Good areas to live in East Sussex

MortgageMamma

thanks so much for the help - everybody its really really appreciated. I have booked a week away in a bungalow in Pevensey bay this morning for the 13th October - the week will give us a chance to look around properly and still have the chance to have a little fun with the kids.

The only place I've seen that I'd like to live at this moment in time is this http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-8722071.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=rent which looks like really good value for money.

the plan is to explore in October, find a property in December and move 15th Feb for the school half term hols. I am really excited now I can't wait.

Thanks for the help with the traffic and all the other areas, me and the hubby will look at them tonight when the bambinos are asleep. Does anyone know what its like near normans bay? I've been there briefly in Feb this year when I visited my (new) bosses house but it was dark and I was only there for an hour

Debt_Free_Chick

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Does anyone know what its like near normans bay? I've been there briefly in Feb this year when I visited my (new) bosses house but it was dark and I was only there for an hour

Norman's Bay is very quiet and possibly a bit too rural for you (and, I think, a little "bleak" although that appeals to many) - but only 4 or 5 miles from Eastbourne.

More "inhabitants" in Summer due to influx of visitors/tourists - there are some caravan/camping sites, but I'm not sure how many.

Although you would be travelling on the dreaded A259, Cooden is lovely - right on the outskirts of Bexhill so you're through the worst of that nightmare road. And there's an alternative B road along the coast, right into Pevensey and then Eastbourne.

Squiggly_Diddly

Hi Mortgage Mamma :-)
I'm in Eastbourne - actually in what is supposedly one of the worse-off areas... but I like where I am (in a cul-de-sac, 100ft of back garden) & the primary school is excellent.
Hailsham is ok but there are nicer bits & rougher bits... (and the rough are rough!). Around Hellingly (which is just on the north of Hailsham) and all the villages that way are quite nice & on the afore-mentioned A271 (would take you around 20 mins if you nipped through the back roads).
I only ever drive through East Dean, I think it's fairly quiet as the houses are all basically off the main road. Seaford is a nice little town too.
Pevensey Bay, Pevensey village & Westham village areas are all nice too, Norman's Bay is very remote & literally right on the beach with (I think) one road in & out - depends if that's your sort of thing... I like Little Common & Cooden areas (which are outskirts of Bexhill), and Battle is also nice. I can get to Cooden in 15 mins from my house, lol (that's not hanging around!). To get to Hastings from EB can be a nightmare cos of the road and personally I wouldn't fancy living there....
I think coming down & noseying around for a week is a great idea; will give you a 'feel' for the area much more.
Good luck!!

Canucklehead

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Thanks for that Ed, I read through the thread. I live rurally now but want to live semi rural to perhaps a quiet suburban area. The only criteria we have is that the area is not posh but not grotty, not in a traffic bottleneck, within the catchment area of a good primary and high school, and is near a beach which is acessible without going near cliffs (me and the DH petrified of heights and we have a 3 year old who we have difficulty in controlling)

So far we are struggling. I'm going to take a week off work in Sept and go down and have a good nosey about.

Thanks also David I appreciate your help. I will look at hastings but the other thread says there are some scummy areas, but i guess you get that in all towns really.

Good afternoon: I'm not from East Sussex but live next door in Kent ( the far east!) East Sussex is lovely...when we lived in Greater London we would drive down to the coast on Sundays for lunch and a walk. Anyway... here is a link to East Sussex C.C. for info on schools...the interactive map is quite handy http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/schoolsearch/search.aspx


Good luck with your move. Mmmm! Chips and gravy...haven't had any since moving to here from Canada...lived on them in high school;)

Canucklehead

EdInvestor

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

However, the A259 between Hastings & Eastbourne is two-lane i.e. NOT dual carriageway and passes through numerous villages (with speed limits) and roundabouts. But as it's the only route, then it carries all traffic between the two places.

The bottleneck is actually mainly between Hastings and Bexhill - once through Bexhill, then it is quite fast to Eastbourne.

Train service is the same - N/S fine; E/W horrendous

Hastings to Eastbourne takes 25-30 minutes, 3 or 4 trains an hour at peak times, not too bad. Both stations are very central. Shorter journey time from the two St Leonards stations and Bexhill.This is the line that goes to Victoria via Gatwick.

Will you be working - what kind of potential customers do you want around you? There are quite large variations in income levels in the area and also big variations in age - with Hastings St Leonards a much younger profile than Eastbourne/Bexhill, which tend to be fairly heavily populated with wrinklies Over the other side of course Brighton is very smart these days, not to mention expensive, with all those commuters on London salaries....Lewes is an attractive town with lots going on, nice property , quite upmarket , in the country but also quite close to the sea.

Squiggly_Diddly

You'd be surprised at Eastbourne Ed, it's a younger/more lively place than people think (although it would have a long way to go to beat somewhere like Brighton!). I'm biased cos I live here & have done virtually all my life, but to me it's the best out of the 3 of Hastings, EB & Brighton. And if I want the shopping/variety in Brighton then I get the bus along the coast road - £3 return ticket, no parking hassles (Btn a nightmare for that) and beautiful views. Lewes - yes, the County town for E.Sx - but parking can be a pain in the centre (my little bruv lives in Lewes). Also had bad flooding a few years ago (5?) ... as did Uckfield.

