to move out of London and to Herts?

[bodgerthebadger]

Hi, posting here due to volume of traffic as i really need some advice :)

We currently live in London in an area where the school situation is incredibly stressful. Basically, unless you live on top of the school (which we don't) or attend weekly mass for 3 years with a letter of support from the Parish priest, you won't get in. We would most likely get a place at one school but it was on Special Measures recently and, as a personal choice, I would prefer not to send my kids there. That leaves the private schools which, when we have no.2 on the way, makes me feel assuming our children would even get a place at all. I also work FT in a very stressful job, with long hours and private school fees (whilst just about affordable) would make me a slave to my job, which is not what I want (I'm the main breadwinner in our household). Getting into a decent state school would leave me with a few more options to reduce my working hours and spend some more quality time with my family. If that means moving out of London, an area that my OH and I love, then that's a compromise we're willing to make.

We love where we are but the school situation is proving to be so uncertain and stressful, that we are thinking of moving to Herts due to the convenient connections to Kings X (since we both work in London and this is that station that works best for us).

I would be extremely grateful for any advice on where best to think about in Herts. We have a fairly healthy budget and would like a 4 bed house. The main priority is to have a good selection of primary schools (state) and secondary schools (would consider private) where we would stand a decent chance of getting a place. We don't want to live in a busy town - somewhere with a village feel without being in the middle of nowhere and with decent facilities, family things to do, access to countryside etc would be ideal if we could get it. I know it sounds like we're asking for a lot but we wouldn't be able to afford to move again after this so we're seeing this as a house for life :) I don't expect to tick all the boxes but it would be good if we could tick most!

Harpenden and St Albans strikes me as the most obvious locations but housing stock is in short supply and, even with a healthy budget, seems a bit beyond our budget! We considered Berkhamsted and Hertford since we heard lovely things about these places but neither go direct to Kings X. We visited Stevenage, Letchworth and Hitchin but we don't feel that these places are for us.

If anyone has any suggestions of other places within or near Herts that we could add to the mix, I'd be extremely grateful!

Sorry for the long post and for posting this in AIBU.

Thanks! x

[AugustaProdworthy]

Is Huntingdon a possibility? The station links to Kings Cross and is a popular town for commenting and the local school in HUntingdon (HInchingbrooke) is well thought of.

[PestoPeachissimos]

Bodger, there are 2 stations in hertford, Hertford North is a direct fast line to Kings Cross.

Hertford East is a slower line into Liverpool Street.

[PestoPeachissimos]

Digswell is on the same line, nice but pricey.
Another village on the same fast rail line is Bayford, or neighbouring village of Brickendon. Both nice. Welywn garden city or Old Welwyn perhaps?

[CuChullain]

Watford Grammer School is a consistant performer and always well placed in the league tables. Watford itself is a bit of a shithole but just outside there are some lovely little towns and villages, all very twee and green!! Watford Junction to Euston takes about 20 mins. Quite a few decent private schools nearby as well, Merchant Taylors, The Royal Masonic School, York House, Haberdashers' Aske's, Immanuel College, Rudolf Steiner School (if you are bit of a hippy).

Here is a list of all independent schools in Herts:

www.schoolsnet.com/uk-schools/best-independent-private-school/top-hertfordshire-schools/16180339/0/-3/9/84.html

[fairylightsintheautumn]

do you want small town or village? If you'd like village life with just a pub and shop then there are loads to choose from. The FCC line from Bedford - London is awful at rushhour and there are no alternatives, wheras the FCC line that goes through Baldock, Hatfield etc is less horrific. If you go Watford way then you have the metropolitan line going out as far as Amersham.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

There are some more reasonably priced outlying places from St Albans and Harpenden. Places like Sandridge, Park Street, London Colney, Redbourn...

[daisychain01]

Stevenage Ware and Hertford are affordable and are very conducive for bringing up a young family. Nice green areas and good rail connections. Plus shops and places to eat.

