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!

You have all been so helpful. Thanks again.

I know you've ruled it out but when I go back to Stevenage (grew up there) I'm impressed how clean and open and safe it is with lots of greenery and cycle paths etc. Superfast trains into London in 25 mins etc. I live in an inner city area now and wish my kids had the benefits I did growing up. I've never really understood the bad rep it seems to have.

Clothall Common is a little separate from the rest of Baldock, but still easy to get to the centre as there are various short cuts you can take, depending upon which side of the common you live. It's certainly no more removed than many other areas of town. Also closer to yummy cake at the local garden centre cafe 😋

Also meant to say that if considering a village then Ashwell is lovely and has lots of facilities but is probably similar house prices to Hitchin. Weston might be worth looking at. It has a decent village primary school and I think is in the catchment for KTS, or certainly was when I was at school many years ago. It is very close to Stevenage now since the construction of Great Ashby housing estate, but that might be helpful for your husband's job, and it certainly still feels like a separate village.

Good luck @redgirl1, I hope you find what you’re looking for. I can recommend Jones’ Cafe for coffee if you do decide to explore Biggleswade, or the Stratton for lunch.

It takes about 20 mins to walk from CC to Tesco/library/Days (excellent bakers)/Chapmans (brill butcher with good cheese counter). It’s really not far at all. And Tapps is even closer for tea and cake

@BareBelliedSneetch thanks that’s good to know. We are going to visit a few places this weekend. I feel full of anxiety about moving, I need to get a grip!!!