Berkhamsted/Tring/Kings Langley/Apsley/Boxmoor..

[MurderOfProse]

We're looking to move before January (renting if we can't sell by then) in order to hit the deadline for primary school admissions for DD. DH needs to commute into Kings Cross and is happy to walk up to 1.25 miles or so to the station. Possibly even cycle a way (along a safe route) for the right house.

After months of research, and a fair bit of drive-bys and occasional wanders on foot, I think we've pretty much settled on moving to one of the shortlisted places above as they tick the boxes over budget, distance etc.

Whether we temporarily rent or buy shortly, whichever location we choose in the next few months is likely to be "it" for the foreseeable as we'll be locked into schools then. We're ultimately hoping to purchase a home for the young DCs to ultimately leave as adults, so pretty long term.

We live in SE London and know little about the Hemel area and surrounds really, so please hit me with tales of good and bad of these shortlisted places! I've read some threads on here, but would love to hear more up to date stuff plus I'm sure there are newer people around too with opinions.

I'm mostly a SAHM for at least the next few years, so looking to make local parent friends hopefully. Am attachment-parenting-friendly, but not extremely so, and pretty open-minded and will happily make friends with just about anyone so long as they're not a twat or toxic! And as long as they don't expect me to be plastered in make-up just to answer the front door to the postie.

Decent state schools are important, but they don't have to be absolutely outstanding.

So..

I realise Berkhamsted is the most pricey by far, but is it worth the extra? DH doesn't mind the walk from Northchurch, but why is it so much cheaper - is it just the distance to the station, or is there more to it?

Is Tring dull and completely lacking in diversity? (something I've picked up from old threads) It looks nice from a drive-through, although houses for sale seem to be mostly estate houses. Obviously this is probably going to be a cycle-to-the-station place.

Are the schools any good in Kings Langley? Kings Langley itself looks nice, but the schools didn't seem that hot, I think the secondary school in particular from what I remember from my research a while back. This is the place I've looked into least.

When driving around Boxmoor, it looked very estatey. This is something we want to avoid, was I looking at the wrong bits? Which are the best primary schools here, as there are so many it will be important due to the admissions rules to be closest to the right one!

I walked around Apsley today with two young DCs, deliberately smiling at people if they made eye contact, and found that people were very unfriendly, which is a shame as it was top of my list otherwise - was the place just having a bad day? (People nearly always smile back here in my very deprived and diverse part of SE London!) There were also some really rude drivers. Have not tried the smiling thing in the other places yet.

Would love to hear honest opinions on these places in particular! Thank you

Hmmm. Not sure how useful I'll be but will give it a bash

Berko - Whether it's worth the money is up to you really (helpful I know) It would be my favourite to live in I think, lots of lovely shops & cafe's and the Rex! Also more pubs/restaurants in the evening within walking distance than any of the others. A friend lived in Northchurch and it was fine, AFAIK it's just distance from the station making it cheaper.

I really like Tring, though haven't lived there, do visit quite often, it is a small town though so won't ever be massively diverse. Really nice pub & a veggie/vegan cafe on the high st with an upstairs playroom for kids. Also the natural history museum is brilliant for small kids.

TBH I would prefer to live in Berko or Tring to the others.

Boxmoor likes to think of itself as a village, but is really part of Hemel, and estate agents will insist properties are in Boxmoor because they can charge you more. I wouldn't have it down as too estatey - quite a mix of properties, but there is a big council estate next door in Chaulden which the estate agents will tell you is Boxmoor.

Apsley -- I've never found unfriendly, but driving is a nightmare at certain times of day, the London Rd gets absolutely blocked. The Marina is lovely, not sure what the new development will turn out like. I think it would be quite different depending where you plump for, so one of the older Victorisn properties is obviously going to be very different to living in a new development.

www.findmyschool.co.uk/results.aspx?results.aspx?lea=Hertfordshire&cat=Primary%20Schools&town=Hemel%20Hempstead is helpful for schools ratings.

HTH

Hiya. All these places go into Euston rather than Kings Cross - not sure if that is important or not.

