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An honest review of: Elm Grove

Wouldn’t be Brighton without a few hills


We know this time of year can be full of stress and panic, with what feels like a last minute rush to snap up the best houses before they are taken. If you are a first year, this tends to mean is you might panic-rent without really looking past the half truths and outright lies the estate agents will tell you. Spoiler: not every house is the "best property they have".

Never fear, we are here to help you in this difficult time, here is our honest review of Elm Grove; a popular student area.

Hills, hills and more hills

If you are unfortunate enough to live at the top of this monster, be prepared for every day to be leg day. At least it's a way to stay in shape and get in your daily workout.

The good news is, there is a way to avoid walking up what seems like a never ending hill, but you will spend your entire life waiting on the 21, 22 an 23 to drop you by your house. But, even with a bus ticket, you can sometimes be waiting up to half an hour for one of these elusive buses and it's quicker just to walk.

Unfortunately none of these buses run at night, so if your student loan doesn't allow for an Uber home from every night out be prepared to get the N25 with the freshers to the bottom of Elm Grove and stumble the rest of the way to your house.

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Distance from town / campus

If you're one of those organised people that is always early, Elm Grove is within walking distance from town – about 25 to 30 minutes, but realistically you'll be running to one of the four bus stops along Elm Grove. The good news is it's only a 15 minute bus journey from the centre of Brighton.

The 23 stops along Elm Grove and will get you to uni with about three seconds to spare, which is super convenient. Although, be aware that the buses for 9am will often be so full that it will just go past you and you'll have to walk to the bottom of the hill and very often end up late.

Corner shops

One of the real plus-sides of living here is that you will never be far from a corner shop. You might have to get big shops from Sainsbury's delivered to save the trip up the hill with a million bags, but the good news is that you'll never be short of instant noodles and vodka at 10pm.

It's not only convenient corner shops that can be found along this road, there is everything from small bakeries to a health food shop and a pharmacy. Makes you wonder why you would need to go anywhere else.

What about the price?

Prices along Elm Grove tend to be fairly reasonable, and the more expensive ones seem to be better quality houses with minimal mould. The fact that it's not in the centre of town means that you won't have to spend too much on rent if you don't want to.

So … what's the verdict?

As a very popular student area Elm Grove always seems like a safe bet. You know what you're paying for and it's a decent area surrounded by lots of other students. Although a top tip is be careful to pick a house away from Elm Grove Primary School to avoid being woken up by loud children at 8am.

There are loads of shops and bus stops to make your busy life easier. And you'll save money on a gym membership if you can face walking up the hill. We also recommend Elm Grove for it's convenience and distance from town.