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Original poster

Questions about Lewes and that area

39 replies

hercules1 · 12/08/2007 12:29

Okay having ummed and ahhed and changed my mind lots of times I am going to have a look at places a little closer to where we are now so that ds can stay in his school and me in my job.

How is the Lewes area to live in, commute to SOuth London? I could drive and take ds to school each day on my way to work.

WHat do you think?

OP posts:
Original poster
hercules1 · 12/08/2007 12:35

Can go up to 250 but would rather be a bit less as dh might give up work for a bit.

What areas should we avoid and what are good especially for primary schools?

OP posts:
LIZS · 12/08/2007 12:48

Have you tired the commute ? Could take a lot longer than you think.

Original poster
hercules1 · 12/08/2007 12:49

No. What about Uckfield? Where would be commutable?

OP posts:
alycat · 12/08/2007 12:52

Which line / station are you planning to use? Uckfield is quite a way, Lewes even further!

LIZS · 12/08/2007 12:52

Train or car and to where ? By train Lewes is ok to London(fairly frequent and direct) but takes about an hour to an hour and a quarter iirc, mroe if you need to connect to somewhere.

Original poster
hercules1 · 12/08/2007 12:56

Would need to get to Croydon area.

OP posts:
WideWebWitch · 12/08/2007 13:19

Hello Herc, fwiw, I had a browse at houses in Dartmouth online yesterday and was briefly nostalgic but your threads have made me think about whether we did the right thing moving and I really think we did, I don't regret it at all. Interestingly, I see the house of a couple I liked very much is on the market too and I do wonder if they've decided to go back to Clerkenwell, from whence they came.

I think you should buy that commuterland book. And you should do the journey to see what you think. What sort of house are you looking for? Up to £250k?

WideWebWitch · 12/08/2007 13:22

Moving out of Devon back to Bristol (which was also wrong but only because we couldn't afford to buy because of house price to income ratio) and then on again to the SE was a good thing I meant. Now we're in the countryside but only an hour from London. I don't regret leaving Devon at all.

Original poster
hercules1 · 12/08/2007 13:23

Thanks. Yes, I had a long chat with my db who is down htere and it's too much of a risk for us. I would like to be able to commute to work and ds's school at least for a while but be as you say an hour or so from London. GOing to go now and explore some areas!

OP posts:
ickleannie · 12/08/2007 13:52

Lewes is very expensive and to be honest the drive up to Croydon is horrid once off the M23 into Coulsden - but I suppose it depends on your tolerence for sitting in traffic, mine is pretty low - I would still expect it to take you an hour in rush hour. That said Lewes is a beautiful town with good rail link to Croydon. Uckfield would certainly get you more for your money, although that commute would be no shorter but prettier cross country The rail link from Uckfiled is not great, slower than Lewes, but may be cheaper. All the surrounding villages are pretty nice, but will be more expensive than Uckfield. Lovely part of the world, but I would try the commute first - hated it when I did it Good luck

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 12/08/2007 13:58

Hi Hercules. I live in Lewes - don't know about the commute, but it really is a lovely town & a great place to bring up children. All the schools are good, it is pretty, the countryside is beautiful & easily accessible, we have the oldest lido in the country which is fab in the summer, loads of nice independent shops, a great arts scene, a real community where people look out for & care about their neighbours... I could go on. Moving here was the most sensible decision I have ever made!

hippipotami · 12/08/2007 14:33

Sorry, not sure where you currently are, but what would the logistics be of your son staying at his school? How would you arrange playdates? Would you drive ds and his friend to Lewes and then expect friends' mum to come and collect her child? Apologies if your son is past the whole playdate stage, but even if he is in secondary school, the friend thing will still be a struggle I reckon.

Commuting from Lewes to Croydon sounds hellish. I commuted a similar distance for only 3 months. By the end of the third month I was ready to chuck it all in. Honestly, you may have a bigger house, but your quality of life and sanity will suffer.

Not wanting to put the kaibosh on it, we are in a similar situation to you - living in expensive surrey, in large village surrounded by 4 and 5 bed detached and no option to upgrade out of our 2.5 bed semi. (.5 of a bed because we converted the loft. Could that be an option for you?)

WideWebWitch · 12/08/2007 15:07

Herc is there another solution to getting what you want without moving? What is it you don't like about your current area? What do you want out of this move?

LIZS · 12/08/2007 15:23

dh says the Uckfield line isn't quite as bad as it used to be - not so many cancellations . From Lewes if you need East Croydon it is fairly straight forward, and at least you should get a seat, otherwise I suppose you'd need to go on the tram. I'm sure you could get a 3 bed for 250k nearer though.

chocolatemummy · 12/08/2007 15:28

Lewes is lovely litle town, quite clicky but very nice, lovely pubs and little independent shops and beautiful south downs all around it, Only thig is if you are looking for a family home for £250,000 you'll be lucky to get somewere in lewes

Burgess Hill is alot easier to get to Croydon it is literally just off A23 and a bit cheaper than Lewes, its a developing town but very easy accesss to Brighton, lewes, london etc

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 12/08/2007 16:03

Sorry chocolatemummy, but Burgess Hill is a gruesome place! I moved to Lewes to get away from Burgess Hill. Horrible, horrible, souless, cultureless dormitory town. I grew up there, and lived there for 3 years as a single parent, but didn't get to know anyone during that time. No one talks to each other. There is nothing to do, for children or adults. Nowhere to eat or drink, apart from a few nasty pubs outside which youths can be seen beating the crap out of each other every Friday night. Schools not bad, but I would rather have stuck forks in my eyes than continue living in that hell hole.

Nice easy commute to London though, I have to agree. In fact the best thing I can say about BH is it's easy to escape from

chocolatemummy · 12/08/2007 16:05

lol oh dear, well i have never lived there but my inlaws do and it doesnt seem that bad. I was thinking about her budget and commute needs really, Lewes is lovely as i said but pricey and awkward commute to croydon

LIZS · 12/08/2007 16:10

When we were kids we had a really rude name for Burgess Hill, I couldn't understand why I was told not to repeat it to anyone who lived there !! Sounds like it hasn't changed much (we did use the pool there sometimes though)

chocolatemummy · 12/08/2007 16:13

yes triangle pool is nice, I live in coventry now so can hardly talk much but used to live in Brighton

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 12/08/2007 16:13

Ooh... just re-read & I sound like a proper drama queen. Sorry, but I flipping hate the place

I think BH is getting pricier actually - my parents live near BH station. They've just had their house valued & can afford to by a similar sized property in Lewes if they decide to sell.

Does sound like a bit of a bummer commuting from Lewes to Croydon though.

Cammelia · 12/08/2007 16:13

Soulless exactly the word I was going to use to describe Burgess Hill.

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 12/08/2007 16:14

Lol at LIZS. I think I know the name you refer to...

Cammelia · 12/08/2007 16:15

Give me a clue?

TheMoistWorldOfSeptimusQuench · 12/08/2007 16:18

Well the last bit is "hole".

Very purile.

chocolatemummy · 12/08/2007 16:19

trouble is down there, there are few little places and Brighton that are actually nice to live in-Lewes, Cuckfield, possibly seaford and the rest are pretty depressing such as newhaven, lancing, shoreham, worthing, haywards heath etc, ......... where you can get a decent home but live a miserable life, thats why we left