[MummyPigsKnickers]

I was going to post about Berkhamsted as that's where we are. LOVE it here...and ticks all your boxes apart from the Kings Cross one. Big shame, this is a fantastic town and I am so glad we chose to come here for our life after London. The line goes straight into Euston in 30 mins though :)

[bodgerthebadger]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the info. So helpful and lots to think about and lots of places to research. Fairy we don't want a town in the sense of congestion and it being heavily built up. That said, a village with just one pub or shop isn't what we're after either. Right now, we seem to have the best of both worlds. We live somewhere with a village and community feel but plenty of accessible shops, restaurants, cinema, facilities etc. My OH and I both know London extremely well but Herts not at all, which is why all this advice is so useful!

MummyPigsKnickers, I know! Berkhamsted ticked all the boxes until we saw the train line! I want to keep my commute to a minimum so even 10-15 mins each way makes a huge difference I feel when commuting daily.

Plan B is to start playing the lottery, since a lottery win would solve many of our problems (able to buy in a catchment area here or pay for school fees without having to worry about the cost!)

[Foxeym]

I'm in hitchin, some lovely areas. My 2 DD's are at hitchin girls academy which is an excellent ex grammar school, heavily oversubscribed along with hitchin boys so well worth living in the catchment area!

[Dawndonnaagain]

Ware is lovely, good schools, both primary and secondary. St Edmunds College offer good scholarships.

[thegreylady]

Rickmansworth has some good areas too.My dss and family live in Chorleywood where the schools seem excellent but house prices are very high indeed.

[elvisola]

I'm in Radlett, it has a similar feel to Berkhamsted but a much quicker commute. Two primary schools with great results and your still just about in catchment for good secondary/grammar schools.

[onelittleclara]

We moved from North London to Knebworth 11 years ago. I didn't want to be in a town as such and Knebworth has fast trains into Kings X, so commuting times actually improved from when we lived in London! Has a few shops and excellent local primaries. Secondary schools are a little trickier if trying to avoid Stevenage. Is not a cutesy as Berkamsted, but does the job and is close enough to WGC and Stevenage for other facilities.

[2goatytocare]

Kings Langley's nice

[babybythesea]

I grew up in Potters Bar - there are a good selection of primary schools there and at least one good state secondary and a load of other secondarys within easy distance.
Close enough to the city that you can get in easily (10 minutes to Finsbury Park on a fast train).
Not sure what prices are like now though...

[sharesinNivea]

Rickmansworth is just outside of Watford and has a tube. Back in the day I went to St.Joan of Arc Catholic school there amd Ricky' was still a nice 'villagey' atmosphere. It's probably full of coffee shops and shabby shite I mean chic nowadays, but it has all the benefits of town living with good transport and plenty of lovely parklands around.

Watford was great too, especially around Croxley Green.

[misdee]

Welwyn garden city has a good selection of primary and secondary schools. And fast trains to London kings x.

On that line, , welwyn north, hatfield, potters bar. Hatfield I would be errr cautious with, some parts are lovely, some not so.

[2goatytocare]

Rickys lovely but Joan of Arc is oversubscribed

[Undercoverme]

Check out campton, shillington, Gravenhurst, clophill - all beds villages with outstanding schools! Flitwick and are arlesey train stations direct into kings cross xxx

[GrendelsMum]

A friend tells me that Royston is speedy and reliable into Kings Cross - apparently you can either live in town and cycle to the station, or live in a village and drive in.

You could have loads of fun turning these two cottages back into a house

[happyyonisleepyyoni]

Baldock - 40 mins to kx, good schools, not crazy house prices.

[NorthernShores]

Not quite what you're after but Ickenham is zone 6, has some lovely houses, a villagey feel and community (being neither Uxbridge (not so nice) or Ruislip (ok but very spread out). Also has green on the doorstep!

Both schools were brilliant and one even had preparation for private schools on its website when I looked! Quite a lot go private after primary.

Not nec what you're after, but some lovely houses, nice m/c area and I know a few people who moved out of london to the area.

[maillotjaune]

Rickmansworth is nice (I went to JoA too) and it may be oversubscribed but people from this part of NW London still get in if they are practising so if you were in Rickmansworth you would be close enough wherever you lived.

It's not cheap though, and the Met line can be quick but frequently wastes hours of you life

[SilasGreenback]

What is your maximum commute time? Cambridge has non stop fast trains to KingsX that take 50 mins. Dh does quite a lot of work on the train - emails and stuff.