# Hastings - Shithole or up and coming boom town?



## no-no (Mar 7, 2008)

Thinking of moving there, I've heard conflicting reports though. I know some people who live there who say it's a nice place but I've also heard it's a really rundown town blighted by casual violence,deprivation,poor health and bad education.

Looking at Hastings on statistics websites seems to back that up.If I check out my area of London on a statistics website like upmystreet it doesn't look too rosy either.

Just wondered if anyone here has had any first hand experience of living down that way?


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## Belushi (Mar 7, 2008)

They're the same thing arent they - 'up and coming' is just estate agent twatspeak for a shithole


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## zoltan (Mar 7, 2008)

its not that bad - irs reputatuion does precede it and all coastal towns went thro a bad patch in the arse end of the 20th C.

The seafront is shit/ tacky, but you can get big hi quality rambling houses within walking distance of the centre and some nice country around it

transport is shit to London - really really shit

take a day off when the sun is shining and take a walk aroudn the place to get a feel for it & then you will know


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## cybertect (Mar 7, 2008)

It's better than Bexhill...


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## braindancer (Mar 7, 2008)

A friend of mine who lives there describes it as Homerton-on-Sea....


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## Cloo (Mar 7, 2008)

I think Mation and lilbabyjesus might be living down that way ATM.


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## editor (Mar 7, 2008)

The only way for Hastings is up, so things can only get better.


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## Idaho (Mar 7, 2008)

Shithole I'm afraid.


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## Kanda (Mar 7, 2008)

editor said:


> The only way for Hastings is up, so things can only get better.


 
It could go seawards. One can hope.


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## Sweaty Betty (Mar 7, 2008)

editor said:


> The only way for Hastings is up, so things can only get better.



You managed to make me think of two dodgy 80's/90's pop songs, both number ones if my memory serves me well


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## sonik (Mar 7, 2008)

Hastings is a funny one. 
Split into two parts really, the old town being really nice with the likes of Judges Bakery (owned by the Green and Blacks people if I'm not mistaken) and the FILO (First In Last Out) pub which is super nice plus there's an array of second hand furniture shops and bits and bobs. 

The new town from my experience is thug-tastic and only any good for the cinema. There used to be a really friendly BMX shop on the sea front!!!

It's close to the The De La Warr Pavilion which has had a few good gigs plus there's Rye down the road and Camber Sands. I nearly moved to that neck of the woods a few years back.

http://http://www.judgesbakery.com/home.php
http://www.thefilo.co.uk/
http://www.dlwp.com/


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## editor (Mar 7, 2008)

Sweaty Betty said:


> You managed to make me think of two dodgy 80's/90's pop songs, both number ones if my memory serves me well


That was intentional


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## Belushi (Mar 7, 2008)

> It's close to the The De La Warr Pavilion



Fantastic building.


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## no-no (Mar 7, 2008)

Sounds like pretty much any town in the uk then.Spent some time there a couple of years ago and it seemed nice enough. So the old town is the place to aim for but what are the names of the dodgy areas? Just so I can rule out some of the places I'm looking at on the property sites.

I've already given up on commuting to london from there the train ticket is mucho expensive.What are the links to Brighton like?I hear the A road to Brighton is a fucking nightmare.


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## zoltan (Mar 7, 2008)

no-no said:


> Sounds like pretty much any town in the uk then.Spent some time there a couple of years ago and it seemed nice enough. So the old town is the place to aim for but what are the names of the dodgy areas? Just so I can rule out some of the places I'm looking at on the property sites.
> 
> I've already given up on commuting to london from there the train ticket is mucho expensive.What are the links to Brighton like?I hear the A road to Brighton is a fucking nightmare.



Less than an hour for train commuter services from Brighton

hastings seems to nudge the 2 hour mark most journeys  - driving can take FOREVER sometimes


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## dylanredefined (Mar 7, 2008)

Not a complete shithole .


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## bluestreak (Mar 7, 2008)

Shithole, but probably redeemable.


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## Private Storm (Mar 7, 2008)

Yep, travel there or out of there is a pain in the butt. The A21 often gets snarled up by tractors (well, when I'm on it it does). On the upside, the old town is lovely, there is a real feeling of community there and some fantastic buildings/shops around. A few minutes out of Hasting gets you to some simply stunning locations; Rye, Fairlight, Battle (where the battle actually took place fact fans) and Dungeness isn't too far away and is a really spooky place to go for a drive to. 

The dodgy areas are generally all on the estates, the names of which I forget.


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## sonik (Mar 7, 2008)

Belushi said:


> Fantastic building.



indeed.


