Where to live in Brighton

[sunsearose]

Hi!

My partner and I are looking to relocate to Brighton/Hove and would appreciate some advice on areas.

Our top budget is 450k and we’re first time buyers with no children. Likely to have children in the future.

We narrowly missed out on a great house in Preston Park which had room to grow earlier this year. We love the area but don’t want to buy leasehold so it’s nearly impossible to find anything in budget.

We’ve also looked at properties in Hanover but are less keen despite it being closer to the sea.

We’re looking at a property in Bolsover road, Hove which would normally be out of budget. I don’t think this part of Hove looks as nice as the area of the house we bid on in Preston Park but will reserve judgement until our actual viewing.

Has anyone got any advice on areas and where is nice to live or to avoid? We’re in our early 30s, like nice dinners, drinks out, green space and want to limit potential shitty neighbours/vicinity to crackheads. Outside space preferable but could deal with a small patio etc.

TIA

Have you considered Lewes? Might get slightly more for your money, 10 mins on train from Brighton. Generally pleasanter, no student houses

Yeah we’ve been to Lewes to scope it out but it was a bit too twee for us

Brighton is expensive, pretty druggy and in my experience very cliquey and unfriendly. I'd think twice before moving here.

I think PP means "Flourpot" which is an ultra expensive coffee/bakery place.

lol at Hangleton being up and coming. But each to their own. It's super suburbia. You might as well move to burgess hill.

burgess hill? Hardly. I don’t think there’s a flour pot there. Thanks for the spell check.

Purely in terms of investment & potential, Hangleton which is being marketed as ‘west hove’ is set to see a rise….

for a 30 something, I’d probably buy a flat in pp (Preston park) or on the hove seafront.

I knew they meant the bakery :)

It really does depend on what you want for right now. Your budget will get you an amazing flat in pp/fiveways that is close to eateries/pubs/shops and you could get a 2/3 bed. If you are thinking one child and happy to raise in a flat then that’s great. Or if you don’t mind moving again in 6-10 years.
If you want a house that you can stay in then you’ll have to move out slightly. It’s worth thinking that Brighton is really popular atm and the project houses will probably have builders/professional house renovators bidding on them too. A small house and an extension in a few years is a good idea but firms are in short supply and labour/materials at all time high. Stressful as well with the lack of parking in brighton- trying to get the materials delivered!

I’m not trying to be negative and I loved my time in brighton, it’s just an expensive mistake to make and some things to think about.

Bolsover & Grange Rd are the only bits of West Hove you will get a house with your budget. It isn’t Portslade (which starts at Boundary Rd). You are just outside of Poets’ Corner where houses (small terraces) run at £650k and decent semis over the road at £900+ (or did pre Liz crashing the economy). I’d choose Hove over Brighton - quieter, less dirty and schools are decent with the secondaries upping their game.

i don’t think I phrased my previous message very well but we have found a potential project in PP already but it will require a LOT of work. We have scope to live where we are now and do it up with the cash we’d have saved on the deposit (maybe £30k) but it’s only 600 square foot (you can extend above though) and I doubt that will be big enough long term.

it would be absolutely fine for now and maybe the next 5-10 years and we have a lot of trades in the family who could help but I am concerned about the potential for spiralling costs/stress. It would be nice to live somewhere we actually want to live though, maybe the comprise is space and we just revisit our position in 10 years (I have no chill)

How have people coped with a smaller house in a better area as a whole? It’s so useful having outside opinions

I live in Hanover and can report that there are vast differences between streets in this area. Some are noisy and studenty, but where I am it is very family friendly, quiet, and no problems with parking - permits are available. The rubbish is collected with no obvious mess. Great local primary schools. Gardens on my street are a decent size.

You can get a two bedroom house for £450K, which you could extend (side return and / or loft) later on. For green space, Queens Park and the Level are 5 minutes away, and Preston Park 10-15 minutes walk. Great local shops and community spirit, and more pubs per head of population than anywhere else in the country (or that's what the locals will tell you!).

I enjoyed living in Saltdean when I was there.

Brighton and Hove is a great place to live still. If you're going to live in a city (albeit a small ish feeling one) you can't beat being in a city by the sea. If a great location is important to you and by that I mean
an area with good standard housing, nice pubs and bakeries (yes a Flour Pot will do) and walking distance to the sea I personally would get a nice flat more centrally now for £450k, maybe something with a garden, and then later trade up to the house. For £450k you could live in a nice area like the 7 Dials or further into Hove like the Brunswick area, Palmeira area or even some of the (really lovely) streets between Sackville Road and Rockwater. I personally wouldn't live in Preston Park when you can live closer to the sea but I realise it's a great place to have children and the houses are lovely too.

If you think you might one day want a village then look at Saltdean. As a Londoner I don’t think it’s far out of the city at all (but Brighton people are horrified!). Not much in the way of bars and restaurants, but a couple of newish cafes (no sign of a flour pot I’m afraid) and sea views from virtually every street.

It’s not as in the thick of it as the other areas you mentioned (or at all), but you might love it - it’s worth a look.

sea at the end of the road:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136216817#/?channel=RES_BUY

Loads of potential (every house on this road is being massively done up at the moment):
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140509691#/?channel=RES_BUY

Houses we’re viewing (lol):

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140465978#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137364746#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140356568#/?channel=RES_BUY

I would love it if something like this came up:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/england-78446781-14206126?s=cad6401f7430cbcb0230f75e8fd61fabcef237cdef56f9469b486e4b931077fa#/

I really want to avoid buying a flat tbh. If we lived in Scotland with no leasehold I wouldn’t bay an eyelid but here, I’m keen to avoid.

