Moving to Brighton with 2 boys primary and seconday - Opinions on Saltdeal or Portslade??

[LindaBonSkil]

Hello! We're thinking of moving to Brighton with our 2 sons (7 and 12 yo), Brighton's school admissions frightens me as also do the house prices! Our budget is around 475-500K. We'd like a bit of life and things to do, but the parking in some areas, and especially the uncertainty of secondary school places, are a nightmare..

So, we've started considering Portslade or Saltdean. Schools? Beach? family life? Any opinions on either would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Probably a really stupid question, but are you absolutely set on Brighton? We are in Folkestone and lots of people we’ve met since we’ve moved down are from Brighton or have chosen Folkestone over Brighton because it’s a similar sort of artsy town (though more as Brighton was about ten years ago rather than as it is currently) but money goes much further. 500k here should get you a decent sized detached easily. We moved from London eighteen months ago and children (similar ages) have settled brilliantly at great schools. Just a thought...

No one seems to have replied.

I am on the other side of the world but mil lives in Saltdean and I have lived there for a couple of years.

House prices seem good, the local state schools are rated good and have excess capacity. DH would walk to Longhill.

The park on the seafront is good, the Lido has an enthusiastic community committee. See Google, Fb etc. I didn't have children at the time so can't comment on the social fabric/police statistics etc. The promenade along Brighton seafront ends at Saltdean. Walk or cycle to Brighton Marina, into town or further. Plenty of walking over the downs just behind. I did think that as I was having to live in England, I was living in a nice spot.

Re public transport, from where I come from, I consider bus services good into Brighton. Trains to London, well, read the papers. The motorways make getting elsewhere reasonably simple.

I enjoyed living in Saltdean. Being on the Channel, there is a breeze or wind much of the time but I found that the wind blew the weather in and would blow the weather further on. Summer evenings were lovely. You can check Shoreham airport webcam for what's happening anytime.

At that budget I would question why you'd be looking as far out as portslade or saltdean

If you put one mile from Preston park into Rightmove you'll find lovely houses in your budget (maybe look to 550 for shits and giggles).

Hollingdean / 5 ways is probs where I'd look. Will get you into Dorothy Stringer, Varndean and Patcham. The first two are amazing schools. My DD is going to Varndean in sept and honestly there was v little to choose between the two.

For the youngest my kids love balfour but all the schools are good.

Is there a reason for needing parking?
I use my car more than most as I work from home so run my GF into town, as well as the kids to a club on weds and popping into town in the day (lazy! 20 min walk) but everything is so close and the buses are so good, and parking is so expensive that most people don't use their cars that much. Not like I did when I lived in the suburbs.

I'm on the cusp of parking zones and J can be tricky to find a spot sometimes, but the neighbouring two or three zones are really really clear.

I'd defo give some thought to more central areas and comprising on the parking.

FWIW I don't know give very well, so there may be more places to consider on the hove side. When I moved here I needed access to London so PP station was important

One more thing on parking

A friend recently moved here and mentioned what he and his wife called "the Brighton park".

"It's crazy, you guy just stop in the street whenever you like, you never see double parking like this anywhere else".

It's true - residential streets have such little traffic no one thinks twice about double parking to get the shopping in, dropping a kid somewhere, or just having a chat.