# Need advice on places to live near Gatwick



## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

Hi all,
It looks like I may be getting transferred to the UK working near Gatwick. I have a 7 year old and a 4 month old. Looking for a place to live with 30 minute or less commute to Gatwick with good primary school and nurseries for my children. Good shopping and parks with low crime would be good too. What does everyone recommend? How's Crawley? Is Brighton to far? As you can see, I have no idea what I am doing!
Thanks so much for the help.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2012)

Hi there, Crawley is close to Gatwick, and so is Brighton, but to get to Gatwick from Brighton you have to travel on the M23 motorway, and that can get very busy. If I was you, I'd look at easy places in fairly close proximity. There is Reigate, or possibly Dorking and several pretty villages close by. They are within easy reach of Gatwick and there are several ways to get to Gatwick once you've learnt the area. I would stay away from driving on motorways


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

Tejeda said:


> Hi there, Crawley is close to Gatwick, and so is Brighton, but to get to Gatwick from Brighton you have to travel on the M23 motorway, and that can get very busy. If I was you, I'd look at easy places in fairly close proximity. There is Reigate, or possibly Dorking and several pretty villages close by. They are within easy reach of Gatwick and there are several ways to get to Gatwick once you've learnt the area. I would stay away from driving on motorways


Thanks Tejeda. What about traveling by train? I know the office is within walking distance of the Gatwick train station...in fact it is on the airport grounds. Would that be feasible from Brighton? What other towns on train route might you suggest?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Abenedict said:


> Thanks Tejeda. What about traveling by train? I know the office is within walking distance of the Gatwick train station...in fact it is on the airport grounds. Would that be feasible from Brighton? What other towns on train route might you suggest?




Brighton is a great place to visit and I am sure to live.. but it is expensive


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

What about Hayward's Heath?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Abenedict said:


> What about Hayward's Heath?


 Yes Haywards Heath is nice, but very expensive. Its a commuter belt for London. I would recommend HORSHAM and the surrounding villages, its an affluent town, with some lovely areas. I wouldnt mind living there myself, as it is, we're in Worthing, which is about 40 minutes from Gatwick, but have lots of friends who live in Horsham, which is about 20 minutes form Gatwick

Jo xxx


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

jojo said:


> Yes Haywards Heath is nice, but very expensive. Its a commuter belt for London. I would recommend HORSHAM and the surrounding villages, its an affluent town, with some lovely areas. I wouldnt mind living there myself, as it is, we're in Worthing, which is about 40 minutes from Gatwick, but have lots of friends who live in Horsham, which is about 20 minutes form Gatwick
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanks Jo. I appreciate the help!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Abenedict said:


> Thanks Jo. I appreciate the help!


You're welcome. If i can help with anything just ask, as I say I know in the area and two of my daughters and my son in law work from Gatwick (as cabin crew). BTW, another place thats about 40 minutes away which I would recommend is Uckfield in East Sussex, thats lovely too. I assume that you're using google earth and street view to have a good look round??!!

Jo xxx


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

jojo said:


> You're welcome. If i can help with anything just ask, as I say I know in the area and two of my daughters and my son in law work from Gatwick (as cabin crew). BTW, another place thats about 40 minutes away which I would recommend is Uckfield in East Sussex, thats lovely too. I assume that you're using google earth and street view to have a good look round??!!
> 
> Jo xxx


I have just started searching but haven't done much on google earth..I will though. My boss just came to me 2 days ago asking me to move and I feel like my mind is going in 47 directions at once. I'm mostly concerned with getting settled in a place to live and finding care for the 4 month old and a school for the 7 year old. Any advice you have on ANYTHING will be very helpful I am sure.
Amy


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Abenedict said:


> I have just started searching but haven't done much on google earth..I will though. My boss just came to me 2 days ago asking me to move and I feel like my mind is going in 47 directions at once. I'm mostly concerned with getting settled in a place to live and finding care for the 4 month old and a school for the 7 year old. Any advice you have on ANYTHING will be very helpful I am sure.
> Amy



Its hard to advise someone when you dont really know their criteria. I was brought up in Uckfield, its a small town about 20 miles from Gatwick, with a lovely feel. Plenty of affordable housing, good amenities, good schools and plenty for families - a nice cosie little town! Horsham is bigger and closer to Gatwick - 10 miles, but again a good town for families and good amenities. Crawley, which is the closest town to Gatwick is a bit.... um, well big, with lots of council houses and I find it rather a harsh, grubby town, but as I say its big and there are some nice parts. There are some pretty villages on the outrskirts - one in particular is Charwood, but as pretty as it is, its at the bottom of the runway, so good for plane spotting LOL!!! 

