Stamford / Market Deeping, S Lincs

[imabeautifulfennelcalledjoan]

There's a chance we may need to move to the Peterborough area for work. We wouldn't want to live in the city itself. We live in a gorgeous Herts market town at the moment and want to find something similar. Stamford looks perfect but pricey! We also like the look of The Deepings. Primary schools are important. Anyone know these two towns / areas? Thank you!

Hitchin and Stamford are similar in quite a few ways. I prefer Hitchin though but that might be more because it doesn't feel so isolated and twee. But then we lived in Berkhamsted before moving to StA and I hated that too. Yet it's also highly rated. I did like it when we lived in an urban bit of Cheshire as that seemed to have everything such as close to major city, excellent schools and the Peak District on our doorstep. We're now on the South Coast and it has taken me a long time to adjust but with 2 at senior school now we're sort of stuck, I think I've realised that I like urban best so DH and I plan to to retire to a city centre rather than the coast.

I always struggled to park in Stamford. A nice big practical multi-storey is what it needed!

Baston is lovely. Schools are good in market Deeping and Bourne.

myredcardigan we love Hitchin so much! It's pretty but has a down to earth high street too. Although we do now have a Joules. ..It's getting pretty upmarket. It has changed in the last couple of years since we moved here. Unfortunately house prices have rocketed so we've been priced out of getting a three bedroom place. But if we sell up and move somewhere cheaper, we should be able to get the house we would like. I do like the sound of Stamford and Oakham but as Hitchin is cosmopolitan, I'm worried that they won't seem quite the same. We have friends in Berkhampstead and have heard great things about it too but it's also v expensive there.

We saw the house we lived in Betkhamsted was recently on the market. It's a small 3bed ex local authority semi. They've converted the loft to make 4th bedroom. Downstairs is a smallish kitchen diner and a lounge. It was on at 485k and sold almost immediately. It's not even close to the town centre. I found it to be massively insular and snobby and that's the same feeling I got in Stamford. I liked living in the Cheshire town because although it was affluent, it was full of people who had grown up all over Manchester and moved there. Also racially and culturally mixed. Whereas In Berko and Stamford, it was full of lots of 50+! People who had lived there for 30+ yrs and expected deference! Down here it's a bit more down market but the old people eat ice cream instead!

That's a crazy price! Hertfordshire seems to have gone a bit mad with house prices. I guess it's the London effect. I find Hitchin very friendly and haven't come across any snobby behaviour. But we went to Harpenden and thought people there were really stand offish. Where do you live now?

We're on the Sussex coast now. I had a bit of a health scare when we lived in Cheshire and we both just thought it was time to step back. Cheshire house prices are like Herts but it's relatively cheaper down here, thought not as cheap as much of Lincs. I missed having everything on my doorstep when we came here and if I'm honest, the coast is lovely when your children are young but towns on the coast are notoriously a bad place for teenagers.
I know Harpenden well and you get people in StA like that too but at least it's tempered somewhat.
I've realised that I'm a townie at heart but when they reach secondary school you can't just keep moving them around.

Sorry to hear about your health scare. I hope you're better now. I know what you mean about moving about. We moved five times during our ten years in London. That was pre kids but DD is already on her second home and she's only three. Ideally we'd like to settle back in Yorkshire where I'm from but there's no work for us there. We've made the mistake of looking at house prices around Skipton and Leeds! Anyway, what will be will be, I guess.

OP again here. DH and I really like the look of Oakham. We're coming up to look around very soon. Eek! Exciting. I do keep looking at the lovely houses in Market Deeping as they're such good value. But it seems that many people are advising against the Deepings for being a bit quiet. Are they very different in atmosphere, the Deepings and Oakham? The benefit of Oakham is the train station. I'm not a hugely keen driver (although I do 'local' driving) and like to have public transport links nearby.

Deeping can be quiet but I am not sure if Oakham has much more going on apart from more shopping and restaurants maybe. Deeping has an ok bus network with buses to Stamford, Peterborough and Bourne.

