Moving to Herts???

[ML1980]

Hello! We are considering a move our of London with DSs age 2 and 6m.
It has to be walking distance to a train station which ideally is less than 40 mins into the City/ London Bridge.
Good primary Schools and green space are important.
I have been looking at Harpenden which is lovely (but expensive)!
Is Berkhamsted green...?
Any other suggestions gratefully received,

Thanks!

[clam]

Trains from Berkhamsted (which is fairly green, yes) go to Euston, 4x an hour, varying from about 30 to 37 mins.
Expensive to buy, however, as is Harpenden (and St Albans) but if you're re-locating from London, it'll probably seem cheap.

[magicstars]

Hi, what kind of place are you looking for, price range/ priorities? I have lived in herts all my life, happy to advise if I can.
Berko is lovely but pricey.
Harpenden- posh, expensive, naice, lots of people moved from London to have kids, good schools. West common is poshest bit and south down least posh.
St. Albans- great all rounder but ££££
Welwyn garden- clean, low crime, john lewis, bit dull. West side - naice. howlands/ qe2 area - not so
Hitchin- bit more arty and boho. Slightly more affordable than first three
Letchworth- cross between Hitchin and WGC
Hertford- similar to St. Albans
Sorry don't know E.herts so well, towns there to consider Bishops stortford and Hoddesdon. Lots of lovely villages, knebworth has direct train to Ldn as does Welwyn North.
There are plenty of similar queries on here so if you do a search you may answer your Q's, or check the local site as lots on there re: ppl relocating here.

[Thurlow]

Hitchin's great, and I think it's slightly cheaper than the places that go directly into City or LB. 25 minutes into KX and then on the Northern Line to the City.

Bishop's Stortford and the rest of its line is in to Liverpool St, which is a 5 minute walk from most of the City.

Whereabouts in London do you need to travel to - Bank, Moorgate etc?

[ML1980]

Argh thanks so much for the replies.... my first post so I was not sure anyone would reply!!!

DH needs to commute to London Bridge (but in the future it could be the City). I am more flexible with where I work.

Thanks for the suggestions will check them out.

You don't that much more for your money in Harpenden/ St Albans but the benefit of better state Schools I think and maybe a bit more countryside nearby.

Thanks again xx

[mewkins]

Harpenden and St Albans are I think the most expensive towns in Herts. There is fierce competition for school places so if you are moving for schools make sure you are on their doorstep! St Albans nice, not massively rural (compared to east Herts and North Herts) - loads of ex Londoners. You could get more for your noney by choosing a smaller town or village but would then be further from a train station. Colney Heath, Bricket Wood, Sandridge and London Colney are all on the periphery of St Albans. I am not keen on Harpenden to be honest. And I think it was nominated as one of the most expensive places to live in the UK.
Do you want to be more rural?

[magicstars]

I don't know about trains, sorry. Most places go to king x.
Have a look at Welwyn village, knebworth & redbourn, leafy villages in nice areas with easyish access to stations. What are your house requirements?

[FeetUpUntilChristmas]

East Herts, is also green with good schools both state and private. Trains go direct to the City in around 30 minutes.

[ML1980]

Thanks for the help everyone.

Definitely needs to be walking distance from a station into London as DH works crazy hours.
Rural ish!!!!! Ideally a small town but with green space nearby for 2 boys to charge about and burn energy. That along with the good schools was the main appeal of Harpenden.

I will definitely go and have a look around Berkhamsted and Knebworth as they are both half and hour commute into London which is perfect.
FeetupuntilChristmas (we wish!!!!!) by East Herts do you mean places like Broxbourne... that was one someone suggested to me....Don't know that area at all.
Pretty flexible on housing requirements, budget about £750,000 subject to selling our current flat. Prefer period property but in places like Harpenden they are few and far between!

Thanks again x

[littlecrystal]

I looked at moving to Herts from South London and settled at the idea of Broxbourne and/or Hoddesdon. Plenty of choices for your budget! Admittedly my budget is much less. What I liked was a small town with facilities, a couple of sports centres/swimming pools, two good secondaries (catholics have more options), cute Hoddesdon highstreet, lots of parks, rivers and lakes surrounding the towns + water activities, good commute.

What I liked least was commuting into Liverpool street station - it is a MAD station with masses of people during rush hour, very very busy and it takes so much longer to swim along all those commuters from the city - nothing to compare with London Bridge which I am used to.
But perhaps I am getting spoilt here!

[misdee]

welwyn garden city is lovely [biased as I live there]

its not QE2/howlands you need to avoid, its peartree/knella.

west side is very lovely, knightsfield as well. beehive conservation area worth a look. lots of countryside nearby, and some very good state schools in most areas.

[FeetUpUntilChristmas]

I was thinking Broxbourne, Hoddesdon, Ware or Hertford they're all in the Lee Valley so plenty of green space. You should be able to find a property too, although I'd probably opt to go out to one of the villages and drive to the station.