Hitchin v StAlbans

[TeamWoodstock]

Hi,

We are moving out of South London to Hitchin in theory, and I have the fear! We live in a great area with nice local shops and fab parks but want greater access to the countryside, good schools, and to be nearer to our parents who are in the midlands/up north.

We have also looked at St Albans but put off by the prices and the busy commute for my husband to Farringdon (can anyone comment on that?). That said I have just seen a house in between Fleetville and Marshalswick in St Albans, which looks possible (is this a nice area?) and the parks look good - something I will miss about London.

Hitchin does look really great - lovely town, close to countryside, better house prices - but there don't seem to be any nice big parks/play areas (though obvs there is the lovely countryside). Maybe there are some good parks in nearby towns?

Would really appreciate comments/thoughts on any of the above.

Many thanks :)

Honestly, there's no comparison and this is reflected in the house prices.

I'm biased because I live in St.A, but it's such a great place - this is what I posted on another thread:

In St.A you have a beautiful city centre, cathedral, best park in Herts, transport links, plenty of shopping, bars, restaurants, great schools and an amazing new cinema due to be opened on London Road - odysseypictures.co.uk/.

Incidentally, it's from the guy who owns The Rex in Berkhamsted, so I'm sure will be just as special - therexberkhamsted.com/

You're also only 5 minutes (by train) to Harpenden, although the traffic in St.A is a nightmare on market days.

Here's a couple of threads on Hitchin for further reading:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a1704496-Anyone-know-anything-about-Hitchin

(this one's a bit old though) local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_hertfordshire/a714234-HITCHIN

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/a1530103-Anyone-know-about-primary-schools-in-Hitchin

and a couple on St.Albans - these answer your questions about Marshalswick and Fleetville.

Essentially, all the great primaries in St.A are in the town centre and all the secondaries out of the town centre. If you lived in Marshalswick, you'd be in catchment for the best St.A secondary schools.

local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_hertfordshire/a1687936-Where-to-live-in-St-Albans

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/a1922384-Moving-to-St-Albans-Which-areas-and-schools-can-you-recommend

local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_hertfordshire/a1395655-Moving-to-St-Albans-from-abroad-any-advice-much-appreciated

Someone will be along soon who has lived in St.A longer than I have, so hopefully will be able to give you some more knowledge.

I would recommend booking a cheap B and B for a couple of nights in St.A and Hitchin (at weekends, so you get a real flavour), maybe look around a couple of schools and then make your decision.

Good luck.

Yep. Pretty has pretty much nailed it ^ The area between Fleetville and Marshalswick is great. Loadsa top notch schools, nurseries, toddler groups. The Wick at Marshalswick (park and wood) is lovely and the Woodland Trust do an Easter Hunt and Santa Hunt there every year. You've got the big Morrisons in Fleetville and The Quadrant (local shops) for everything you need (Budgens, Post Office, Simmons, a Sainsbury's Local and Petrol station) It's pretty bloody ideal really!

I think all rail links into London are pretty busy during peak hours but it's only about 20 mins, so def do-able. Come up for Easter and get a sense of the rich history of the old Roman city. It's pretty spesh x

PS. As far as visiting your folks, you can reach every major European destination from here! Sitting between M1/M25/A1(M) and Luton Airport - you're never far from a direct route to somewhere

Wow, great support for St Albans, certainly sounds like it's worth a second look so we may have to revisit. Thanks guys. Anyone got anything to say either way about Hitchin?

Hitchin is a nice place to live. I lived there for a while, grew up there and now live in letchworth.

Most primaries are good ofsted wise and the secondaries are good. There are 2 single sex secondaries which are very good and a mixed secondary ( priory ) which I believe is good too.

Areas to avoid are pretty obvious really as you drive round. There are 3 or 4 mainly council areas that I would avoid.

I find hitchin a friendly place in general. The town itself is lovely and has some nice little shops. It has some great restaurants and bars. If you are looking for green spaces / parks then nearby letchworth has norton common which is lovely and howard park gardens which has a great paddling pool and park for the children in the spring / summer.

The only problem with hitchin I find personally is that is a little overcrowded. Any bit of land seems to be snapped by builders and turned into some flats. This is a reflection that houses are very much in demand in hitchin but I feel it might be slightly to its detriment. I'm sure it's the same in most towns where demand for property is high :( my favourite part of hitchin is the west side. It has some beautiful period houses. And a lovely big waitrose :)

There are loads of parks and open spaces in hitchin :)

On one sides especially, the more rural side you also have easy access to wymondley woods which is a great place for the kids.

Have lived in St Albans for about 20 years having been born and brought up in Herts. I love it; about the only thing I don't like is the rush hour traffic but I fear that's part and parcel of living in a town with such good connections (motorway/rail/airport).

