Relocating to East Sussex

[Bored2death2020]

Hi there, my DD was offered a place at a school in Brighton and we are planning to relocate into the area and currently considering Hassocks, Rottingdean areas. We do not want to live in Brighton itself as we need a relatively large house with some land and ideally within 15-20 mins drive to the Brighto Marina and 15-20 min drive max to a railway line to London.
We will also need to find a very good (not average) swimming club for a competitive swimmer.

Would appreciate any info on the areas to live that match the 'wish list', recommendations on swim clubs etc.

If you have reloacated to East Sussex - have you ever regreted it?

Well if you’re heading for Hassocks you’re not relocating to East Sussex..

I don’t live there but have friends that do.. Well located for the station for the mainline, a nice Village centre with useful shops and coffee and not too far from Brighton..

Check out the Marlins swimming club up the road in Burgess Hill - I have no idea on quality but they seem to be training very well whatever age group is in when I’m going up and down next to them.

www.midsussexmarlins.org/club/

yes Hassocks is not in East Sussex! Ditchling is lovely but £££. Think there is a swimming club based at K2 in Crawley which would be 20 mins drive from Hassocks/Burgess Hill but opposite direction to Brighton. Does the school not offer competitive swim squads?

thanks for the insights! I have obviously made a mistake with East Sussex . The school is in Brighton, so we are looking for areas within 15-20 mins drive to school!
Will check the Marlins club but Crawley would be too far. The school does have competitive squads etc but as we all know unless it is Milfield or Mount Kelly, none of them do coaching/ training at the required level, so you have to supliment a lot with the outside training.

We liked the village Rottingdean. Are there any other villages with similar feel that are not too far away?

You’re fairly limited on that side of Brighton - anything village like to the west would by much longer than 15/20 minutes to the marina area.. Kingston near lewes is nice but nothing there (shops etc) as close to lewes and brighton..

Hurstpierpoint is also nice..

Vroc21 thanks for replying. So are you saying that even if we lived in Hassocks or similar areas we won’t reach the school within 20 mins? We did a trial in spring ( not rush hour) and it did fit in 20 mins. What about other parts of Brighton where you can get a house with big garden /land? Do they exist?

Hi! We are currently doing that school run in reverse and it can take up to 40 minutes one way in rush hour. Brighton traffic can be awful! Other towns / villages you might want to look at that are relatively easy access to Brighton- Lewes, Ringmer, Clayton, Pyecombe. Newick (v nice!), Plumpton. Big gardens are notoriously hard to find in Brighton but depending on budget houses around Tongdean Lane and Withdean can get quite big plots. If you’re looking for Marina access, out east you could look at Alfriston, Kingston etc- not on rail links but not fair from Lewes.

Hi I'm from this area, and moving back in June (From Singapore incidentally, your user name makes me think you're also going from SG?)
Is the school Roedean? If so, it will take you longer than 20 minutes to get there from Hassocks, the traffic getting through Brighton is a major issue in the mornings. If you don't want a commute more than 20 Rottingdean is a much safer bet (and lovely). You could also consider the outskirts of Lewes (Rodmell, Kingston) or Withdean, which falls within the Brighton and Hove area but has some very large properties.

For swim clubs, Mid-Sussex Marlins or the one in Crowborough depending on where you end up living. Brighton swim club is okay but it's a pain for parking/getting there.

oh sorry Singaporesling is not the OP but my advice still stands!

Is the school Brighton College or Roedean? I live on outskirts of Rottingdean . It's great here. Easy and quick to take bus into town, do you have a boat? Is that why you want to be near marina? In my opinion, marina is a dump except if you have a boat.

I have no idea about swimming clubs. You should ask the school your child is going to!

Anyway for the moment I think swimming pools are now closed.

Saltdean has a wonderful Lido but only open in summer

I like Saltdean though I know nothing about swimming clubs.

I had two years in Saltdean a little while ago and loved it.

@Ploughingthrough, @Singaporeslinger84, @LesLavandes thank you for the suggestion of places. Google maps is obviously not right about the driving time. But wonder if you can avoid the traffic by taking the scenic route via Rottingdean to Hassocks? Will check out Rodmell, Kingston though.

@TheSandgroper we actually looked at Saltdean but were told that it can be rough, not sure what that refers to!? Ideas?

Rottingdean would be ideal but all depends on finding the right house. Or perhaps, renting for the first year would be a better option...

Ate you moving solely for your daughters school?

My parent did that. Stress on sibling. And then didn’t work out.

@Jroseforever Not solely for school, no. We are just outside of London and would like to relocate to somewhere more peaceful and close to the sea. School is just as an extra pull factor. We don't really know the areas, just been there and never lived anywhere in Sussex, and as we all know it is one thing living in a place and totally an other visiting it.

Rottingdean is my favourite place to go and chill. Love the high street and the beach is lovely and parking is pretty good.

wonder if you can avoid the traffic by taking the scenic route via Rottingdean to Hassocks

Falmer Road? It's a real bottleneck at the wrong times. I think google maps is giving you the best case scenario there, if you were to travel in the middle of the day or something. Whichever way you go, it is going to take longer than 20 minutes. Take it from someone who has sat in every possible version of a traffic jam round there!

@Ploughingthrough thanks for the advice. Looks like we are limited to Rottingdean and Lewes if we want travel under 20 mins 🤦‍♀️