[Brighton] Would you move back to Brighton?

[rudolf hucker]

I moved to Suffolk for ten years and loved it up there.
Move back happened to coincide with Albion moving into Withdean.
So season ticket every since.

Everything is very expensive, it is grubby, but it is Brighton. It has life, it is a great place to live, sea on one side the South Downs on the other.

Not sure now is the time to make such a major life change (unless you are unhappy in Spain)

If your wife is Spanish there is a lot of Spanish In the town which would no doubt help.

Important thing is make sure the timing is right

Buena suerte.

 

[The Clamp]

they are runnig out os apce, it was nicer 15-20 years ago in many respects

chrsit I'm getting old!

It certainly was.

I have been coming to Shoreham regularly since the late 90’s and moved here 4 years ago. My timing couldn’t have been more off. Blocks of flats, office blocks, housing estates and the new Ikea all adding to the overcrowding and general downfall.
And heck is it busy these days! Just too many people in a small town.
It’s heart breaking.

But to the point of the thread, Brighton is still Brighton but it’s very dirty and over crowded these days with too many homeless and addicts. Okay to visit, couldn’t live their again. Far too many nutters.

 

[Chicken Run]

NSC is a wonderful Smörgåsbord of opinions so when seeking advice from complete strangers it's a good place to start.

I've been living abroad for a number of years now but recently I've been feeling strong desires to move home to the fine city of Brighton and Hove. My girlfriend is pretty keen as she wants to improve her English and I own my flat here in Valencia with a mortgage of about a hundred quid a month so I always have that safety net. I work from home for a British company so no problems there.

Anyone done something similar and care to share their experiences? I've made a loose list of pros and cons so please feel free to jump in.

Pros
- Can actually watch the Albion live (one day, hopefully)
- Can play more golf
- Pubs
- Friends and family to spend more time with
- Pubs
- Decent international food
- More agreeable summers rather than unsticking my balls every 10 minutes
- Pubs

Cons
- Cost of living is absurd
- Partner might struggle to find work as the UK slides into a recession and she will start doing my head in
- Gammons now more vocal although Brighton is relatively gammon minimal
- Every time I go home it seems much dirtier than I remember
- Weather is terrible most of the year
- Whatever mad shit the Tories decide to do next

Thanks in advance for your input!

Pros
- Can actually watch the Albion live (one day, hopefully)[emoji736][emoji120]
- Can play more golf[emoji736][emoji120]
- Pubs[emoji848]
- Friends and family to spend more time with[emoji848]
- Pubs (you’ve already listed this)
- Decent international food (yeah right)
- More agreeable summers rather than unsticking my balls every 10 minutes [emoji736]
- Pubs ( you’ve already listed this)

Cons
- Cost of living is absurd YES
- Partner might struggle to find work as the UK slides into a recession and she will start doing my head in YES
- Gammons now more vocal although Brighton is relatively gammon minimal ( Weird that you would try and politicise)
- Every time I go home it seems much dirtier than I remember YES
- Weather is terrible most of the year ( I thought you said it was agreeable)
- Whatever mad shit the Tories decide to do next (Another weird political statement)

My advice stay where you are [emoji106]

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Being a bit more serious, make sure you totally secure your Spanish future before you do anything. Otherwise you might have difficulty reversing any decision. I now have the right to live and work, in perpetuity, in Germany. Try and get the same before you do anything else.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

As an aside, will Bexit cause any issues with your work? Or are you paid in Spain?

I have my permanent residency here which will be renewed in 5 years time. I made sure I'm as secure as possible with Brexit looming but I guess if in the next 5 years I don't contribute anything to the country they won't grant the next 5 years so decisions will have to be made at some point. I wouldn't risk my status here unless I was absolutely sure I wanted to stay in the UK, and I would be surprised if that happens.

 

[Whitley Bayster]

Yes I would. Though I'd probaby head for rural Suusex rather than Brighton itself. I've lived away for 30 years now and still have to go back several times a year for a Sussex fix. It regulates the northerness that's slowing seeping into my system!!

