On 4 Apr 2018 at 1:33pm Question wrote:
think we should be happy we have the choice to decide where we want to live, most people do not.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 1:40pm Answer wrote:
Up yours, DFL in waiting.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 1:45pm Question wrote:
I actually mean that people should not complain about being forced to move out of London as they still have money to buy a house in Lewes or other nice places. A lot of people do not have the choice to choose where they live
On 4 Apr 2018 at 1:45pm Sharia Coalfield wrote:
Who's 'we'? A lot of people in Lewes do not have the 'choice' to live within the pre-suburban part of their own town, because it's too expensive. Don't just look at it from one (privileged) point of view.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:09pm Colonal mustard wrote:
Troll alert!! Anyway, We moved to lewes 5 years ago and it is such a wonderful place to be, the forum really is not representative of those living in lewes .... so pls ignore this forum if you are making this choice,....!
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:10pm question wrote:
'we' are all the middle class moving down here from London complaining about how we miss London but had to move out because we could not afford a bigger house for the 2.5 children! At least we had the choice ....
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:28pm Question wrote:
I am a troll. Same as Visitor. In fact I may be the same person.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:34pm Earl of Lewess wrote:
You may enjoy this piece about moving to Lewes from Hackney.
Check it out here »
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:48pm Local wrote:
Yeah cheers, born and bred near Lewes but no hope of getting on the ladder here now
On 4 Apr 2018 at 2:55pm @Earl of Lewes wrote:
The DfL haters will not appreciate this link. I particularly loved the comment that "Lewes is an open minded, tolerant and liberal place". And it is, which is why some of the sad individuals who use this forum as so angry.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 3:15pm Grrr... wrote:
Thanks 'Earl of Lewes'. I read that article and part of the author Jo Jackson's "The Lewes Home' blog. It was hard and in the end I just hoped she would move straight back to London. Her ingrained privilege, lack of insight and smug ability to take her precious life in Lewes for granted made me quite angry. Three children (in this day and age!?), interest in 'interior design' (oh look, another one) and lazy dalliance with earning a few pence as a 'social media' guru just grated. Her lack of recognition that by moving from expensive London and paying an inflated price for her 'terraced house in a conservation area' she contributed to the ever increasing prices of Lewes property that breaks up the families of those who've lived in Lewes for generations and forces their children to move out of the area so they can afford a house of their own pretty much made my blood boil.
I'm still angry now. For me Jo Jackson is the personification of DFL.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 4:23pm Jo Jacksie wrote:
I'm a DFL and I don't care
On 4 Apr 2018 at 4:50pm Hastur Sejanus wrote:
Whilst there are a few truly horrific people that move down from London like whoever writes that blog, it's certainly not the case that they're all like that and they're easily avoided. I don't eat at Bills, don't shop at Wickle and don't have any kids but if I did, wouldn't send them to Grammar. I drink in the Elly and the Dorset and the Lansdown, I eat at Shanaz or in any of the pubs, I spend most of September to November doing Bonfire stuff and I'm constantly surrounded by people who like me, grew up in Lewes and many who have several generations of history here, certainly more than my family who moved here, from London just before I was born in the 70s.
Yes, property is expensive in Lewes but it's less so even just outside the town and in this day and age do you really need to live in the exact same town your parents live? I was hugely relieved when my parents moved to Maresfield and couldn't just walk round to my house any more! Also, there are incredibly few genuinely working class people in Lewes. After all, there hasn't been any real working class jobs in town since Baxters shut down. Sure there are people on minimum wage in the supermarkets and restaurants but most are students with well-off parents earning some extra cash before they go to uni.
Maybe I've just not noticed it so much in my near 40 years of living here but I think that aside from it being pricey to live here, the town itself hasn't dramatically suffered for the worse for having a smattering of Jocastas and Quentins living here now.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 5:01pm Estate agent wrote:
Grrr... wrote: - force their children to move out of the area so they can afford a house of their own.
Where do they move to Grrr? And do they force prices up by moving there so the children of people there can't afford to live there? It's fascinating how people who accept 'the free market' and 'capitalism' start whining about it when it affects them.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 5:43pm Grrr... wrote:
Why assume that I think free market and capitalism is a good thing 'Estate Agent'? Whether it is or not the state of the housing market is just plain wrong. As it's stood for a long time the housing market had been overheated and people have treated their houses as assets rather than homes. The results of this has been the break up of communities as children have had to move away to afford new homes. The concentration of wealth and opportunity in London is one factor that very much affects Lewes, but so is the growing inequality of wealth and easy ability to purchase second homes.
