Crawley - should I be worried about buying in this area?

[HangerLaneGyratorySystem]

Currently living in Dorking, I only see signs for Crawley when I'm on the way to Brighton. I've heard very little about it, property seems reasonable, should I give it a chance? I'm only after a 2 bed flat or maisonette so I don't think I'm going to be in whatever the best areas are ...

Look at Maidenbower, Worth and Pound Hill.
Easy access to Three Bridges station.
The town centre is dire. But on this side of town you are into lovely countryside in minutes and have plenty of supermarkets.
We will move when our kids are grown, but for now these areas are fine and I would buy a flat here if I was on my own.

Is there anywhere in particular you are looking at?

@MrsGaryKemp Ifield and Gossop Green - flats just happened to come up there.

Not for anywhere near 280k you won’t! Flat in Horsham would be possible I think but just be aware of the ever climbing service charges

Unless you’re looking at flats right by three bridges there’s barely any train transport benefit in terms of timings of getting to London or Brighton so I really would look at Horsham over I field

I have lived in Crawley peacefully, and without any trouble or problems, for 27 years. I moved here from an area of London and it was much nicer in comparison. yes there are some issues, with youths and drugs, but I feel you get that in most towns and cities. Admittedly the town centre itself has become a bit run down over the last few years lots of shops have closed and it is mostly charity shops, coffee shops, bargain shops etc. we now go to Horsham for shopping.

On the plus side there are some nice neighbourhoods, the ones already mentioned above, and you also have Furnace Green, , Gossops Green and Ifield which are some of the nicer and safer areas. would avoid Broadfield, Bewbush, Langley Green, and I would add Northgate which is closest to town centre.

Excellent transport links to London, Brighton and other towns in West Sussex.
And obviously the airport. The one thing I liked when we moved here is how leafy and green a lot of it is, and there are some lovely green spaces such as Tilgate park and Buchan country park. A short drive out of Crawley brings you into countryside and there are lots of lovely country pubs dotted about. There is also an excellent theatre, leisure park, numerous supermarkets within easy reach. I agree it’s not the prettiest of towns and it is a bit rough around the edges but it’s really not as bad as the reputation it has.

Not that well if you think it's a South London suburb.

I lived in Crawley for 20 years and left last year. I also worked in Croydon for much of that time. HTH.

As a pp said, it's subjective, but I always thought Croydon-Redhill-Horley-Crawley felt like one homgenious sprawl out of London. You can argue it either way.

I can comment well having lived all over London and Brighton too. Can confirm Worthing is a great place if you want:
-A lovely quiet beach
-Beautiful countryside and walking nearby
-Friendly safe community, quite diverse and queer friendly
-Very good cafes restaurants pubs and bars (both traditional and also natural wines bars and small plates etc, craft breweries for a bit of pizazz)
-Good schools
-Leafy parks
-Decent town centre with walkable shops
-Three train stations(!) and an easy enough commute straight to Victoria/East Croydon/Clapham, and Brighton of course
-Decent parking (especially compared to Brighton)
-And affordable homes! I bought my three bedroom house in a good area for only 30k more than my one bedroom flat in Brighton-For us it's been a no brainer and we love it, we're in our 30s and lots of our friends are following suit.
-Best areas: Check it out in person. Personally we're near the station on a leafy nice street, Tarring (West) is also desirable. But the best way to ascertain is to go and walk around.

@seasidedweller88 you make a great case for Worthing but that's not the area I need to be in, thanks anyway!!

So Ifield and Gossops Green wouldn’t be my choice, they are ok but parking can be a nightmare if you don’t have allocated. There are nicer parts and worse parts of those areas.
i prefer the other side of town as you can get out to the countryside easily and into Haywards Heath.
i had a quick peak at Rightmove, the flats in Stone Court look nice (although again parking can be tricky). Worth Corner is a nice block, although it is a busy road…..

St Albans totally is! House prices to match as well.

We live in Cranleigh and I get my continental fix in Horsham, the only pedestrianised high street all around Surrey. I love it

Plus little fountain too

You will get a flat with this budget, not sure why Dorking is expensive....can you afford surely 1 or 2 bed in Dorking

Gatwick Airport will expand and so you will get more aircraft noise I expect at some point.

Crawley won't be affected by noise. The planes fly East and West, Crawley is south of the runway, nowhere near the flightpath.

Except Horsham is in West Sussex

(Or did you mean near to Surrey, but that doesn't make sense)