Best coastline to move to close(ish) to London?

[LondonMelzbelz]

Hi All,

I'm a single mum, born n bred Londoner, looking to fulfil my life long dream to be by the coast, Swim in the sea and walk the dog. Since my dad's still in London, I've considered the Essex (Holland on sea) &Kent (Broadstairs) coast to be closer to him, but thought that Bournemouth might be more diverse and people would be more open-minded. Any thoughts on this please?

Or indeed any other locations I haven't considered?

Background:
43yo with DD 5yo, East Asian descent, with a Masters in marine conservation but never secured a long term paid job in the sector since 2003 (when I finished studying).

Recently losing my mum made me reassess what is important... although I love my dad, due mostly to his Chinese upbringing, he was never emotionally available, so I couldn't actually live in the same house again as him, even though he dotes on my DD, but the guilt of leaving him behind is crushing.

This feels like one of the hardest decisions of my life.
Looking to rent a flat for a year to scope out the place, and then potentially selling up if we're happy.

Thanks again in advance to everyone for your help, this is my first forum post ever, sorry if I went on a bit!

Whitstable or Margate in Kent both have quite large communities of artists and creatives. Not the most diverse but more open minded than you might think. Both are easy day trips on the train from London for a scoping mission. Whitstable can get absolutely rammed on sunny days in summer but no more than Broadstairs. Don’t feel guilty about your dad, it will be easy to visit you’re not going far. You have to live your life.

I know it's not as trendy as Margate, but I really like Ramsgate

I grew up in Bournemouth, it used to have a lovely town centre but lots of the shops are empty now. In the town centre and particularly the Boscombe area you see plenty of homeless and drug addicts. It's so sad. Boscombe is actually a bit scary, IMHO.
However there are still good areas further out, and of course the beach is beautiful.
It certainly has a diverse population. Also it's been a hotspot for EFL schools since the 1960s so the town's always been full of young people from all over the world.

Thank you so much for your replies everyone, really appreciate your thoughts.
It's a real challenge not feeling guilty when my dad guilt trips me, but I know that you're right ru53!!

I'll definitely consider Kent coast again as it is considerably cheaper/closer to London.

And I'm so thankful for that info about Boscombe bluesatin, as I was looking there, as well as Southbourne and Westbourne.

Resuming the search again tomorrow 😆

Thanks again ladies! X