Worthing, Littlehampton or somewhere else?

[Coachtripday]

All this virus madness has convinced DH and I to be bite the bullet and invest in a little place by the sea - which we will use as a holiday home / rental.

We need to within a short drive or train from London so looking like Worthing or Littlehampton for our small budget of around £150-180k. Not sure our budget would stretch to Brighton. We know nothing about these areas mind, just been randomly ogling ads on rightmove so far!

I'd welcome thoughts please on these two areas and anywhere else by the coast within a short distance from London?

TIA

I live in worthing (recently moved over from Brighton) and its lovely. Lots of trendy places popping up - cafes, salons, coffee shops etc. plus the beach here is great. But I'm not sure how far your budget would stretch, as it is quite expensive because it's a Brighton overspill location. Worth having a look on Rightmove though!

Worthing might still be a bit out of budget if you want somewhere in a nice area but it depends what size property you want.

If you go the other way down the coast from Brighton then you might find Hastings or St Leonard’s have slightly cheaper properties but still have access to lovely beaches and a good holiday rental market.

I live in Sutton and we go down to Worthing on day trips as it’s only 1h away. It’s quite a big town so I’m not sure it feels like a second home location to me personally. But I do love the promenade as it’s very very long and perfect for skate boarding/roller blading etc Good places to eat too and doesn’t get that busy + when the tide is out you get some lovely sand.

Locations that feel a bit more second home-y to me are the Rye area (sandy beaches) or Hythe (smaller than Worthing and cutesy).

Thanks for the responses. I should say we're only looking for a one bed flat - nothing fancy but obviously in an ok area with potential for renting out. Near to train station and shops.

@itchyfinger - are there any particular areas in Worthing you would recommend to look or more importantly areas to avoid?

@RowboatsinDisguise - thanks will take a look at Hastings and St Leonard's though we'd compromise the shorter travel time for less space

@Coachtripday if you want somewhere near the beach then really anywhere from Lancing down to Goring would suit, but if you want something closer to shops and restaurants then central worthing/west Worthing are lovely, some nice houses around. Goring is very nice but pricey.

As for areas to avoid, East Worthing is ok but just a bit rougher than the rest. Broadwater is a very sought after area but I would think it's a bit too far from the beach to be a holiday home.

I can comment well having lived all over London and Brighton too. Can confirm Worthing is a great place if you want:
-A lovely quiet beach
-Beautiful countryside and walking nearby
-Friendly safe community, quite diverse and queer friendly
-Very good cafes restaurants pubs and bars (both traditional and also natural wines bars and small plates etc, craft breweries for a bit of pizazz)
-Good schools
-Leafy parks
-Decent town centre with walkable shops
-Three train stations(!) and an easy enough commute straight to Victoria/East Croydon/Clapham, and Brighton of course
-Decent parking (especially compared to Brighton)
-And affordable homes! I bought my three bedroom house in a good area for only 30k more than my one bedroom flat in Brighton-For us it's been a no brainer and we love it, we're in our 30s and lots of our friends are following suit.
-Best areas: Check it out in person. Personally we're near the station on a leafy nice street, Tarring (West) is also desirable. But the best way to ascertain is to go and walk around.