Agree with everything Chresto said, so will just add what I know about schools. In Berko they are about to start process of changing from mostly 3 tier (lower to end Y4 I think, middle - to Y9 - and upper), to the more usual primary and secondary. Don't know how disruptive this will be. There is only one state secondary in the town. Hasn't had a great rep, but seems to be improving. (There is a big private school in the town which draws the big money plus international boarders.)

Tring also has only one secondary, nominally C of E, but don't think that is taken v seriously. New head last year, has been v up when it was up, few grumbles now, but think probably just cos any change gets grumbles. Reasonable infant and junior schools at both ends of town, though one of the primaries has recently had v bad ofsted and new broom just coming in to sort things out.

Sounds like you have not seen the best bits of either Tring or Boxmoor - not sure of your budget, but if you are looking at the lower end, you could look a bit further out at Leighton Buzzard. Same train line and a lot of fast trains. There is a big new estate being built, but also lots of nice not estate houses and much cheaper than Herts. Still have the 3 tier schools there, not sure if they are sticking with them or changing, but both the town's upper schools are pretty good. V handy for Milton Keynes for shopping and 'culture', but bit of a quiet market town really - though more diverse and bigger than Tring.

Happy hunting

Sorry, that should read for my day job...

Bump op I'm in se London and also been checking out mainly Herts for possible move. I was chatting to a random from Berkhansted who was raving about it, although she could only tell me about private schools, she loves the town and only left following her divorce.

Do you know ball part what you need to spend for a large 3 bed on a nice road near to station? (terrace or semi fine, not a busy road).

We want to be close to m40 got trips to family so like the sound if Berks.

Ballpark not ball part!!!

A ball park figure for a 3 bed in Berkhamsted you looking at £250K for a modern house for a nice older property your looking at £350k plus.

Most roads in Berkhamsted are busy as it wasn't built with cars in mind. Also parking can be a nightmare.

Thank you ever so much, and extra to Chrestomanci and partystress - that's exactly the sort of things you just can't know about unless you have local knowledge.

To address some of the replies, and to add a bit more info:

We did have a look at Leighton Buzzard as on paper it really seemed to fit the bill too, but when we got there I just wasn't feeling "it" for some reason. To be fair, I based this on the town centre, it felt a bit tired. DH liked it less than me - I could possibly be convinced to give it a second chance but I don't know if he would. He can get a bit snobby!

Top of our list is the Manor Estate in Apsley - the houses are the sort of thing we're after, I like the rural surrounds (although I suspect a lot of it is earmarked for new housing development?) and the school (Two Waters) is apparently very good on paper at least..

We haven't had a wander round Tring yet - planning on doing that next weekend. Have had a wander in Berkhamsted and it did seem nice. My main concern is whether the local state secondary is at least fairly reasonable. There's no way we can afford private schooling, unfortunately. Not for four DC, heh, and not if we want a big enough house! Also got stuck in a traffic jam on another visit in the area.. heh.

Speaking of which, I'm wondering how much the traffic will be an issue (in Apsley or Berkhamsted) if DH is commuting via rail, and I'm a SAHM i.e. we won't need to drive during rush hour most of the time. We don't have great traffic where we live now, it's funny how you get used to it and just factor it into everything.

Our budget is 300-400K - well, hopefully! Have not applied for any mortgage-in-principles yet but this is based on mortgage calculators and our clean credit record and the amount of deposit we have saved/how much we sell our current place for.

If we buy in a more expensive area like Berkhamsted, it's quite likely we may well end up buying a 3 bed with lots of room to extend (a big garden is a definite requirement anyway) when the children get bigger and we have saved up more, especially if I return to work when the DCs are all at school.

Euston or Kings Cross are both fine, I forgot the line doesn't go into Kings Cross!

Again, thank you very much to everyone! If anyone has anything more to say, it'll be very gratefully received

Just realised in my OP I forgot to mention we're looking for 4/5 bedroom, or 3 bedroom with room to extend one day, as we have 3 DC and are TTC #4 which is planned to be our last. In theory.. I know how these things can go!

Don't mean to be blunt, Apsley is awful! It used to be a dead end place, now just has lots of new houses there , built on old paperworks site. Leverstock green is nice but a long walk to the station. Berkhampstead is lovely. Have you thought about St Albans?

I would steer clear of Leighton Buzzard as they are due to build 100's of new houses.

