I may be a little biased, having spent half my life living in Crawley, but I genuinely believe that this little town, situated near Gatwick Airport, is one of the best places in the UK to live! Having travelled much of the UK, and having had several homes, including Uxbridge, Bracknell, Chippenham and Hereford, I feel I'm fairly well qualified to speak on the subject. In comparison to the aforementioned quartet, Crawley is an absolute paradise! To begin with, let me focus on the town's positives. Firstly, it is incredibly well situated. Sited on the convergence of the London to Brighton line with the line down to Horsham, Chichester, Portsmouth and beyond, ...  Read the complete review

Being a bit curious of what has been written about my home town, Crawley, I decided to read a few reviews. Unfortunately most of them I've stumbled across are either old, frankly (in my opinion) a bit rubbish, or more commonly both. I'm out to redress the balance. *History* Crawley is one of ten towns constructed as a result of the first wave of development due to New Towns Act of 1946, and the only one south of the River Thames. Upon their completion the vast majority of Crawley's new houses were occupied by those whose houses in central London had been damaged during the war. As a result of this, most of Crawley's residents today have parents and ...  Read the complete review

Crawley is a “New Town” located halfway between London and Brighton. Built in the 50’s as an overspill for the capital, it is located next to Gatwick Airport, and is sometimes referred to as “Gatwick City”. Certainly, it is not the most attractive town, but is fairly well laid-out, with a “ring” of neighbourhoods around the town centre. The town centre itself is grey and concrete, although the High Street is fairly attractive, with some buildings dating from old Crawley, the village that existed before it was built around. However, it is mainly full of estate agents and eating establishments rather than shops, most of which have migrated into the “County Mall” a short ...  Read the complete review

Ideal town for families, with lots to do - Advantages: Location, Parks & Gardens, Entertainment Facilities - Disadvantages: Concrete appearance

I have lived in Crawley for three years now and have enjoyed those years. I have no intention of leaving the town in the near future. This town has it's problems but then I defy anyone to say that there town doesn't. I live in a neighbourhood where the ethnic minority is actually the majority! The town has grown in size since the days when it was changed into a new town. There is constant work to improve the town including a relatively new leisure complex which boasts a 15 screen cinema and a huge bowling alley. During the depression Crawley was the only area of Britian that kept many people in employment and still has a considerably lower than average ...  Read the complete review