Southampton a nice place to live?

[MiracleBaby2022]

We want to move to the south coast, can't afford Poole, but was thinking Southampton, or somewhere near there. What do people think of it as a place to live? We'll have a little baby in March so need somewhere child friendly and quiet that is close to the sea (max 30 minute drive).

How about going a bit further East to Southsea? Its part of Portsmouth but has a separate identity and loads of reasonable priced housing and is really child friendly, most things within walking distance and best of all you can live within a 5-10 minute walk of the sea.

Do you need to live within commuting distance of London or somewhere else specific? That area can certainly be more pricey, but further west into Dorset can be much more affordable than Poole (and probably Southampton as well). We live in West Dorset and historically, we have paid as much for a 4 br detached house with huge garden as friends in Poole paid for a 2 br flat. We live 30 minutes from some lovely beaches, though you could certainly live closer. The nice thing about the beaches around here though are that they aren't rammed in the summer.

I live in Southampton and love it. Well, the outskirts. Happily recommend some areas of you like.

Southampton isn't really 'close to the sea'. Well, of course it is, but right up The Solent. It isn't on a par with 'proper' coastal locations in my opinion.
It's nice enough otherwise, schools are a bit patchy, or at least they used to be.

@TeenMinusTests

Southampton isn't really 'close to the sea'. Well, of course it is, but right up The Solent. It isn't on a par with 'proper' coastal locations in my opinion. It's nice enough otherwise, schools are a bit patchy, or at least they used to be.

Haha I feel irrationally personally attacked by this.

Southampton is ok, like any decent sized city it has it’s good and less good parts. It’s not really a seaside town though, it’s a working port. You have some areas where you can walk along the seafront but these are more tidal rivers (hamble for example). The closest decent beach is lepe which is stony and has a lovely play area.
As a pp said, moving further into Dorset would give you better access to the sea. Ringwood isn’t too bad and is only a short drive from Christchurch which has seaside walks, or a bit further to highcliffe and avon which are proper beaches.

Southampton in the town is a bit hard going, to be honest. My sister lives there and it is heavily built up and a bit grimy. The shopping is great and there are beautiful places on the outskirts but the residential centre (or at least where my sister lives - shhh don't tell her) is quite 'rough' feeling and edgy.

I mean ringwood isn’t too bad price wise, it’s also a lovely town.

Reese But would you agree that S'oton doesn't exactly have a 'seaside' vibe? I mean, if I want to 'see the sea' I tend to go to Milford-on-Sea or Bournemouth.

TeenMinusTests oh I definitely get your point. I think because I've lived in Southampton my entire life I have a different view of what "seeing the sea" means. It's not sticks of rock, building sand castles and sunbathing, it's literally just seeing it, or strolling along it with the dog, or hearing the sound of the docks. I'm not a fair weather seaside goer, I'll be down the beach in the middle of the winter!

Southampton waterside is very industrial with the docks, the cruise ship terminal etc. There's no pretty beach or promenade you could walk along in the city - you'd always have to travel out of it. Plus the oil refinery isn't a pretty view (depending on on where you are along that part of the coast).

I lived in Southsea for 15 years and loved it. I still miss it.

What about Lee on Solent? Closer to Portsmouth, but Southampton side.

Southampton and Portsmouth proper are grimy (sorry!). They're working port towns. Traffic is a fucking nightmare, when you've got people queuing for ferries.

Smaller areas a bit outside the towns, lovely. Schools always used to be a bit patchy though.

Interesting - thanks for all the replies!

I have looked in Dorset, and I personally am much more attracted to that part of the world, so may have to look there again. If possible we'd be looking for a detached house with a decent garden, 4 bedrooms - garage a must have - for around 450k max. Might be possible perhaps?

Without saying too much, I have a business (which feeds us both - soon to be 3 - and is from home) so we can actually live anywhere as long as it's really near a good beach for the sports we basically live for. Won't say too much about that, but we're not just looking for any beach. Our choice will depend hugely on prevailing wind direction on said beach, sea state, and preferably a sandy rather than stony beach etc. We do have a lot of freedom in choosing location due to the business, but I'm obviously very aware of the need for it to be child friendly and to find good schools when the time comes.

I've even looked as far as Cornwall, but we don't really want to get drawn too far west because I have family on the continent that we'll need to be able to drive to.

From your update - not Southampton then!
Not the base for surfing/windsurfing/kite surfing/etc.

Lots of sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, paddleboarding, jet skiing etc in Southampton. No surfing though. But generally off stony beaches, so doesn't fit the bill anyway.

The Jurassic coast is definitely a prettier coastal location but I have no idea about it so not sure on watersports. Jurassic coast is also a lot closer to Weymouth and Poole. I'm probably just over and just under an hour from each respectively, not within half an hour.

I was going to say Bournemouth or the Jurassic Coast. Not sure on house prices though.

Eastleigh/Chandlersford is probably within 30 minutes to Bournemouth (if that is a suitable beach) and the schools have always been pretty good here.

I lived in Southampton for a few years and now live in Poole. Completely different vibes! If you want coastal Southampton isn’t really it. Poole is a pretty big place and it’s not all pricey, might be worth widening your search area. Where have you been looking?

To stick up for Southampton, I know many people who live happily there. It's got friendly communities, lovely 30s houses which are not £1m, unlike everywhere else in Hampshire, some great restaurants and good theatres, good schools depending where you live, a station which takes you anywhere, excellent hopsitals, and its near the New Forest.

But for what you want, I'd suggest Bournemouth.

Swirly I agree, Southampton has a lot of things going for it - but sandy beaches is not one of them!

Some nice residential areas, West Quay, train & motorways, nice parks, The Mayflower Theatre, Barton Peveril 6th form, near to Paultons Park & Peppa Pig World.

Yes, agree. Southampton is fine. It’s not beachy though. I never had that feeling of being ‘close to the sea’ when I lived there. I do in Poole though.

You’ll get a house like you describe for that budget in Bournemouth, I’m looking for similar myself and it’s possible. Also maybe somewhere halfway like New Milton? Really quick access to both good beaches and the forest.

@MiracleBaby2022

Getting in and out of either Bournemouth and Poole, or Southampton and Portsmouth can be a nightmare.

You might like to look at Christchurch Bay, the area between Bournemouth and Milford on Sea. The beaches are sandy at low tide, shingle banks at high tide. Prevailing winds are SW so not great for surfing, better for anything wind powered. Sea breezes start to kick in between 11:00 and 15:00 during summer, the further east you go the less reliable they are. You will also be right on the edge of the New Forest.

To the west of Poole is the Jurassic Coast, it's all slab reefs, boulder reefs and shingle banks. Access can be difficult or expensive.

To the east of Chichester the West Sussex coast offers similar coastline and conditions to Christchurch Bay with the South Downs just inland.

As with anywhere you'll pay more for more desirable locations.

Not sure you will be able to find a 4 bed detached house with a garage and decent garden in any of the decent areas of Southampton.
And I would echo others, it really isn't the place if you are after beaches.

I live in Southampton and am very happy here but based on what you are looking for it’s not the place for you.

First your budget won’t get you what you want in any of the nice areas - a 3/4 bed semi possibly but you’ll need 6-700+ for a 4 bed detached.

And it is not coastal in the way you are looking for.