moving out of north london, but where????

[CakeandCoffeeQueen]

I've always lived in north/east london (which is where most of my family live) I completely fed up with the noise, rubbish, helicopters, crime.

So where would you suggest we move to? needs to be 4 bed, garden, commute to london (I think north or east of london so we can visit family) good schools, busy centre.

our flat would sell for around 350k although we'd quite like to keep it and rent it out and buy another house (might be a pipe dream) - we have 100k for a deposit.

We were thinking enfield but i'm now worried its not different enough. We've been to harlow and didn't really like it, I quite like Leigh on sea but wonder if its a bit small?

Please mumsnet help!

Would Chelmsford be too far ? Or a few miles further along the A12 - Witham. It's a much quieter very small town but has a railway station with a direct into London.

Bishops Stortford? Nice town, good schools and express trains to London.

Second Bishop's Stortford. I'd definitely be looking there if I was still in the SE.

Oh if Enfield go look at Winchmore Hill, it's a beautiful little village green, good school, train to London and lovely houses. Def "different"

I wouldn't bother with Enfield, for a contrast you would need to go much further.
I moved from Tottenham to a village not far from Bishops Stortford 8 years ago and its the best thing I ever did. My children have such a good quality of life that they would never have had staying in London.

@AvoidingRealHumans do you have to drive everywhere?
Any villages you’d recommend looking at?

@VictoriaBun I’ve never been to Chelmsford so will have a look

It might be worth talking to a mortgage broker first with some hypothetical figures. I would imagine most nice places North or East of London will still be £££.

I like Leigh on Sea, it has a Grammar school system though. It's lively, with lots of cafes and restaurants and very easy to get back into London. It's not that cheap for housing though. Chalkwell is a little cheaper or Thorpeness.

Sorry, meant Shoeburyness

I like leigh. We go to chalkwell for the beach but haven’t been to the town bit before.

My DH doesn’t want to live any where ‘Typically Essex’ such as Harlow/billericay he’s much more hipster than I am!

Enfield won't fit your bill. It is still North London really and most areas feel like it. You wouldn't get the house you want on your budget. Well, nowhere you'd want to live anyway.
Ware is full of North London escapees, as is Hertford. Good schools, good train links, just off the A10. Ware is fairly quiet but with a nice high street with lots of independent shops, but Hertford (10mins ish drive from Ware depending where you start/finish) is more bustling, theatre, cafes, bars, restaurants etc and there is a lot of redevelopment happening in the town centre which will hopefully be really nice. Bishops Stortford also nice and popular, good schools etc. Traffic can be quite busy but definitely nothing like N.London/Enfield.
Good luck op!

Thank you so much @Cramproll that’s really helpful.
Is there a particular area in Hertford you’d recommend?

Well, it depends a bit on your total budget really. And are you looking to be close to/prioritise primary or secondary schools or both?

Bengeo is very nice, residential with some local shops, has a great primary school, not too far from stations (2 to chose from) or the town centre. But you won't get much change from £600k for a 4 bed at best. This is on the market at the moment as an example: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-76394071.html
Most others are significantly more.

Foxholes and Pinehurst areas are nice "normal" residential areas and very popular and generally you can expect slightly lower prices. A few people would say to avoid the Sele Farm area saying it is a bit 'rough', but these are usually not Londoners and it's all relative! I see a normal area, although admittedly it wouldn't be top of my list if I had free choice.

The area around Balls Park/Simon Balle school etc is very nice and smart, but it sounds like you would be priced out (like me!).

There is a lot of housing on the outskirts/on the way out of Hertford too on various directions too, but less convenient if you are tied to a station.

Basically, it depends on your budget! Apparently Hertford has been one of the busiest housing markets in the SE in the last few months for family homes in particular with the most desirable family homes going above asking price... So it's likely that prices are slightly over inflated at the moment but likely will come back down a bit as the mad post-lockdown rush to move subsides a bit!

I live south of the river so don’t know specific areas. However, it’s probably worth considering the outer boroughs. They are v green so you can walk to the coutryside but also have amenities on the doorstep or can pop into central London for the theatre or a concert etc. and get back home any time of day or night. I know Barnet has v good schools.

Yes, where I live you do need to drive everywhere if you want to leave the village but I am central to Harlow, Chelmsford, Braintree as in a good location for the M11 and main roads.
You could look at Sawbridgeworth or the other side and maybe Elsenham, Henham, Takeley, Little Canfield. They all have a station link close by to get into London.
In the Borough of uttlesford there are lots of new builds going up so depending on what you're looking for, that may suit you.

thank yo all so much, its really helpful!

i like the look of this one www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/55709766?utm_source=share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=details_share

When you said you were fed up of the noise, helicopters, crime and rubbish, I assumed you already lived in Enfield

I agree with pp that I would speak to a mortgage broker, and get your current place valued, so you know what your budget is.

Ooh yes that house is lovely. Bishops stortford is such a nice town

That's a nice one OP. Stortford is a good location, I grew up there. It's been a few years since I've lived there though.

That house looks about a 10-15 minute walk from the town centre (mainly North and South Street), and an easy walk to the station - worth it as you do not want to try and park there!

Hockerill traffic lights can be a bit of a nightmare- but if you're walking to the station for a commute that won't be so much of an issue.

Sawbridgeworth has less going on in terms of shops than Stortford, and has kind of joined up with Harlow really. It's a nice town though.

If you want more 'market town' Saffron Walden is lovely, but you'd need to drive to the station as it's a long way from the town.

I'd second Hertford, I used to live there. Hitchin is lovely but expensive and Stevenage has some nice parts and is an excellent fast commute. A bit further out and you'll get a lot more for your money and rail links are excellent.

I think we’ll have around 550k but your right we should get it valued.

I definitely want shops/cafes/restaurants ideally both independent and chains (I know it’s a lot to ask!).
we have friends in Harlow so know it a little - my impression when going home has always been ‘thank goodness we don’t live there’ but that might just be the bits I’ve seen plus my wanky London attitude! I’m very much ready for a change now.
Our kids are in primary still, we definitely don’t want to have to drive them to school or drive to get to the shops. I wonder if we’ll be priced out in Essex with that long list!

Thank so much to everyone who’s replied, it’s really helping me think it through.

From what you've put I definitely think Stortford ticks your boxes, it has all of that and regular transport so when your children are of the age to go out with friends they can take buses so you won't need to ferry them about. I know what you mean about Harlow, its great for shopping but I wouldn't want to live there.

OP, from what you've put in your latest post, you'd love Hitchin. It's a beautiful small town with all the facilities you describe plus excellent schools and rail links, and very near the A1M. You would be able to find something with that budget I think. I live in Stevenage just down the road and would move to Hitchin if I could afford to! From Stevenage (next stop down), I can be at Kings X within 25 mins.

Old Enfieldian here. It’s felt like Tottenham since the riots, it’s not really out of London anymore (it had a kind of small town feel before that’s missing now).

I second Bishops Stortford. Or old Harlow (good trains), Hertford, or Ware.