To not understand the Hastings hate (or the Eastbourne love!) on MN

[almostautumn]

DH and I are considering moving to East Sussex with our young DC and really like the look of Hastings and St Leonard’s. We’ve visited a number of times and thought it was a really nice place, with some quaint streets and lovely properties.

However, I’ve just searched Hastings on MN to get some opinions and on all three threads I’ve looked at where posters have been asking about Hastings, they’ve had lots of negative replies, with numerous posters telling the OP how lovely Eastbourne is and that she would be much better off moving there.

I don’t get it - as I said, I’ve visited Hastings five or six times and thought it seems lovely! I’ve never been to Eastbourne but searching properties on Rightmove it all looks very uninspiring. Plus DH’s parents (who live fairly near there) said it’s too “old” for them - and they’re in their late 70s!

Am I missing something?

I think Hastings has a reputation for being quite rough?

I noticed a bit of that, but it didn’t seem to be any worse than what you get in most seaside towns or cities. Several of the Kent coastal towns I’ve been to seem far rougher!

Some of the London Boroughs moved their homeless/ people on the housing waiting list into housing in Hastings ( and Kent seaside towns,) in the 90’s and 00’s. Camden council particularly rehoused a large number of people with drug and alcohol problems.
It may have stopped now but l know it was controversial and created a disproportionate legacy of problems in the town.

Perhaps a weekend in Hastings would be a good idea.

Perhaps a weekend in Hastings would be a good idea.

As stated in my OP, I’ve visited five or six times already.

If you’ve been a number of times and feel happy with the area, then trust your own impression. It sounds like you want a particularly attractive house, find Hastings pretty and you’re ok with it being gritty. So Hastings might just be perfect for what you’re after.

When people on MN ask for help with areas, then often ask about ‘nice’ (perceived as middle class?) and the more specific ones tend to focus on things such as budget, schools, commute, crime rates, amenities etc.

I live in Hastings - it has lots of the same problems that other seaside towns have eg my friend lives in Dover and they have similar issues. I never understand why people pile onto Hastings in particular TBH!! Drug and alcohol problems exist in lots of towns like it, it's not exclusive to Hastings.

I guess maybe it hasn't the "glamour" of places like Brighton? which is obviously nearby and has a lot of famous nightlife/DJ's etc.

It has a great stock of housing, really happy with my house, and several really super parks and open spaces. Lots to do in Sussex - NT properties etc. Some lovely events pre-Covid and George street really has some lovely shops, restaurants and bars.

Parts of Hastings are really rough. Parts of Eastbourne are too, but not as much as Hastings. Hastings is generally more deprived than Eastbourne too.
Personally I wouldn’t live in either town!

I spent a lot of my childhood in Hastings, and it has always been very much a town of two halves, and does definitely have a real dark side in terms of drugs/poverty/social problems. That said, you would find similar in most seaside towns. I would probably do a bit more visiting before committing though...

Well yes if you hand round with the drunks in Robertson square its undoubtedly rough!

But some areas are lovely - there are some lovely streets around the St Leonards side of Alexandra Park, very middle class. Up by the Ridge also you can see some very big places, clearly people who have some money.

and you’re ok with it being gritty

“Gritty” just isn’t a word I would associate with Hastings. Margate maybe!

I always thought Hastings had a bad drug problem. I remember hearing it referred to as the drug capital of the south east a few years ago. No idea if that's changed. Some of the older streets in Hastings look pretty and the kids enjoy the arcades but I'd rather visit than live there.

Eastbourne is fine but I always consider it to be for an older demographic.

What about Battle?

I am always puzzled by the Hastings hate on MN. It usually seems to come from people who don’t actually live in the area! Personally I much prefer Hastings to Eastbourne and Brighton.

I live in Hastings - you couldn't pay me to live in Eastbourne!

I spent my teens years in Hastings (90s) and would most definitely describe it as gritty. I then visited for work for work a few times late 2000s (mostly St Leonards) and got the same vibe. Needles regularly lying round on streets etc, lots of violence and deprivation. The Old Town was generally nicer.

Don't have any up to date information but get the impression it's got a bit trendy in certain areas as it's cheapish and you can find nice period properties.

