Apsley/Leverstock Green/Tring - where to live?

[Snowy85]

Hi all,
Wonder if anyone can help - firstly I should say i'm not a mum yet, nor pregnant, but TTC - and have just had a house fall through on us on day of exchange. My flat is now sold as its a studio and too small for boyfriend and I , let alone if we are lucky enough to end up having a child. We have 6 months til we have to be out of the flat and are currently looking in a few different places in Herts to live.
We saw a beautiful house in Nash Mills, a few roads away from Apsley lock but its right at the very very top of our budget and although beautiful it's the area i'm worried about - the house we were buying which fell through was in Kings Langley which i love. Nash Mills just seems so residential and apart from the lock, nothing to walk to or do really? I know KL is only 2 miles away but it feels ages away!
The thing i'm struggling with is at the moment what I want is a coffee shop and a nice pub/restuarant in walking distance, but becuase we are hoping to have a family , i feel like we have to look for the future too (which is hard in case it doesn't happen and we've picked the wrong place to live in that case!) so i'm also looking at schools, playgrounds, toddler groups to walk to etc! I've suffered from depression in the past so if i did have a child I'd want to not feel isolated. And i worry about always having to get in the car to go somewhere rather than just walk somewhere.

So at the moment - we are looking at leverstock green (downsides - well over an hours commute to work for me, no train line if my bf works in london in future which is possible - currently works in essex hence us having to be in this part of herts really due to both our jobs (i work in south bucks).
Nash Mills/ Apsley - lovely houses but just don't like the area as much and its lack of a centre so worried about that. Also not sure if some parts are not very nice - don't know the area at all.
Finally Tring - we had discounted this originally as it would be over an hour to my parents and i thought it was a bit quiet and isolated from other larger towns but now we are considering it again - we do love the town centre, but is there enough to do?

We can't afford berkhamstead, or kings langley anymore, or probably even abbots langley. I don't want to be in a village in Tring - i think coming from a 5 minute walk from a tube station and not particularly liking driving down country lanes I need to be within walking distance of a town/village.

So looking for some advice? Am i silly to be buying a house with the hope that we have a family rather than doing it based on our needs now? I just didn't want to have to move in a couple of years - nor know if we would be able to afford to. I'm 37 so time is running out for a family anyway.

Any advice on which of those areas would be better based on our circumstance?!

Thanks!

Hi Snowy,

I live in Apsley, right by the lock, which is convenient for us, as we both commute into London. The papermill is a nice pub, and woodys cafe is good to sit in for a cup of tea and cake. Plus we aren't too far from Hemel and Kings Langley, and you can walk into either town if you don't want to drive. There are also nice walks by the canal. Nash Mills is a lovely development and with all the building going on, there might be new shops/cafes to come? On the downside the High street isn't the best with some empty buildings, a "private" shop and some pubs I perhaps wouldn't go into, but I've never not felt safe here.

If I'm honest, I don't see us staying here long term, as personally would prefer somewhere a little busier and "nicer" than Apsley if we decide to have a family (thinking Berko or Tring) but lots of families around here, so I'm sure there are websites etc with baby groups locally?

Like you, I am a fan of Tring centre, and can see your point about there not being enough to do, but figure that almost everywhere would be boring pounding the same streets everyday. Roads from Tring to Berko, Milton Keynes, or Wendover woods really are not that bad - far less scary than big city driving in my opinion! Plus lots of young families around so I'm sure there are lots of toddler groups etc you could join?

An alternative might be somewhere like Leighton Buzzard? It's seems good value for money with a train station and lots of shops, pubs etc. Or Wendover?

hi Canalknit,

Sorry i've only just seen your reply - i had'nt checked back for ages as i hadn't had any replies after a week so thought i wouldn't get any!

That's really helpful thanks - Leighton Buzzard and Wendover too far for mine and partners work , we actually ended up dismissing the house in Nash Mills and I'm glad as like you i coudln't see myself staying there long term so it didn't feel right.

Thanks again

I've been in Apsley for 8 years, love it, totally worth the extra £s as its a nice area. We sold our 1 bed house in November and bought a similar 2 bed right behind it, made a very quick sale & huge profit! We're near Two Waters Primary, I'd like our son to go there when he's old enough.