What are the good and bad parts of West Sussex please ?

kegg_2

I live in lancing which is just outside worthing. We moved here 12 years ago from surrey knowing very little about the place but just liked the look of it.
£180 will buy you an ok 3 bed semi or terrace away from the estate areas. Avoid the tower road area and look more at the avenues. North lancing is nice but more pricey. The downside is the secondary school is not good but i send my lad to a out of area school. The primary schools are ok, the best being North lancing.
Sportswise there is a leisure centre on the a27 at north lancing, aquarena swim baths in worthing and another leisure sentre in worthing. Plenty of parks and open spaces. 10 minutes walk and my son can be on the downs.
If looking at worthing avoid durrington and durrington high school, west worthing can be a bit of a dump in places.
couple of good high schools in east worthing as long as you dont mind single sex education.
Goring is another area you might want to look at and parts of it will be in your price range.
If you have any rightmove propertise you are interested put up a link and i will tell you anything i know about the area or local school.
Also which sports do you want to play and i can tell you if they have any local clubs for example my lad play county football with a local team and youth football is quite well supported. There is also worthing harriers, cricket clubs ect

SouthCoast

A gentle bump.:)

haras_nosirrah

Live in Angmering Village. Bought a 3 bed house here in feb for 180k. I love it. Is on the outside of worthing and the local primary is the best in the area. Lovely walks, a sports field, a local pub and good local shops. You should really check it out

Grimbal

I've lived in Horsham since 2005 & have to say that I love the place. It can be a bit WASPy though - don't expect too much in the way of multiculturalism! It has always seemed to me a fairly well run & prosperous place. It's also well placed geographically - 30 mins or so from coast or capital & easy to get to Gatwick, but not (generally) under the flightpath.

Shopping is fairly run of the mill,with the usual retailers featuring. There's a nice little farmer's market on a saturday which is always popular with the locals. There is a lovely large park next to a decent-ish sports centre.

Schools are generally considered to be of a good standard - Can't comment on primaries, but there are three secondary schools:an all girls (v good), an all boys and a mixed one. The sixth form college (Collyers) has also got a good reputation.

House prices tend to be a tad on the high side, you'll be able to find a house (just) for your money. Areas do vary - Roffey is thought to be the "rough" area, but as someone who grew up in Gillingham, even Roffey doesn't seem that bad!

if you've any other questions, please feel free to PM me !

_Chris__2

Thank you very much haras_nosirrah, Grimbal and Kegg for your replies, the information has been very useful. Particularly interested in villages around Horsham with a good community spirit, sports centre, and good mixed sex primary and secondary schools. Will be visiting the area soon, and could do with a short list, so any advice, opinions and info is very gratefully received.

Chris

Bullfighter

Horsham is nice, we live nearby in Dorking and often shop in Horsham.

Some of the villages around Horsham are very nice (such as Warnham), but their prices reflect that.

_Chris__2

Thanks Bullfighter, so far :

Good areas in or around Horsham - Warnham

Bad areas in or around Horsham - Roffey, Hills Farm Lane and Broadbridge Heath

Any others ?

The helps much appreciated.

Chris

tomtiddly

I've grown up in Horsham and lived here a lot of my life and love it. It may seem a bit of an old-persony town at first but really is lovely (I remember the uproar when the youth of Horsham asked for a night club and the council said "Can't you use the Roffey scout hut?). Excellent park, town centre, shops, markets, lovely places to walk in the surrounding countryside and lots of lovely little local pubs.

I've lived in South and North Horsham and it's always been friendly (know the names of my neighbours 6 hours each side) and in my experience fairly crime-free.

Lots of good primary schools, the main girls secondary is top I think in the county (citation?!)

Good commuting to London or great for days out. Crawley is easily accessible if you want bigger shopping trips than Horsham can.

Horsham is the nicest place I've ever lived

Or look at the surrounding villages, Mannings heath, Broadbridge Heath, Slinfold, Nutfield ....

mrcol1000

Ardingly is a nice little village and has Wakehurst Place which is connected to Kew Gardens and also has the South of England show ground. Lindfield is also a lovely place. They are both near the town of Haywards Heath and not far from the bright lights of London and the beaches of Brighton.
Avoid at all costs Crawley. Be careful of Worthing. Horsham also is a lovely place. Avoid the coast. Its lovely to visit but not to live.

keith969

I grew up in Horsham, its a pleasant enough place, the west side imho is the nicer bit. Plenty of villages nearby that are nice too e.g. Barns Green, Slinfold, Wisborough Green, Billingshurst. Agree that Crawley is to be avoided!