Where to live in St Albans

[Pennies]

DH and I have been to St Albans today to have a look around and we're wondering where are the nice parts of town to live? We are torn between living nearer town for convenience or living in a village out of town for a bigger house. If you live there can you tell me which / where you feel is best and why?

Hi Pennies, lots of St Albans is lovely, but as you say, expensive. I live in Bricket Wood which is a little cheaper. I can easily get into St Albans or Watford by car, bus or train, yet I have beautiful country walks and picnic areas all around the village. The schools in the St A area are of a very high standard. We have a fab little primary school in our village. My DH works in London, gets the local train to Watford and then has a 20-minute train to Euston.

Pros of living actually in St A I would say, a wonderful street market on Weds and Sat, some lovely shops, excellent pubs and restaurants and it is very pretty with lots of history. There are plans for a new cinema complex and three theatres. Also museums.

If it's a sports centre you want there is Westminster Lodge in Verulam Park, but we have one in Bricket Wood too.

If you want to ask anything - I'll check this thread tomorrow - I'm off to St Albans for an evening out!

Should add also that this village is very quiet and has a very low crime rate which I love as I am quite nervous about that sort of thing.

Pennies, beware of moving to a village if you are planning to be in this area when your kids are transferring to secondary school (assuming you have kids!) - at the moment places are allocated based on distance to the school (after siblings, etc) and every year the local paper runs stories about kids in the villages having trouble getting into St Albans or Harpenden schools. If yours are coming up to that stage I would choose very carefully where you live....

Hmm interesting point, Katyp. Will bear that in mind. DH and I have been thinking that we want to send out DS's to Beechwood School in Markyate and then (if poss!) SAHSG. So we want to be closer to that side of town. Have just been talking to DH though and he fancies village life. He wants us tom,live in between SA & Harpenden in somewhere "picturesque" (I think he's thinkingiMidsomer Murders and envisages me making jam and doing Am Dram!). Seriously though, does anywhere fit the picturesque bill?

Personally I'm so torn between town or village still and anorak's point about low crime in her village is also a good point.

Sorry terrible typing. DD's - not DS's though if we had DS's I;m sure they'd have a whale of a time at the Girls school!

Also want to add that if we find somewhere with a good school more local to us then we'll probably send them there so we're more flexible than I made out.

My DD goes to Parmiter's - it's a mile away from where we live, she can walk easily and it's a very good school, always in the Times lists. The girls next door go to STAGS although their mum had to fight to get them in because it isn't really in the catchment area.

If you are planning to send your dds to SAHSG it shouldn't matter where you live as it's private (I don't know their entry criteria but am assuming this I admit). If that's the case you would definitely get more for your money in a rural lcation - I see small country estates on sale for the same price as a large family house in a "good" road in town....