Hastings isn’t somewhere I would consider moving too. I have always found the town full of drinkers/drug users etc. Just doesn’t feel a safe place. I wouldn’t want my DS’s going for a night out in Hastings tbh. Eastbourne can be rough in the town centre also, but a much nicer vibe than Hastings IMHO. If Hastings was a popular & nice place to live, the property prices would be higher.

I live in Hastings, wave to Vintagevixen I think a lot has been done to clean it up and regenerate it in recent years, house prices in St Leonards have risen massively in the last 10 years.
It does have its problems like many towns but generally if you leave people alone they will leave you alone, it’s a town with lots of quirky characters but we all just rub along together really.

What I’ve found on MN is that you will get people who don’t live in a town saying what a shit hole it is. It’s never the people who actually live there, just people who went there once 20 years ago.

I live in a town that is referred to as a dump and dreadful place to live and I love it.
My parents live in a town that always comes up as an amazing place to live and super desirable. It’s very pretty but dull as all hell.
Far better lifestyle in my town.

People on MN can be dreadful snobs and also decide that a place is awful based on a limited experience.

What I’ve found on MN is that you will get people who don’t live in a town saying what a shit hole it is.

Quite. We’ve lived in Hastings for the past 7 years. Yes the town has its problems, but so do many other towns - especially the seaside ones. I have never ever seen a discarded needle or people injecting drugs in Hastings. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen - I am aware that it does - but it’s interesting that it’s always the posters who don’t live here who claim to see people injecting on every street corner.

We moved down here from a chocolate box village in the Home Counties. It was horribly snobby and insular. We much prefer it here and love being by the sea. Oh and the house prices have continued to rise steadily here when they’ve been stagnant in many other areas of the country, so living here can’t be that terrible!

Waving to you too User96365931and Catkintoadflax!

I moved here from London - I feel safe here, its way quieter. Granted I live a bit back from the centre, am near Alexandra Park. For some reason Hastings gets the hate more than Margate, Dover, Ramsgate, Brighton and all the other towns that really have similar problems, I just don't know why!!

I saw exactly the same amount of dealing and druggies etc where I lived near Leytonstone, plus my daughter had a lockdown at her London school when there was a stabbing outside the main gates, plus someone tried to kick my front door in. So, you know, these things happen all over and coming from London I've seen a lot of it anyway.

My point is - its everywhere. I lived in Shoreditch in the early 1990's and boy was that dicey at night!!

And nothing beats a long walk on the beach at low tide - love it! Plus our COVID rates are way low......!

Just like you would no more about the nice and rough areas where you live, people in East Sussex know that Hastings is rough. The old town is lovely, but the huge drug problem, unemployment and anti social behaviour is well known throughout Sussex.

You wouldn't necessarily encounter that visiting for a day or weekend, or of you're new to the area so maybe trust the people who live nearby and read the local newspapers?

I used to live in Camber and spent a lot of time in Hastings as a teenager, my partner lived in Ore so we spent most weekends around the town. It is true that it has some issues with drink and drugs but what towns don't? It's a lovely town, it has so much to do there too and so many things near by, I don't really get the Hastings hate either. If you've fallen in love then I'd say take the plunge and start looking at some properties, but maybe do some research into the surrounding towns and villages too

www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/property/sussex-village-everyone-wants-move-4676221?fbclid=IwAR1K6eG3198CT9ovmodxM23TbFXWqRBdAajEMGzvtCM54ax6T0m9vhObELI

@UsernameN0Tavailable

Just like you would no more about the nice and rough areas where you live, people in East Sussex know that Hastings is rough. The old town is lovely, but the huge drug problem, unemployment and anti social behaviour is well known throughout Sussex.

You wouldn't necessarily encounter that visiting for a day or weekend, or of you're new to the area so maybe trust the people who live nearby and read the local newspapers?

But locals have commented on the thread - and have given positive feedback on the town. I've lived in many other places across the UK, and I feel much safer in Hastings than I've felt anywhere else.

I've spent a lot of time in Camber, Hastings and Eastbourne. All of them have issues, bout so do most towns In the UK. I wouldn't bring uploads in Camber because apart from the beach there really isnt much to do. Eastbourne really is the older generation so I would go for Hastings.

Margate wouldn't go near with a barge pole regardless of gentrification, it's not gentrified enough.