OK. So I have outdated knowledge of Tring and Hemel Hempstead. I grew up in Hemel (and left 20years ago!). My parents moved from Tring last year. Personally, after London, I could not live in either, and even less so in Berkhamsted. 'Berko' is SO MC and smug! (imvho, sorry to those who live there). We lived in various places in Hemel (not Boxmoor though). Piccotts End is nice, though would be a cycle to station. Hemel School is prob best secondary in Hemel and Boxmoor would be the catchment for that. Tbh, I think it's more important to look at secondary and catchments as this is what a lot of people end up moving for (we are considering, even though we love everything else about where we live). I would prefer Hemel to Tring, just because it has a greater variety of people and is probably more South London in feel than Berko/ Tring which are very white MC.

There are some lovely houses in Tring though they probably don't come up that often - and I like the town centre. Don't think the secondary is 'all that' as far as I've heard, though various primaries are good.

I think London is a lot friendlier than anywhere outside. My dsis lives in Norfolk and it's really unfriendly! I just don't think you can expect the smiles and general chit chat you get here, probably from any of the places you have mentioned, so don't discount Apsley on that basis.

So, yes, check out secondaries first and foremost if this is going to be a long term house.

Kings Langley schools always had a good rep, but the village is a way from the actual train station

Oh yes, Berko double parking on hills. YUCK. It's terrible to drive around. I failed 2 driving tests there! And that was 20 years ago...can't imagine now.

I can confirm the awfulness of driving tests in Berko!! Again 20 years ago... Ok 21!!!!

I failed 2 driving test in Berkhamsted as well 22 years ago.

We probably had the same examiner. He was pretty harsh!

There is a quite a strong La Leche League in Hemel/ Berkhamstead. The steiner school in Kings langley also attracts quite a lot of attachment parenting minded families. In my experience Kings Langley has quite a few families who follow attachment parents and for some weird reason there is quite a concentration in Northchurch.

I think a lot depends on what kind of town you like and your budget. Berkhamstead is very pretty, but has less facilites than Hemel. Boxmoor is the nicest part of Hemel, but quite expensive. I don't think that Boxmoor is "estatey", are you sure you weren't driving round Chauden or Warners end which are very definately "estatey".

The best secondary schools in Hemel are Hemel Hempstead School and John F Kennedy (a Roman Catholic school), although Longdean has recently had a good OFSTED report. JFK is very over subscribed and your child has to be a baptised Catholic and go every Sunday. If you are prepared lie devout catholic then JFK takes children from a huge area.

Schools in wrong part of Hemel are a bit of a nightmare. Our local catchment secondary school (Adeyfield) is one of the worse in county, yet we are less than a mile from Hemel. However we are considering the option of Townsend Church of England School in St Albans if we don't get Longdean.

I lived in Aspley for a while and I didn't find it unfriendly. However I prefered to live nearer to the town centre.

Kings Langley children often get into Watford Boys / Girls schools which are good. The station is a way from the village but Abbotts Langley and Hunton Bridge are also a short walk away.
Boxmoor can be quite overpriced for what you get regarding house size. It's also quite hilly and gardens can be overlooked too.
You will be struggling to get a 4 bed house in Berko for under £400k. Maybe we are being fussy in our requirements but so far we haven't found a 4 bed house with garage and study (DH works from home) for under £500k in a good area for schools.

My sil has inside knowledge on Ashlyns in Berkhamsted and they are moving so their children can attend the school. The school is definitely on the up, there is a real buzz about the place.

Ashlyns school in Berko is very good, know lots of pupils there. The Hemel Hempstead School in Boxmoor is good too, very good performance arts pushed. Tring school also good, lots of leaning to good sport and music.

I live in Boxmoor and if I had 400k I would buy a house in Berko, right in the town centre even though I get more for my money in Boxmoor. Berko is lovely - I spend most of my time there, nice cafes and restaurants, brilliant cinema, great kids facilities. this is the nicest house for the money, but just a town garden - right in the town centre, walking distance to everything

Boxmoor is also lovely and has great kids facilities, a fantastic cricket club, ten minute walk to the town centre (got some good shops but not an attractive town centre) house at the top of Boxmoor, I have friends in this road, very nice and quiet Great primaries by the way, all 3 are really good.

