Nice areas to move to around London...Help please

[granarybeck]

My Dh has been offered a job in London (Farringdon). We currently live near manchester. We've been thinking of moving to Harpenden or st Albans (just really because someone suggested they were nice and easy to commute to that area of London). Now we need to seriously look at moving, i though we better just check out any other options before deciding on harpenden. got lots of useful advice about st albans/harpenden recently on another thread, thanks for that. Though when i looked through archives read another thread where lots of people didn't seem keen on harpenden, have i missed something? we don't know the area at all and are moving from northern to southern house prices so know that might be a struggle.

Have got to pop out now, but would be really, really grateful for any help or suggestions/opinions.

hi edam, thanks. you gave me some good adviceon an earlier thread about st albans. am i right in that are in harpenden? If you are, how friendly is it? we did come down and have a look a few weeks ago and people were very helpful. but i was reading another thread that said they thought a lot of people there were very money-concious, which worried me a bit! especially as we are moving to a nicer area than where we are now i wouldn't want to feel like we had to compete, because we just couldn't! when we visited i liked that people seemed quite laid back, and in st albans too, or is that part of the act? when i've been looking at houses i've noticed you get quite a lot more for your money if you have to drive to station. but i think if we moved there i like the idea of being able to walk into town, and the children too as they get older. if we were driving distance it seems like we may as well be a few miles away.

i'm realising that comeoveneer, but i don't mind being quite far out of london, though i guess house picing issn't as simple as that.

Oh Granarybeck, so sorry, hadn't looked at this thread again so didn't realise you'd asked me a question!

Harpenden's very friendly. Was a bit scary at first, tbh, I moved here after 17 years in London so wasn't used to strangers being so damn nice. A woman I don't even know (and still don't) but who happens to live on the same road gave me a lift to the station one morning not long after we'd moved - just stopped her car and offered! (In London, obviously would never have got in but in Harpenden sweet white-haired old ladies can generally be trusted). Girl Guides feel perfectly safe coming up to you and asking your advice on some daft task they've been set like identifying a badly-photocopied image that you can see is an inscription on a park bench. (I don't know how many benches the poor girl had to try before she found the right one.). You get to know your neighbours and a whole bunch of other mothers. I don't really know about St Albans - it's obviously a lot bigger but mothers' networks are probably much the same.

I haven't noticed people being money- conscious, particularly. There aren't many poor people, that's for sure. Most people are what they would probably call comfortably-off and a lot are frankly what I'd call wealthy (ie pots more money than me). I'm friends with people who can afford to give their nannies cars and take them on expensive holidays abroad but I'm also friends with people who can't afford nannies, IYSWIM.

bump because I really don't want Granarybeck thinking Harpenden's so unfriendly people don't even respond to MN posts!

harrow less good academically er what about Harrow School !

Herne Hill is very close to farringdon on Thameslink, and a great child-friendly area, whisyt having excellent acess to central London. Brockwell Park, Lido, v nice cafes etc. Cheaper than Radlett, St Albans etc. One stop further down, in Tulse Hill, the fast express trains stop. Not as chi-chi as Herne Hill - but within 10 mins walk of Tulse Hill Station you can buy a 3 bed house for £300k, and a four bed with decent garden for £350k, in leafy streets.

Not as convenient for driving North out of London, but if you go early in the morning or late at night, you can whizz alomng the S Circulr to the M25.

I like St. A, but I don't like the whole "drink culture" here. Huge problems in the city centre on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. Not an issue for me at the mo as I never go anywhere. Will be an issue when DS and DD are older and want to go out with their friends for an evening.

I think that St A is more "monetarily diverse" than Harpenden. Primary schools are good here. Secondary you have to tread cautiously - they aren't "bad" but considering the area, they aren't great.

Don't know whether or not we'll stay long-term. Time will tell.

Good luck!!!!

ha ha, that's what I used to like about st albans! i think it might be one of my criteria . Though isn't that drinking thing symptomatic of anywhere with a town centre? certainly true of any town I've been in.

i used to like that about st albans too all those lovely pubs

Granarybeck
Nobody in the south can beat certain areas around Manchester (i.e. the golden triangle) for being money conscious. As one of my southern friends said, when I lived up there, "I've never seen so much gold this side of Jo'burg".
I would look for somewhere on ThamesLink or Metropolitan line so that you are near to either M1 or M40 - having to get round the M25 is not a good idea.

Anything on the WAGN line is pretty quick to Faringdon, So Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Knebworth, Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth, Hertford. Property prices probably a bit cheaper than St Albans, it takes DH 25 mins to get to Faringdon from Stevenage as a guide and lots of trains.

i live in the harrow area, and i know watford/herts v well. I don't think the schools in Harrow are all that bad, there are some that I would steer clear of, and others which come up trumps in middlesex year after year. You could try Harrow/Stanmore/Pinner/Hatch End/ Rickmansworth/ and parts of Watford. You would be able to get either Met line which takes u to farringdon or get a Jubilee line (if living in STanmore) and change at Wembley Park.

I freelance for Families magazine which focuses on North West London, and has lots of options on what the area has to offer for kids and parents. If you want I can send you a copy. good luck with everything

How about Hitchin?
Lovely town which continues to improve,plenty of kiddy activities and cheaper than St.Albans....

EDAM, thank you so much for replying (and everyone else)! My internet's been down so hadn't been able to check much. The way you describe harpenden is the impression we got when we cam edown for the day, people were just soo heplful and friendly. We are going to come down again and have a proper look around the area as dh has to make final decision of whether to accpet the job next week (i feel sick just thinking about it!)

Jenkel, thanks, i will look at that line as to be honest i'd only been looking on the thames link line but other places may be more affordable, or get us more for our money as moving from the north. though am thinking may have to have smaller house to be in nice area/good schools.

Wishiouldgiveupwork, i keep seeing houses in hitchin on rightmove, will look into it.

I live in WGC and you can get a direct line into Kings X, which takes about 20 minutes. 3 bed Houses are about £180k-200k depending on the area.

Gosh thats much cheaper than what we've been looking at in harpenden/st albans. spoke to someone today whose sister had moved to WGC ten years ago and she said she absolutely loves it. Didnt realise it was easy to get to that bit of london from. How are schools/areas?

Try Mill Hill. It's got a surprizing amount of green spaces. It has extremely rich and also somewhat affordable areas, but they are all good and safe. Near the A41, its an hour to central London by bus/car, 12 minutes by train (or 15 min to St Albans if you want to head out), 1/2 hour by tube. Schools get good results and there are a lot of private schools easily reachable. The fact that it is full of equine centres should tell you just how green it is considering you are in London.
I always felt really happy living there in various houses and everyone I knew felt likewise.

there is some dodgy areas (i live in one myself, though moving soon) the west side is the best area, but more expensive. There is lots of primary schools and 2 secondary school.

right, have just looked at houses in WGC, houses in the dodgy areas are between £180-200k, in the nice area they are between £200-300k. HTH

Thanks Sparklygothcat, that is helpful.

OMG I forgot a secondary school, there is acrually 3 in WGC and 1 private one (i believe there is only the 1, could be more)

Oh cheers. Don't think we'll be straetching to private at mo with the big difference in house prices! I'm just looking at the commute from WGC to faringdon.

stretching even