What is all the fuss about St Albans! is it all that everyone says it is?

[rene75]

Hello everyone, i know their lots of threads on St Albans, so pls bear with me a bit.

We a family of 5, with 3 boys ages 24, 15, 12 will be relocating to the UK from Ghana, we used to live in the UK but have been away for 11 years.

Anyway, Im keen to know is St Albans as great as I see the posts say about the areas, we are looking for a place that is diverse culturally, vibrant, affluent, safe and where its not ridiculously expensive. I know that sounds strange all in one sentence is that possible?
We will be moving from south east London so its a new area for us, but like the transport links and think it could be a good fit. We want to leave London behind.
What are the best or surrounding areas would anyone suggest. Is St Albans all hype and are there better areas to consider, or its truly the jewel in the crown. I would love to hear any thoughts pls, thank you.

Let’s be honest: ‘diverse’ and ‘affluent’ don’t go together. An affluent town like St Albans is going to be very mono-cultural because only a narrow section of society can afford to live there.

It's very nice. Not diverse at all though.

Hmm doubt 'not ridiculously expensive' and 'st albans' belong in the same sentence...but i guess its a matter of opinion.

Bugger to park in.

We looked but couldn’t afford it so ended up in Welwyn Garden City which is lovely, but not really diverse.

It’s pretty international in that loads of people live there who need to work in London. Diverse? The recent Black Lives Matter gathering was well attended. It has a Lib Dem MP. The older people are less open minded to newcomers whatever they look like. Our school has about 30 languages spoken. It is expensive though with 4 bed houses around a million now if you want fairly central. It’s more expensive than many parts of London because of the the schools.

Is your adult son happy to move? 24 is quite old to still be moving with your parents!

St Albans isn't nearly as diverse as London, it's very white British. London itself has a far more diverse makeup.

There’s a big food festival in the town centre this Sunday so maybe a good day to visit to get a feel for the people.

It is pretty (ridiculously) expensive. As PP have said, pretty ordinary 3/4 bed houses often go for seven figures. I'm not sure I'd describe it as diverse - it's the type of place where (IME) people seem pretty concerned about who their neighbours are and what type of job they do/ what kind of car they drive.

The city centre has some nice old buildings and very recently an improving retail offer. Parking is a nightmare.

The schools are really good, and there plenty of things to do for young children and families. Good transport links too.

I'm not quite sure it's worth the money. Harpenden is nice too, as are some of the villages surrounding St Albans

Yeah that true….. thank you for your reply.

Harpenden sure ain't diverse either

Lol yeah that true…. Hoping he come with us for a while….

Thanks for all the messages it’s helpful and confirmed it certainly is expensive!

It's reasonably diverse, though not by London standards. There are several different nationalities and races in my kids' school.

It's hugely expensive though. Our tiny 3 bed terrace with no parking was recently valued at £620k. A friend told me just today that the house next to hers just sold for £790k despite needing complete renovation and having no central heating and a terrible damp problem - but it's next door to an Outstanding secondary school...

We love it here, and it's a great place to raise a family - but yeah, our money would go a lot further elsewhere.

@MrsColon

Is your adult son happy to move? 24 is quite old to still be moving with your parents!

St Albans isn't nearly as diverse as London, it's very white British. London itself has a far more diverse makeup.

Have you seen the price of houses recently? Pretty normal in my circles

It's not diverse ,think you'd notice a big change from London.

Are there any other criteria that will rule your location? Place of work? Job opportunities? Any special requirements for the secondary schools you'll need?

I love St Albans. To visit and shop. I wouldn't be able to afford to live there in a month of Sundays.

St Albans is ok. Pretty quiet and bland. Reasonably ethnically diverse, but very high house pieces so less economically diverse. Personally you couldn’t pay me to move back but that’s because there are places I think are much nicer.

@MissDollyMix I’d totally agree - I grew up there but wouldn’t move back now. Just curious - where do you think is nicer?

Look at London Colney. It’s a bit cheaper and a bit more diverse. Lots of snobbery about it though

It’s not diverse at all, it’s ridiculously expensive and it looks shabby and unkempt despite the astronomical amount of council tax they charge. There also isn’t much here, ok it has a pool and a few gyms, an independent cinema, a soft play centre and a billion coffee shops and restaurants but if you want decent shopping and leisure parks you’ll travel outside the city. I’ve lived here my whole life and it’s definitely not as great as everyone makes out - there are far nicer areas (harpenden being one of them).

@ILoveMyMonkey where is the soft play centre there? Didn't know they had one

It’s DJ jungles just off of St Albans road on the way down to Sandridge

I've never been aware of any hype about St Albans! It is known as a pleasant, middle the road kind of place. Not diverse or exciting, but safe and cheaper than most parts of London.

Definitely nothing special, but a good place to raise a family.

Pretty quiet and bland.

Bland is the very word I was looking for!