Moving from London to Lewes?

[Lewesq4]

Did anyone do it? How did you find it? Was it a culture shock after being in London? Was it easy to make friends and find things to do locally?

My big fear is leaving London and regretting it

(I’ve started a few threads today about moving schools and moving to Lewes - I think today is my overthinking day!)

I absolutely agree with @siprup. By East Sussex (discounting Brighton which really is its own little world) it’s a very liberal middle class town - one of the few places in the county that had a majority pro Remain vote. Yes there is a small element of idiots but believe me you will find them absolutely everywhere outside of London. If you wandered round with a Hijab as @Ifailed suggests, not that I’ve done that but I wouldn’t imagine you’d have a day that was different to any other outside of a major conurbation. There are also quite a few Sussex students either living in or visiting Lewes - many of them a more lefty opinionated lot you’d be hard pushed to find (speaking as an ex Sussex lefty & opinionated student!).

We didn’t live that far from Lewes in East Sussex, there was a small number of locals whose mindsets were stuck somewhere in the 70’s (referring charmingly to the local shop run by Sri Lankan’s as the P**i shop). But it was also a community with a lot of DFL’s - various musicians, artists, writers, librarians and commuting professionals. Basically you find your own gang like everywhere. You’ll meet them at school. Join clubs and local community groups - you will have to make a bit of an effort.

Both DH and I are screamingly left wing middle class stereotypes and my eldest DD is mixed race. I’m not going to disagree that the first year outside our like minded London bubble was a bit surreal at times. Once we got over ourselves, stopped seeing ourselves as outsiders and actually made an effort (which I wasn’t particularly used to doing), we found numerous people very like ourselves.

Sorry that should be @elprup, not siprup. Apologies siprup for the miss tag!

Lewes is great. Lovely pubs, proper history, and close to Brighton. If I moved back to East Sussex, I would choose Lewes (I grew up in a nearby village).

I can’t speak for Lewes itself, but we found our village nearby to be very friendly and we’d made lots of friends within a year. Like anywhere, it helps if you’ve got kids as you meet other parents at nursery/school/activities.

I much prefer Hove to Lewes. Slightly longer on the train but much more life to it, and much more space. Somehow there is a bit of London vibe here (i.e. villagey bits, not Central London ovbs).
Also Lewes is ridiculously hilly so I wouldnt fancy carry the shopping from even te relatively central food stores.

I meant there, I don't live in Hove but have stayed there for a while.

Hello - we moved from London to Lewes a few years ago. While I'd loved living in London, I didn't miss it at all when I arrived here - partly because I realised I am at heart a real outdoor type and love cycling/walking/running in the hills round here, and also the town is so beautiful. Also, Lewes is packed full of really interesting, friendly and lively people and our social life actually improved compared to London. Admittedly the formal nightlife (was) a bit thin, but there was, pre-lockdown, loads of music, dj nights, poetry readings, comedy that sort of thing, all of pretty good quality; ok nothing on the Brighton scale either but certainly enough to keep a parent amused. We've also been to some fairly hedonistic parties too, but I'll keep that quiet. It was, admittedly, a shock how quiet the HIgh STreet was after say 5.30pm, mind.

Also having Brighton 15-20 mins/£20-£25 taxi ride away is pretty good given the shops, restaurants etc. I'm not a big fan of Hove (except the bits that are basically Brighton eg round Seven DIals or Brunswick Town) as I seems a bit blingy/land rover in bits and feels a bit Clapham-on-Sea but maybe I just don't know it. Mind you, Lewes has a fair share of trustafarian types which are just as annoying; people who have no discernable source of income & work intemittenly as "artists" but seem to have big houses and nice lifestyles all the same. There is, as others have said, a very Guardian-reading vibe which may annoy some too.

I don't get the point about having to drive to supermarkets - the Waitrose is basically slap in the middle of the shopping area and the Tesco & Aldi 5 minutes walk to the north of there?

On another note - Lewes is not quite as middle class as it first appears. There is a big, mostly white, working class living on estates such as Landport and Abergavenny, which have patches of severe deprivation. If you go to some of the primary schools it will be immediately apparent this is not as middle class as the stereotype suggests! I would add on the other hand that it is becoming more diverse but nothing compared to London obviously. Brighton & Hove is also one of the least racially diverse cities in the UK.

One other thing - after a few years here, it's great to find that when you walk around you know a lot of people out and about. Some might find that claustrophic after the anonymity of the capital.

What age is your DD op? Are you looking at primary or secondary and state or private? Might help narrow down some areas for you.

As an aside, have you looked at Lewes? Might be worth thinking about if you don’t need to commute daily to London. If I had to pick between Brighton or Lewes, I’d choose the latter, but I like smaller towns. Brighton is just too busy for me.