OP, when we lived in Oakham, I used the trains every week in the first two three years, when we had only one car, though DH could walk to work initially. Buses in small towns stop running at 5 and the route which is 10 min by train takes forever by bus(50 min). Though there is only one train company running on this particular line, so being monopolists there are no deals, they can charge extortionate prices. Still after living there I wouldn't consider living anywhere with no train station.

Oakham is quiet-ish, but I know lots of people who chose it over Stamford, also compared to Deepings there is more stuff to do, and there is Rutland Water cycling distance away.
Also Uppingham in Rutland is charming, I actually liked it better than
Oakham, but it didn't have a train station, only one expensive supermarket(Co-op) and it IS tiny. Schools are really good though.

Visit both Stamford and Oakham and see for yourself, it's less than 15 min drive between them.

As for Stamford. Funnily enough, I had an acquaintance, only for a year, her DC was in the same reception class as my DC. We were invited to her DC's birthday party, they were nearly the only ones who organised the party and its theme themselves (parents and friends+family), all the other parties we went to had a brought in entertainer. Anyway, I thought it was really fun and original, and the kids of course joined in, but parents were all standing around a bit po-faced. I could tell straight away her and DH were not locals
Turned out later they were renting in Stamford and her DH was commuting to Stevenage, and by the end of the academic year they moved away, to Hitchin! She was SOO excited to leave! She said Hitchin was more hip and them, and Stamford was nice, but a rich people's bubble. (which does sound a bit strange to me now that I've heard of Hitchin's property prices on this thread). I had never heard of it until she mentioned it.

We are certainly not rich, but also we are not born and bred locally.
Incidentally, myredcardigan, you must had lived here before we moved here, we did in 2010, and by then it seemed that every fourth person in Stamford was not Stamfordian/local originally! Maybe it used to be insulated, but it had such a powerful influx of newcomers(esp. people from London and Cambridge), and I've witnessed it a lot myself in the last five years, so maybe its feel has somewhat changed? I don't know, it's difficult for me to judge, I grew up in a very busy European capital(I'm not English, but DH is), and my only experience of living here was Bath(amazing, but couldn't afford to stay), Oakham and Stamford. I was so crushed by small town living in Oakham and had to change culturally and all my habits and what I enjoy etc, that even a move to Stamford felt like a massive upgrade - so busy! so cosmopolitan ;) (relatively! but Oakham was 99% white British) has an Art Centre! cinema! DIY stores several supermarkets There is even a direct train to London in the morning, could be there in under an hour. Etc.

I realise I made it sound that only people who are not from around here are worth knowing Of course not. Our next door neighbours, in their 70s, she Rutland born and bred, and he was born in Stamford and lived here all his life - they are the most amazing, warm, kindest generous couple, always full of energy and buzz. They became my daughter's surrogate grandparents, she actually calls them granny and grandpa (their granddaughter is the same age as my DD and in the same school). They know her better than her own GPs (who are not originally locals, but love it here! live a mile down the road and never in their life took her even for an hour's walk. But they are a bit weird I think, I know no-one as lukewarm towards GC).
And they(the neighbours) are interesting, and full of enthusiasm for life. The ladies who work at the library and run a story hour for pre-school kids are the same, really fun and uninhibited, and kind and understanding. They are all local(or sound very local), and they are super.
By contrast ladies at Oakham library were a bit cold and snooty (disclaimer: in my and DH's opinion, also they might not be working there any more!).

Basically, my and DH's experience of living locally was that most people are really friendly but we could find very few who we could think of as kindred spirits, and in our case they are not local at all, though settled here (Scottish and Spanish). However, maybe it's true of most small towns? Just smaller population=smaller selection of potential friends?

This is all very interesting, thank you. Stamford sounds fab and more 'us' but I'm not sure we can afford it.

We love Hitchin so so much. We've been really happy here buy unfortunately we've been priced out by extortionate house prices. I feel quite sad about it but we have to be realistic. Also there is the chance for both DH and I to get work in Peterborough rather than commuting into London.

We will miss Hitchin. It's so friendly and cosmopolitan. But we don't want to live in this house forever as we're bursting at the seams.

