Teeny house in Brighton vs big house on Kent coast

[ataloss8]

Myself, DH and our 3 year old son are looking to move to the coast and are torn between buying a very small property in our favourite location (Brighton) or going for a bigger place with more space somewhere like Folkestone or Margate.

Our budget is £400k, which having looked at Rightmove, would just about get us a teeny tiny house with a courtyard garden in our preferred part of Brighton (Hanover/Kemptown), or a much bigger place (three bed with a larger garden) in Kent. We definitely want a house, not a flat and aren't prepared to compromise on that.

I'm a bit concerned about Folkestone as having looked on FB, it seems there's quite a divide between the locals and newbies. I also worry about the lack of diversity and the right wing element, which obviously isn't an issue in Brighton. We really want to be somewhere with a close-knit and accepting community.

Does anyone have any experience of living in these places and what they're like for kids?

What would you do?

Lewes would be my choice but you wont get a family home with a garden for £400,000 - prices are similar to Brighton unfortunately. I do like Kemptown as I lived there as a student but again I am not sure it is the ideal place for children. I agree with others who have suggested moving out along the coast, either West to Worthing or East to Eastbourne which are great for kids and have good schools. Don't go as far as Hastings though!

No decision yet - we’ve decided to visit Brighton again (and a few other places in Kent) once lockdown is over to get a feel for them and take it from there.

I’ve been looking at properties in Ramsgate on Rightmove today - there are some lovely looking places, but I’m worried as I’ve heard it’s quite rough around the edges! Does anyone know Ramsgate?

This sounds quite worrying though...

theisleofthanetnews.com/2020/08/17/ramsgate-residents-demand-action-over-blight-of-continued-drug-dealing-in-their-street/

Similar story here - this is one of the roads near the lovely holiday let I was talking about earlier in the thread:

www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/athelstan-road-life-thanets-cheapest-5015368?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar

All around that coast are roads like this full of cheap shared rentals, cheek by jowl with beautiful restored Georgian townhouses.

You did specifically ask about Ramsgate though and I have to say at lot of it is lovely! I think when lockdown is over it'll be a lovely place to drive round and see what you can see.

Thanks Dishing. It sounds like there are some residents really trying to do something about the issues, which is positive?

It’s funny - looking at that road on StreetView, it looks perfectly fine. You’d never guess from the outset that it has the problems that it does!

I’ve only read OP’s comments rather than every single post so apologise if this has already been asked but, what are your future family plans?

Are you hoping for more DCs or do you think DS will be your only?

If it will just be the 3 of you long term then I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a smaller home in your absolute favourite location.

If you do want to extend your family but not move again then a larger house might be more practical.

We looked at Ramsgate a few years ago and whilst the properties were beautiful the town felt very mixed. Some lovely bits but some very dodgy areas. Also have never forgotten and episode of Location Location where they took a couple to view a house in Ramsgate (they wanted to live in Broadstairs and P&K were doing their usual trick of showing how far the budget would go in another area) and the woman burst into tears and refused to even view the house - clearly she knew something they didn't about the area!

Weve moved from Brighton (Preston Park area), to Worthing and absolutely love it. Couldn't pay us to move back to Brighton now and loads of friends from Brighton have done the same.

Brighton is london by sea. With property prices to match. I'd look somewhere else where you can visit Brighton for the day and then leave again. Go where you can afford the decent house of you will be looking to uproot and move again in a few years

@ataloss8 what did you decide?? Facing the same dilemma now, big house in Margate or small one in hove? We have supportive family in Lewes and Cambridge so hove better for that as well...

I visited Hythe in Kent for the day and thought was very pretty and a family friendly place.

@ataloss8
What did you decide?? We're currently trying to decide between small house with big mortgage in hove (nearish family) or big house with smaller mortgage in Margate....