Buying in Brighton and working in London

ahfat41

Son been looking to buy in London for ages  and still could not find a flat he likes. He is considering Brighton as he said he will get more for his money. Will probably have to go in the office twice a week. Am interested to hear some of your views Brighton v London. It’s his choice but appreciate some comments and pros and cons. Personally it is a no, no for me but it is his life!

silvercar

In my mind quite a bit depends on his commute. Would he buy near a train station in Brighton and would his London office be near the London station that the Brighton trains arrive at?

AFF8879

Personally I feel like buying in Brighton defeats the purpose of moving out of London to get more for your money. Brighton is insanely expensive, and a decent flat within walking distance of the station (parking/driving will be a nightmare) can actually be the same price or even more expensive than many parts of London.

If your son has a specific reason for wanting to live there, e.g. friends/partner/social scene then I guess it’s more understandable. I would just try and gauge whether he has any plans to settle down etc, as a city centre flat won’t have as much longevity as a house in the suburbs for most people.

TripleH

Had a colleague years ago who did this. Absolute pain with the trains, though less so with hybrid working.

I commuted an hour on the train into London, okay if younger, pain as you get older. Does it have to be Brighton or are there other places he can live in and commute?

It was almost quicker for me to get in to Waterloo than it was our friend who lived in Mitcham so I can see attraction of living further afield.

vivster

I know lots of people who do it or have done it - some then settled down in the quieter parts of the county once they started a family. Brighton has a particular vibe that attracts lots of people. And the Brighton trains are on Thameslink which opens up the number of London stations served. If it’s only for two days a week it shouldn’t be too bad. As with everything, there’ll be pros and cons.

macman

If the idea is to get 'more for his money', then Brighton defeats the purpose: he'd do better looking in part of South London between the two, where commuting is still an easy option.
So somewhere within reach of East Croydon station would be a starting point?
Obviously if the attraction of Brighton is the lifestyle, then that's a different argument.

DullGreyGuy

ahfat41 said:

Son been looking to buy in London for ages  and still could not find a flat he likes. He is considering Brighton as he said he will get more for his money. Will probably have to go in the office twice a week. Am interested to hear some of your views Brighton v London. It’s his choice but appreciate some comments and pros and cons. Personally it is a no, no for me but it is his life!

A return ticket to London is £47, if they're willing to be limited on services and so about £375 a month... add that to the rent of living in Brighton and you are going to be above the cost of many boroughs of London. There may well be other reasons to want to live in Brighton rather than London which are all valid but if you were looking at cost saving alone or getting more for your money you wouldnt choose Brighton. 

I've a colleague who does it, though he is in town 2-3 days a week these days and he & his husband love the scene there so it works for them but its not done for the money and with the commute to the station, 1hr10 on the train and then more time from the station to the office its a fair old commute. 

deannagone

I'd suggest he looks at other areas with fast trains into London.  Kent can be less than half an hour away and property prices are genuinely a lot lower than London.  But again, you won't necessarily get the 'scene' you get in Brighton.  

SprostonGreenHead

Brighton is a great place and in theory / on paper should be a decent commute to London to those who can afford it. What I would say though, is that over the last few years, this particular rail route has been terribly unreliable. Something to be wary of imo.

movilogo

Why Brighton? If he is happy to commute 1 hour then there are cheaper places elsewhere.

Cast your net into wider area. You can go as far as Bedford on North and Southend on Sea on East - for example. These places are lot cheaper.

Drawingaline

Brighton is surprisingly far from London by train. And very expensive. We moved from there in 2007 and bought a house in Hampshire for less than we sold our flat for. Add in parking issues and where we live now is much better value for money. And closer to London by train. 

However Brighton is a fab place to live for some people. We loved it in our early 20's, but add in two kids, cost of accommodation and the hills, by our early 30's it wasn't such a fun place to be.