Apsley - lived there once, it's a bit crap, it's not somewhere you are going to hang out - the Manor estate is nice but is out of the way and not walking distance to anywhere interesting.

You will hang out in Berko and Boxmoor - you won't in Apsley.

My advice about Berko is based on being a bit older (40) with older children and a penchant for nice food, nice bars and a great cinema, good library, great cafes and a Waitrose in the town centre. These are all things I would very much like but instead I content myself with living in Boxmoor and enjoying the green spaces here and travelling to Berko to hang out/work.

Oooh, thank you everyone! Lots more all round!

Some more random replies to replies:

Thankfully I already have my driving license, hehe!

Unfortunately St Albans seems to be just that tiny bit over our budget unless we got lucky - Hemel seems that much more affordable. Unless anyone can recommend some decent but more realistically priced areas there?

I did get the impression that Berkhamsted was rather middle class. It's not a dealbreaker necessarily, but a bit of diversity (of any kind) is on the "would be nice to have" list.

Very interesting that London is friendlier, I'd always assumed the opposite! I grew up in Cornwall and everyone was pretty friendly down there, and London seemed unfriendly in comparison. Kind of sad really, as I like to smile and say hello to people - not at all in a "stop and chat", just in a "smiles make the world a nicer place" way. I don't want people to think I'm a nutter because actually I'm quite, okay, very shy, and only smile at people (e.g. on residential quiet streets or footpaths, not at everyone in town!) because that's what we all did back home in Cornwall, and it goes down well locally here! Obviously I don't smile at people on the tube though, that would be suicidal

I've heard the secondary in Hemel is good, which is another reason for leaning more towards Apsley and Boxmoor as I think it would be in catchment.

We're not religious and I would have a few qualms about sending DC to a religious school. DH went to one and seems to have come out unaffected (he's actually atheist to my agnostic) but DD1 in particular seems quite susceptible to peer pressure and taking adults at their word. I'd like for her to decide for herself rather than have religion presented as fact by people she trusts.

Not that fussed about facilities - both of us grew up in rural villages so anything more than a shop that shuts at 6pm and is closed on Sundays is a bonus! Although I have to admit I'm kind of getting used to 24 hour Tescos, but that's what cars are for.

It could well be I was looking in the wrong parts of Boxmoor, but from looking at Rightmove in our budget, most of the houses look like they're pretty squashed together. One of the things that is a dealbreaker is having a very overlooked garden - obviously it's unavoidable to a certain degree but some houses are packed in like sardines, especially newer ones. We'll take a closer look next weekend on our next scouting expedition I think!

Good to know there are quite a few attachment parents around.. that makes a HUGE difference to here! I'll feel like less of a freak.

Once again, thank you everyone - really, really helpful. As before, extra input still welcomed!

I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet and give out points to each place, aren't I..

I moved to Berko in January this year, I enjoy the sense of security, low crime and for all the sports cars and very "white" and MC I feel accepted. To me when I lived in St Albans that was trying to be posh yet Berko simply is. There is a side to Berko which is "eccentric and English". The people I've met here feel privileged to live here.

Sorry I don't know anything about schools, v young DC and want to home ed.

We are renting but I imagine buying a house here would be a very sound investment.

Good luck!

Spend twenty minutes writing a reply, and there are more posts!

Very interesting to hear that Kings Langley children get into Watford schools - worth knowing. The secondary there didn't seem that good from what I recall.

I've also heard good things about Abbotts Langley - that's another place we're going to check out next weekend. Hadn't heard about Hunton Bridge

Good news about the state school in Berkhamsted, thank you!

Very good point about hanging around in the evenings - I'm so used to having nowhere to hang around locally (plus nobody local to hang around with.. I'm really a fish out of water in my local community) that I just don't. Plus the children are young - as they get older I'm going to want to see people more in the evenings I am sure. I have to agree that Apsley looked a little tired, especially the main road. I much preferred Berkhamsted's high street, much more welcoming.

This is all such great information, thank you all so much! More all round!

Kings Langley secondary is not good. Kings Langley high street very nice, nice little community, but very small community.

Abbotts Langley, parts in catchment for the worst school in Watford - Francis Coombe - some parts of this village are really not great.