I can appreciate places like Lewes and Saltdean etc but but for now we want to be more in the mix of things.

tbh the fear of choosing the wrong area, constantly looking and not finding something we like is so EXHAUSTING. I’m over it! We’ve already been looking for 6 months.

also the thought of buying somewhere which is too much of a project.. like the first one I mentioned, and spiralling costs, the stress of the Reno. Very anxiety inducing….

Grange Rd runs parallel to Bolsolver Rd - very similar location & properties

Christ that’s a reno and a half!! Good location though. I genuinely cannot believe the prices in Brighton now- for a 2 bed mid terrace.

That’s how I found it based on your comment! It sold a few years ago but something to that standard would be great.

bolsolver is nearly 35k more but nowhere near the same standard. Maybe that’s just the two years difference though? Seems a bit unlikely given it’s already been reduced and was listed in august. There’s another one which is “done” currently on the same street for £475k

I know a relationship ender lol! It does worry me taking on something like that although we’re still tempted. We have £30k in cash which would make it liveable but it still seems a bit small. Hard to know what to do

You are right about the Kingsley Road house being a project! Personally, I'd prefer to be the other side of Preston/London Road on the Fiveways side but I know Fiveways is expensive and out of budget for a house. Your nearest primary school for Kingsley Road would be Stanford which is well regarded and you would be in the catchment for Varndean/Stringer Lottery for secondary - although the council do change the boundaries sometimes. Catchment areas for primary schools are tight (check the LA website for average distances). I'd look at what a done up similar style Kingsley Road house made into a 3 or 4 bed goes for (around 665-680?)and see if the work needed which will be expensive and stressful/time consuming would make it worthwhile. You will get fit walking up hills on that side of the road! Walk around the area at different times of the day and week and really think about how you would live there. I used to live in PP/5 ways near Blakers and walked with my kids to the seafront in 25 minutes. My kids went to Balfour primary and the school walked them all down to The Brighton Dome, Museum and other central places for events and back again.

Because of all the stepped hills in Brighton it can feel like you are quite overlooked if the road behind houses are higher and you may have an unusable (for children)stepped garden depending what roads and which end of the road you buy on. If the houses on either side have been made into flats try to find out what rooms adjoin your walls. You don't want a washing machine or fridge up against your bedroom wall.

The Bolsover Road house is in Aldrington and that would likely be your train station. The area has a more "London" feel in some ways -trendy cafes and run down shops, big council flat blocks and Victorian housing stock on the same street, many houses sub divided into flats but the whole Stoneham Park area which Bolsover Road is on the outer edge of has really changed over the past 10-15 years, it is much trendier and popular with young families now. Go there and walk all around the area and see what you think. It is flatter than the Kingsley Road area. I assume for secondary schools you are in the Blatchington/Hove Park catchment but I dont know about primary schools in that area. If you are a Catholic you can apply to Cardinal Newman secondary or the local Catholic Primaries where catchment areas are much greater.

My kids used to go to activities at Hanover Community Centre and it is a very friendly area. There are lots of families on "museli mountain" and a real sense of community and more old Brighton spirit and creative types and alternative life styles which I didnt feel so much at 5ways. I think there are fewer students there now than there used to be. Like most of Brighton there is permit parking. You can check the council website for the cost of permits in each zone and to see if any have a waiting list (only the central seafront squares and streets usually have a waiting list for permits).The Scotland Street House has an upstairs bathroom which is good as many Hanover houses have a downstairs one and looks livable to move into. It also looks like it is constructed from standard materials and not old bungaroosh!

Kingsley rd isn’t really in the ‘mix of things’… bottom of a hill -
if you’re moving to b’ton you’ll regret not being nearer the sea?… if you can get anywhere near poets corner (second link) I’d definitely go for that. Lots of cafes & pubs. Hanover is a similar vibe but much more urban / studenty without being so near to the sea. The nicest stretch of beaches is hove end (or shoreham beach).
walking / cycling into b’ton from hove is much nicer than cycling near the fumes of London rd or lewes rd. you can cycle / walk along the seafront ;)
I should probably stop with the local secrets! 😅

Primary for Bolsover is West Hove Infants/Hove Juniors - well regarded.

Prices went loopy during Covid so the £35k is a reflection on that I think. Hard to know at the moment- house prices seem very inconsistent.

That’s really helpful/detailed thank you.

We are viewing them all on Monday so we will wait and see. We were outbid on one in Scarborough road a few months ago (next street over from Kingsley road) and probably would agree the other side is nicer but beggars can’t be choosers!

I think the ceiling value for Kingsley would be around £425k without any type of extension. It’s only 600 square foot and the ones which go for £600k plus are a lot bigger.

we will have a good walk around on Monday so fingers crossed it becomes a bit clearer

Op doesn’t have children yet… most primary’s in hove are under subscribed due to low birth years - only one that isn’t is the bilingual school.

i always in theory would have preferred to live in Hove theoretically as I think it suits our current vibe a bit more than Brighton.

as a whole would people say Bolsover then out of the three if budget allowed? The grange road one sold in 2021 ish which I would say was around the peak of Covid prices, I wouldn’t expect a worse condition property to be a lot more with the market cooling so much.

I spoke to an agent in a work capacity recently and he advised that a property listed for £325k in June that received 6 offers in one week (4 over over asking, one of them £35k over) would struggle to achieve asking now so it’s hard to know!