Moving to Brighton/Hove area - talk to me about nice areas please!

[theincredibleshrinkinglady]

A potential work move means that we may be moving to the Brighton/Hove area in the next 12 months. I love Brighton and am very excited by the idea but love to hear about the places you think are a good place to bring children up in.

Our two musts are that the house needs to be within a mile of a mainline station to London and would ideally be detached or semi-detached at a push (we have a rather loud autistic son and feel we just need not to have two sets of neighbours complaining!)
We are looking for a 4 bed place with a bit of greenery around.

Anyone have any ideas? Also any info on primary schools would be great too.

Many thanks

bump for the evening crew

i love hanover/queens park - 20 min walk to mainline Brighton but 4 beds in the area are rare and most houses are terraced.

Poet's Corner in Hove is of a similar ilk but i think you're more likely to find a 4 bed there.

Fiveways/Preston Park tends to have a little more land but can be a hike up the hill and if you use Preston Park as your main station, not all the commuter trains stop there - the fast ones don't - the early morning trains tend to be full by the time they get there.

Don't really know the Porthall area but it's supposed to be friendly and close to Brighton mainline.

Hove Park is lovely - a great play area and cafe. Huge houses round there.

What is your budget?

I would say either 7 Dials (biased because I live there, but it is very central, close to the sea, station and shops), Preston Park (a bit further out, but a very nice area, good schools) or near Hove Station. I would say that you have more chance of getting a Detached House in Hove/Hove park. The other areas are all victorian, so you will be looking at terraced/semis. All are quite expensive though, because of their proximity to the station.

Hove Park (where MIL lives) is lovely - but trains direct to London are slow on the whole and fewer per hour. Better off living walking distance to Brighton station - more trains, faster, etc.

Well, where to live depends heavily on budget.
What sort of money are you talking and what do you want for that?
Huge difference between terraces in Hanover and Hove Park palaces

There are some really lovely big houses by Queens Park although not many detached/semi-detached. Hanover is a bit cramped as the houses are pretty much all without front gardens and have tiny back gardens. St Lukes Primary and Elm Grove primary are ok but not outstanding. Preston Park & Five Ways very nice but further away from Brighton stn as mentioned before.

Our budget will probably be around £600k if that's any help. Am willing to compromise on a smaller property if there is a garden (would rather live in a tiny box with a garden than a grand pad without!).

this fits the bill

Tho' the garden looks a bit small, it is actually pretty good for Brighton. Very close to Preston Park (and Preston Park stn). Good local schools - Balfour for primary and Dorothy Stringer for secondary.

Wanting a garden AND being close to London stations is a tough combination in Brighton tbh, but I do think Preston Park is most likely to fit your bill

Do I get a home-finders fee?

sorry, this link

Thanks Stumbletrip! I saw and liked this too! Am planning to get ours on the market and then looking, but it's good to hear from people in the know about areas and good places to go! Thank you

Do you definitely want to be in Brighton/Hove or happy with slightly outside? We have just moved to Hassocks - mainline station into London, only 12 mins on train or 20 min drive to Brighton. We're in a big detached house 5 mins walk from station and you'll get a lot for your money. Good schools in village and neighbouring one (Outstanding primaries in both). Loads of greenery - walk onto the Downs from our doorstep plus house overlooks fields etc - and have the advantage of Brighton being close by but enjoying slightly more country living. The village has most of what you need - small but good supermarket, banks, hairdressers, bakers, butchers, pubs, takeaways plus other shops and thriving community stuff too.

Just a thought - completely understand if you def want to be in Brighton/Hove, but just thought I'd suggest an alternative.

I live in the Preston Park area - above the station on the Dyke Rd side. If you look at googlearth you'll be able to see which houses in which roads have decent gardens - for example on the NW side of our road gardens are small; much larger on the SE side. Ours is an 1899 semi with spectacular views, reasonable size garden. Some of the period houses below the railway line to the north of the station (Clermont Rd area) have very long gardens. There's quite a mix of different housing styles in a smallish area. I really like it in this area as you can literally walk to anywhere - Hove Pk 10 mins, 7 dials 15 mins, central hove 30 mins, central brighton 30 mins, Fiveways 25 mins etc. Local shops and cafes Schools are good and as I often work odd days in London I just hop on at Preston Park. I have 3 children age 6,7 and 8 and many people here have young families. BTW Hove Park area is a complete desert for primary schools. Not close enough to any of them unless you live very close to Dyke Rd on the Hove side, no further north than the Droveway. I lived in Poet's Corner in Hove before this, another nice family area but I much prefer it here. Hope this helps.

If you want easy access to everything I recommend BN3 6WR. Pleasant green spaces and easy access to the city and adjoining areas. Great schools and good quality housing not to mention a lifestyle that easily incorporates all the family could want

zombie