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## no-no (Mar 7, 2008)

Right, It's looking ok then assuming I can find work in Brighton or there abouts.

Fucking hell, what has my life come to when it comes down to a decision between croydon and hastings? Someone kill me now.


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## zoltan (Mar 7, 2008)

*lays cards on table *

I like hastings. theres alot thats good about it, but its easy to see just the bad. Money is being spent and the problems are eing supposedly tackled.

the most dangerous thing about hastings ?

the fuckin seagulls that the day trippers feed chips, so they get all feral and actually start attacking you for your stash when you emerge from the chip shop

If you are into Mini Golf, then 2 of the better courses in the UK are in hastings - isnt that worthwhile a reason on its own


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## cybertect (Mar 7, 2008)

Belushi said:


> Fantastic building.



Thirded. One of the few buildings by any of the great European modernist architects that we got in this country.  Erich Mendelsohn is fab.

Though it wasn't popular with Spike Milligan when he did his basic training in Bexhill at the start of WWII; he hated it.


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## likesfish (Mar 7, 2008)

travel out of hastings is pretty shit commuting to Brighton daily while have fun 

its got the sea and isn't crawley


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## zoltan (Mar 7, 2008)

DeLaWarr ?

pah!

If you know hastings/ S. leonards , then you will know possibly the must stunning seaside apartments on the South Coast. if a bit run down ( I have a bit of an interest in this, but its a long story )







Marine Court


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## no-no (Mar 7, 2008)

West Hill, is that a nice part? The old town is by East Hill right? I only remember because of the two funiculars.


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## Herbsman. (Mar 7, 2008)

sonik said:


> The new town from my experience is thug-tastic and only any good for the cinema. There used to be a really friendly BMX shop on the sea front!!!



Backyard. I'll miss them and their video legacy, and Richard Ball R.I.P.


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## zoltan (Mar 7, 2008)

Mr A. Crowley ( of Satan fame ) lived there 

and Rod Hull ditto on the outskirts IIRC

Ore is shit apparently


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## danbreen (Mar 8, 2008)

Lived there for a year and a half. I liked it. Theres a good live music scene and the ppl are generally ok. Great in the summer a bit grim in winter. If its a choice between croydon and hastings i'd pack me bags and go for it.


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## HackneyE9 (Mar 9, 2008)

no-no said:


> Thinking of moving there, I've heard conflicting reports though. I know some people who live there who say it's a nice place but I've also heard it's a really rundown town blighted by casual violence,deprivation,poor health and bad education.
> 
> Looking at Hastings on statistics websites seems to back that up.If I check out my area of London on a statistics website like upmystreet it doesn't look too rosy either.
> 
> Just wondered if anyone here has had any first hand experience of living down that way?



I went there specfically to find out last year. It's both, I reckon. Preferred it to over-rated Brighton. Funky, gloomy, bit rough at edges, but very much place-people-forgot sort of vibe. Second hand books - in fact, read that Iain Sinclair book on Hastings, Dining on Stones, not that it makes much "sense" but it is atmospheric. Think some of the big anti-war crowd live down there too.

Definitely better than Ramsgate, which looked a fucking dangerous hole to me, and that was mid-Tues-pm!


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## g force (Mar 10, 2008)

zoltan69 said:


> DeLaWarr ?
> 
> pah!
> 
> ...



Love that building....but yeah at ground level the "shops" are either closed are run down. But I believe it's being re-done? I'm gonna get some pics of it when i'm down that way over the bank holiday.

My GF's parents live in Hastings...just outside nearer Ore way up on the hills. Old town is lovely. The rest is just a typical shite small town. Dull as hell, shite public transport to London and even the Brighton commute isn't much fun.

You can at least have a pleasant drive to Camber Sands in the summer


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## Sigmund Fraud (Mar 10, 2008)

I like Hastings, I'd consider living there if the transport links to everywhere weren't so terrible.


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## Meltingpot (Mar 10, 2008)

sonik said:


> Hastings is a funny one.
> Split into two parts really, the old town being really nice with the likes of Judges Bakery (owned by the Green and Blacks people if I'm not mistaken) and the FILO (First In Last Out) pub which is super nice plus there's an array of second hand furniture shops and bits and bobs.
> 
> The new town from my experience is thug-tastic and only any good for the cinema. There used to be a really friendly BMX shop on the sea front!!!
> ...



It's a while since I've been there, but I agree; the Old Town is nice.


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## g force (Mar 10, 2008)

Sigmund Fraud said:


> I like Hastings, I'd consider living there if the transport links to everywhere weren't so terrible.