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Yes I would. Though I'd probaby head for rural Suusex rather than Brighton itself. I've lived away for 30 years now and still have to go back several times a year for a Sussex fix. It regulates the northerness that's slowing seeping into my system!!

Pints of gravy for lunch etc

 

[blue-shifted]

Jamie

What I'd remember is that if you're young and you try to come on NSC and express an opinion, you get shouted down for being ... well .. young.

The end result is that a site full of fogeys with phenomenal post counts who have retired from life and are here to talk about their dentures or arthritis or whatever. See above for details.

Brighton is a brilliant place to live. Music, art, comedy, drinking (and it's heart breaking to see this closed down for COVID). Full of young people with ideas and aspirations. Loads to do and being in the centre of it feels wonderful. And don't ignore the politics. In fact I'd look at a political map of who holds what seat to work out if I thought I'd fit in in a different part of the country. Ignore the rough edges. Brighton is about the feeling it gives you. I couldn't recommend it more.

 

[Mexican Seagull]

Coming back to Brighton is also on my mind after nearly 50 years abroad, share many of the thoughts/concerns mentioned above + something which has hit me over past few years which is about where does one belong - have more time on my hands now (just retired) and also Mexico my home for past 25 years has a terrible populist President on a mission to change the country (it needs change but not as is happening) - if you think Johnson is bad I can assure you he is nothing compared to AMLO!! I have through the years away been back typically at least a couple of times a year, so have seen the ups & downs. Several have mentioned not Brighton but somewhere nearby, I thought the Sussex countryside was even more expensive and not sure living in a village would suit me. Is it a good place to retire??

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Pros
- Can actually watch the Albion live (one day, hopefully)[emoji736][emoji120]
- Can play more golf[emoji736][emoji120]
- Pubs[emoji848]
- Friends and family to spend more time with[emoji848]
- Pubs (you’ve already listed this)
- Decent international food (yeah right)
- More agreeable summers rather than unsticking my balls every 10 minutes [emoji736]
- Pubs ( you’ve already listed this)

Cons
- Cost of living is absurd YES
- Partner might struggle to find work as the UK slides into a recession and she will start doing my head in YES
- Gammons now more vocal although Brighton is relatively gammon minimal ( Weird that you would try and politicise)
- Every time I go home it seems much dirtier than I remember YES
- Weather is terrible most of the year ( I thought you said it was agreeable)
- Whatever mad shit the Tories decide to do next (Another weird political statement)

My advice stay where you are [emoji106]

Why do you have an issue with the posters two political observations?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Coming back to Brighton is also on my mind after nearly 50 years abroad, share many of the thoughts/concerns mentioned above + something which has hit me over past few years which is about where does one belong - have more time on my hands now (just retired) and also Mexico my home for past 25 years has a terrible populist President on a mission to change the country (it needs change but not as is happening) - if you think Johnson is bad I can assure you he is nothing compared to AMLO!! I have through the years away been back typically at least a couple of times a year, so have seen the ups & downs. Several have mentioned not Brighton but somewhere nearby, I thought the Sussex countryside was even more expensive and not sure living in a village would suit me. Is it a good place to retire??

Mexico City to the Sussex countryside? Wow..that’s some leap!

 

[Mexican Seagull]

leaps are not a problem, I moved to Mexico City from Copenhagen...

 

[AmexRuislip]

- More agreeable summers rather than unsticking my balls every 10 minutes

Both of these do reguarly occur in Sussex, it's traditional on the run up to Sussex day

 

[BLOCK F]

Sounds like you'd better come and try it for a while, before you commit one way or the other, to see if it suits you both.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Having lived in the city for over 60 years I am looking forward to escaping in the near future. Successive councils have failed its residents. The town is dirty, parks are in a mess, the infrastructure is failing, inability to deal with crime or get people off the street into safe accommodation, ineffective handling of travellers, disjointed transport plan, poor choice of its budgeting priorities, mismanagement of recycling. Gee! This wasn’t meant to be a rant but, other than the Albion, it has no longer got much going for it.

