Relocating to Brighton

[Hannon]

Hello, I'm looking on advice on moving to Brighton. We currently live in the Netherlands (but are originally from the UK) and are planning to relocate to Brighton in a few months time. I don't know the area so I wondered if anyone had any advice on good places to live in, or around, Brighton? We are planning a weekend visit in July to check out the area so I want to make the most of our time there. We have a 9 month old son so ideally we would like to live in a family friendly area. I'd love to live near the beach but not sure if we can afford that! We will rent to begin with and then plan to buy as soon as we find our feet and know where we want to live permanently. We would like to be within walking distance of the usual amenities - supermarket, shops etc. so if there are any great towns close to Brighton, or smaller suburbs within Brighton that fit the bill then please let me know. We need to find a 2 bed place to rent 1100 max - and then when we buy our maximum will be about 350K. All ideas, suggestions and advice is really welcome. Thanks in advance :)

The fiveways area is very family friendly with lovely parks and good schools.

Brighton is quite expensive to buy/rent but Fiveways is a good area.

Thanks both. I've had a look at Fiveways but I'm worried that it's a bit out of our budget to buy. How far is it from the centre of Brighton? Do you know anything about Haywards Heath, Portslade and Seaford? Are they nice areas?

On a separate note I notice your username is Pilates.. does that mean you can recommend a good studio in Brighton? ;-)

Hi, I can help with Portslade. Lots of good primary schools to choose from, 30mins max on the bus to central Brighton. It's very family friendly I'd say, lots of people seem to move out of Brighton centre to get a house with a garden here.
There's loads of playgroups and parks, Easthill is particularly nice.
I have family that live in Seaford, I think it's ok but it's quite a distance from Brighton really, the rail service isn't great from there and of you get stuck on the coast road there's nowhere to go so if you are looking at the Brighton lifestyle I'd avoid it to be honest.
Hangelton might be worth exploring but I'm not sure if it would be too tight on your housing budget.
Good luck

Op, sorry can't recommend a studio haven't lived there for over 20 years, sadly. Good luck.

Brighton is super expensive everywhere sadly even the outskirts.
Portslade is close enough to Brighton centre and close enough to the sea if your budget can stretch to it. Avoid mile oak and hangleton if you want the leftie hippy Brighton culture.
Going further west, southwick is meh but close to Brighton, shoreham is lovely but £££.
If you go north, haywards heath and burgess hill are very meh, as are all towns east of Brighton to be honest. You might as well avoid the south east all together if it's the culture and atmosphere you want. There are cheaper and nicer areas.

Saltdean is nice, not far East of Brighton. Good bus service into town, access to the beach, a few shops and a beautiful outdoor pool in the form of the newly refurbished

Saltdean Lido

Easy to look for property in the Brighton area here

Latest Homes

Thanks all and thank you for the link PestoSwimissimos. This is all really helpful - sounds like Saltdean and Portslade are worth exploring then. My partners job will be based in the centre of Brighton so it would be nice for him to have a short commute. Thanks for all of your advice :)

And if Saltdean's too expensive, then Woodingdean is quite nice too. Again, great bus links into town, nice location up on the Downs, but slightly cheaper.

Hassocks is worth a look. Short train ride to Brighton, very family friendly with excellent schools.

Haywards Heath is a bice town, but very different from Brighton. If you are tempted by Brighton's liberalness, culture etc, HH is not for you. HH is much more of a typical conservative commuter town, with a huge proportion of the population hopping on the train to London every morning. That said, it has a nice array of restaurants, parks and easy access to the countryside/ trainline.

Brighton is super expensive everywhere sadly even the outskirts.
This^
Portslade is close enough to Brighton centre and close enough to the sea if your budget can stretch to it. Avoid mile oak and hangleton if you want the leftie hippy Brighton culture.
Portslade is not a nice area - i would avoid it (i worked in Fishersgate for a few years), Hangleton is nicer (but not hippy style)
Hangleton also is 'Hove' (I lived there for a while)

Going further west, southwick is meh but close to Brighton, shoreham is lovely but £££.
If you go north, haywards heath and burgess hill are very meh, as are all towns east of Brighton to be honest. You might as well avoid the south east all together if it's the culture and atmosphere you want. There are cheaper and nicer areas.

Haywards Heath is nowhere near Brighton, and is also commuter town (Burgess Hill is like its like sibling)

Have a look at Seaford, its not too bad, there are also some villages around the Newhaven area that arent too bad (South Heighton, Denton, Mount Pleasant - they're not in Newhaven really, and feel very different) There's the cool bonfire vibe there as well - 30 mins on the train to Brighton, and Lewes is quite close for naice shopping

Thanks so much to everyone has had posted a message. It's my first time using mumsnet and I can't believe how useful it's been and how helpful you all are! Amazing. Thanks so much :)

Brighton peeps - whats the situation with Southern - how are the trains running?

Hannon,

I am moving there myself in a couple of weeks time. Fiveways Preston Park area. Like you renting and then looking to buy. I met a family who live in that area and they said they felt it was the nicest part of Brighton they had lived in. Blakers Park is close by and large Preston Park. They have two small kids. My daughter starts Brighton uni in Sept and will be renting in the town centre. You can find rentals for your price range in the centre but you have to look around. Good luck with it all.