Moving from London to Brighton: property, commuting and Silicon Beach

Brighton has always been London’s favourite escape. The Prince Regent knew it in the 1780s, when he commissioned the Brighton Pavilion pleasure palace that still stops people in their tracks today. Two centuries later, the formula hasn’t changed much: take one overcrowded, expensive city, add a fast train south, and Brighton does the rest.

What has changed is who is making the move, and why. For a generation of London workers, Covid unlocked something that Brighton had been offering for years: the possibility of a genuinely different lifestyle, without giving up your London career. Hybrid working, being able to work from home, made the numbers add up in a way they never quite had before, and many of the people who moved during or after the pandemic have stayed put.

Local employment opportunities and the attraction of working as a freelancer in one of England’s most vibrant digital communities can tip the balance too.

The commute: what an hour to Victoria actually means

Brighton to London Victoria takes around an hour by fast train. London Bridge, a little longer. For two or three days a week in the office, that is manageable for most people, and many Brighton commuters will tell you the journey itself is part of the appeal: a seat, a view, and an hour to decompress before you get home.

The only real issue is Southern Rail. Delays, strikes and cancellations are a fact of life on this route, and anyone considering the move should factor in the occasional disrupted day rather than seeing their timetable as a reliable contract with a train company. Most experienced Brighton commuters build in buffer time and treat the train as good enough rather than perfect.

Silicon Beach: another reason to move to Brighton

Not everyone commuting out of Brighton is heading to London. A significant number of people who moved here from the capital brought their jobs with them, or found new ones without leaving. Brighton has quietly built one of the most interesting tech communities outside London, earning the epithet ‘Silicon Beach’ in the process.

The roll call of businesses is more substantial than most people realise. American Express has been a major presence in the city for decades, and its sponsorship of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium gives the company a visibility that reflects how embedded it is in local life. Legal and General is based in Hove. BrightLocal, the local SEO platform used by agencies around the world, also runs from Brighton. Universal Quantum, one of the most watched names in quantum computing, is developing scalable quantum computers in Brighton. MPB, the international platform for trading used photography and videography equipment, is also headquartered in Brighton.

The community that connects much of this is the Brighton Farm, a weekly gathering of web designers, developers and digital freelancers that currently meets in the Battle of Trafalgar pub on Guildford Road, though it regularly moves to other local pubs. It has been running for years and remains one of the most genuinely useful networking groups in the city, the kind of place where a conversation over a pint leads to a client and supplier relationship that lasts a decade.

Twice a year, Brighton also hosts BrightonSEO, one of the world’s largest search engine optimisation conferences, drawing thousands of digital marketing professionals from across the globe to the Brighton Centre. The fact that an event of that scale calls Brighton home says something about the city’s international digital profile: this is not simply a satellite of London’s tech scene, but a community with its own identity and reach.

What about education?

Brighton’s two universities add to the mix: the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton between them bring tens of thousands of students into the city each year, many of whom stay, and their presence shapes both the rental market and the wider talent pool that local employers can draw upon.

Summer brings an entirely different kind of student to the city. Brighton is home to a large number of English language schools, and July and August see a substantial influx of international students, many of them teenagers from across Europe and beyond, coming to learn English at local language schools and experience life in one of England’s most distinctive cities. Although many of these students stay with local families, this phenomenon creates a seasonal rental market for local landlords that runs alongside the traditional ‘academic-year’ student market, and understanding how short-term summer lets interact with current tenancy law is something our team can advise on.

The property market: what London money buys

Brighton’s property market has always attracted London buyers, and prices reflect that. The Lanes and North Laine conservation areas are the most recognisable addresses, with their Georgian and Regency terraces, urban cottages, independent shops and distinctive atmosphere. These properties are also the most expensive: a two-bedroom flat in the Lanes will cost considerably more than a similar property a mile further north.

