A move from East London to Lewes. Anyone do it? Honest opinions on how you found it?

[Suitcases7]

We’re contemplating this move with kids. DH is concerned about his commute to Shoreditch, which is only two days a week. We’re both concerned we’ll miss living in London!

Lewes isn’t cheap either. But we both like it and it seems to fit the criteria we’re looking for.

Did anyone do it? Thoughts??

Bump!

I can't help on the commute, as it's a long time since I did a similar commute, but as you have no other replies. We do know several who made the move from london to Brighton & then ended up in Lewes. They love it & coming from London, a night out in Brighton is no big deal travel wise, so they have the best of both worlds. Great schools there too if you need them. Be very aware of the flood risk to any property you look at though

I live in Lewes and I'd love to live in Shoreditch.........fancy a swap 😂

What is the criteria you are looking for?

The good bits
It has lots of history which is interesting, and if you dig up your garden you might end up with the archaeologists helping you. It is surrounded by the downs, but you know all that. It has pubs, lots of them. The Swan is the local hang out for the DFLs and the food is expensive, but yummy. The Gardeners is full of regulars, all old men who are a bit musty but very friendly. The Rights of Man is on the high street and attracts visitors and a few younger people, but hip and trendy it is not. The Pelham is a bit up its own bum, the Lewes Arms apparently used to be fun.

The shops sell all sort of interesting but essentially useless things which are nice to look at and expensive to buy. No one in Lewes wears knickers, but you'd never guess just by looking at us. Well some people might but they have probably been to Brighton to buy them.

The railway land is over rated and the hippy liberals who love re-wilding everything also love to tarmac the paths for cycling. You do need to be very vigilant because its very easy to get run over in the fields and foot paths here.

There are always interesting things happening on Cliff bridge. Sometimes its just people with leaflets, other times you might get heckled for your choice of eating meat or wearing a dead animal. There are always interesting talks with other "intellectuals" if you are into that sort of thing. There are lots of intellectuals in Lewes apparently :)

Its a bit Cliquey. But you have a great choice, DFLs, Intellectuals, Potter and painters, old Lewesians, middle class hippies, and a total of seven bonfire societies. If you want to do bonfire join the Cliff, if you don't like bonfire stay in London :)!

The bad bits
There is a lot of unseen poverty, East Sussex county council are a bit crap, the town is nothing like it used to be and is starting to look all a bit run down. For a county town its all a bit down in the dumps compared to how it used to be. There is little money behind the doors to the big old houses, and its starting to show. We have a Tory, Maria Caulfield, she will gain your email and keep emailing you but never reply if you email her.

Housing, just avoid a certain estate. its mainly all private now but problems persist. If you want more details PM me.

The commute is fine. Have you seen Lindfield ? its lovely and the commute is less.

Ha! This is so helpful!! (Although we don’t live in Shoreditch, my DH just works there - we live in east London but not quite there! We wish we could afford Shoreditch!)

I love the way you describe Lewes! I also really appreciated hearing the bad points too. What’s traffic and pollution like?

That’s good to know about the flood risk - I had no clue!

@MiniTheMinx I love it. Although there is an alternate path in the railway land where cycles rarely visit but also is less frequented and was very overgrown the last time I went.
You didn’t mention schools, there are lots of great primaries but I don’t rate the secondary schools in Lewes, Chailey Secondary is the better option to those within Lewes.
There are loads of pubs in Lewes, more than mentioned in MiniMix’s post. It’s worth an explore just for the pubs.
I second MiniMix’s post about bonfire, if you don’t like being woken up at 5am on the 5th November and kept awake until gone 1am due to fireworks and bangs (and a generator depending on where you end up living) give Lewes a massive swerve and many of the small towns nearby.
I quite miss living in Lewes, I’ve done the opposite move and moved back to the big smoke.

I quite miss living in Lewes, I’ve done the opposite move and moved back to the big smoke.

What made you go back to the big smoke, Testingprof? I’m worried we’ll move and then realise we miss our London lives!

I actually really like the idea of the loud fireworks fun!

My parents live in a village with a bonfire society and I love going for bonfire night. If I lived there I would join like a shot!

I don't live there but visit regularly. Love the Lido! 'Pells Pool' it's so lovely. Wish we had one near here.

You forgot the witches and wizards!

What is the criteria you're looking for?

We visit Lewis from London for days out. The pub owned by Harvey's brewery has the best beer imo. The castle is nice too. It's a quaint town but midweek is very quiet. Agree about the high street, very chic but if you want practical stuff you have to go to Brighton. There is a Waitrose. DH wants to move there but I don't think there's enough going on for me.

