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Moving from London to Bishop's Stortford...help!

31 replies

sikanetter · 28/02/2013 21:54

Hi there

I'm a mum of two and we currently live in south west London. We've been looking for a house in this area for a while and we realised that we are never going to find a house we like and so we've decided to start looking for houses outside of London.

Whilst looking at various places, I have come across Bishop's Stortford. From first impressions the town and it's surroundings look nice but it's completely different to London i.e. quieter, not a lot of people around (compared to London), less shops and restaurants and well it's just a different life style completely. We're finding it very difficult to take the plunge and leave the London life behind us. DH works near Liverpool St station so from a commuting point of view, BS would be good for him. Also prior to having children I used to work in London and would like to go back to work when the kids start school.

Are there any mums out there who have moved from London to BS? If so how have you found it? Also any mums who live in BS and work in London? How do you cope with commuting and taking kids to school and family life in general? I would really appreciate your opinions/comments.

Looking forward to your reading your posts.

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HalleLouja · 28/02/2013 22:07

Have you posted on the local board there are a few BS parents on there. I have a friend who commutes into he city from there and think its ok. Trains go straight into Liverpool Street.

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HalleLouja · 28/02/2013 22:07

I live the other side of Herts and am a London girl really but I wouldn't move back. I am nearer St Albans -.

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sikanetter · 28/02/2013 22:16

Yes I have posted on the local board but have had no replies yet. At the moment I feel like I'm torn between the two places and cannot decide whether to go one way or the other. Maybe a few more posts like yours would tip the scale towards the BS direction Wink Thanks HalleLouja!

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HalleLouja · 28/02/2013 22:43

Why BS and not the other side of Herts. It does look lovely when I have driven through it. If you said St Albans or Harpenden I could give you more info Grin.

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lisad123everybodydancenow · 28/02/2013 22:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

YouveCatToBeKittenMe · 28/02/2013 22:59

You can get to London from BS easily down the M11 sometimes and it has a good rail link to Liverpool Street.
BS was my main town growing up and I went to school there. I still go there now occasionally but it makes me a bit nostalgic.
It has more shops than where I live now, M&S, Next, large Sainsburys, Tesco, Boots, Wilkinson, Body Shop etc. Lots of restaurants.
I live about 45 mins away now, My sis lives in BS and commutes to London every day.
It's a nice town and seems to have lots going on. Very near Stansted Airport.

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orangepudding · 28/02/2013 23:02

I moved out of London to herts, best thing for my family. DH still works in London and its only a 25 train journey.

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jaynebxl · 01/03/2013 10:41

I really like BS. I lived there about 20 years ago and it was a good place to live. Easy to get into London plus Cambridge isn't far at all if you fancy a shopping trip or something.

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sikanetter · 01/03/2013 20:37

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I've had a look at St. Albans and Harpenden and as most of you said, both towns look nice (from online pics) and they seem to have some lovely pubs, nice green spaces etc. We've never been there before. Actually we might have a wonder up there tomorrow to see what it looks like in real life.

So what are your thoughts on these two towns?

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EmmaGellerGreen · 01/03/2013 20:42

I am in Bishops Stortford.

There is a parents forum that you could join for a chat and views - on facebook. See Bishops stortford mummy meetups.

Crap title but great forum with lots of people who have made the move from London. Its a closed group but admin are quick to let people join.

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EmmaGellerGreen · 01/03/2013 20:42

I am in Bishops Stortford.

There is a parents forum that you could join for a chat and views - on facebook. See Bishops stortford mummy meetups.

Crap title but great forum with lots of people who have made the move from London. Its a closed group but admin are quick to let people join.

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HalleLouja · 01/03/2013 21:01

Both St Albans and Harpenden are lovely places. Go and have a look round. Harpenden is full of of ex-Londoners.

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lisad123everybodydancenow · 02/03/2013 14:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HelenMumsnet · 02/03/2013 15:20

@EmmaGellerGreen

I am in Bishops Stortford.

