St Albans - a nice place to live?

[roseylea]

Yippeeeeee we are moving house!

I'm v. excited (some may say obsessed - i.e. my dh) and starting to look at areas to move to, all in Herts or Bucks as that's where our familes are.

So does anyone know much about St Albans? We are looking to stay wherever we move to for the whole of our dcs' schooling so we are looking for primaries and secondaries. We are CofE christians and I would particularly like the dcs to go to church schools if poss - I had a look at the Townsend school website and really liked the look of its ethos. We haven't got a huge budget for the area (£250K) but there are houses on rightmove that fit into that price range (not many, admittedly).

So does anyone live in St Albans and vouch for it (or not?) What I'd really love is to give someone the names of streets with houses in our budget and for someone to tell me if they're reasonably nice areas or not. We don't live that far away so I'm planning on doing a drive around. We are also looking at other areas like Tring, Chesham, Berko, villages in between those places, Hemel (possibly but not convinced), and Rickmansworth (we used to live near there so still got friends and know the area).

TIA!

edam - my brother's son also started at Roundwood this year! He doesn't have an older sibling, either. He went to Roundwood Primary.

i know several of thye schools in st albans collect kids from welwyn GC.

Hi fortyplus! I meant Roundwood Primary for ds. Obviously I'm hoping eventually he goes straight onto Roundwood Park for high school as it will just be so simple...

DD got into Watford Grammar from St Albans, 2 girls from her school did. We didn't get any St Albans school. the only schools DD got were competitve entry, Dame Alice Owens, SAHS, Watford Grammar, Royal Masonic.

We live on the outer of the inner area, curiously DS got Verulam a year later on catchment, but went to Owen's which he hated so moved to Columba's College which he loved.

DD adored the High School, my mindies start there in September to be losing them, though I'll probably be dping thre school run!

We usually live in St Albans (-currently we are on secondment in NY). We love it there! The house in Canberra Close looks pretty good and may be good for schools (-my dcs are pre-school so I don't know) but it isn't a great area as it is next to an industrial estate. It certainly isn't a bad area though Do you need 4 bedrooms?

Hi GGM!

No, we don't need 4 beds, just 3 (we have 2 dcs).

I didn't get to do my drive-around today as my dd has come down with tonsilitis!

I know what you mean about the traffic in and around St As, MrsMalumbas. I think we'd try to use cars as little as poss really, esp. for going into the city centre.

Part of me thinks it is crazy to be comparing secondary schools when the dcs are still so young - but I guess it has to form part of the decision of where we end up living, doesn't it? If I asked to visit any of these schools as a (very) prospective parent, do you think they'd let me, or would they tell me to come back in 5 years?

Also...I thought of this earlier...my mum is in her 60s and is agoraphobic. Here's the moral dilemma for you...how much do we factor her in to the decision as to where we live? As in, she would love us to be a taxi ride away. But that would mean our compromising on the area we want to live in, and on the schools that the dcs could possibly go to. If we moved to St As we'd be about 30 mins dive away, and I'd still see her at least 3 or 4 times a week...but is that enough? What do you think? Is blood thicker than...errrr....whatever? I know it's a hard one, but any honest responses would be gratefully received.

Thanks for all your insights and snippets. Dh and I are planning on sitting down one evening nex tweek and thrashing it all out...

Maybe I should post that last question in the 'sandwich generation' bit...

roseylea

My family has just all moved out of Hemel.

My anut moved to leighton Buzzard for better school for my cousin.

She has just turned 10yrs, she went to Gade Valley and for the first 3years in school she had 16 teachers. Also they are closing a few infant schools in hemel so classes will be getting bigger.

Cavendish was a good school when i went their but now has a reputaion (sp) for drugs.

If you can afford it, i would go for St Albans any day over hemel.

Alibubbles, Princessmel and anyone else who might know -

what do you think of Markyate or Caddington? (I've never been there but it seems that house prices are a bit cheaper).

I did a drive around this morning between St As and Harpenden - got a bit lost! and caught up in the diversion system for the high street.

Oh, that's the big downside of moving to Herts, the County Highways dept. make Coco the Clown look like he wasn't really trying. Potholes R Us. They've spent the last two years causing huge disruption digging up the main road through St Albans. Then ran out of money so had to abandon plans to use attractive finishes like York paving stones so it looks a mess. Now they are digging it up again!

Specialise in things like digging up a road to put speed humps down, waiting a fortnight just so everyone thinks it's going back to normal, then as soon as you relax, BANG, they are back digging them up again.

And for the next two years there will be roadworks on the M1 as they are adding a fourth lane. If you come here, you have to accept that the roads are a state and won't be getting better any time soon.

Harpenden Town Council is mad too, bunch of middle-aged Tory men always having a row among themselves and reporting each other to the Standards Board. Our Mayor is currently suspended facing charges of some kind of dubious behaviour. Luckily they don't actually run anything beyond one set of public loos, so it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, don't know much about Markyate or Caddington although I come across people who live in both and are happy about it. But major downside is the risk that your children won't get into the school you want - children in the villages are the first to lose out when there's pressure on school places in Harpenden and St Albans.

rosylea - I'm a St Albans girl born and bred. I've moved just o/side but my parents are still there and I work in the town. I think despite the drawbacks - horrendous traffic for one, it's a fantastic place to live and once you're on the property ladder there you can't lose.

Hi Roseylea, I lived in st albans for 5yrs and did supply teaching in quite a few of the primary schools. I moved 4yrs ago though so my info may be out of date.