Yep..although I fear i'd spend most of time going to Brighton!


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## Louloubelle (Mar 10, 2008)

I know very little about the place, but I do know that it has a lovely and very secluded naturist beach, although you need to walk miles through and area of outstanding natural beauty to get there. 

On the con side, I read somewhere that it has one of the highest rates of paedophiles / convicted child sex offenders in the country.


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## littlebabyjesus (Mar 10, 2008)

zoltan69 said:


> DeLaWarr ?
> 
> pah!
> 
> ...


Studio flats in Marine Court cost from £65,000 at the mo. At the bottom is a row of shops/galleries/cafes/bars, a really eclectic mix. Shop rents are very cheap so people can afford to experiment. 

There are also some great junk shops around. King's Road, the main shopping street in St Leonards, has but two chain shops (bookie + Spar). It is a bit run-down in parts, and there are some folk there who are possibly not that well travelled, but money is being spent - note the beautiful St Leonards Gardens, which will be stunning when the plants grow in - and it's already pretty lovely imo, plus there is a good mix of people ethnically and it feels no less cosmopolitan than much of London. Hastings shopping centre is a dump, but if you judge a place by its shopping centre, you deserve to live in Luton.

We've found a couple of sympathetic venues, so watch this space...


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## littlebabyjesus (Mar 10, 2008)

g force said:


> Love that building....but yeah at ground level the "shops" are either closed are run down. But I believe it's being re-done?


You believe correctly, and nearly all of the shops are now occupied.


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## 8ball (Mar 10, 2008)

My sister worked there for a bit.

That picture from _Children Of Men_ is fairly close to her descriptions except for the depiction of some form of law enforcement.


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## g force (Mar 10, 2008)

Not sure Hastings will ever be a "boom town" though just because of it's terrible transport links. If...and it's a big if...they got an express train service it would work brilliantly but that god awful service stopping at every backwater Kent and Sussex populace is as depressing a jounrey as i've had by train.


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## littlebabyjesus (Mar 10, 2008)

g force said:


> Not sure Hastings will ever be a "boom town" though just because of it's terrible transport links. If...and it's a big if...they got an express train service it would work brilliantly but that god awful service stopping at every backwater Kent and Sussex populace is as depressing a jounrey as i've had by train.



Why depressing? At peak time, the trains are full of bankers, I'll grant you.


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## g force (Mar 10, 2008)

Well quite...getting down the GF's parents on a Friday night from Charing Cross is just horrific. I prefer the (even) slower train from Victoria...best class of twat on that train


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## littlebabyjesus (Mar 10, 2008)

When I've been in London, I often get the 17:38 from Cannon Street. Unless there's been a major fuck-up, I always get a seat, and it reaches Warrior Square at 7. Could be worse.


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## g force (Mar 10, 2008)

There's a train from Cannon St as well? Hmmm....could easily get to Warrior Sq then into Hastings itself.


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## littlebabyjesus (Mar 10, 2008)

g force said:


> There's a train from Cannon St as well? Hmmm....could easily get to Warrior Sq then into Hastings itself.


Next stop on the same train - two minutes further.


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## DrRingDing (Aug 19, 2016)

Is Hastings still a shithole?


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## DaveCinzano (Aug 20, 2016)

g force said:


> every backwater Kent and Sussex populace.


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## bromley (Aug 23, 2016)

WTF? Used to go there on summer day trips as child and thought the place was quite posh!


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## Fozzie Bear (Aug 23, 2016)

It is quite grim in places but there is a faded grandeur thing going on. Some posher new stuff is happening down by the harbour like the Jerwood gallery.

Me and the fam stayed there for the weekend and saw quite a lot of really fucked up people. Way more than you see in Hackney these days (and proportionally way more than I remember there being in Hackney in the 90s).

Whether or not it's a shithole depends on what you like. I quite like visiting but I wouldn't want to live there personally.


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## t0bytoo (Aug 23, 2016)

St Leonards is a nice place. I go there quite a bit and always enjoy myself. Swimming there this weekend if the sunshine stays!


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## editor (Aug 23, 2016)

Loads of Brixton squatters/creative types fled to Hastings after the Foxton-propelled yuppies pushed their rents into fantasy levels, but the damn fools who tried to make something interesting in the once-moribund town have only helped turn the place into a wallet-waving twat-magnet:

Creativity in Hastings: designers do like to be beside the seaside

Town named as creative hotspot


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## moon (Aug 23, 2016)

Fozzie Bear said:


> Me and the fam stayed there for the weekend and saw quite a lot of really fucked up people. Way more than you see in Hackney these days (and proportionally way more than I remember there being in Hackney in the 90s).


