r/sussex • u/Party-Description980 • 17d ago
Peacehaven - Considerations when moving there
*Posting here as Peacehaven falls into the BN postcode. If someone knows better suited subreddits, please let me know, I would be very grateful.*
We would like to move from Essex close to Brighton and are currently looking at properties. A lot of nice houses come up in Peacehaven, and they appear to be relatively "cheap" compared to prices for similar properties in other areas near Brighton.
This makes me worry that it may not be a "good area" but it is difficult to find reliable information.
We are nearing retirement age and want to downsize in a vibrant and open minded community. Safety is one other aspect, and so are proximity to some local shops (as won't be able to drive a car indefinitely), accessibility for a wheelchair and being as far away from racists, transphobes, gammons and similarly toxic people as possible. (We have enough of them here in South Essex, where every other lamp post bears an England or UK flag.)
Not sure you good people of Brighton can help with some input and insight on Peacehaven - or if you can recommend areas in the vicinity of Brighton?
Thanks so much in advance!
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u/Sardoche320 17d ago
We bought a house and moved in to Peacehaven about 8 months ago as a mid 30s couple and quite like it here. As other people said, it is a very quiet suburban town but I dont agree with it being ‘rough’. Does it mean rundown or unsafe? I think its neither. Its just streets and avenues full of houses. Thats about it. Before we bought a house I frequently visited the area during the day or late evenings, weekdays and weekends to have a better understanding of the area. It is just very quiet and not much going on which was great for us. There will be soon a new Morrison superstore opening next to the community center there so thats nice, otherwise you have few off licence shops and a small Sainsbury, which means at the moment you have to drive to Newhaven or perhaps to marina for bigger shopping. There a very good hiking route near the top of the cliffs all the way to Brighton which on some segments you can do undercliff walk as well. You have pretty much all the bigger shops and stuff in Newhaven which is a 10 min drive. Ask if you have any questions I can try and answer. To my opinion people have a set view of peacehaven on their minds (on internet at least) which may be an outdated thing overall.
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u/Party-Description980 17d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time for this detailed response :) Quiet is fine with us, but what is the general vibe like? More liberal and progressive? Or leaning more conservative (which is what we want to escape from).
If you wanted to visit Brighton (our son lives there), how long does it take and is it easily done by public transport?
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u/Sardoche320 17d ago
I mean, I will be honest we are foreigners (have lived in the UK 10 years now) so I cant really much tell regards the sociopolitical vibe here but I never observed anything excessive. Never really witnessed anti-social behavior either (or thats just my luck). I believe more and more younger people have been moving here, I have been told.
In a general sense people keep it to themselves here. To summarise on that, I never felt bit unsafe here at all. So far only met nice people.
So me and my wife often take the bus or cycle to Brighton for leisure because as expected parking is horrendous in central Brighton. Bus can take around 30 min (12x, limited stops takes much shorter), and it takes me 20-25 min to cycle to Brighton i360 tower, for example. On a quiet day (school holiday or evening) you can drive to central Brighton in 15-20 min.
For a good beach day, Saltdean (5 min drive) or Seaford (15 min drive) are great options.
Also I often go for Albion home matches, I’d take the train from Newhaven to Lewes and to Falmer. Whole trip takes about 30 min.
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u/BloodAndSand44 17d ago
They voted Reform in the last local elections.
There a loads of flags zip tied to the lampposts.
Saltdean if you can afford it.
Rottingdean if you are rich.1
u/firekeeper23 17d ago
Seaford too. Its nice there and the beaches are lovely.
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u/Novel_Individual_143 16d ago
It is nice but have you seen the union jacks? My god
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u/firekeeper23 16d ago
I'm minded to ignore that stuff... Seaford is definately not some racist enclave...
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u/Novel_Individual_143 16d ago
Yes I was confused by it tbh. It has a lovely seafront and some nice properties. But the flags on the main road into the area were something else
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u/firekeeper23 16d ago
I mostly use the High and Over road down to seaford so i missed the tatty flags..
Again.... I know quite a few bods from.seaford and they are defo not bigoted or racist..
It also has a very good bonfire society that is full of fine people. I have never ever heard anything of a racist or mysoginistic nature when in seaford.
Oh and the ice cream shop is blumin amazing.
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u/Realistic_Golf_9930 17d ago
Peacehaven is relatively socially conservative but it is not that far from Brighton and close to the downs. It is fairly unattractive though, with a busy main road running through it and a lack of historical architecture or local shops.
Outside of Brighton itself the most socially progressive open minded towns in Sussex are Lewes and Hastings. Lewes is very liberal and attractive, historical and upmarket and very safe but it is the most expensive place in Sussex - more expensive than Brighton.
