Moving from London

[mabooshka]

Hello I was wondering if anyone could help me here?

My partner and I are thinking of moving to East Sussex, we are both from London and need somewhere a little more calmer (too much hussle and bustle) we also have a little girl 3yo.

My DP has his heart set on Hastings but i'm a little uneasy as I am looking for good schools and keep finding people either love it or hate it. We would ideally like somewhere by the coast, but I have no knowledge of East Sussex..
Any East Sussex mums here to help give a bit of advice?

Thanks :)

We live just along the coast from Hastings in Bexhill on Sea (moved here from London a couple of years ago) and love it. Lots of fantastic schools, really safe and clean, very lush and green in and around, lovely seafront and beaches and a very relaxed pace of life. It doesn't have the buzz of Hastings but there are lots of different new restaurants popping up and the De La Warr Pavilion always has interesting stuff going on (and it also lacks the rough/seedy side that Hastings & St Leonards have).

Hastings is definitely cooler though and has a really artsy vibe. It also has some really beautiful architecture (as does St Leonards). You can get some beautiful houses down there for a fraction of the cost of London. It seems that a lot of people are relocating there from London. The Old Town is fantastic for a night out. We haven't been to the new pier yet but it's supposed to be great. It is still quite deprived though and does have a noticeably rough feel to it in places. Not sure about schools there but from what I've heard they're not great. I'm sure there'll be others along with more experience of H & StL that can fill you in in more detail.

Thank you for your response!! Really? We were originally looking at Bexhill on Sea because of how rough St.Leonards and Hastings is, but was told to avoid it. Think I will give it another looking into!

I don't know the area in a personal capacity but from a professional perspective I would confirm that the schools are not great on the whole. I would suggest you gather school recommendations and extend your search from there - with an eye on secondary, too. Be prepared for the quality and choice to be very different to London.