There is a parents forum that you could join for a chat and views - on facebook. See Bishops stortford mummy meetups.

Crap title but great forum with lots of people who have made the move from London. Its a closed group but admin are quick to let people join.


Um, isn't that a Netmums group? Shock
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HalleLouja · 02/03/2013 20:30

Helen do you have the power to ban people who admit they were on nethuns? Wink

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thereinmadnesslies · 02/03/2013 20:40

I live in BS and think its a nice place for families. The town centre is pretty good. Cambridge is only 30 mins away on the M11 for bigger shops and 'cultural' stuff like theatre and concerts. There are lots of activities for children and schools are really good.

I only commute to London occasionally, but its 40mins from BS to London Liverpool St. I'm not sure what sort of housing you are looking for, but most of the newer housing area (thorley park, bishops park, bishops gate and st Michaels mead) are too far to walk to the station.

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EmmaGellerGreen · 02/03/2013 20:45

Oh, is it Netmums? It's not branded? Oh dear, I will leave it straight away. Blush

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sikanetter · 03/03/2013 21:37

So...we went to St. Albans on Saturday and we loved it. The town is beautiful! Hmmm...i'm thinking of changing the name of this thread to: Moving from London to St. A....Smile.

thereinmadnesslies: I also thought it's a nice place for families. From what we read, most probably we were going to move to the NW part of BS.

Now I'm confused...I guess we need to do a bit more research on BS, St. A and even Harpenden. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Again many thanks everyone Smile

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HalleLouja · 04/03/2013 10:23

At least you now have options. I would maybe add Berkhamstead into the mix too [runs off and hides]. Good luck.

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fishcalledwonder · 04/03/2013 10:29

We left London for Hertford and love it. We considered St. Albans, as we both really like it there too, but opted to be closer to my mum as was having first baby.

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thereinmadnesslies · 04/03/2013 12:57

I think St Albans will feel much more like London than BS - Stortford is essentially a market town (now substantially enlarged).

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nerdsunited · 05/03/2013 13:56

OP we moved from BS to London last year.
I don't have a car but people are still very car dependent out here as the local public transport isn't great. Commuting into London is 40mins to Liverpool St on a fast train or 30mins to Tottenham Hale and then swap onto the Victoria Line.
Although a lot of people do move out of here from the city, it is not like London so you may prefer St Albans. I must admit when we moved here it was different to what we were expecting.

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sikanetter · 05/03/2013 22:22

I agree with you nerdsunited and thereinmadnesslies. St Albans felt more like London to me and I felt more content there than in BS. I guess I got so used to the hustle and bustle of London now and I don't think I would like living in a quiet town were you'd have to go everywhere by car.

So my verdict is bye bye BS (no offence to people who live there - it is a very nice place but just not the kind of lifestyle I want to live) and now to carry on researching St A and surrounding areas. And HalleLouja thanks for mentioning Berkhamstead (you don't need to run off and hide Wink). Remember I'm new to the outside London world so would be nice to hear of all the nice towns around St Albans. {I really should change the name of this thread now} Blush

Thanks so much everyone!

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allaflutter · 06/03/2013 00:18

hi OP, I'm interested in St.Albans too so I'm pleased I've randomly looked at BS thread!Smile
The problem is, do you think it can be a good value? I haven't looked yet in RL, but on rightmove there hardly anything there unless you have a big-ish budget. So if you go and look at places, please report here what can you get sizewise for your money - is it cheaper than London suburbs, or if you come across places neraby that's cheaper, please report too! I've been advised to consider Hertford/Harpenden too, but won't have type to trvel and look this month at all, so would be great to hear what you think of these.
Did you not feel St.A was too small/crowded on w.end (i haven't been but heard it is very crowded)?

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allaflutter · 06/03/2013 00:19

'won't have time to travel'

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