Where to move to

[Africangirl]

Hi all,
Am new here, we are expecting and looking to move outside London to Start Albans or any other family friendly town close to London. Unable to display|code where. Pls any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

What’s your budget and what are you looking for? How many beds? What do you want from a town?

I’ll start by suggesting Hitchin just because I grew up there

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I think a 2 bedroom would be nice. Budget is within a £1000 for rent alone. I think commuting via train to London is a big factor in deciding where to move, then school and family life. Am due in December so it's really close now. Phew!

That is a tough ask for London. You can get a maisonette with garden in my nice family friendly London suburb of Petts Wood for £1,100 . www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-74897756.html So a smidge over your budget. We are in zone 5 with good connections to London and a great primary school, nurseries, soft play, parks and cafes etc.

Where in London do you need to travel into?

Any of the arrival stations. Euston, St. Pancreas station. Also, late train back home from say 2am. My husband does shift work and closes around 2am in the morning.

Welwyn garden city, some cheaper areas, lovely town centre and not as astronomically expensive as St Albans.

Hitchin is fabulous but prices have shot up in the last 10 years.

Also, Hatfield is a bit ugly in place but a lovely place to live and much more affordable.

If you need late night then the thameslink lines make sense as they operate at unearthly hours for the airports. There's definitely a late train out of st Pancras as we've caught it (we are the last stop and it takes 2 hours stopping at every bloody station!) £1000 will be tight though,even as far north as me rentals are running at £600-800 within a 10 minute cycle to the station and the train is a cool £10k a year!

Hi anniehm, thanks for replying. Where is your place along the thamelinks route?

You need to consider season ticket costs as well as rent prices. Also, what options will your husband have for travel when there are engineering works or other reasons why the trains aren't running?

I’d suggest Watford - rent prices are levelling out and even falling there (struggling to find tenants for our own places). 20 mins into Euston plus overground and underground stations, a lot of investment in the town centre and v family friendly.
We moved to Watford from east London and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves living on a street that held street parties and actually TALKED WITH THE NEIGHBOURS. Town centre has all the usual shops and now a cinema. I miss it (we moved abroad for OH’s work).

To my mind the only thing it lacks is the independent traders and non chain restaurants that you find somewhere like Berkhamsted further north.

I would add that my Season Ticket from Petts Wood is £1,777 a year so way cheaper than £10k! I get a trains only ticket and use an Oyster card for any ad-hoc tube and bus travel but you can get a travel card for zone 5 too but that is about £600 extra which I don’t want/need. Trains to Charing Cross, Victoria, City Thameslink, Cannon St etc. About ten trains an hour in the rush hour to various destinations, London Bridge is only 22 mins away.

Hi Daily mail,
Thanks for your response. I was told train journey to London from Watford does not run late(2am) ish. Otherwise, I like Watford. Can you send the link to your places in Watford so I can have a look.

Donkeysand,

What you highlighted is why we thought a place closer to London such St Albans would be better. My husband can drive to work during train disruption. But St Albans is so expensive.

You could get a little 2 bed house in Hitchin for that- a few here

Hi tethersend,
Thanks for the link. Would you know which post code is closest to the national rail station in Hitchin?

SG5 is closest IIRC- although the poets estate is pretty close too.

Of those on the link, Florence street, Trevor road and Keats way are close.

Thanks a lot. I really appreciate @tethersend.

@Africangirl I’ll dig out a link if still active. Night tube? Does Met line run all night? Night buses should service Watford for sure.