A guide to living in South East England

South East England is the third-largest of the official regions of England by area, and has the highest population of all the regions. Stretching to the west as far as the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, right across to the tip of Kent and curling around London up to Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, the South East benefits from its close connection with the capital and the national transport network. It also offers residents close proximity to the continent and swift international connections via the Channel Tunnel, Gatwick and Heathrow on its border with Greater London.

Excellent

67.7%

Very Good

23.7%

Average

6.5%

Disappointing

1.1%

Very poor

0.9%

Best places to live in South East England

How is ranking calculated?

Viewing 1-5 out of 348

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

The Almere, MK9

By Native Communities

Award winner 2025

4.9

4.90

(156 reviews)

£1,220-£2,300 pcm

1, 2, 3 beds

At The Almere, residents benefit from spacious apartments, panoramic views, resident events and coworking spaces. A community nestled in the heart of Milton Keynes, with access to facilities and amenities right on your doorstep. Our 1, 2 and 3 bedroom rental apartments come with on-site customer and maintenance services and a relaxed community lounge for you to enjoy. All pets are welcome at The Almere, whether they are feathered, four-legged, fishy, or feline. For commuters, our luxury apartments are just 12 minutes on foot to Milton Keynes Train Station, with trains direct to the capital and other UK hotspots.

1st

Ranked 1st out of 188 in South East England

View development

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

Ebb & Flow, RG1

By Native Communities

Award winner 2025

4.89

(180 reviews)

Ebb & Flow offers a collection of Studio, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments in the heart of Reading. All apartments have spacious kitchens, enhanced floor to ceiling height, and bespoke furniture. As well as this, residents benefit from a 24hr support team, wellness classes and community events. Private social and co-working spaces are also included. A buzzing new neighbourhood right on your doorstep.

2nd

Ranked 2nd out of 188 in South East England

View development

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

Hove Central, BN3

By Moda Living

Award winner 2025

4.79

(94 reviews)

£1,200-£2,600 pcm

Studios, 1, 2, 3 beds

Moda, Hove Central is located just a 12-minute walk from Hove Station, which will have you in central Brighton in 4 minutes. Take a walk along the famous seafront and explore the very best of what the city has to offer, right on your doorstep. Moda, Hove Central combines an abundance of landscaped gardens, industry leading amenities and a 24hr concierge. The neighbourhood is pet friendly too!

3rd

Ranked 3rd out of 188 in South East England

View development

Rental Only

Leaf Living at Buckler's Park, RG40

By Leaf Living

4.77

(17 reviews)

Experience tranquillity village life with a modern twist at Buckler's Park in Crowthorne. The village is bustling with coffee shops, cosy pubs and hosts of seasonal food festival. Nestled within a nature reserve you are spoilt for choice when it comes to walks and cycling routes, with Buckler's Forest on your doorstep. This new community is close to excellent schools and a short drive to Crowthorne Station with a direct train to Reading and London Gatwick.

4th

Ranked 4th out of 188 in South East England

View development

Rental Only

Award Winner 2025

York & Elder, BN1

By Legal & General, urbanbubble

Award winner 2025

4.76

(115 reviews)

£1,350-£2,520 pcm

Studios, 1, 2, 3 beds

York & Elder is a BTR development in Brighton. Sandwiched between the South Downs and the sea, York & Elder offer studio, 1, 2 or 3 bedroom apartments. Residents benefit from pet friendly apartments, flexible contracts, extra storage space and private terraces. Additionally, the apartments can be furnished or unfurnished, or easily adaptable for accessibility. There is also an on-site concierge and maintenance team on hand 24/7, for whatever you may need, from taking in parcels to planning events to help you get to know your neighbours.

