Luton/Bedfordshire Area

[HomeCountyHome]

Any advice on where to live for a job in Luton (near, but not at, the airport)? No car, so will need to be on trainline/decent bus route, modest budget (rental to start with), not London. Luton itself does not look inviting, but more than happy to be proved wrong. It's not an area I have ever been to, so starting looking from scratch. Thanks so much!

Dunstable has a good bus shuttle to the airport. Has its own track thing. Its really quick and Dunstable is nicer than Luton. Depends how close you need to be though and budget. Some local villages are lovely

Massively depends on your budget. Harpenden and Hitchin are nice but expensive. It's probably best you stick to the airport side of Luton if you need to get there so although Dunstable is cheaper, it probably isn't the best if you have no car. I can't imagine going through Luton will be fun on a bus everyday.

Ah scrap my Dunstable comment than OP. Dunstable might be ideal. I know a family who were priced out of London and bought in Bramingham. They seem to like it there.

I live in Bedford, 14 minutes on the fast train to Luton!

Thanks for the suggestions so far - very helpful! I will take a look at Dunstable. @robinsnest1967, do you like Bedford?

Most of the trains going South from Bedford stop at Luton Airport Parkway so you could look at places on that route eg Harlington, Flitwick etc

@HomeCountyHome I was born in Bedford but moved to Luton in 1995 for work reasons. I now commute to London but still have family in Bedford.

There are some nicer areas of Luton, like any town. I live north side of Luton in Limbury and get the bus into town to catch the train but from here you could easily get to Leagrave station and Leagrave is quite nice as well. Someone upthread mentioned Bramingham which is also OK. Traditionally the areas to avoid have been Marsh Farm and Bury Park. Luton does have a reputation and some of it is deserved but there are a lot of good people here too and I'm lucky that I have nice neighbours and community around me. Thameslink and EMR services make it great for commuting to London if you need to, especially as St Albans and Harpenden are insanely expensive for most budgets.

Bedford is not the town it used to be and has declined a lot in recent years (as has Luton) and Covid closed a lot of shops in both. The train station is pretty central (as is Luton) which is handy. Castle Road is a sought after area near the park, as is Prime Ministers. Further out of town, Putnoe and Goldington are popular.

Flitwick has expanded hugely and there are lots of developments still going up around there as well as Harlington so they could be worth a look too.

It might be worth spending time in both places and looking around.

Another vote for Dunstable or Houghton Regis. The Luton/Dunstable busway runs frequently and with few stops, so it's really quick to get into Luton and to the airport. Non busway buses also go to town centre and airport, but slower, obviously, making lots of stops.

I'd avoid Downside and Spoondell in Dunstable, but generally speaking, most parts are nice to live in. Town centre isn't brilliant with a lot of empty shop units, but I think that's standard for the majority of high streets these days. Milton Keynes isn't too far away if you want a big shopping centre.

I have family in Bedford. Sorry but I really wouldn't move there if you have a choice of elsewhere. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere and aside from a few nice bits it's quite run down and declining. I don't believe their public transport network is very good either.

I'd say Flitwick. Short train journey direct to Luton Airport Parkway. Ordinary Town with amenities. Anything in Herts is more pricy. Bedford a bit further and nicer bits aren't necessarily close to station.

Hitchin doesn't have good public transport to Luton unfortunately.

@Dodgeitornot my family mention the bus service has been cut to one per hour where they live. Not great now.

Is this Bedford? I visit maybe 3x a year and I don't remember ever seeing a bus. I normally come on the train to London. The town centre is very run down. The riverside walk is lovely though, as are some of the local villages, but that won't be of any use to OP as you definitely send a car.
I think in OPs case id probably concentrate on Dunstable. Although the hospital there is scarily bad.

@Dodgeitornot yes, Bedford. I visit every month or so and feel sad every time I go. It was a lovely, vibrant town and had great shops and nightlife when I grew up there and had a lovely market. The rot set in over a decade ago and nobody tried to stop it. Covid has just finished the job.

Oh wow. That's sad. It does feel like it's very much in the depths of poverty. I don't particularly like visiting tbh. I guess the fact it's got quite a few private schools shows it wasn't always like this.

Stopsley is nice and near the airportt - it's sometimes known as Stopsley Village, it has long since been absorbed into Luton so isn't really a village any more but does have a slightly different feel to it.

Thanks everyone! We are going for a bit of a look round tomorrow - I might come back with more questions…

Yes and many moons ago when I worked at the airport I walked there but there are still frequent buses. Anywhere along the area between Putteridge and wigmore, north west of wigmore lane (looking towards cockenhoe) would be ok with the advantage that you can then get the bus to hitchin to shop rather than Luton town centre (though that’s also accessible by bus if you need it).