Commuting from East Grinstead

[Biscuit]

Hey chaps,

Tried a search but it looks like it's turned off.

I would very much like to move back to Sussex as I'm currently residing in Enfield. However I work in Hammersmith so would need to commute to work.

I noticed the commute time from East Grinstead to London Bridge/Victoria is fairly quick, and a season ticket costs as little as £2,100 (MUCH cheaper than comparable commuter towns) and the high street also looks nice.

The houses near the station also look very good value. I could buy a one/two bed flat in Enfield or a two/three bed house in East Grinstead - no brainer. Plus it's in Sussex and I can get to the games quicker!

My question is, what's East Grinstead like to live in? Is there much to do? Is it a nice place? I really don't know anything about the place. I'm sure we have some residents on here?

 

[Hillian1]

Hey chaps,

Tried a search but it looks like it's turned off.

I would very much like to move back to Sussex as I'm currently residing in Enfield. However I work in Hammersmith so would need to commute to work.

I noticed the commute time from East Grinstead to London Bridge/Victoria is fairly quick, and a season ticket costs as little as £2,100 (MUCH cheaper than comparable commuter towns) and the high street also looks nice.

The houses near the station also look very good value. I could buy a one/two bed flat in Enfield or a two/three bed house in East Grinstead - no brainer. Plus it's in Sussex and I can get to the games quicker!

My question is, what's East Grinstead like to live in? Is there much to do? Is it a nice place? I really don't know anything about the place. I'm sure we have some residents on here?

Full of Palace fans, they even have a part of their Academy at the sports complex.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

The commute is good, trains frequent, youre at the end of the line so youll always get a seat.

Depends what you want from a town. Its got a waitrose and a sainsburys, and a cinema. The high street has got the usual chains (boots etc) and a the lesser spotted Wimpy (benders all round!). One barn of a pub which is a bit of a scummer (the broadway) and a couple of decent smaller locals (the sportsman for example).

Not only a haven for palace, theres bton there too.

Theres worse places to live in sussex.

 

[gullshark]

I'm from EG and lived there for about 22 years, Mum still does.

It's an alright place to be honest, there are worse places and it's certainly no chavvy hell hole. Not sure what the situation about pubs etc is cause it's been a while since I went out drinking in EG. If you really need anything more for shopping and whatnot Crawley is pretty stocked up.

The only thing that pisses me off about EG (and probably why it's cheaper to commute) is that the station isn't on the Brighton main line... but you can get frequent buses that stop at Three Bridges station for your Albion fix.

 

[Biscuit]

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

 

[gullshark]

Just had a look and Three Bridges gold card would cost you £2,924.00 per year.

 

[00snook]

Does Martines still exist in EG?

 

[Bozza]

Having a few RightMove searches on the go ahead of a move back to Sussex, I have also noticed East Grinstead has struck me as quite cheap, given where it is, for property.

[MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] tells me it's dull and not to live there.

In all honesty, I'm unlikely to - to me it's Sussex in name alone. Sussex, for me, ends somewhere South of Gatwick.

 

[Simster]

It really depends what you're looking for [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION]. EG is a bit dreary IMO. And weird; it is the home of Scientology in the UK, for a start. Then again, as [MENTION=307]Biscuit[/MENTION] says, it is a good commuter distance from London and isn't far from Brighton.

Ultimately, a lot depends on your stage in life. If you have a family then obviously things like schooling and speed of commute are more important than for a first time buyer trying to get on the ladder, where buying in a seemingly affordable town might make a lot more sense.

 

[Biscuit]

Having a few RightMove searches on the go ahead of a move back to Sussex, I have also noticed East Grinstead has struck me as quite cheap, given where it is, for property.

[MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] tells me it's dull and not to live there.

In all honesty, I'm unlikely to - to me it's Sussex in name alone. Sussex, for me, ends somewhere South of Gatwick.

It does seem quite close to Crawley for me!

But given that I'll be significantly closer to the football and my family, plus the commuting time will be much the same to what I do now.. It ticks all the boxes. Plus it's not chavvy and it has a nice high street. Not to mention the property prices are very reasonable. Certainly somewhere to consider.

Where abouts in Sussex are you considering? Looking more East than West?

 

[Bozza]

Where abouts in Sussex are you considering? Looking more East than West?

Not sure - I currently have RightMove searches set up for Brighton, Horsham and Copthorne (and a few miles around for each) that deliver me emails every day. EG pops up in the Copthorne searches.

 

[Biscuit]

Not sure - I currently have RightMove searches set up for Brighton, Horsham and Copthorne (and a few miles around for each) that deliver me emails every day. EG pops up in the Copthorne searches.

I don't know much about Copthorne, but Horsham was also on my list. Looks nice, affordable and commutable.

 

[chucky1973]

Does Martines still exist in EG?

oh the memories.

 

[chucky1973]

put it this way, there is a lot of worse places to live than EG

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I've always found East Grinstead rather dull, it's very much the commuter town, with all that entails. On the plus side though, clean safe, reasonable schools and within easy distance of Crawley and Tunbridge Wells if you're looking for a wider variety of shopping and entertainment.