 

[zefarelly]

Jamie

What I'd remember is that if you're young and you try to come on NSC and express an opinion, you get shouted down for being ... well .. young.

The end result is that a site full of fogeys with phenomenal post counts who have retired from life and are here to talk about their dentures or arthritis or whatever. See above for details.

Brighton is a brilliant place to live. Music, art, comedy, drinking (and it's heart breaking to see this closed down for COVID). Full of young people with ideas and aspirations. Loads to do and being in the centre of it feels wonderful. And don't ignore the politics. In fact I'd look at a political map of who holds what seat to work out if I thought I'd fit in in a different part of the country. Ignore the rough edges. Brighton is about the feeling it gives you. I couldn't recommend it more.

Agreed . . .I was close to but didn't move east in the late 90's, glad I didn't. I'm close enough to take advantage of Brighton for gigs etc but still have the cleaner/quieter side at home away from a large town and its pitfalls.

Having said that Shoreham is doing it's best to drag itself down in places.

Worthing is nice in places, but still 50 years behind!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Sounds like you'd better come and try it for a while, before you commit one way or the other, to see if it suits you both.

I’m sure the Spanish lass is going to love this

 

[Gabbafella]

Me and the Mrs are early 40's and are itching to get away from central Brighton now.
I personally would look just outside of Brighton, saltdean/peacehaven or Hove/Portslade.

 

[JetsetJimbo]

I've often said that the only way I'd move back to the UK is if I got headhunted for a £70k+ job in Brighton (i.e., it's not gonna happen), mainly because it's the only place I've lived in in the UK that I genuinely love. I certainly wouldn't move back to London (where I lived for most of the years that came between growing up in Brighton and moving to Prague) under any circumstances.

But right now seems a weird time to be contemplating any such move. I'd want to wait at least a couple of years to see how all the Brexit fallout settles before making a decision like that.

 

[Cpt. Spavil]

NSC is a wonderful Smörgåsbord of opinions so when seeking advice from complete strangers it's a good place to start.

I've been living abroad for a number of years now but recently I've been feeling strong desires to move home to the fine city of Brighton and Hove. My girlfriend is pretty keen as she wants to improve her English and I own my flat here in Valencia with a mortgage of about a hundred quid a month so I always have that safety net. I work from home for a British company so no problems there.

Anyone done something similar and care to share their experiences? I've made a loose list of pros and cons so please feel free to jump in.

Pros
- Can actually watch the Albion live (one day, hopefully)
- Can play more golf
- Pubs
- Friends and family to spend more time with
- Pubs
- Decent international food
- More agreeable summers rather than unsticking my balls every 10 minutes
- Pubs

Cons
- Cost of living is absurd
- Partner might struggle to find work as the UK slides into a recession and she will start doing my head in
- Gammons now more vocal although Brighton is relatively gammon minimal
- Every time I go home it seems much dirtier than I remember
- Weather is terrible most of the year
- Whatever mad shit the Tories decide to do next

Thanks in advance for your input!

My mum and brother have actually just moved from Brighton to Valencia.

My mum wanted to be rural but not too far from things.

I have lived out of Brighton for the last 7 years.

 

[blue-shifted]

Having lived in the city for over 60 years I am looking forward to escaping in the near future. Successive councils have failed its residents. The town is dirty, parks are in a mess, the infrastructure is failing, inability to deal with crime or get people off the street into safe accommodation, ineffective handling of travellers, disjointed transport plan, poor choice of its budgeting priorities, mismanagement of recycling. Gee! This wasn’t meant to be a rant but, other than the Albion, it has no longer got much going for it.

I get that some want to move to non city life as they tend to suit younger people, but I'm not sure what you're saying applied to Brighton any more than any other small/medium city. I'm much more inclined to blame central government austerity and local government funding cuts for the state of the parks and infrastructure, travellers and homeless, as if you spend much time in any other city you see very similar problems there as well.