Haywards Heath is nice, altho pricey, there are a lot of commuters into London and possibly Gatwick, I always find it a little bit ....... do I dare say ...... snobby (does that translate into American???), which isnt a bad thing, but it may take a while to break into the general clique, but I could be wrong, so worth looking at!! And then there are its outline villages which are lovely too.

there! I've probably alienated and upset anyone who reads this and lives in Crawley or Hayards heath lol, but these areas have been my "stomping ground" since I was a child - In fact I lived in Crawley for a while.

Get google map and street view, once you've got used to all of this and then you can have a good look around in the comfort of your armchair

Jo xxx


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

I agree with Jojo....Crawley is fairly rough (Although it has a few nice parts).
Horsham is a lot nicer.
If you don't mind driving, the M25 takes you right to Gatwick... it's the ring road around Greater London, and gives you a whole new lot of scope!


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

mamasue said:


> I agree with Jojo....Crawley is fairly rough (Although it has a few nice parts).
> Horsham is a lot nicer.
> If you don't mind driving, the M25 takes you right to Gatwick... it's the ring road around Greater London, and gives you a whole new lot of scope!


It looks like I could take the train to Gatwick as well, right?


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

jojo said:


> Its hard to advise someone when you dont really know their criteria. I was brought up in Uckfield, its a small town about 20 miles from Gatwick, with a lovely feel. Plenty of affordable housing, good amenities, good schools and plenty for families - a nice cosie little town! Horsham is bigger and closer to Gatwick - 10 miles, but again a good town for families and good amenities. Crawley, which is the closest town to Gatwick is a bit.... um, well big, with lots of council houses and I find it rather a harsh, grubby town, but as I say its big and there are some nice parts. There are some pretty villages on the outrskirts - one in particular is Charwood, but as pretty as it is, its at the bottom of the runway, so good for plane spotting LOL!!!
> 
> Haywards Heath is nice, altho pricey, there are a lot of commuters into London and possibly Gatwick, I always find it a little bit ....... do I dare say ...... snobby (does that translate into American???), which isnt a bad thing, but it may take a while to break into the general clique, but I could be wrong, so worth looking at!! And then there are its outline villages which are lovely too.
> 
> ...



LOL yes, that translates well. Thank you for the candid response. Getting on google earth now


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

Ok. So from what I can see, Horsham is quite nice. Should I be looking north of Gatwick as well? Red Hill area maybe?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Abenedict said:


> Ok. So from what I can see, Horsham is quite nice. Should I be looking north of Gatwick as well? Red Hill area maybe?


Of course, Reigate is nicer than Redhill, but theres Dorking, Leatherhead.... I dont know those areas as well, I'm south of Gatwick, but they all have a good reputation and are lovely areas

Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Abenedict said:


> It looks like I could take the train to Gatwick as well, right?


Trains arent cheap in the UK. I guess it all depends on your income and the hours you'll be working, cos I guess you need to factor childcare in somehow???????

Jo xxx


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## Abenedict (Jan 6, 2012)

My office is walking distance from Gatwick train station so that is why I am eager to take the train. Will probably have one car and husband is going to try to work from home so driving isn't totally out of the question.
So, Reigate over red hill...ok, I will check that out too. Thanks! Meeting with hr/personnel people at work this week. Will have a better idea on budget etc. soon I would guess. Looking at places, I am hoping they will give me a housing allowance to offset the high cost


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

Dorking's nice...I've got family there....Leatherhead too.... it's all fairly suburban and nice around there.
Going towards Brighton you're getting expensive again.


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## Tiago (Apr 24, 2011)

Hi there,

I only know the area north of Crawley and Reigate seems to have the best reputation. However, primary school admissions in Reigate are a complete nightmare. Good schools are very oversubscribed due to large influx of young families. The other downside of Reigate is the traffic which is pretty horrible.

I agree that Redhill isn't pretty but have a friend who lives there and likes it. He says however that the best things about Redhill are the train station and the fact that it is just next door to Reigate.

Crawley is full of council estates but has lots of amenities. Maidenbower is a fairly new estate in the east of Crawley which is quite nice. Not very green, but nice houses.

Horley is very convenient for Gatwick. The town centre is a lot nicer than it used to be and it has everything you need including a big Waitrose and lots of restaurants. Schools are generally good (with the odd exception, like everywhere).

Hope this helps


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