MM - I was going to suggest places like Peacehaven, Saltdean, etc which are on the coast road (A259) but its all at the top of cliffs & more like 30-40 minutes from EB so probably not quite what you want!

Just thinking re schools too - I did a quick search on the county council website for schools relevant to East Dean - and you would be looking at the ones in the Old Town area of Eastbourne (I would have thought you may have come into Seaford/Polegate/Willingdon areas). There are 2 infant schools - Pashley Down is a lovely little school (I did some teaching practice there before I changed degree), and Motcombe which has always had a good reputation (well, I did go there when I was weeny!). They feed into Ocklynge Junior School - which I think is now the biggest junior school in Eastbourne.
It also (as far as I am aware) is still a good school (and has been for a long time).
The relevant secondary schools these usually feed into are Ratton & Cavendish. Ratton has always been popular with a good reputation. Cavendish did slide at one point - not so sure how it is now.

You might find the county council website useful - its www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk or you could look at www.eastbourne.gov.uk

MortgageMamma

EdInvestor wrote: »

The bottleneck is actually mainly between Hastings and Bexhill - once through Bexhill, then it is quite fast to Eastbourne.



Hastings to Eastbourne takes 25-30 minutes, 3 or 4 trains an hour at peak times, not too bad. Both stations are very central. Shorter journey time from the two St Leonards stations and Bexhill.This is the line that goes to Victoria via Gatwick.

Will you be working - what kind of potential customers do you want around you? There are quite large variations in income levels in the area and also big variations in age - with Hastings St Leonards a much younger profile than Eastbourne/Bexhill, which tend to be fairly heavily populated with wrinklies Over the other side of course Brighton is very smart these days, not to mention expensive, with all those commuters on London salaries....Lewes is an attractive town with lots going on, nice property , quite upmarket , in the country but also quite close to the sea.

Thanks Ed, still doing the same job - mortgage broker - will be running the mortgages arm of two well known estate agents and bringing my existing client base which is scattered right across UK, am moving for a lifestyle chain and better weather. Its a self employed position so I earn what I need to really. I dont really fancy brighton, I went on google earth and the office for national statistics last night to check out population type, education, crimes rates etc and it seem pevensey bay is a good area to live if you have got kids as there is plenty to do,

MortgageMamma

Squiggly_Diddly wrote: »

You'd be surprised at Eastbourne Ed, it's a younger/more lively place than people think (although it would have a long way to go to beat somewhere like Brighton!). I'm biased cos I live here & have done virtually all my life, but to me it's the best out of the 3 of Hastings, EB & Brighton. And if I want the shopping/variety in Brighton then I get the bus along the coast road - £3 return ticket, no parking hassles (Btn a nightmare for that) and beautiful views. Lewes - yes, the County town for E.Sx - but parking can be a pain in the centre (my little bruv lives in Lewes). Also had bad flooding a few years ago (5?) ... as did Uckfield.

MM - I was going to suggest places like Peacehaven, Saltdean, etc which are on the coast road (A259) but its all at the top of cliffs & more like 30-40 minutes from EB so probably not quite what you want!

Just thinking re schools too - I did a quick search on the county council website for schools relevant to East Dean - and you would be looking at the ones in the Old Town area of Eastbourne (I would have thought you may have come into Seaford/Polegate/Willingdon areas). There are 2 infant schools - Pashley Down is a lovely little school (I did some teaching practice there before I changed degree), and Motcombe which has always had a good reputation (well, I did go there when I was weeny!). They feed into Ocklynge Junior School - which I think is now the biggest junior school in Eastbourne.
It also (as far as I am aware) is still a good school (and has been for a long time).
The relevant secondary schools these usually feed into are Ratton & Cavendish. Ratton has always been popular with a good reputation. Cavendish did slide at one point - not so sure how it is now.

You might find the county council website useful - its www.eastsussexcc.gov.uk or you could look at www.eastbourne.gov.uk

Thanks for that, I think we'll be giving the cliff areas a miss so we are pretty restricted to pevensey bay and normans bay. We looked carefully at East Dean last night and there isnt a suitable school - our kids go to a catholic school at present and I wanted to continue with that if possible. I looked at the education league tables last night thuogh and it seems that the top 10 school are all C of E! I'm not quite sure how you go about getting places for your children in new schools mid term - once we have settled on an area I think I will apply for spaces at quite a few and just hope they get one at the one we really wanted. Its getting well stressful this!

Ms_Piggy_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

We have friends living in Seaford (next to Newhaven).

Seaford is a nice little seaside town that has managed to avoid the worst of the ravages of tourism and I don't think it's too pricey either.

Seaford is better than Newhaven, but that's not saying much!

Look at Bishopstone or East Dean - far nicer. Personally I'd avoid N'haven or P'haven and would want to avoid a lot of Seaford too.

ETA: Schools - Tideway in Newhaven is cr*p, avoid like the plague. Seaford Head is marginally better (but not much!).

Lewes and surrounding villages are very nice, but probably too far away.....

MortgageMamma

anyone know of any good catholic schools?