For buyers with London budgets, the numbers can still work in Brighton’s favour. A London salary buying a Brighton property goes further than the same money spent in zones 2 and 3, which, along with the more relaxed lifestyle, coast, community and space, can seal the deal. The areas that tend to offer the best value for London movers are slightly further from the seafront: Preston Park, Five Ways, Withdean, and the roads running up toward the South Downs national park, which is in turn great for cycling, gliding and walking.

Hove is the quieter alternative that many buyers discover once they start seriously looking at a move. It has a more residential feel than Brighton proper, with wide streets, larger properties and a slightly calmer pace, while still being within easy walking distance of the seafront and Hove and Aldrington stations. Many who arrive in the city thinking “Brighton” end up buying in Hove and never looking back.

The Worthing effect

There is a well-worn pattern among Brighton buyers that estate agents and solicitors on the South Coast know well. Someone moves from London to Brighton, loves it for a few years, and then starts hankering after more space, a garden, a wider choice of schools, and slightly lower prices. They end up in Worthing.

Worthing has benefited substantially from Brighton’s success, drawing buyers who want the South Coast lifestyle without the Brighton price tag. The town has its own good direct rail connections to London, around an hour and twenty minutes, a growing foodie and cultural scene, and housing stock that offers considerably more for your money. For families with children in particular, it is often the natural next step after Brighton, and we see a steady flow of clients making exactly that journey along the coast. And a twenty-minute train ride takes you back into Brighton, which is what drew you to the South Coast in the first place.

Buy-to-let in Brighton: what landlords need to know

Brighton’s large and varied student population makes it one of the more reliable rental markets on the South Coast, but the legal landscape for landlords has become considerably more complex in recent years. The Renters Rights Act has changed the rules around tenancy agreements, eviction grounds and rent increases, and HMO licensing requirements may apply depending on the number of tenants and the property’s location, which clearly affects a significant proportion of Brighton’s student rental stock.

For landlords operating in the seasonal market, the short summer let alongside a standard academic-year tenancy also requires careful thought. Getting the tenancy structure right from the outset is far simpler than trying to unpick a problem later, and the costs of getting it wrong have increased substantially under the new Renters Rights legislation.

Whether you are buying a Brighton property as a first buy-to-let or adding to an existing portfolio, taking legal advice before you exchange rather than after is always the better approach.

What the legal process for buying property looks like

For London buyers moving to Brighton, the conveyancing process has a few considerations worth knowing about.

Leasehold properties are common in Brighton, particularly for flats in converted large houses. Anyone buying leasehold should check the lease length carefully: a lease below 80 years becomes increasingly difficult to mortgage and more expensive to extend, and this is something a good conveyancing solicitor will flag early in the process. It is not a reason to walk away from a property, but it is a reason to go in with your eyes open.

New build properties are another common purchase for London movers, particularly in the regeneration areas around Brighton’s eastern edges. New builds come with their own legal considerations, including developer warranties, the detail of what is and is not included in the purchase price, and the importance of understanding the service charge structure if you are buying a leasehold flat in a new development.

Brighton’s popularity means that chains can be competitive and move quickly. Having a solicitor who is responsive and knows the local market makes a genuine difference, particularly when delays can cost a sale. Jason Bradshaw and his team at our Duke Street office have handled hundreds of Brighton and South Coast transactions and know the local estate agents, the local quirks, and the pace at which things tend to move.

How Cunningtons can help with your Brighton plans

Our Brighton office on Duke Street has been handling property transactions across the city and the wider South Coast since 2014. Jason Bradshaw, Cunningtons’ Senior Partner and ESTAS Conveyancer of the Year South East 2024, leads the conveyancing team and brings his detailed knowledge of the Brighton market to every transaction.

Whether you are buying your first Brighton flat, selling to move along the coast to Worthing, purchasing a buy-to-let with an eye on letting to students, or relocating from London with a chain to manage, we offer fixed-fee conveyancing with no hidden costs and a named solicitor who handles your matter from start to finish.

Request a quote and we will be in touch within 24 working hours.