Chichester or Winchester?

[KobaniDaughters]

Looking at a move back to the U.K. and narrowing down places to live - I know Chichester fairly well from visiting, have only been to Winchester once but liked it and it seems to have a good reputation.

We have two DC, one entering year 5 and one entering year 8, have toured and spoken to schools so am fully informed on that level, but def would love thoughts on things to do for pre-teens and teens, how welcoming to newbies each city is, what the community is like - basically how does it feel to live in either one as I’ve done so so much research on all the practical stuff, now looking forward anecdotal experiences!!

We have moved many times with our children and Winchester was our favourite move as a family with children similar ages to yours. We chose it in preference to Chichester! Great schools, beautiful walks and access countryside, convenient and safe small city and easy access to everywhere else eg London, S'ton etc. My children made new friends straight away- though if I'm honest I found it harder...overall it was a good decision from a family point of view.

Come to Chichester! It's a really lovely small city, plenty going on, decent shops, loads of activities for kids and families, friendly people and an excellent location nestled between Downs and coast (Chichester Harbour is just beautiful). Honestly we love living here. Downside over Winchester is it's a bit of a trek into London but not a deal breaker if you won't need to do that regularly. We are a family of four (two kids at one of the local secondary schools) and we've lived here for 20+ years so know it very well indeed. Happy to answer any questions you might have about life here to help your decision making.

Would love your feedback on schools Goldfinch as we were only able to look at Chichester Free School but we’re able to tour the main 3 secondaries in Winchester

1 vote for each!!

Pardon the interruption but can someone educate me? How do I pronounce Chichester? My American instinct says CHI-chester but I'm assuming that's not right.

TIA!

Chichester harbour area is just stunning, so that would swing it for me. The traffic around Chichester is horrendous thought

(And it’s CHICH-ester, although some locals call it Chi which sets my teeth on edge)

@HappyDaysToCome

Chichester harbour area is just stunning, so that would swing it for me. The traffic around Chichester is horrendous thought

(And it’s CHICH-ester, although some locals call it Chi which sets my teeth on edge)

Thank you!

So if I actually wanted to live in brighton but had to choose Chichester or Winchester instead - which one would you recommend?!

Maybe you need to do a list of what is most important to you and in what order? As that will dictate where you want to live!
(eg living on coast v living by river, commuting time to London, schools etc etc).

Yeah we’ve done all that and they’re coming out reasonably even so looking for anecdotal experience of actually living in each one, which I appreciate is subjective but also the biggest missing piece

We’re looking for a strong and welcoming community, liberal leaning (sorry for sounding like a bit of a wanker but you prob know my type, recycle and reuse and eat plant based etc etc as well!) and diverse as you can get once not in a big city! I’m bisexual for example and have a lot of LGBT friends but worry being in my monogamous heterosexual marriage I might struggle to make more friends in diverse communities - I still have my friends in London and across the U.K. but wherever we end up we would love to be able to integrate

I'd say neither aer like Brighton in terns of liberal and diverse character (and some grime). Those two are a bit more traditional, I would think Wich more so but recently quite an influx fom Lomdon so must have liberal groups. I don't live in either, but been to both a few times and also going by what the locals write on forums.

sorry for all the typos!

Happy to give you the lowdown on Chichester schools op - but would rather do that via pm if that's ok - just drop me a message. As for the vibe - Chichester is very friendly and there's a lively cultural scene with a wide range of things on offer, but I'm not sure it has quite the liberal vibe you're after. There's stuff happening - i.e an active sustainability group (Transition Chichester), new independents opening up with different offer etc but it's broadly pretty conservative. Can I ask why you've ruled out Brighton?

I don't really know Winchester but Chichester isn't a place I'd describe as diverse or liberal. It is a conservative city, has very expensive public transport and the roads that surround it are jam-packed in the summer months as everyone heads to the Witterings. It does have lots of classical arts on offer e.g. music festival and the theatre is amazing. A brief look at the websites of the three secondary schools illustrates the very limited ethnic diversity of the city. I'd consider it ideal for retiring to but it's not somewhere I'd move Y5 and Y8 children to.

Hi OP, I used to live in Winchester (moved away about three years ago). The people there are generally very welcoming and friendly but I wouldn't say it's diverse at all unfortunately, quite the opposite really. I'm from London originally so not comparing it to that, but have lived in Guildford for example and I found Winchester to be much less diverse. No experience of Chichester I'm afraid!

Shoreham. It's where old Brighton moved to when Brighton got priced out.

If not Chi over Winchester any day.

@KobaniDaughters

So if I actually wanted to live in brighton but had to choose Chichester or Winchester instead - which one would you recommend?!

Chichester on the basis that it's near the sea. And is possibly cheaper. I love both though and would also struggle to choose.

(Brighton is becoming less attractive by the day although Hove is holding out.)

Thanks everyone - really appreciate the responses

Completely disagree SE13Mummy - Chichester is a great place to bring up children - and many people do very happily! I actually think it's pretty narrow minded to write it off as a retirement destination based on what seems to be fairly limited knowledge and a quick browse of school websites. True it's not as ethnically diverse as some places, but I've lived in less diverse places and both my kids have friends from a range of different cultural backgrounds. I agree the traffic can be awful though!!

Chichester is not somewhere I would live again. The primary schools are generally fine, high schools aren’t great.
No cultural diversity.
The city is pretty boring although safe for pre teens. Very geared towards retirees
It’s mostly very middle class with some small pockets of deprivation so a really divide there which is set to widen as a lot of the children’s centres etc have closed.
The people in general are cliquey and money orientated. If you get in with them then great, but if you aren’t typically middle class or white then it’s not the most welcoming I found.
I have no experience of Winchester though

@SingingGoldfinch my 'fairly limited knowledge' is from having lived there for a good chunk of my life and having family and friends that still do. Mentioning the school websites was because it's one way to get a feel for the ethnic mix of a school outside of term-time.

I'm a bit bemused about the idea Chichester is for retirees. There is loads going on for sports in the surrounding area plus youth theatre etc. There isn't much nightlife obviously because it's a small city if that's what people meant.
It is small-c conservative but the four county wards are held by Con, Green and LibDem so it's not blanket blue.

Just to say that old Sussex people pronounced Chichester as Chidester- but that’s largely died out now.

Winchester is a beautiful city but it’s quite boring (lived there as a teen). The only club has closed, it’s a mix of v expensive restaurants and pizza chains. Lovely countryside, nice people (although as others have said not a lot of diversity, VERY white middle class) easy for london. It’s not somewhere you’d describe as buzzy and doesn’t ever seem to change. I love visiting for the weekend but I wouldn’t choose to live there (a good thing as it’s v expensive ). It’s certainly safe with good schools and I’m sure it would be a nice place to raise kids.

Another former Winchester resident (grew up there, albeit 20 years ago). It's a beautiful city but it is deathly boring for teens unless you are sporty. The traffic was always bad but now it's bloody awful. It's not diverse, although it seems to be improving. It's got a Tory MP and I'd say it's conservative with a big and small C. There's a great zero waste shop on Parchment St and some fab cafés doing veggie and vegan food. It's an expensive place to live but the countryside nearby is glorious and access to London is quick by train. Southampton is good for shopping.

I wouldn't move back (even if I could afford it), but it's very popular and is frequently listed in 'best place to live' articles.

I don't live in Winchester but I visit often, don't know if it's just the people I know there but it does not seem a diverse/liberal place at all. Expensive places rarely are, in my opinion!