The housing market stinks.... and while I am here, capitalism is far from perfect (have you seen the state of our planet, noticed the current annihilation of species or read about climate change?).
On 4 Apr 2018 at 6:25pm Question wrote:
Grre... I agree with you
On 4 Apr 2018 at 7:48pm Earl of Lewess wrote:
@Grrr - I also had issues with the blog (and my wife wasn't keen on the description of "busy mother" - as if any mother isn't), but it comes across as naivety rather than smugness. The remark that there are only two restaurants worth going to reveals a level of privilege she's clearly unaware of. She sees a town full of creative people and an independent attitude; I see lots of middle class people who are financially secure enough to make or buy goods that many of us couldn't afford. As long as London gets more expensive and less attractive, Lewes will continue to be a magnet for young, middle class, Guardian reading families. Artisan bakeries and coffee shops will thrive. Individually, they're nearly always decent sorts and who can blame them for coming here? But they need to realise why not everyone in Lewes will be celebrating their arrival.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 8:29pm Davejavu wrote:
Does Hailsham have a dfl problem like Lewes?
On 4 Apr 2018 at 9:29pm Deja Vu wrote:
No it doesn't have the same DFL problem as Lewes, it doesn't have a station. Lewes isn't bad though, try hurst or hassocks (anywhere off the Brighton line), probably 60% dfl these days.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 10:02pm Down from Islington wrote:
We are taking over your little town. Like it or lump it.
On 4 Apr 2018 at 10:13pm @ Deja wrote:
Even if it still had a station it wouldn't be any use to a London commuter. That's why it's always been good value. 
On 4 Apr 2018 at 10:54pm Grrr.. wrote:
@Earl of Lewes.
She's too old to be naive. She's cosseted, insulated and stupid. Eyes only on her own comfortable, privileged little world.
On 5 Apr 2018 at 12:16am Department of the Bleeding Obvious wrote:
I started the blog but found it strangely painful. I lived in Lewes when it was affordable to average families in the 1990’s and 2000’s - builders, nurses, teachers - lovely independent shops, Bills was a brilliant veg shop - and supporting your local school was the thing you did as part of being a member of a functioning well balanced society. I must be getting old and tired but I miss those times terribly and feel that although Lewes still is an amazing place to live, it is worse off for the plethora of London commuters, wealthy mums who dabble at artistic ventures smugly supported by Tristans who commute to the city. Places change but IMHO Lewes has not changed for the better.
On 5 Apr 2018 at 9:08am Clifford wrote:
How I agree with you Department of the Bleeding Obvious. The twee and precious 'artistic ventures' sometimes seem the worst thing about our town.
On 5 Apr 2018 at 10:23am @Clifford wrote:
Not the ventures, just the people behind them (get some sense of priority people)...
On 5 Apr 2018 at 2:58pm Verityx wrote:
"People should know when they've been conquered "
On 6 Feb 2020 at 5:04pm Jo Jackson wrote:
I've only just seen this. The forum really is toxic. I'm not 'from' London, I'm from Haywards Heath where I was raised in near poverty by a great mum but an alcoholic and abusive father. Yes I do like interior design as a personal interest but my career is as a primary school teacher and my partner works for the NHS (he is not called Tristan and does not work in the city). Your nasty comments about me being privileged are so painful to read. I'm being blamed for pushing house prices up but Lewes folk can sell their houses for much less if they don't want the cash. I also actually have a massive and crippling mortgage if you're interested. Yes I love Lewes and everyone I've met here, yes I know that all mums are busy (obviously) but I'm not stupid and I'm not privileged. I just like the things about Lewes that you all clearly hate. Why can't people comment on others' opinions and viewpoints without scathing hatred? It's such a shame.
On 5 Aug 2022 at 1:44pm williamaston wrote:
I moved from London to Lewes 6 months ago and this is the best decision I have ever made! Living here is great for our health and well-being. Everything with the house move was great, we moved fast, our neighbours are polite and welcoming. The moving company did a great job but I am not planning on going back to London!
Check it out here »