Is Horsham a nice place to live?

[greenmum83]

Hello

We moved to Redhill from London, and whilst there are elements we love (beautiful homes, access to green spaces, great for younger kids, great commute to London) the town centre is getting rougher, shops are closing at an alarming rate, and the main state secondary school is also pretty rough with lots of fights (there's St Bedes, a religious school, and whilst I'm CofE my partner doesn't want this). We want to find a place to move to that has less crime, a good buzz to the town centre, is commutable to London (3 days a week), has quick access to countryside, and good secondary schools (state).

Horsham seems to fit the bill, but what is it like in reality? What are the secondary schools like compared to other schools in the South East? Can the town centre get rough at nights?

Our budget is max 1.1 million, based on that which are the main roads we should be looking at? For medical reasons my husband can't drive, so needs to be easy access to train station (foot or bus).

Thanks in advance!

I’ve only heard good things about Horsham

It has a strong sense of community, good schools and leisure facilities, and excellent transport links. It is a charming, historic town with a lot to offer families of all ages

Chat gpt is that you?

seriously, Horsham is nice. It's a pretty town centre and I have friends who live there and like it. It's nothing wow but nothing to complain about and it fits your specifications.

I lived in Horsham for a while growing up and think it would fit your bill. Good links to London and good sense of community - schools are generally very good. With your budget you should be able to afford somewhere very nice, avoid Roffey.

Horsham is a great town to live in, especially if you have a family. Great schools and lots of choice. Close to Gatwick and easy transport to get there if you don't drive. A sense of community. However, it is getting very built up and the infrastructure isn't ready to cope with the influx of new people. There is more crime around than in previous years. However, I think the good out ways the negative 🙂

I'm not sure why Roffey is to be avoided. Its actually very quiet and family orientated, with a useful parade of shops in the centre.

Redhill/ Woking/ Brighton were all nice once. Then London moves down and they turn to shit. Push up the prices, crate a wealth divide and then wonder why there's loads more crime and miscreants.
Can't you move up north with your fantastic talents? At least you'll all get spread out out
Also why are you posting in Rural Living?

I absolutely love Horsham. Have not seen anything horrible

Horsham is indeed lovely. Great schools (walkable from primary to college if you pick the right spot), easy access to London/Brighton by train but also easy to get to the country for walking/cycling. There is always music stuff going on in the town centre and buzzy markets/foodie vibe. Only downside lack of nearby wild swimming spots but guess you can’t have it all!

I know people there and have spent a fair amount of time there. Redhill is pretty grim town centre wise.

Bear in mind most town centres are going down hill, but in Horsham you have a farmers market, band stand, a fairly good restaurant and cafe culture, some more upmarket shops, John Lewis, TK Maxx etc. There's also a small theatre which is always a good sign and an independent cinema. The park is pretty decent and has an outdoor cafe. The leisure centre is pretty good as it has a pool that also has an outdoor section plus a lesser known sauna / steam / jacuzzi with an outdoor balcony over the park.

There's a bit of a Friday night drinking culture in some parts of the town but I wouldn't say rough. Like many outside London towns there's a growing crack problem but it's mostly behind closed doors. Has its share of street drinkers and stoners but fairly harmless.

Easy access to country side, London.

I would say probably on a par with Reigate overall. Crawley is it's poor cousin.

Defo nicer than Redhill.

Horsham is lovely. Excellent secondary schools and good selection of shops though sadly not a department store. Good restaurants and bars around East Street - feels safe at night. There is Littlehaven station in north Horsham so look at houses in Rusper Road area. West Horsham you have Rookwood Park (1 m plus) but a bit of a hike to the main station. Quieter roads behind Comptons Lane area close to main station- train takes around 50 minutes to Victoria.

It’s a nice town. 3 state secondary schools in town, one mixed, one boys and one girls. Maybe has changed now, but a few years ago it would have been sensible to try and get into the separate schools rather than the mixed… It was the ‘rougher’ school.

The boys school is now co Ed. Hopefully the girls will follow suit in 2026 as a lot of boys have to go to haywards heath where the girls have taken the boys places.

Other than that we live and own businesses here and we love it. We where north horsham after moving from Crawley and now in Southwater on an old farm. Our kids love it. It's very family orientated and lots of things to do.