Moving to Lewes

[Artichokes]

I posted iEducation but have had no replies so thought i would try here.

We are very seriously considering moving to Lewes in Sussex. I am really excited but would welcome advice on areas to house hunt in and I would welcome info on schools. In Sept we will have a Y4, a Y1 and a nursery child.

DH will be commuting on the train to London.

I have friends who live there and love it and can ask them, but it's v expensive and parking is a royal pain! Have you thought about Eastbourne (old town) - commutable and more for your money.

Lewes is lovely, a really nice place to be located. Sadly I don't have any experience with their primary schools, but would like to confirm that it is a good choice of town. Lovely vibe, plenty of independent shops & restaurants, great Brewery and quite good transport links. I agree that parking can be a pain & they do have very keen parking wardens. But equally, due to it's well-renowned expertise in pyrotechnics, the parking meters often get blown up

We are moving from London so although Lewes is expensive you still get more for your money than here.

Im glad to hear nice things about it. I've visited a few times and really liked the feel of it.

I live in Lewes. All except one of the primary schools are pretty good here. Wallands, Western road and Southover are the favoured three but Malling is also good. I have dc in Wallands, which has a nursery attached to the school for the year below reception age children or St Mary's nursery is around the corner for younger children.

With regards to house hunting a lot would depend on your budget. House prices have risen dramatically here. Landport and Malling are the local 'estates'. Otherwise you have a great pool of options open to you. The Southover area is closest to the station, but it is still only a 15 min walk from the Wallands/a Western road area.

Tbh I don't think you can go wrong in lewes. It has a lovely vibe, although it can be a little pretentious at times and the parking can be a nightmare. I live two mins from the town centre, pells pool and local parks and 5 mins from the train station. It's a great place to bring up children.

Do you find it friendly FatAmysSidekick? My only hesitation is leaving great friends behind. Is it easy to meet people? And are newcomers welcomed?

Our budget would I think allow us to buy wherever really. We are selling a reasonably big family home in London to buy there. I think DH would want to walk to the station within 15 mins and I would want to be in the high street within 10 to 15 mins walk too.

Are the secondary schools also good?

I moved here eight years ago and have met some lovely people. People that I can call friends and with whom I socialise with. There is a great community feeling to Lewes and if your willing to join in I'm positive you'll fit right in. Having said that there does tend to be an element of those who have lived and known each other for years grouping together. Although I think that's the case wherever you go.

Secondary school wise there is the 'Priory' which had an 'outstanding' Ofsted report. My dc are still in primary so I have no first hand knowledge, but speaking to other parents the majority are sending their dc to the 'priory' to follow along with other siblings. I've heard no bad reports about the school.

From what you've said I would look at houses in the Southover area which is where 'Anne of cleves' house is located as well as the beautiful Grange gardens. The Wallands area would also be in good proximity to the station and has some beautiful tree lined streets.

If you were seriously considering Lewes, definitely come down for the day. There's lots to see and do. We have the lovely and popular 'Bills' as well as lots of independent shops. You could vist the Grange gardens, Anne of cleves house or the walk around the battle of lewes ruins. We even have a castle on the high street. All within walking distance.

I adore lewes but we didn't move there. I just want to mention a few things to think about.

1. Money wasn't an issue for us but we couldn't find a suitable house in walking distance from the station because DH wanted something detached with a garden and parking.
2. Parking at station basically impossible so you must live close by.
3. Long commute! Seems doable but my friends ended up moving further north in sussex after a year because they were so exhausted by the commute. Reliability on the line has been awful this year. Do rent a cottage for a week and try it out.

Those are really useful points Muscat. I do worry that the commute is a bit much for DH but we love Lewes and don't fancy traditional commuter belt territory. Where did you move instead?

I always think Lewes is lovely, but read an article a few years ago about a mixed-race family who moved there and got a lot of hostility, which makes me view it in a different light.

Sorry I didn't reply Artichokes. Been out and about in the nice weather!

We moved to a village near Haywards Heath. Haywards Heath is the only decent station to commute from in Sussex. Trains leave every few mins into Victoria and LB/thameslink. When there are problems on the line they always try to get trains as far as HH and then use buses. Take a look at the timetable to see how great it is. I didn't want to live this far north but every day I count my blessings that things worked out this way.

However... The whole Brighton-lewes lentil-eating hippy thing isn't to be found here. Most of sussex is true blue Tory land. There are hippies in every village if you want to find them, but you have to find smart ways to search them out!