That's because apparently lots of London councils send 'problem' tenants to Hastings/St Leonards and pay private landlords to house them there.


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## Fozzie Bear (Aug 23, 2016)

moon said:


> That's because apparently lots of London councils send 'problem' tenants to Hastings/St Leonards and pay private landlords to house them there.



Fair enough. I wonder if they do that indefinitely? I'm guessing not. 

It wasn't a problem for me really except for having to help a guy out of the road.


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## Indeliblelink (Aug 23, 2016)




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## sim667 (Aug 24, 2016)

My friend has just up and left London for Hastings, because he can get a 5 bedroom house for the same price as a 2 bed flat.


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## likesfish (Aug 30, 2016)

They have remade the pier but it looks like the uni is going to close down


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## Purdie (Aug 30, 2016)

DrRingDing said:


> Is Hastings still a shithole?



Shithole,  But not a bad one as shitholes go.  Lived it for 10+ yrs, left 8yrs ago but still go 2 or 3 overnight trips/year.



sonik said:


> Hastings is a funny one.
> Split into two parts really, ...<snip>



Beyond that we will never agree 

Lots of culture in Hastings in the way of festivals and celebration.
Bike Day

Hastings Drummers

Also Jack-in-the-Green,  Pirate Day, Day in the Park and more.  The Carlisle does live rock music on weekends and used to host a yearly chess event.
Hastings Country Park stretches for 5 miles to the east along the top of the cliffs.  Swimming pool in Glyne Gap has a wave bath and indoor slide
Not much in the way of decent primary schools except for Silverdale comprehensive and 2 rc schools (Dudley and St Mary Star of the Sea)
Connects up to St.-Leonards and with the by-pass built Bexhill is easy enough to reach without sitting in traffic jams
Maidstone is do-able for a good shopping session as there is not much left in Hastings.
Old Town High Street has got a brilliant mineral shop that also sells fossils.
5 Big supermarkets 1 of which is 24-hour, one wholefood shop proper (Trinity)
Seriously hilly for cyclists and beyond the seafront not particularly cycle friendly.
Lots of teenage English language students in the summer months.
Bonfire Night is amazing

ETA Changed the vid,  This one got the bonfire on it proper.


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## Purdie (Aug 30, 2016)

Just found this gem too
Hastings Pram Race


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## Maggot (Aug 30, 2016)

Purdie said:


> Maidstone is do-able for a good shopping session as there is not much left in Hastings.


It's ok for shops, surely not worth travelling all the way to Maidstone for a few more. What has gone?


Anyone know what happened to the cricketer in Priory Meadow?


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## Purdie (Aug 30, 2016)

Maggot said:


> It's ok for shops, surely not worth travelling all the way to Maidstone for a few more. What has gone?
> 
> 
> Anyone know what happened to the cricketer in Priory Meadow?



Loads has gone, Gamleys, bookshop, ELC, BHS, Sussex Book Stores, Olio, Claire accessories are the ones that come to  mind.
Smugglers pub has become an eatery and the Sussex Arms by Frederick Road has been a pharmacy for years. 
Old Town has changed a lot for the worse in the last 8 years imo.  Used to be a health food shop in George Street, is some eatery or coffee place now.  Lots of overpriced bric-a-brac but still one good bookshops albeit with funny opening hours.
Maidstone is nice for a day out and something different. 

As for the cricketer, he left his ball behind so likely he will be back (it's stuck in the wall above F. Hinds )
When will Priory Meadow cricketer statue return?


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## Maggot (Aug 30, 2016)

Purdie said:


> Loads has gone, Gamleys, bookshop, ELC, BHS, Sussex Book Stores, Olio, Claire accessories are the ones that come to  mind.


According to the internet, Claire's is still there.


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## Purdie (Aug 30, 2016)

Maggot said:


> According to the internet, Claire's is still there.


Daughter went to Priory Meadow and came back telling me she got all the bargains she did because it was closing down sale.  That was late July this year, like a month ago.  Didn't question it much beyond that when her uncle confirmed.


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## phillm (Sep 5, 2016)

likesfish said:


> They have remade the pier but it looks like the uni is going to close down



Yes it is closing down - an acquaintance of mine converted two houses into student rooms approved by the Universty and had a good thing going from his point of view and has been told officially they are to close. Sad to see the place go downhill. 

University of Brighton 'disguising' Hastings campus plan - BBC News


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