5th

Ranked 5th out of 188 in South East England

View development

Page 1 of 70

Featured developments in South East England

Latest Reviews in South East England

4662 total reviews

Write a review

Viewing 1-5 out of 4649

Martin T (Tenant)

Unverified

Curbridge Meadows, SO30

Jan 2026

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

Overall, the development is well designed with good local facilities

Martin T (Tenant)

Unverified

Curbridge Meadows, SO30

Jan 2026

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Very close to Whiteley retail with shops, coffee shops and restaurants. Good schools locally and good transport links to M27.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I would recommend highlighting some of the local walks, as there are some really nice woodland walks very close by that you don't often get from a modern housing development.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature of my home is the spacious design and the fittings which are of a good standard. Also, little touches like the Yale Home System and the video doorbell were in place when I moved in. Very helpful.

・・

HomeViews

Tenant in 2025 (Tenant)

Unverified

Hove Central, BN3

Jan 2026

This is rated 4.00 out of 5.00.

Modern and homely environment

Tenant in 2025 (Tenant)

Unverified

Hove Central, BN3

Jan 2026

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Private yet only minutes away from numerous local shops, restaurants/bars, parks, the seafront, and Hove train station. Noise within and around development is minimal, waste collection service is great however, parking availability could be improved.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Proactive, friendly and very responsive service provided. Physical presence often seen on site.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Parking area poorly designed for resident/visitors

・・

HomeViews

Ms Eileen (Tenant)

Unverified

Kooky Staines-Upon-Thames, TW18

Jan 2026

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

The team service made me feel warm, comfortable, safe, and at ease—just like being at home.

Ms Eileen (Tenant)

Unverified

Kooky Staines-Upon-Thames, TW18

Jan 2026

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Well, living in Staines area is very convenient. The surrounding commercial amenities—train station, bus stop, banks, supermarkets, gyms, everything is available and in walking distance. And it is quite and safe as well.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Their staff members respond very quickly and are also very patient.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I brought my own mattress pad in advance because I wanted to sleep more comfortably. But I didn’t expect them give me a gift bag that included a new mattress pad and delicous chocolate, cleaning detergent and soap. it was a surprise!

Review image for review e3dc5f14-2123-4a28-914d-82e6555c217a

・・

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

HomeViews

James S (Tenant)

Unverified

The Farriers, MK8

Jan 2026

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

Great move in experience

James S (Tenant)

Unverified

The Farriers, MK8

Jan 2026

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The area is nice as it's all new and clean. The only thing that would be good to add is some shops close by.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes, I needed help with the wifi when I moved in and the building management was on the phone to me helping straight away and it was sorted within an hour.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Really good area, all the doors are opened via bluetooth so you can't get locked out.

・・

Reviewer was offered an incentive for an honest review, regardless of rating

HomeViews

Baris O. (Tenant)

Verified Resident

York & Elder, BN1

Jan 2026

This is rated 5.00 out of 5.00.

A great place to live in

Baris O. (Tenant)

Verified Resident

York & Elder, BN1

Jan 2026

Simply a great building to live in. Amazing location, great quiet gym, a tv room and a conference room that you can book for free, a shuffleboard and so on. Perfect amenities. It is really useful to have a reception as well. Although naturally it is getting worn down with time, I would say the building is still very new and in a great condition. The design of the building, selected colours and furniture choices are great and makes me feel good when I enter the building. We have a 1 bed and it is not huge, but with the storage cabinet and a sperate utility space with the washer, the useable area feels larger than it is and more than enough for us. All the appliances you need are available including a dishwasher and they are all new and good quality. We have heard complaints about noise, smell, barking etc. from other residents but we haven’t faced any issues ourselves. I believe the sound insulation is amazing and the overall thermal insulation is also very good. This winter when it got really cold for 2-3 weeks was the first time in 2 years I felt cold and ran the heating for longer durarions. I didn’t want to break any marks because I truly feel like this is a 5 star place to live, but considering the current rents, the value score may be closer to 3.5-4 :) We really love living here but every now and then we still evaluate if we are doing the right thing or if we would keep living here after another yearly increase. Overall, a great place to live in.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Perfect location. 5-6 minute walk to the train station, 3-4 minute walk to the nearest bus station, 5-6 minute walk to a large Sainsbury’s. Several pubs, shops and restaurants around. Although it is really close to London Road, it is one street away so you don’t get that people crowd and anti-social behaviour around the building.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They are really quick to respond to any problems or issues raised, especially it is great in terms of maintenance. We haven’t had many issues but once we had it, it was very quickly resolved. Murdell from maintenance team was great and handled our issue the next day after it was raised successfully.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I didn’t think having a reception and a building management would be this useful and helpful but it really is once you need something.

