Moving near to Stevenage. Hitchin, Baldock , Letchworth, maybe even Biggleswade…

[redgirl1]

Hello wise mums of MN,
We are in need of some good advice. DH has new job in Stevenage. Our house is about to go on the market and we need to move… somewhere.
Hitchin is probably out of our price range unless we down size , so what does everyone think of Baldock, Letchworth and villages around. I need to find a year 6 and year place for the DC and secondary school is fast approaching. So any advice on schools is very gratefully appreciated.
DH thinks we ought to consider Biggleswade for the cheaper housing too. There is not a lot on the market at the mo. We don’t need to be near a station for work.
We don’t know this area at all and we don’t want to make a bad choice!

Dont move near old hale way in hitchin. A paedophile lives there.

The centre of Letchworth is not very charming - like Welwyn and Milton Keynes it's a 'new town', so built in the 60s. It does have a lovely common though, outdoor lido, etc. Baldock is a nice little market town, attractive with some older buildings, Hitchin is similar. I don't know about schools and whether you want to live in a town or a village is up to the kind of lifestyle you want. Do you live close enough to go and visit these places and get a feel for them?

@zafferana thanks for your reply. We live near Oxford. We did a whistle stop tour a couple of weeks ago. Letchworth looked ok but just drove down a very leafy street with a park with splash pool in. Didn’t see the city centre, that road seemed nice though. Goodness knows.
We are a bit under pressure to find something quickly for the purpose of secondary school applications and my DH starting his job.
We live in a village now, I can see the benefit to town and village living. I’m sure the kids would appreciate a bit more going on as they get older.

@cereallover that’s grim, we have had a Facebook posting about one moving in the next village. It’s so horrid to think of.

Biggleswade schooling is in consultation I believe on transition from three tier to two tier, so bear that in mind if your DCs are years 4-7ish, as they might be affected.

If you are looking at secondary schools then I would consider baldock over letchworth. I have friends who moved from letchworth to baldock due to the schools. Hitchin, I believe has some good secondary schools as well.

I really like letchworth. .art deco cinema, lovely outdoor pool, splash park, Norton common , library, train station.

central beds area is going from 3 tier to 2 tier within next 2 or 3 years.

Agree on Letchworth, it's fab. Far prefer it to Hitchin. But the secondary schools aren't great. Hitchin schools are pretty oversubscribed at primary and secondary level so be careful.

Central Beds are moving but some schools have already gone. Etonbury, Pix Brook in Stotfold and Henlow Academy are currently extended secondaries and you'd probably get space in any. Robert Bloomfield in Sheffield is good but lots of change.

The A1 can be a nightmare though. Could you afford WGC?

robert bloomfield in shefford is currently outstanding. .its due to become an all through school with samuel whitbread academy in nearby clifton. ...I know there are kids from biggleswade attending. .but biggleswade is not actually in the catchment area.

@Saintsofsaint

Agree on Letchworth, it's fab. Far prefer it to Hitchin. But the secondary schools aren't great. Hitchin schools are pretty oversubscribed at primary and secondary level so be careful.

Central Beds are moving but some schools have already gone. Etonbury, Pix Brook in Stotfold and Henlow Academy are currently extended secondaries and you'd probably get space in any. Robert Bloomfield in Sheffield is good but lots of change.

The A1 can be a nightmare though. Could you afford WGC?

Agree that Stotfold is nice, but there's no station so when we lived there most drove to Arlesey or Letchworth.

The Stotfold schools named above also serve Arlesey.

Funnily enough we looked at buying a house in Hitchin. Seen that loads of houses were up for sale in Old Hale Way. Now I know why.
Shefford is a good shout, but no train station.

out of interest what is your budget?

Knights Templar school in baldock is great, and it’s a nice little town. Although not much to do. Letworth is ok although schools not great. Hitchin has good schools but is very pricey.

I live in Baldock and love it. Primary and secondary schools are all good and there is a nice sense of community. The high street isn't amazing from a shopping perspective but it has a good butcher and baker, several coffee shops and pubs and a few different options for meals out plus a large Tesco supermarket. Hitchin is bigger and has a lot more going on in the town centre both day and night, but all of that is easily accessible from Baldock either on the train or in the car.

Stevenage and Biggleswade are easy to get to for most shopping needs. The train will take you to Cambridge in one direction and to Brighton (via central London and Gatwick airport) in the other. The A1 makes lots of places quickly and easily accessible by car. Also getting to Stevenage for work is easy without having to use the A1 which gets very busy southbound in the mornings. Come and live here it's great! 😁

@fingerbuffet budget 575k wish it went further!
I’ll be commuting to Oxford twice a week for a while. I’ll change job later. A bit crazy I know.

@Mothersruin123 thanks, I did see the secondary looked pretty good too. I have been living in a village for 9 years with no shop so I’m not fussy shop wise, anything would be a novelty!

@Saintsofsaint £575k budget maybe could afford it at a push. we drove through a little bit of it and I didn’t think it looked that nice. Probably unlucky with the road we chose.

Ooh finally a question I can answer! Our kids are still very young so I don't know much about secondary schools. However, we moved to Letchworth in the last year. I wasn't convinced at all on paper, but really liked it when we visited. We were moving from a village and for us it feels like a happy medium between village and town. Lots of greenery, but more amenities (there aren't really that many shops, but enough for us). I can't quite explain it, but the wider streets, extra trees, the Common and Howard park, they work for us. That was important for me as I didn't want to lose the positives of living rurally.

Hitchin has far more shops, is busier and feels a bit fancier (well it has a waitrose so I'm making assumptions!). But not for me as it doesn't feel as green.

We visited Biggleswade too as were tempted by the cheaper prices but it wasn't for us.

what size house are you looking for in that budget?

It’s DH that’s more keen on beds, I don’t know why I just totally ruled it out. The whole 3 school thing looks like a head ache.

@Saintsofsaint in my dreams 4 bed, in reality 3 bed.

Have you looked at Hertford/Ware?

@cereallover

Dont move near old hale way in hitchin. A paedophile lives there.

🙄

A paedophile probably lives a few doors away from you.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/79832862#/?channel=RES_BUY

@gravityswindscreen thanks , that’s what I thought driving through. It looked so green. And thought the same driving through hitchin afterwards. I do love a bit of greenery.