Luton as an area to move to?

[WoburnSands]

Just weighing up different relocation options...any one got any recommendations as to what kind of a place Luton would to be like to live?

My Dad was once warned off going into a pub in Luton as a guy who worked there said it was rough, had a long at my Dad, and obviously decided he didn't think my Dad would handle it - "I wouldn't go in there, mate"! (or words to that effect) How rude!! But that's just one isolated story..what are the house prices and general areas like?

Stevenage is a much nicer place and probably only a little pricier

And another one: Leighton Buzzard.

Then again, to look at it another way, one could look into possible social housing /shared ownership in the expensive areas, vis a vis say outright ownership in Luton, for instance, so every comment is valid, in it's own way

I do envy St Albans inhabitants though - seems perfect. Historically interesting, picturesque town yet very close to London!!

Though unless you're fantastically rich I'd still go for the nicer bits of the less 'desirable' towns than spend an astronomical amount to live in a shoebox in St. A (said as someone who used to live in a shoebox in St. A )

Are you looking at Luton because of the house prices op ? Because if you are forget St. Albans and Woburn. Maybe consider Dunstable, Milton Keynes, Leighton buzzard is worth a look. I don't want to be rude about Luton. There are some lovely parts near stockwood park. But they are more pricey

No if I'm honest - not just out of house prices - Mcchicken - I've spent a bit of time in the Beds/Herts/Bucks area and looking at Luton partly out of a bit of nostalgia etc - but I'm open to wider suggestions.

I like living here. Probably don't want to live here forever but it's like any other big town / city really - some areas nicer than others! Itd got lots for small children I think, and there's loads of nearby places to go, countryside easy to get to, easy to get to work in London except Thameslink are unreliable, and we got a 3 bed lovely house next to the park shops and train station for the price of a studio flat in London.

There was that series a few years ago: crap towns. Became a book.

Luton 'won'.

I think monkey makes a good point- it's fantastically located too

I think Stevenage is a hole, too.

I saw this on FB recently.

It's only the second worst place to live in Britain
www.ilivehere.co.uk/top-10-worst-places-to-live-in-england/9

I love St. Albans and Woburn. Would love to live there. Way out of my price range sadly

Harpenden is lovely too

Stevenage isn't the location of dreams but it's convenient, well located, decent schools and prices which are comparable to Luton.

If you're looking for Luton price you probably don't have £800k for harpenden

We lived not a million miles from Luton, over the border in Herts, and I found that whole REGION depressing to be honest. Its either ugly-as-a-pig's-arse (Hemel, Luton, Welwyn, Stevenage, Watford) or up itself and chronically over-priced (Harpenden, St. Albans). I've lived in several different countries and four different parts of the UK and I don't think there's a more soulless area than Beds/Bucks/Herts on the surface of the earth.

I've spent two longish spells (several years each) living in S.Bucks/S.Beds and agree with this 100%.

I used to have a community job in Luton, and part of that was looking into the different wards so I know quite a lot about the demographics of the town.

It certainly is 'rough' in areas and has very high levels of deprivation, however you can wander round the corner and the next street will be full of very affluent households. It's a real mish-mash.

The real benefits are also that due to it being very deprived it gets a lot of government funding. I still have the same job but now work in Central Beds/ Bedford Borough and I don't have anywhere near the resources or services at my disposal that I had when I did the exact same job in Luton.

Anyway, if you really are set on it I would probably recommended looking at the community profiles for the different wards to make sure you look at houses in that area. They're available online - just google 'Luton ward profiles' - there's also stats on Public Health England.

Harpenden is lovely but we will never be able to afford to live there. Leagrave (I count that as Luton) is great and I would recommend it. I fully recognise if you had all the money in the world it wouldn't be first choice but it is a great place for us.

To the two naysayers against Herts: I've lived in East Herts for nearly 30 years and it's great! I can walk down the High Street of my small town and almost always meet someone I know.

Dump, but an affordable dump I suppose. Agree with pp that whole area north of london is soulless. can you move further afield? Midlands/Black Country villages are cheap too and can be lovely!

To OP: Biggleswade is apparently up and coming - though if commuting, is much further out.

I live here and really like the place, my children are older and I have found the high school and the sixth form college to be great. We are near the airport so an easy trip to the countryside, to the M1 or the large sports centre. We are planning to move in a few years as dh wants to be somewhere more peaceful but we are deliberately staying until our youngest has finished sixth form.

We lived here for 4 years and it was grim.

Went back to visit 2 years ago and it was worse than we remembered.

We both vowed never to set foot in it again. Our perfect jobs could come up in Luton and we'd give a polite no to them.

It's not even that cheap.

The only times we go to Luton is when we need to get to the airport. Not pleasant at all! Wouldn't live there