Advice on moving to Berkshire, Oxfordshire or Hertfordshire

[Escapetothewhere]

Hello mumsnet!

We're looking to move soon and could really use some advice. We need to be commutable to central London, ideally 1.5 hours or less by train, and also within 2 hours drive of Hertford. The areas we're looking at are around Berks, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and maybe into Surrey, but we don't know anything about the area! Insider knowledge about which towns to avoid would be brilliant. We don't like Aylesbury, Slough or Reading, and not keen on typical commuter towns, unfortunately!

We're looking for good transport links (can drive to the nearest station if necessary), great schools - state primary and secondary, ideally not grammar school area, and most importantly a strong sense of community. We're moving from inner London with two young kids and we're looking for a safe and affluent area with cafes, shops and activities for kids. I know this sounds snobby but the area we live in now is deprived and dreary and it's depressing, so looking to escape that. A village would be fine but small town better. My dream is Henley on Thames.... Our budget is up to 500k for a three bed lol.

Any and all advice would be most welcome! Is there anywhere out there that would fit the bill with our admittedly small budget for the area?

I’ve lived in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Wokingham might fit the bill, or crowthorne. I’d avoid Bracknell. Ascot is ok. Sandhurst is ok. In Oxfordshire, Witney is lovely but may be too quiet for you!

Which bit of London do you need to get to? Oxfordshire will come into Paddington or Marylebone both of which can be another hour of commute if you have to get to Canary Wharf...

@onemoremile central London so any of the directions the trains come into would work. Ideally the train would take no more than 1 hour 15, leaving 15-20 mins to get into central London from the station

I wouldn’t worry about are being affluent - anywhere 1.5 hours commute into London fits that bit.

Avoid Bucks/Slough as they are Grammar areas (and that tends to have a knock on effect on comprehensives).

I would focus on the Elizabeth Line - makes commuting into London easily.

Windsor (working on basis you drive to Slough)

Twyford

Maidenhead (good community and schools but you may find budget tight)

Herts is expensive but you could look at hitchin, Bedford areas? Some outer areas of St Albans like London Colney? Hertford itself is very nice and good train links to London. Not grammar schools and mostly outstanding state schools.

Avoid Wokingham, your money won’t go very far at all and it’s expensive/quite long trip into london. Hitchin sounds like a good bet.

Not sure if it's close enough to Hertford but East Oxford would fit the bill for everything else, especially round the Magdalen Road area or Florence Park.

@Wizardo you can definitely get a 3 bed in Wokingham for £500k

I was going to say Caversham but your budget won't stretch to that. Henley isn't actually that nice btw.

How about Ware, you could possibly get a house for 500k in some parts? It's just up the road from Hertford but nicer in my opinion as it is less congested. High street has a number of independent shops and eateries, plenty of river walks, parks and good schools. Train line into Liverpool Street.

All i can think of after reading OP is Rick Mayall in Bottom saying ''Start off in Berkshire, and end up in .... er ..... Twatshire.''

😂

sorry

Avoid Slough - it’s a dump

We live in Ware and moved here out of London. Would def recommend. Train takes 50 minutes into Liverpool Street and you always easily get a seat. My friend is currently buying a 3 bed terrace here for c. 410. You gwt the benefits of both hertford and ware as they are so close they basically merge into one.

I live in Bicester, Marylebone is 50 mins Oxford is 10 Mins by train. It's not the most prettiest town centre I prefer the old market town look of Witney/ Wantage or Abingdon but the transport links are brilliant.

House prices have rocketed though so whilst you can get something for £500k it won't be amazing.

We moved here because we couldn't afford anywhere closer to Oxford that was 20 years ago and we really like how much the town is growing and the good transport links.

Have a look at Thame in Oxfordshire. 45 mins or so into Marylebone from Haddenham nearby, nice market town. The right side for Hertford too: wouldn't be too long.

12 3-bed houses currently on the market in the £450k-£500k bracket. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E1330&insId=1&minPrice=450000&maxPrice=500000&minBedrooms=3&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

Seems to give you everything you want.

@Mzrcd Oooh do you have insider info about Henley? It always seems so nice!

Thank you everyone for your advice so far! We'll add Ware into our search area! Are there any areas to avoid?

Within Ware, it seems to be generally accepted that it's best to avoid the area around Tower Road. The least popular primary school, Larkspur Academy, is also round that way. The other schools are all meant to be good (not yet at school age for my little one, so no first hand experience!) The South side of ware is often seen as the most desirable.

i also recommend d Wokingham - you can use Wokingham station to Waterloo or drive to Twyford for fast trains to Paddington and the Elizabeth Line. Schools are good and there’s a lot going on in the area.

The Elizabeth Line is as slow as God's Wrath (& has no loos). Don't use it for long distance commuting is my advice.

Welwyn, Ware, Stevenage old town, Hitchin and Hertford would be nice. St Albans absolutely fits the bill and is the nicest of the lot in Hertfordshire but you wouldn’t get a 3 bed for £500k. If you can up your budget to £600k it’s where I would go as 25 mins to central London and 25 min drive to Hertford.

Didcot is closer to London on the train than Oxford and is much cheaper. Didcot itself is not gorgeous but lots of nice villages nearby. Ditto Banbury you could get somewhere lovely and big for £500k and it’s quite a nice town with great amenities. Good bits and bad bits but the good bits are lovely.

Agreed that st Albans is lovely. Just a word of warning though - be aware that driving to Hertford from that direction is an absolute pain at rush hour - traffic gets so busy - my friend gave up a job in St Albans that she thought would take her a 25 minute commute and it was regularly taking her well over an hour. Might not affect you but though I'd make you aware!

Henley is a fine place to live, but the train is pretty slow. It’s safe and pretty and lots going on. However, traffic is a nightmare as soon as the sun shines. Often difficult to park ( unless you know what you’re doing!) and everyone knows everyone. The high street has gone downhill recently. There’s a nice park for children.

@Runninghappy interesting thank you. In what way has it gone downhill? Good to know about the train as well, and parking could well be an issue we hadn't considered!