 

[00snook]

oh the memories.

Is it no longer than chucky?

I would say that Martines was single handedly responsible for most of the youth of EG losing their virginity.

Meat Market is an understatement.

We used to go down there when it was £1 for a bottle of Vodka Source (whatever that was). Needless to say 20 of those and a good time was had by all. Wednesday nights was the one to go on if I remember rightly.

 

[Titus]

Nice countryside around there. Oh, a few good food pubs too.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I've lived in this area since I was 6 (though I spend a fair bit of time at my place in SW London). The good points about East Grinstead are the reasonable house prices and the beautiful High Street (one of the best preserved medieval high streets in the country). Countryside is very easy to access, and Gatwick is at most 20 minutes away. There are a couple of decent pubs, the Ship, which is a bit of an old man's pub, though there is live music there most Saturday nights and the Sussex isn't bad. There is also a very good fish and chip shop. Of the schools, Imberhorne is particularly good if you want to settle and raise a family, but I'm not sure about the primaries.

Bad points are the shopping, which is pretty dire - London Road, the main shopping street, has a large number of empty shops and the rest are mostly branches of chains. On the other hand, we do have an excellent bookshop and travel agent, who got me a very good price on a ticket to Australia a few years ago. Also, if you want major shopping, you do have Crawley and Tunbridge Wells nearby. The other downside is the traffic - East Grinstead was once said to be the worst bottleneck in the South East. The town has been crying out for a bypass for years, but sitting on the border of three counties is a considerable drawback, as they've never been able to agree on the funding, need for the road or route. Unfortunately most Eastbourne traffic comes through on the A22. It could have been diverted away if the plan to dual the A27 between Lewes and Polegate had been implemented, but we all know what happened there. Also, if you like to go everywhere by public transport you will find the town a pain. Okay if you want to get to Crawley, but not for nearly anywhere else. The 291 to Tunbridge Wells goes via the slower route through Hartfield. Getting to the Amex would also be a pain if you were trying to rely on the bus. Okay, for Saturday games you might be able to get the 270 to Haywards Heath then the train, but I would find getting a bus to Three Bridges, then a train to Brighton and another to Falmer too much hassle. And yes, there are a lot of Palace fans about - probably the fact that you can only go to London by train is one reason, but there are quite a lot of Albion - the area is heavily split between the two and I know a family where Dad, daughter and family are Palace, Mum is Albion and daughter is marrying an Albion fan.

 

[Colossal Squid]

It could be worse. I know the town quite well and have friends there. You're technically in Sussex although only just, and there is some nice countryside around to enjoy. Pubs wise I think the town is quite poorly served, catering more for the underage drinkers and chavs who want to pile into whatever Martines is called these days (once voted Britain's WORST club), however if you venture a little further into the country you can find some rather nice places in nearby Dormansland, Lingfield, Turners Hill and Forest Row.

For me the train line is actually one of the biggest drawbacks. Yes it will get you to London but that is IT. There's literally nowhere else it serves worth stopping at. And as has already been mentioned you can't get to Brighton or anywhere else in Sussex for that matter. Things will improve when the bluebell extension finally opens, and I believe it's actually very close to completion now, but it remains to be seen just how practical services on this reopened line would be.

Shops wise it is shit, but if you have a car you can drive to Crawley which has everything bar shops with any character or individuality. Back in the day there was a wonderful little independent record shop, Jingles, an excellent book shop, Wilmingtons and a cute little sweets and fireworks shop called C R Wickenden. Sadly all of these EG institutions are long gone, mostly replaced by coffee shops. Although if you like cafe culture there are a few decent spots to go for a cappuccino. Although I'd recommend avoiding Peter Andre's NY Coffee Club which is full of chavvy single mums and doesn't actually serve proper coffee. CJs is a nice coffee shop though, and the one in the old Midland Bank building. There's a great local off licence too, Armstrongs, which will happily supply you with Sussex's finest beers Harveys and Dark Star. Seems a wonder they manage to survive in today's climate but I understand they supply ALL the local clubs and societies, which allows them to keep the high street presence going.

Also you're quite close to the Ashdown Forest in Grinnie, which is a very pleasant place to visit of a weekend, so if you're an outdoors type it's worth factoring this in.

Go and check the place out, it's honestly not THAT bad and I can think of far worse places to live.

 

[chucky1973]

Is it no longer than chucky?

I would say that Martines was single handedly responsible for most of the youth of EG losing their virginity.

Meat Market is an understatement.

We used to go down there when it was £1 for a bottle of Vodka Source (whatever that was). Needless to say 20 of those and a good time was had by all. Wednesday nights was the one to go on if I remember rightly.

we used to head over there on thursday and a saturday, start at the braodwalk and then up in martines, £1 a drink, ended up really messy, but often after snogging about 5 women!! great times, not sure what is there now, wife does not let me out to much these days!!