Flight to the beaches! As increasing numbers of midlifers are cashing in their cramped city terraces for breathing space by the sea, British coastal towns are having a moment
- Margate house prices have doubled in the past year, from £145,311 to £294,209
- Gen Xers are selling their cramped urban property they bought in the noughties
- YOU magazine reveals the most popular coastal towns in Britain right now
During the pandemic, illustrator Al Murphy created an animation that briefly went viral, starring a character called ‘Trendy Media Dad’. Besides the expected signifiers – sourdough, quirkily named kids, overpriced beanie, firmly in his 40s – Trendy Media Dad had plans to move to Margate. It was a gentle skewering of a particular post-Covid trope: the cooped-up, middle-aged creative fleeing Hackney for a ‘hidden gem’ seaside town. Never mind if it’s wet and/or windy from November to March – what else is the British seaside known for, anyway?
Admittedly, Margate has now rather outgrown any notion of being a hidden gem, what with the ‘Shoreditch-on-Sea’ jokes and Pete Doherty’s band The Libertines opening a much-vaunted hotel on the beach. If further evidence of its hipster status were needed, the town now boasts its own beauty start-up, Haeckels – its USP is crafting products from ‘hand-harvested’ Margate seaweed.
Hype aside, house prices in the town have almost doubled in the past year, according to Rightmove – from £145,311 to £294,209 for a Victorian house. It’s also the only place in Britain to have seen property values rise by over 100 per cent since 2012. Of course, this is of no interest to first-time buyers struggling to get a mortgage anywhere. But to Gen Xers ready to cash in the cramped urban property they bought in the noughties, identifying ‘the next Margate’ represents a new lease of life.
Gen Xers are selling their cramped urban property they bought in the noughties to move to places such as Margate and Deal in Kent (pictured)
‘People get excited about “finding somewhere” they perceive has a relatively untouched, down-to-earth charm,’ says Phillippa Dalby-Welsh, head of Southeast region for Savills estate agents. ‘There are various, previously overlooked nostalgic seaside spots such as St Leonards and Bexhill in Sussex and Deal in Kent, which I suspect will see a new demographic move in as people continue to live further from urban hubs and still work successfully.
‘It’s not just people who are new to an area. We’re seeing families returning to their roots, back to where one half of the couple grew up, to be nearer relatives.
‘Starbucks and Waitrose used to signifiy “the arrival” of an area in London,’ says Dalby-Welsh. ‘Now it’s more about interesting independents, and the thrill of buying local produce. The “more than just a farm shop” wave has swept the country – there is now a “more than just a garden centre” trend, too [such as Moss & Moor in Yorkshire, which serves truffled mushrooms in its restaurant]. The arrival of a bakery – with sourdough – a superior coffee shop offering non-dairy options or an independent restaurant with Insta-worthy interiors will further heighten investment in an area.’
Alex Bagner, 45, former design editor at Wallpaper magazine, and her husband, Christopher, 48, moved to Deal with their three children in 2021. Their hotel and restaurant, minutes from the beach, are a big part of the town’s new cachet. When they first renovated The Rose in 2018, it was a rundown pub with tired bedsits upstairs. It’s now a destination for paintwork ogling and headboard inspiration alone, with a menu overseen by Nuno Mendes, formerly of London celebrity haunt Chiltern Firehouse (it was here that Nick Grimshaw ‘bumped into’ Madonna – see page 30).
People are getting tired of living in cramped houses. Pictured: Walthamstow, East London
Having owned a holiday home near Deal for 12 years before the move, and with family in the area, Bagner and her husband had a unique view on the town’s development. ‘Ten years ago, on a Friday evening we’d be the first people in the pub at 8.30pm,’ she says. ‘Now the fast train from London, and Covid showing that people can work from home, have changed everything. There’s a buzz in the air, but it’s still peaceful. The town doesn’t have that rough-around-the-edges feeling of Margate, but it’s always had a creative vibe. People move here for that – it’s not just a cutesy village with a nearby private school.’
What about the notorious tension between the ‘down-from-Londoners’ and permanent residents? ‘That was on our minds when we were relaunching The Rose, and how we could smooth that process. But we never felt unwelcome. I also think the difference is overstated. Londoners down for the weekend don’t just want gooseberry margaritas, and residents don’t just want ale and fish and chips.’ Alex Rousso, 52, who moved to Cley-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast to start The Barn at Artemis, a gift shop selling specialty coffee, echoes this sentiment. ‘I think the us-and-them is a bit exaggerated. I’ve definitely been welcomed far more than not. Yes, we do have more alternative milks, gluten-free cakes and mindfulness classes than we used to, but the village retains its off-the-beaten-track appeal. That’s presumably what appeals to metropolitans looking for country living; and they bring with them the gochujang and freekeh.’
Back to the south coast: if Deal is the new Margate, Eastbourne is increasingly being dubbed the new Brighton. ‘God’s Waiting Room’ had a cultural injection four years ago when its iconic Towner gallery was revamped, and further hipster catnip followed. Among its attractions are Bodega – an ‘event space’ founded by Shaun Cooney, formerly of Soho House New York – Nelson coffee roasters, Cru wine shop and restaurant (with Sussex wines on its list, of course) and Port Hotel, overlooking the pier.
Initially, Port’s plan to ‘reimagine the British seaside hotel’ ran into controversy, with some locals objecting that the entirely black façade was too radical. But the hoo-ha died down, perhaps aided by the free flat whites Port handed out to anyone picking up litter on the beach, and glowing reviews from the Mr & Mrs Smith market followed.
‘The great thing about Eastbourne is the combination of the grand architecture that you associate with London and the clean air, beach and South Downs,’ says Port’s manager, Peter Cadwallader. ‘There is a thriving art scene here and our guests are getting more diverse – which can only be a good thing.’
Other up-and-comers around the British coast include Ramsbottom, Lyme Regis, Worthing, Overstrand, Weston-super-Mare and Tynemouth – but those really serious about the latest hotspots might also check out Ocean Finance’s survey Mapped: The UK’s Top Ten Trendiest Cities and Towns. For this (admittedly slightly mad) research it calculated the number of ‘trendy’ activities per square mile across 50 cities and towns – including yoga centres, farmers’ markets, craft breweries, independent cinemas and coffee shops. The winner, gallingly for all those moving to Margate, was Birkenhead in Merseyside.
In the end, though, it might be less about oat milk and more about a change of scene and pace. ‘What I noticed was that people [in their 40s] had different practical reasons for moving, but what they all craved was change,’ says Bagner, who was so inspired by her family’s move to Deal that she wrote the book How to Leave London.
‘During lockdown, people questioned the monotony of their lives and confines of their homes and saw it could be possible,’ she says. ‘It’s definitely generational – our parents only moved if they had to. They’d think it was crazy to move for the sake of it. And yes, it’s a huge upheaval and the stakes are high. But if you don’t, you’re thinking, “What if?”’
- How to Leave London by Alex Bagner and Seth Carnill (Hoxton Mini Press, £30*)