Potential move from Hove to Rottingdean?

[NickD87]

Hi,
We have a daughter, 12mos. We have been renting in a house we LOVE just by Hove Seafront for the last 4.5 years. We were always happy renting - but the arrival of our little one has made us think about buying.
We love this area, we love our neighbours. We mentioned wanting to buy to our landlord and he did offer to sell us our house - but it was about £150k over our budget, plus we’d have to extend to meet our needs (both work from home and need an office space!).
We went to view a property in Rottingdean village and I’m quite taken by the area. Still right on the beach, a short 10 min drive into Brighton and very picturesque. The house needs work, but it’s very pretty (listed) and has potential - plus the additional office space we need. We’re close to making an offer.
But despite how pretty it is - on our walks around the village there doesn’t seem much to do. Or any young families about. It might be because we’ve been in the weekday mornings - but I worry it might be a bit sleepy.
Does anybody know if it’s a good place to bring up kids? Or any general guidance on what it’s like living there - especially in comparison to where we are coming from?
thanks!

I think in terms of future planning for schools, Hove is a better bet TBH. Rottingdean is definitely quieter (though there is a fair bit of traffic, so not totally peaceful) and the demographic is older. If you like Hove, I'm not sure Rottingdean is the best move, but that's just my opinion. I think you will miss being walking distance from the centre of Brighton too, although the No 12 buses are frequent.

On the house itself, being listed would put me off as it limits what you can do. Would it still meet your needs if you had more children?

I'd be inclined to look at other places in Hove before widening the search.

I’m not sure about Rottingdean except that it has all the traffic going through it but Saltdean has the big park, the Lido, the Coop, the library, there used to be little nursery thingies in the church hall and what not. And it has buses etc. I liked it there.

Have you ever been down that road on a summers day? It’s gridlock. Nope, I wouldn’t buy one of those houses if you paid me. You could never open a window for the fumes and dirt.

It’s cute, I’ll give you that.

Yes, it has a third bedroom, but also a cellar that can be converted for study space if needed.
That said, we don’t actually want any more kids. Happy with just the one!

Yeah went today and it was mental. But the roadworks didn’t help!

I'd go shoreham way tbh. Better transport links and more amenities.

Yes, I agree with @Bearpawk . To the west of Brighton you have good rail connections as well as buses. To the east, buses are OK, but there are no trains. Shoreham has more of a family vibe too, IMO. Further west, there's Worthing; friends live there and rave about it, and property prices are much lower generally.

If you can afford it just buy a house in Poets Corner. Sea, station, schools. Family oriented, community feel.