The train commute is probably better than the other places mentioned (more trains and fast)

Schools - the primaries vary vastly, as above be careful where you are though and there are some very good ones. Secondaries - a good choice, some very good ones too (without the single sex thing Horsham has going), I'm not aware that people have particular difficulty getting into the secondary schools they want.

Employment - lots of opportunities within Crawley and nearby.

Good facilities - eg Tilgate Park, cinema, shops, K2 leisure centre.

Basically I know plenty of people from Horsham and Haywards Heath and Horley who are very snobby about Crawley, but come into the area to work and to shop and to use all the facilities.

we live in crawley and it's really quite nice actually

it has a bad reputation, i am not entirely sure why, but the vast majority of it is actually really nice.
we have lovely parks, a great range of shops in the town centre, and some really fabulous schools.
house prices are not too bad i don't think, you can get a 3 bed semi for around £200k (more in the more sought-after areas, and less in the worse areas)

and yes, if you're commuting into London then I would recommend looking for houses in Three Bridges (where mainline train station is) , Maidenbower or Pound Hill.

Everywhere you live, they will be always bad areas and Crawkey is no exception. Moved here 3 yrs ago and no regrets. My area is quiet, though it is in ifield but it's closer to Charlwood. No through road so no one goes through the estate unless you live there. You can get a 4 bedroom detached for approx £350,000. 45 mins train journey to London victoria. It's better than maidenbower which I think is over rated. The bedrooms are so small.