Would I be making a huge mistake by moving to Hastings?

Pennylane

Haven't read all the thread but I visited Hastings years ago and thought it was quite nice.

About 4 years ago a family moved close to us with 4 teenage lads and they said they had left Hastings because there was a serious drug problem and they wanted them away from it. Don't know if it's true but there lads have not been in any trouble here so maybe it did the trick.

Jowo_2

Brighton and Hove have much higher reputations in terms of trendiness than Hastings (though prices are more on par with Camden...) with a burgeoning graduate student population, a strong gay scene, excellent shopping, arts and entertainment opportunities.

And despite this, it is as polarised as somewhere like Camden because it has a significant homelessness and entrenched addict community, has low employment opportunities locally and is surrounded by blighted deprived council estates.

So, frankly, unless you want to hole yourself up in a the scottish highlands in a remote croft and be 100% self-sufficient, you'll always encounter chavs (or the working class as they used to be known).

lincroft1710

Jowo wrote: »

So, frankly, unless you want to hole yourself up in a the scottish highlands in a remote croft and be 100% self-sufficient, you'll always encounter chavs (or the working class as they used to be known).

The "working class" of old weren't chavs. Most were in low paid jobs, trying to live decent lives and bring up children in less than ideal housing. Agreed there were some problem families, but they were the exception.

FOURCANDLES_2

I thought all people from the south were rude.One moved here from london poor woman has been banned from the garage, Local shop,reasons given she was always pushing in front , never said please or thank you and was always just plain rude .Come to think of it a lady married my farmer uncle she was from pimlico where ever that is in london she was also branded rude by the locals in that village but thats what you get with on line dating I suppose.

Jowo_2

lincroft1710 wrote: »

The "working class" of old weren't chavs. Most were in low paid jobs, trying to live decent lives and bring up children in less than ideal housing. Agreed there were some problem families, but they were the exception.

Probably the way I wrote it wasn't clear. I don't mean to say that the working class have all transformed into chavs, merely that what is supposed to be a derogative term for the under-class is now routinely applied to describe the working class. When I see or hear references to 'chavs' these days it seems to be a catch-all abusive reference for anyone lower in the social scale than middle-class.

lincroft1710

Jowo wrote: »

Probably the way I wrote it wasn't clear. I don't mean to say that the working class have all transformed into chavs, merely that what is supposed to be a derogative term for the under-class is now routinely applied to describe the working class. When I see or hear references to 'chavs' these days it seems to be a catch-all abusive reference for anyone lower in the social scale than middle-class.

I thought that "chav" referred to the non working class, especially the younger members.

FOURCANDLES_2

I thought a chav a long term work shy benefit claiment who dresses in trackies , trainers, baseball cap, cheap gold , smokes , Thick, blames immigrants for taking all the jobs they never bothered to apply for.

22225

by the way, i know this is a stupid comment because you can google any local news source and find out horror stories (and i live in london!!) but i remember hearing 2 horrible stories about hastings in the last couple of years.

one was a young arab boy on an english summer course who got murdered by youths on the sea front for apparently no reason. the other was a swedish english teacher who was was on the train going from london going to hastings when some youths set her hair on fire. i think she got hurt. this kind of stuff really worries me and i think if you put the effort into moving away from london to a supposed rural idyll it doesn't seem worth it to me. but yes i know i know it can happen any where. but those stories really stuck in my mind when i read them because hastings was my childhood place.

22225

i think the attack on the teacher was in day time - she was with her kids!

Jolaaled

There's a review on Hastings on the 4Homes website:

http://www.channel4bestandworst.com/borough.php?id=168


(sorry..don't know how to make a link shortcut!).

HTH