Brighton, Hastings, Margate or Crystal Palace?

[lamii]

We are EU couple with baby currently living in Scandinavia but I am obsessed with moving back to the UK. I would like to live in a cosmopolitan area, fairly safe with a friendly crowd. What do you think?

Not Hastings and probably not Margate. Do you need to be with easy access to London or any where else?

Brighton is great and so is Crystal Palace. But why only Crystal Palace out of everywhere in London?

Definitely not Margate.

Margate lol!

Brighton is lovely. Hastings is ok. C Palace i have no idea.

As a previous poster said, do you need access to London? Commuting?

My mixed race niece had the misfortune of living in Hastings for a time. Cosmopolitan it is not.

Out of your (seemingly random) list I would choose Crystal palace.

I’m assuming Crystal Palace because of its more independent bohemian vibe. If you work in London, this is the best choice. Otherwise I’d go with Brighton. Margate is probably miles cheaper than all the others!

Pick Brighton or Crystal Palace. Margate is a complete dump.

Brighton. Has an alternative feel. One of its constituencies elected the only Green MP at Westminster. Has the Dome for music/comedy gigs, the Theatre Royal, an arts festival, seaside “stuff”, easy to get to London, rail services along the south coast, lovely downland nearby. Don’t know about schools or activities specifically for children but doubtless others can advise.

Why not Margate? We were there on a visit recently. There were many parts which were dreary seaside town but some very trendy bit which had an arty Shoreditch feel. It seems to be rapidly gentrifying.

Brighton but not hastings

Brighton..

Why Crystal Palace? There isnt much there!

With Brighton, you ought to research trains into London if you are commuting. Southerns trains not too long ago had horrendous strikes lasting for months

I swear you’ve asked this before and been given quite comprehensive answers (if not, another EU couple want to move back and are considering the exact same places).

Really really not Margate or Hastings. Have you been to either of those places on a non sunny day?

It’s brexit and UKIP central. Housing is cheap for a reason.

Lots of people recommend Folkestone as having nice property stock, cheap with a good but expensive Trainline to London. I have no personal experience in Folkestone.

It’s brexit and UKIP central. Housing is cheap for a reason.

And obviously every single person on mums net must be a lefty remainer at the very least!

Thought about Whitstable, Canterbury (nice mix of city with easy access to the sea), Sandwich or Deal?

Basically Kent but not Margate

The OP said she wanted somewhere cosmopolitan. That rules out Hastings and Margate.

Crystal Palace is great. We chose it over Brighton as (at the time, c.6 years ago, dunno if still true) you got more for your money in CP house and garden-wise, and it was more diverse - for all Brighton's bohemian vibe, the schools we looked at were a lot less mixed, maybe that's inevitable out of London. Never regretted our choice. Still easy to visit Brighton, but got all the benefits of London yet with lots of green space, indie shops and restaurants, good schools and strong community.

If you like CP, also worth considering other spots on the overground thereabouts - Forest Hill, Sydenham, Penge.

When some of you say Hastings and Margate are dumps, what is a dump for you? Clapton, Tottenham Hale?

Have you been to either of those places on a non sunny day? ->good point, no actually

Before committing to moving to either Hastings or Margate, I'd recommend you spending a week in either place in the middle of winter when it's super drizzly and you don't see the sun for days. I like both of them but we only visit in the summer. I also agree there's pockets of interesting stuff going on but they're both very deprived towns overall and very, very different from London.

I'm not sure they're truly comparable to Clapton and Tottenham Hale. Both are very multi-cultural and (economically) diverse neighbourhoods.

I like Brighton and you at least get more of a bigger city experience.

Also recommend you look at other spots on the Overground around Crystal Palace. Penge seems to be quite up and coming these days.

Brighton but it is expensive to rent/buy

Depends on your budget & requirements.

Why not Margate or Hastings? Both are lovely in the right area, I have lots of family in Margate and Hastings lots of friends.
Only down side for Hastings is a bit difficult to commute to well anywhere, Margate is better and their are lots of nice places a round I live about dead centre between the two places and I live in the perfect place.