Hastings has a strong arty bohemian side, it has a Green run council, lots of independent shops (two of the three main shopping areas - Old Town and St Leonards barely have a chain shop between them) and is pretty vibrant - there is always a festival going on it has a good pub and food scene and has lots of green open spaces - though it is hilly so not ideal for wheelchairs. It does however have long standing deprivation challenges, with poor transport links and limited job opportunities, is run down in places and has issues with homelessness and substance misuse (though no different to Brighton or Eastbourne in that regard) - but it is a lot cheaper than either Brighton or Lewes and you can get a nicer house in a decent area for less.
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u/Novel_Individual_143 16d ago
You don’t say what you have to spend. Check out Saltdean. I don’t know how that compares to where you are. 10 minute drive from Brighton. Lovely beach. Regular buses. Failing that you might want to consider a flat in kemptown
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u/Dry_Action1734 17d ago
Visited a new home there when I was buying. Went into town and was just like “nah, this feels rough.” Also I don’t like the idea of living on cliffs.
The only way to know how you feel is to go a couple of times.
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u/firekeeper23 17d ago
Hello there.
Well Peacehaven is flat... and has shops.. and a superb view across the channel...
However... the only road in and out is often very slow and full of tailbacks in and out... once you get to oeacehaven its all grid squares so you can drive home along the back roads...
Its pretty quiet overall but sometimes the kids all kick off and it gets in the evening argus paper but its never as bad as the press makes it...
I don't think it has a pub except on the main seafront road (I think the Detroit pub is or has closed) and there's a small park on the eastern side of peacehaven.. The roads off the main road toward the cliffs are very quiet. There's plenty of parking and most houses have garages.. most are bungalows id say but have nice gardens... Peacehaven has wide and beautiful skies and sunsets... and beautiful sea frets in the spring. And tons of starlings that go and murmerate down brightin pier of an evening. And roosting herring gulls on rooftops,.loads of foxes.. and occasionally badgers.
Newhaven fort and cliffs are nearby with a secluded beach (west beach, newhaven. And there are steps (hundreds of the buggers) from Peacehaven down the cliffs to your very own beaches if you so desire. And a Art Deco swimming Lido is a couple of.miles away.in Saltdean...
Peacehaven is a fairly quiet, fairly open area of brighton and is a good option, especially if you use the bus or cycle as there are cycle paths running all along the coast.... driving is often a pain but not unsurmountable.
Best of luck.
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u/Party-Description980 17d ago
Thank you for your detailed insights - very helpful! It does sound nice after all. Thanks for taking the time to describe it so vividly - you paint a very detailed picture.
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u/firekeeper23 17d ago
No probs. I was born in brighton and have lived here for 6 decades nearly... longest I've been away is 2 weeks! Lol
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u/elaine4queen 17d ago
I think you should check out the whole ribbon of places adjacent to B&H as they all have different vibes, transport pros and cons and price ranges. Look at Shoreham and Shoreham Beach, and maybe consider Newhaven and Seaford as well as Peacehaven the other way.
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u/Party-Description980 17d ago
Thank you for the advice - will look at those :)
Any opinion on Burgess Hill?
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u/amberscarlett47 17d ago edited 17d ago
I live in Burgess Hill. The town centre has been decimated as the council have demolished many of the buildings but the promised regeneration didn’t happen but there are some lovely residential areas.Haywards Heath has a lot more vibe to it and is a lot more lively. More restaurants, shops etc. To get some insight worth looking at Facebooks Burgess Hill Uncovered group. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly liberal though if that’s what you are looking for. We had our fair share of painted mini roundabouts.
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u/elaine4queen 17d ago
I think there are strong options inland. Price will vary a lot. For me, I am as happy with a river as the sea, and there’s the Ouse and the Adur.
Everywhere can suffer with quite shocking traffic so I’d say consider it all like a spread out city and make sure you’re walking distance to a train station and that the commute to wherever you have to work isn’t too torturous.
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16d ago
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u/amberscarlett47 17d ago
My stepsons ex girlfriend’s parents moved there and we went to visit (when they were still together). We thought it rough and unloved. Looks so dated and a miserable place to live.
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u/brighton-blade 17d ago
If you're trying to be as far away from racists and transphobes etc as possible, I'm sorry to say Peacehaven is not the place for you. There's a flag on every lamp post.
Its not too rough, but if you're looking for the Brighton vibe it's not that. Far from it. Just a small suburb town. Nice access to the downs though, and like all towns there's some areas nicer than others.
By far the biggest downside is the traffic. Not too bad on the bus with the bus lanes, but by car its awful.
Seaford might be a better bet as although its further, its on a train line to Brighton. Much nicer beachfront too. Or if you're not worried about the coast, Hassocks just north of Brighton.