There are 2 primary schools quite near that house (those still living there feel free to correct me) Spencer Junior and Garden Fields. I did supply in both and GF is far superior. The KS1 dep in particular was fab! Abbey school also very good as is St Helen's in wheathampstead (both CofE) but as someone already pointed out, wheathampstead kids often have problems getting the secondary sch of their choice.

Over the other end (near francis bacon), Cunningham Hill infants is a beacon school with a good reputation although the junior school isn't so hot! Wheatfields is also good (staff were lovely and pastoral care very strong) They are famous for their walking bus thingy!

The traffic is awful in st albans although when I lived there the bus service was very good compared to other suburban towns. IMO, it's a different place to live altogether from Hemel as it's built around a proper town centre whereas HH is lots of areas of lots of houses IYKWIM.

We still have a 1bed house there which we rent out very easily. I would say you're ok buying in most areas although if possible, avoid New greens and Cottonmill

Any other questions, I'll try and help. Oh and a friend of mine taught at Sandringham secondary and loved it! (Not far from that house either)

I live in St A. We are moving out to the Cotswolds for quality of life issues - but if you need to live around London, I could think of worse places to be.

The 2ndary schools aren't particularly outstanding. They are o.k., but considering they are drawing from some excellent (and I mean EXCELLENT) primary schools, they are disappointing.

Avoid the catchment area for Francis Bacon School (supposedly a specialist "Maths and Computer college"). Stay away from Cottonmill and New Greens. (I am sure they have improved, but still...).

There are many, many things I don't like about St. Al. at the moment - one being the HUGE amount of building that is going on and will continue to go on - adding to the traffic congestion and degredation in quality of life. The highways agency is a joke and the council is in the pocket of developers which means that what makes St Al. lovely is slowly going to disappear. The Buncefield Oil Depot blast has a worrying potential consequence - the chemicals from the spray they used to contain and extinguish the fire is leaching down into the water table. Not great. Tesco is going to muscle in and build a HUGE supermarket in an already overcrowded town centre area.

On the plus side, it has a cathedral, market and a loverly park with a water play area.

Good luck with your decision!

Hello rosey, I live in Bricket Wood and think this whole area is very nice. Schools here are good too, Parmiters is an excellent school if you're looking at a secondary. Our local primary in Bricket Wood is very good too. It's called Mount Pleasant Lane.

Hi alibubbles, I drove past your road last Thurs morning and the police were towing away two crashed cars on the slip road down from the main road!

Hi Im not in St Albans but in Hertford which I guess is the next biggest commuter town with 2 trainstations but is equal in expense to St Albans, Stevenage is also good for train links to london you could live in the surrounding villages.

anorak, on my lane? What time was that? people always think it is one way, so I have had a few near misses at the top!

roseylea - Markyate is a funny little place. A little High St running parallel to the A5 then all the houses up the hill on one side only. Big ex council estate. My best friend lives in Markyate for several years and it seemed ok. One thing to watch, though - if the Luton Airport expansion goes ahead it's estimated that Markyate will have 5,000 more houses built there.
I don't know Caddington.

I asked my brother what he'd do on your budget - he lived in Hemel till he was 26, then St Albans for 9 years, now Harpenden for 7 years.

He says people in Harpenden can be a bit snobby if you live in the 'wrong' area (eg Southdown.) In St Albans you'd be way out of town on an ex council estate. So he thinks Hemel is your best bet as for £250K you'll still get somewhere in a nice area like Boxmoor. From HP3 postcodes you can still apply for Parmiter's School.

I have a good friend who lives just outside Bedford who says that everyone who can afford it sends their kids privately as the state schools are poor. But I don't know if that's true. Caddington is in Beds.I think.

hmmm thanks for that; lots of food for thought.

Had a really busy day - the school where I work is being Ofsteded on Wednesday! Only found out today!

EEK!

What do you think of this one 40+ (or others?)

house

You wouldn't get into Two Waters from there unless you were very lucky - nearest is Tudor School - I don't know it but the reputation isn't good. You should be ok for Hemel School, though.
Ebberns Road has big problems with parking since they built a load of flats at the end.
It still has a lot of industrial units, but the land has been earmarked for housing.
On the plus side - it backs on to the canal on one side so nice walks towards Berkhamsted. Close to lots of open green space (Boxmoor Trust land).
Ebberns Rd is next to the Apsley Lock development - considered quite trendy. There's a good pub/restaurant called the Paper Mill, plus a couple of other restaurants including an Organic Vegetarian one.
I'll see if I can find the local paper if I haven't chucked it out already.
There's an Estate Agent based in Boxmoor called David Doyle - they must have a website.

Silly me - I've just seen that the house you're looking at is on with D Doyle!

Take a look at this - it's in an unmade road just behind the railway station backing on to common land - smothered in cowslips and orchids in early summer. It's sale agreed but they come up fairly regularly here

Or what about this one... Brand new and I know where it is - been on the market ages so bet they'd take an offer!
You'd get Two Waters Primary and Hemel Secondary from there.

Thanks for that. I'm starting to find this house-hunting a bit depressing tbh (and I haven't even seen any houses in RL yet!)

I guess I'm just finding it depressing because this is such an expensive area of the UK, and because schools vary so much - you have to really play the game to get your dcs into the better schools, don't you? And I'm a bit pre-menstrual...

I so want to find somewhere that feels like home, where I can settle down (which I never really have) and my dcs can grow up. Sigh...

Sorry, rant over! I'll be back looking at house details all excitedly again tomorrow!

40+, e-mail me on lucydallas 28 @ yahoo . co . uk (spaces out obviously). I am off to bed in a minute but I'll be around tomorrow pm...