・・

HomeViews

Page 1 of 930

These reviews are the subjective opinion of a HomeViews user and not of HomeViews

Useful articles

Berkshire

Berkshire is a county in the South East of England. It has a population of around 540,000 and contains some beautiful countryside and towns. The landscape here is varied, from chalk downland through rich farmland to woodland and water features. The county town is Reading and there are many other large towns such as Newbury, Swindon and Wokingham which all have their own attractions. Berkshire also has many amazing educational institutions including world-leading universities like the University of Reading.

Go to article

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a county in the southeast of England. The largest and most populous town in Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes with over 200,000 residents. Other large towns include Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Slough. There are lots of villages to explore as well such as Stoke Mandeville near Aylesbury (the home of the famous Stoke Mandeville Games), Anstee near Bletchley (which has an ancient church) and East Claydon near Leighton Buzzard (famous for its cherry orchards).

Go to article

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in the southeast of England with a coastline that has many beautiful cliffs and salt marshes which are a haven for birdlife. There are also plenty of coastal towns with stunning beaches such as Bexhill or Hastings that offer great family days out too. If you're looking for somewhere green then there's no shortage - East Sussex has over 400 square kilometres of woodland including Rother Valley Country Park near Brighton which is home to deer, wild boar and foxes!

Go to article

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county in the south of England that borders Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. It has some beautiful towns such as Winchester, Basingstoke and Romsey which are perfect for those who want to live near London but without all the hustle and bustle. Hampshire's largest city is Southampton with over 200,000 people living there. With lots of green space, outdoor activities and cultural events, Hampshire offers a vibrant lifestyle for families with young children.

Go to article

Kent

Kent is one of the most popular counties in England, with a population of 1.8 million people. It has some really beautiful scenery and many great amenities for families that are looking to buy their first home or move up into a nicer place. There are also several excellent universities that attract students from all over the world to come and study here.

Go to article

Milton Keynes

Just 50 miles to north east of London, Milton Keynes was devised as a ‘new town’ in the 1960s and continues to evolve and grow today. Famed for its roundabouts and district grids, the town has benefitted from a steady flow of new residents from London. House prices have seen strong growth, with amenities and schools now plentiful and high quality. Housing is more varied than its reputation might suggest, with everything from period properties in historic villages to new build homes in chic developments.

Go to article

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the south of England, home to many great schools and universities. The population is around 638,000 people. Oxfordshire has some lovely countryside that would be perfect for anyone looking to move away from city life with their family. If you are considering moving here, this guide will give you all the information you need to know about Oxfordshire!

Go to article

Reading

Reading is a large market town and borough in the county of Berkshire. Located on the M4 motorway 40 miles west of London and within easy reach of both Oxford and Bristol, it has been described as having some of the best transport connections in England. The impending addition of the Elizabeth Line will further boost its appeal with London escapees lured by the scenery of the Chiltern Hills and North Wessex Downs that surround the town.

Go to article

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the south of England. It has an area of 1,663 square kilometres and a population of 1.2 million people. Surrey borders London to the North West and Hampshire to the East. The county has many beautiful parks which are great for families, as well as areas with wild landscapes ideal for outdoor pursuits such as cycling or walking. There are so many things to do in Surrey - find out more about this wonderful place!

Go to article

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county that has something for everyone. Whether you love the hustle and bustle of London and want somewhere in easy commuting distance, or prefer the peace and tranquillity of rural life, West Sussex has it all! There are many different towns and villages scattered across this beautiful county. From Eastbourne to Worthing, there is no shortage of charming little places with great schools, shopping centres, local amenities and lots more!

Go to article