Good luck OP, I'm sure most places are what you make them. And yes, I'm well now thank you. I found that South Manchester just suited me better and was IMO far more cosmopolitan than Stamford. Unfortunately it wasn't any cheaper but I did love being urban.
The irony is that where we are now is probably less lively that Stamford but it was the right move at the time and being by the sea is very therapeutic. Stamford is very popular and a lot of people love it so please visit and don't be put off by grumpy old me. Good luck!

Ha! Don't worry. I didn't think you were grumpy. My DH has reminded me that I always love everywhere we have lived (we've moved around a lot) and I never want to move on. So wherever we end up will be fine. I love Manchester. I really wanted to live there at one stage but there wasn't any work for us. Thanks for all the tips anyway. We're going up for a look around at the weekend and we have an estate agent coming to value our house. I feel excited! Thanks again.

Consider Spalding as an option. You can get a 4-5 bed detached house for around £190,000. It is nice around the river, has Springfields with events going on and Ayscoughfee Hall.

There is a train station/bus routes etc. Cambridge is just over an hour away and the Lincolnshire coast north of Skegness is beautiful. Last year Anderby Creek was named as one of those secret unspoilt beaches and it is beautiful- we go there regularly.

The Grammar Schools are excellent- esp the girls. The boys one is likely to improve as they have a new head. Due to the intake (top 25%) it is much easier to get a place in one compared to Essex/Kent.

Peterborough is about 20 mins away in the car and Stamford 40mins.

The town has a good mix of shops and is more cosmopolitan than Hitchen. Culturally it is a bit lacking but it is a good base for the reasons outlined.

The north Norfolk coast is accessible in an hour and there is loads to explore around the area when the flatness of the landscape gets to you, for example Derbyshire is an hour and a half away.If you enjoy walking there are loads of places to walk and let your dog off for a run.

We moved up here a decade ago from Essex and it took some getting used to but there is something about it's quiet beauty that grows on you.

I personally don't think Stamford is that great. Ok for a day out but I wouldn't choose to live there. Bourne is incredibly tedious. The grammar school is what people move there for. Aside from that there is little to recommend it and it is quite down at heel.

I'm going to defend Bourne, it's not 'down at heel', certainly not compared to Spalding.
OP, good luck, I'm sure you'll know what's right for you once you look round them.

Bourne is pretty down at heel much compared to Spalding. It is basically a high street with a Heron, a few charity shops and strange independent clothes shops/jewellers. They have thrown up vast, crowded estates on the outskirts on reclaimed bog land (hence the 'lakes' on these estates) that are small and pokey.

The outstanding Grammar school is the reason the house prices are overly inflated and if that were to change for any reason then the house prices would plummet. It is a cultural desert unless a jaunt round Sainsburys is something that floats your boat.

There are far nicer houses in Spalding.

I'll defend Bourne too!! I would chose it every time over Spalding!

Fair enough, I can't argue with any of that, hence my advice earlier on the thread to the OP to avoid Bourne. Personally, I wouldn't choose to live in Lincolnshire and if my family weren't all in Bourne I'd not visit. However, no one can seriously say that Spalding is more cosmopolitan than Hitchin.

Hitchen was always known for being rough as feck on a weekend night with the rock pubs etc.

I realise it has changed a bit in the last decade but it is still a bit of a cultural backwater compared to Letchworth.

This is all very interesting thank you. We have two young kids (three year old and a four month old ) so we don't do much at the moment which isn't centred around them. Ideally I'd like to be as far north as humanly possible in Lincs as I want to be as close to family in Yorkshire as poss. But also close to Peterborough for work.

In that case OP, I'd say look at Gantham. Haven't been for years, so can't comment, but geographically it might suit you.

Hitchin is now v 'naice'...We have a Joules and a Jojo Maman Bebe! Artisan coffee shops etc.

I have no idea what it's like at night as we never go out at night... (due to the two young kids.)

Our house has shot up in value by nearly 100k since we moved in late 2013. We have a tiny two bedroom terrace and will never be able to afford a three bed.

That's why we would like to move further north - so we can get a bigger place. We are home birds really. We want a nice place for our kids with a garden they can run around in. We like coffee shops and restaurants but they're not the be all and end all.