I visit Hitchin quite a bit and I like it, nice market town, maybe not so busy but not quite so much to do (two sides of the same coin I guess). I absolutely LOVE the Lido in Hitchin though .

I'm biased as I live in Hitchin. We thought about St Albans but preferred Hitchin. Hitchin house prices are pretty similar to St Albans for the areas you would want to live in actually. Since being named in top 9 places to live in the country by The Times, prices have rocketed.

My reasons I prefer Hitchin to St Albans (although St Albans very nice too)

Hitchin is smaller
Hitchin has a very friendly feel with lots of local events always happening.
Many independent shops and boutiques
Hitchin town isn't rough in the evenings like St Albans can be
The market square is beautiful and has pretty cobbled streets leading off with fantastic restaurants and shops etc (much nicer than the town centre in St Albans which doesn't really have a proper square and has lots of busy traffic constantly going though)
Hitchin has lots of parks and open countryside
Hitchin outdoor swimming pool
Most of the primary schools are outstanding
Girls school outstanding secondary and boys good with outstanding secondary

I could go on about Hitchin all day but you should maybe come for the day and you would see how pretty it is and what a lovely feel it has to it. There are always events going on and the people who live here all feel very privileged to do so.

I would recommend the South side (always been the nicest part with the best houses which neighbours Gosmore and St Ippolyts which are villages).

Thanks for all the comments. Actually both places definitely seem to have their positives and a negatives depending on your perspective it seems. I am really reassured about Hitchin - I never knew there was a Lido... we live close to one and love it. We nearly saw a house in St Albans this weekend - the first I've seen at a remotely affordable price in a decent area etc etc, and there were going to be 30 people at the 3 hour viewing!! Couldn't make it in the end but that's how insane the housing market has become. So I think in the end, it's going to come down to the house and what we can get within our budget.

Anywhere you choose will be nice. The park in St Albans (the lakes) is always full of birds crap which I really dislike - watford which is close by has a nicer park. I love the outdoor pool in Hitchin. Hitchin also has greater character and charm.
There are quite a few "ghettos" in St. Albans, so area of St. Albans could be important. You also might want to see who your neighbours are (care in the community) As for schools what a lot of people who don't work in education fail to realise is that a school is so much more than an OFSTED report. Government change the goalposts every time and what may be outstanding one year may not necessarily be the next. I would say go and check out the schools and get a feel for them. Also, if you support your child at home I.e - read stories to your child or God forbid, talk to your child ( u will b amazed how many parents don't) then you will be fine. I know when we move it certainly will not be based on a "good/outstanding" school!!!

No appointment necessary....totally agree with you re: schools. So many people look solely at an ofsted report when looking at schools. In fact my neighbour moved recently as she told me the ofsted reports for our local schools were ' requires improvement'. She put her house on the market and her reasons for moving were 'I want an ofsted outstanding school for my child. She has moved to an area with an outstanding school....but it was last inspected in 2008! So much can change.. All of our local schools are now improving a lot ofsted wise and most are now good. She didn't even look round the local schools!

So I had a discussion with my husband around the time she was telling me this ( we live in a lovely area ) so we didn't wish to move but I almost felt guilty for staying!

I have been to look round all of our local schools and have been impressed with all of them. Most importantly they all seem like nice, friendly environments where children seem to do really well.

I also know that an ofsted 'outstanding' has recently been downgraded to requires improvement.

Sorry to go off point - i just think it's so nice to hear someone talking sense!

To be honest, most places in hitchin are nice..but I would avoid parts of west mill estate, sunnyside estate and purwell area. I would also avoid nightingale road which is one of the roads that leads to the station from the town centre. Estate agents will know these areas. There are probably pockets in these areas which are quite nice but I would have no idea where they are so I would avoid. Most other parts of hitchin are lovely and nice areas to live in.

If I had to choose I would choose hitchin, but I am a tiny bit biased.

Thank you Rainbow -'people need to remember "OFSTED" is for government purposes!!!

Hi, I live in the beautiful village of Ickleford, Hitchin, we are right on the edge of Hitchin, with open fields/countryside. Hitchin is a very safe Town, full of History, in fact it is called the Historical Town of Hitchin. It has a fantastic community, we were voted the 9th best UK place to live www.theadvertisergroup.co.uk/Daily-News/Hitchin/Hitchin-named-in-top-ten-places-to-live-in-the-UK-20130320170640.htm.

Also take a look at this friendly site

www.facebook.com/groups/wearefromhitchinherts/

The Poets Estate is a lovely place to live or surrounding villages

Oh and if you need Child care I have a vacancy!!!

Hi Tina, thanks for your message (sorry, done something weird and changed my nickname, it's TeamWoodstock here). We won't be moving till August/Sept, but will remember re childcare - thanks for the tip off! x