Advice - Haywards Heath/Wivelsfield/Burgess Hill

[User removed 4]

Tim you are sad.



As for commuting, I used to get the 7.07 from Wivelsfield for about 8 years and probably only failed to get a seat on about 10 occassions. For London, I would always use Wivelsfield as you pick up the trains from Eastbourne as well as those from Hove and of course Brighton.

warden park is in cuckfield for your guide, and what nightlife do kids want ?? HH is a 20 minute walk from cuckfield, i know i used to live there .

 

[Scampi]

Careful Scampi, you coming across as someone who's got some chips to go on your namesake shoulder. HH is a bit dull (it's got so much better though in recent years on the entertainment front) and the shopping's not great. But then it's not a huge town is it? And people use the internet now. Moreover, how long do you spend "down the shops" versus in your home - and on that front, it's excellent as are schools, low-level crime, links to London etc e.g. everything that pushes house prices up because people want to live there. As a kid I bemoaned all of the former, but as an adult, you soon see why your parents wanted to live in a place like that for family reasons. It's the same up here in Maidenhead. God damned awful town centre; but I'd don't live in the town centre and other town centres are 15-30mins. And I don't go to restaurants and pubs there. I go to those in the surrounding area which are amongst the best in the country. You don't have to stay anchored to your postcode mate!!!

I take your point, but came across some truly ghastly people that thought HH was the height of sophistication. It's not, it's just another dull commuter town.

 

[salazar]

I went to see someone in Bentswood the other day, i thought it looked a bit "edgy" - how bad is that area??

as for schools i meant primary schools mate, and Warden park is in cuckfield so only a walk away

Grew up in the bentswood area,has gone downhill over the past few years but would'nt call it edgy.

 

[beorhthelm]

the simple answer to the "pubs and resturants" issue is to point out there are literally hundreds within half an hour south, so what does it matter? im faced with a similar issue, want to move back to sussex but need to be near the train line to work... along with apparently several hundred thousand others. be lucky if you can afford HH or Burgess Hill, i'll probably haev to spend another hour on the train each day from/to polgate

 

[Billy the Fish]

Wivelsfield Green is one village and Wivelsfield is another, neither of which are near Wivelsfield Station.

To be honest, there is little to chose between the towns but there is, at council level, an element of snobbishness on the part of H/H. There are better bars in H/H (Broadway) but B/H has far more traditional pubs. B/Hill also has a cinema (which I don't use) and a far superior leisure centre (which I do). The schools in B/H also have a better record.

In terms of housing, you probably get more for your money in B/H because of the previously mentioned snob value to H/H.

Both have excellent links to Brighton and the big apple to the north.

Take your pick however, if your mate works in London, probably better plumping for B/H as there is more chance of getting a seat on the train in the mornings (Wivelsfield station probably the best as you can also pick up the trains from Eastbourne to London there).

I grew up in Burgess Hill and have lived in Haywards Heath for 5 years.

This and the post that was below it are probably the best summing ups on this thread. The only thing I'll add is that Lindfield is much nicer than proper HH.

I don't know why people are suggesting Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint. They are both rougher than they should be for places that size, and hassocks town centre is basically just the trainstation, a budgens and a couple of small shops.

I also don't know why simster is getting all "my small town is better than your small town". They are just small towns, they're not supposed to be that exciting. If I want to do something exciting in the evening I'll take the 20 minute train ride to Brighton and go out there.

 

[footychick]

Not Haywards Heath, so glad I don't live there anymore.

 

[User removed 4]

Not Haywards Heath, so glad I don't live there anymore.

where do you live now ? seriously, maybe its a grass is greener syndrome, i moved to HH precisely because its a quiet if somewhat dull but safe place to bring up kids , perhaps people who grew up in the place actively seek a more exciting , happening place to live.

 

[Mick Beard BHA]

Thanks for all the tips. Much appreciated.

 

[bhaexpress]

When chefs like Tony Tobin decide to open up in Haywards Heath, call me.

You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that I don't know HH. I do, I grew up IN and around HH for the first 17 years of my life, my mum has always lived within 5 miles of the place so I know it reasonably well. In addition, we even considered moving to mid Sussex ourselves only a few months ago but decided against it because we thought HH was DULL.

There is one road in HH with "decent bars", and I promise you, they simply don't compare to what Reigate has to offer. In addition to which, while the schools are OK, Reigate has some of the best state schools in the country. Reigate school has better results than any mid sussex 11-16 school, and St Bedes is better than most private school results. Throw in the fact that Reigate has loads of sports clubs, a new multi million pound park, and it closer to London and HH just doesn't compare.

And quite a few others agree with me, which is why my house would be around half the price (just over) if it was in Haywards Heath.

I can attest to this. I grew up in Burgess Hill, went to school (and worked for some years) in Haywards Heath but I also lived in Hassocks for a while and for a long time in Horley which is down the road from Reigate. There's really no comparison between Haywards Heath and Reigate. I can still remember the row when MacDonalds tried to open a place there. Haywards Heath is inferior to Burgess Hill, it's a town that sprawls across the area without actually doing much, really not that great a place to live. On the other hand, as was said earlier, Horsham has a lot to recommend it.

 

[Djmiles]

Haywards Heath isn't too bad if you don't mind venturing out of the town for decent entertainment. Restaurants arent too bad, but there is generally very little to do in the town itself.

I would pick it over Burgess Hill, but then again I'm biased!