LEWES autocorrect (apologies to the entire town)

Suitcases7

Traffic, is at a standstill sometimes :) we have a one way system but by the standards of most one way systems this one isn't bad. The council are re-wilding everything, so I expect that will help with pollution! There really isn't an issue here with pollution. Weeds yes, pollution no. Parking is problematic and expensive. Most of Lewes has parking restrictions and charges. I can not park outside of my house. The high street is never deserted or quiet in the weekdays.......we have plenty of traffic wardens outside costa every day. I have often sat and watched them smirking as they slap tickets on windscreens. So far I have wracked up about 10 myself. We do have lots of smaller nicer coffee shops, but I think there is not much in the way of nice places to eat.

The primary schools are all much of a much, none are diverse, but Wallands seems the most popular. There is a catholic primary here too which seems very popular. Strange really when you consider its bonfire central We only have one secondary school, that is Priory. I can't comment beyond this as my children went to school in......Lindfield.

Lewes has flooded but that was in 2000 so sometime ago, and a bit of a freak weather event.

I haven't seen any wizzards, but we do indeed have lots of witches. Selmeston seems to be a witchy place though, and that is a short drive east of here. They tried to recruit me. We do have a Waitrose for the intellectuals/DFLs/Hippies and everyone else shops in Tesco or Aldi. I often go to Brighton, Haywards Heath, Crawley to food shop because even Waitrose here is a bit......erm.......English. The food choices in the shops is very bland and very English.

For anyone saying its quiet here with not much happening I would beg to differ. There are lots of societies and clubs you can join, not just bonfire.

Thank you for all these so far! I’m reading with interest.

Reviving again as we’ve seen a house we like. But I’m a bit scared!

Did anyone who moved make it back into London for social stuff?

How easy is it to make new friends in Lewes? Are people friendly?

Did anyone who moved make it back into London for social stuff?

Nearby, but not actually Lewes... Initially, yes & often but I know a lot, ourselves included who once they got away from London, it looses its shine & you end up rarely going up, occasionally for exhibitions, london birthdays etc, but otherwise we tend to avoid it these days. You sort of lose your hard nosed london edge & it's feels rude & aggressive after a while away from it.

How easy is it to make new friends in Lewes? Are people friendly?

Easier than London would be my guess, I find it a friendly enough place

You've missed some of the best bits of Lewes

(1) The countryside. You can walk straight out of town onto the Downs - stunning walks and views.
(2) The Depot - 3 screen cinema and restaurant/bar. Great community facility and a wide range of films
(3) Abyss brewery & taproom - Fantastic craft beers, DJs, live music, street food, open Thurs-Sat
(4) Beak brewery & taproom - See above, similar vibe.
(5) Ground/Pharmacie coffee roasters and the two cafes

It is very easy to make friends here - it's very sociable and full of interesting people. Can be a little bit cliquey when you've been here for a while mind, but maybe that's just the English way.

I work in London but don't go up much for social reasons - enough going on round here and in Brighton. I've drifted away from some friends as a result.

I should have added Pells Pool to this - 50m outdoor pool right in the middle of town ,coming into its own at the moment. Oh, and the ace Union Music Store record shop.

Good places to eat:
Pestle & Mortar - Thai/Vietnamese food, on Lansdown Place
Erawan - on same street is pretty good thai
Irma's - Guyanese Food, on Cliffe High Street
Roundhill Cafe - Vegan cafe in the Needlemakers
Flint Owl - artisan bread/salads - expensive but good
Fork - upmarket restaurant, great food, v expensive
Rustico - great neapolitan pizza, Fisher St
Caccia & Tails - italian street food ,you can eat in the Lansdown Arms next door
Swan for pub food

And obvs Brighton is 20 mins away

lewes isn’t cheap you are right there, but convenient for trains to London. It’s also hilly, traffic isn’t great either. You would get much more house for your money in Seaford.

Great lists! Thank you! All making me feel quite excited and a tiny bit less nervous about leaving our network behind!

We’re going to put an offer in - wish me luck!

Nothing useful to add except, interesting how East Londoner’s do Lewes, West Londoners do Winchester.

Good luck OP, I'm sure you won't regret it

I've just remembered my favourite friendly Lewes story... I had the pleasure of having coffee & cake with dame Vera Lynn in a Lewes coffee shop some years ago. I had no idea who this elderly lady who alerted me to my dropped glove on my way into the cafe was, though she was oddly familiar. She actually asked if she could sit with me as "you look like an interesting lady & I love your hair" the irony! we talked fashion, local beauty spots, bonfire societies, nature & more. She was so lovely. Said our goodbyes & it wasn't until a long while later when I saw DVLs recent photos in a local paper & realised why she'd seemed weirdly familiar

Just found this thread @Suitcases7 did you go for it?
we’re thinking of making the same move, East London to Lewes. But we’d both be commuting 3 days a week & occasionally 5 days a week, so not sure if it’d be worth the nightmare on the trains!..