Are we searching for the Holy Grail???

[waybuloony]

The time has come to move out of London. We absolutely love the area we live (Crouch End/Muswell Hill) but we're fed up of renting a shoebox flat. With two little boys (ds1 aged 3.5 and ds2 9mths) we're rapidly running out of space and would love a garden for them to play in. Ds1 is due to start school Sep 2013 so I feel we need to move now in order to be in situ for school applications. The thing is where to??

Our wishlist consists of:
Ideally a 4 bed but maybe a roomy 3 bed period property with garden - budget £500k though we're chain-free so could rent initially.
Good state primary schools with an eye on good state secondaries too as we hope for this to be a long-term move
Commute - 1 hr max to Farringdon.
Small-medium town or large village with a family-focused feel and good sense of community. Some nice shops and restaurants in the vicinity wouldn't go amiss either ;-)

To go north of london would make sense (with Farringdon commute) but my parents live on the south coast so it's tempting to be closer to them as we see lots of them.

We've looked at oodles (and I mean oodles) of places and our favourite so far is Reigate/Redhill but we just feel we can't quite get enough house for our money there near a decent school. Tunbridge Wells is coming in a close second but feels a little too far away.

Is there anywhere smaller that we may have overlooked - perhaps 10/15 min drive from a commuter station?

I thought our budget was reasonable but have found it doesn't seem to get you much! Is there a Kirsty or Phil out there that can help as we're pulling our hair out...

Come to Olney! Easy access to 3 stations with trains to London :)

Thanks CuddyMum.
Just googled Olney and it really does look lovely...exactly the kind of thing we were after.
So tell me more about the commute - which three stations? Which station do they go into? Are the trains usually rammed or is there a chance of a seat?

From Milton Keynes to Euston straight through is 40 mins - fairly crowded but every 20 mins. Wellingborough through to St Pancras is 55 mins, not as crowded and easier parking. Bedford comes via Wellingborough so more crowded and 45 mins. Hope this helps.

I have a house for sale - not a period property though :)

Baldock? 35/40 mins to Kings Cross. Outstanding Secondary (only one in Baldock so you are guaranteed to get in) and 1 outstanding/2Good primaries. If you have that kind of budget you could even get a project with a 300 foot rear garden....(though only 2 bed - but plenty of room to extend) or an already done 4 bed place with 100fot garden.

Thanks CuddyMum - I reckon we might be paying a trip to Olney next weekend!! How long is the drive to Milton Keynes during rush hour times and is the parking good at the station?
FishfingersAreOK - we have considered Baldock and even looked at a house there. We were v tempted but just felt there wasn't enough around and about the area...can you convince me otherwise?

About half hour to drive to MK but twenty mins to Wellingborough with better parking :)

Good pre schools, Olney Infant Academy, Olney Middle and Ousedale Secondary Campus all within walking distance. Great shops, restaurants and lots of countryside too. Any questions - just ask.

Our property has 6 beds, double garage, study, kitchen and dining room :)

Baldock station walkable from most parts of the town. Close to A1 so easy, easy to get to:
Stevenage 15 mins (Theatre, cinema ,shopping, cheesy nightclubs)
Welwyn 20 mins. John Lewis; Shops. John Lewis. John Lewis.
Hitchin 15 mins lovely market town , theatre, cafes, pubs etc as well as shops
Letchworth - we can walk or cycle into Letchworth - Leisure Centre, indoor, outdoor pool, outdoor paddling pool. Lovely 1930 cinema. In the town centre main high street chains (I would probably go to Hiitchin or Welwyn though
North is easy to get to Peterbrorough - just under an hour.
All of these are also trainable. And Cambridge - drivable with ease and by train in less than half an hour.
Also Royston close by as well.
I suppose it depends what you want really but we feel really well served - and also when the DCs get to the stage of wanting nights out with friends, Saturday jobs etc there is plenty around within walking/easy train distance so we will not have to be taxi-of-mum-and-dad :)

Have you looked at Harpenden too? House prices can be silly though - but bigger town - 3 really good secondaries and great connections. Grew up there many moons ago.

I'm suspecting dh will say no to the length of the commute to/from Olney. I suspect that realistically you're probs looking at 1hr 20 mins door to door. But you never know if I can persuade him to take a trip there he may fall in love with the place. Must admit I looked at the tourist information website and thought it looked just the job so thanks CuddyMum.

Yes FishfingersAreOK we'll take another look at Baldock. When we visited I did say to my husband that I felt it was a good contender. Do you think we'll get a period property there though for our budget? I've checked out rightmove and most seems post early 1900's. Maybe we need to spend a weekend or two exploring the surrounding areas. Are the schools oversubscribed? ie. do you have to live virtually next door to get them in? The taxi-service thing is something I'd not really given much thought to at this stage but no doubt will be on the radar before I know it!!

Had looked at Harpenden but we can't really afford much there at all and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of period properties. Same goes for St Albans - although it does seem ideal from a commute/schools perspective.

Period property you may - not totally sure - they do come up and there is a lovely mix of housing stock. Are lots of 1930s - as it commuter belt even from back then - but also other. Ashwell worth a look too. Schools wise primaries are full - but depends on the age of your DCs.

Have you considered SE London? I know moving from north to south can be an issue for some people!

But you would probably get that sort of house around places like Crystal Palace, Beckenham, Forest hill etc. You would need to check out schools as I'm not familiar with them.

City thameslink runs direct from farringdon to Beckenham and Nunhead (also worth checking out). So commute would be very short, and you'd be on the right side of London for your parents.

For more advise check out the 'family room
Discussion' section of the east dulwich forum. Alot of east dulwich-ers expand to places like Beckenham, forest hill etc so the mums on there are always discussing local schools and so on.

have you got this book?
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1845130359
Or see here:
www.commuterguide.co.uk/

Elstree & Borehamwood, which is at the end of Zone 6. Plenty of schools.

Have a look around here .
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashridge/

DH commutes from our village. Train from Berkhamsted to Euston/Moorgate, door to door 1hr 10mins.

Berkhamsted's lovely, small independents, St Albans up the road, pretty villages. Potten End, Nettleden, Frithsden, Great Gaddesden/St Margrets, Little Gaddesden, Ringshall and Aldbury.

The Thameslink runs through Harpenden and St Albans which would take your DH into the city. We moved out from St Albans - it was starting to feel a bit 'busy', although we do go back to the Waffle House. Aahhhh the Waffle House...