Talk to me about nice places to live in Hertfordshire in 2019

[red4life69]

hello everyone I am looking to relocate from Watford as I have had enough of the area and need something new.

Budgets around 450k would like to know about cheshunt, hatfield and some nice rural areas that we can find a decent home.

Working in Barnet and partner in elstree so something around 40 minutes plus would be fine. wondered if this wonderful group could let me know their thoughts and suggestions.

I was told that birchwood on hatfield is ok and parts of london colney and cheshunt.

We are looking for semi detached 3 bed with room to make it a lovely home for me, my partner, my daughter and on alt weekends his 8 and 11 year old.

I love properties with character but all the estate agents are showing us are ex-council and they aren' t great...

Any help and advice would be very much appreciated.

Have a lovely Day.

Louise

Tring is nice. Some decent 3 beds in your price range. Really good schools.

I live in Hertfordshire

I love Tring and Berkhamsted. Can't afford Berkhamsted though.
Potter End, Little Gaddesen, Hemel Hempstead Old Town, Kings Langley all very lovely too.

Ha! I came to say Tring and have been beaten to it. Small/medium friendly market town. Lovely countryside around and 35 mins to London.

Op works in Barnett and partner in Elstree! Tring not very handy for these.

If you are only getting ex council your budget isn’t big enough for where you are looking. Certainly not for a period house. Go further out? Nothing is cheap in Hertfordshire!

I live in Elstree so understand what you’re looking for! I think you’ve probably realised that you can’t afford what you want locally - have you tried looking up the A1 rather than the Tring direction which would be a nightmare to get to work!! Have you looked around Welwyn Garden City, Codicote and towards Essex (Essendon etc). Essex is much more affordable and the journey in wouldn’t be too bad. It’s especially tricky if you’re looking for a period home as there aren’t very many of these in the area full stop...

Will you get the train to work or drive?

Bedford is on the right train line. Or Luton?

If you are driving Welwyn/Digswell are very nice.

Hatfield - I really wouldn’t. It’s grim.

drive but my daughter for the next year needs to go to school in barnet so if I can find somewhere close to overground or tube. that would help for sure so I am not worrying about her journey home when she finishes early.

what does everybody think about cheshunt and waltham cross ??

I live in Hertfordshire. Personally I would avoid WGC, Hatfield, Cheshunt, Waltham Abbey and Hoddeson. I live in one of the Hertford Villages, £450k is not a large budget for Hertford/Ware and certainly won’t get you anything in Welwyn or Digswell!

We live in north herts, husband works in Elstree which is a 40 min drive. 450k would get you what you want in Stevenage, Letchworth, Baldock and some parts of Hitchin.

I was going to suggest Baldock too.

Hertford is nice. Also Hitchin and Ware but I don't know what your budget would get there.
I really wouldn't move to Cheshunt or Waltham Cross. Have you been to the town centres? They are pretty grim. For somewhere so close to London they are surprisingly UKIP-y. Have a very different feel to even Barnet and Enfield even five miles away.

Waltham x No, some parts of Cheshunt are nice, avoid central Cheshunt. West Cheshunt is ok, flamstead End ok. Broxbourne is nice but pricey, Hertford and ware are lovely. Hatfield and Hemel would also be on my avoid list.

You could find a 2 bed in St Albans for that budget. Might need to be a little further from the station is all.

Good luck

You would just about get a 3 bed Victorian terrace in Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead for around 450-470k probably needing a bit of work and no parking.

Try New Barnet. Great transport connections (tube and mainline) and lots of open space. We love it!

Hey! We are also looking to move to Hertfordshire from West London. We are wanting something that is more rural but without being in the middle of nowhere! We need to be able to commute into central London Mon-Fri as well as get to WGC with ease so decent transport links is a must. We are all pretty active so dont mind a walk or bike ride. Hitchin keeps coming up as a place worth considering. Potters Bar looks nice too. I am seeing a lot of avoid Hatfield and Stevenage - Is this still the case? Are they THAT bad? :) Stevenage looks decent on paper in terms of value for money and the London commute etc. Appreciate all help and suggestions, thanks!

Ware and Hertford have trains into London. Both have pretty town centres and Hertford has theatre andotd of restaurants and bars. Good schools too.

Parts of Hatfield are fine, like the garden village and old town. It does have great commuter links into kings x. I can’t see how it could be any worse than Watford, and you’d get more for your money there than elsewhere in Hertfordshire.

Thanks! I keep seeing positive things for Hertford and Ware. I will have a look. Are the train links into London decent/reliable?

@Dee0710 You might have better luck getting responses if you start your own thread - a lot of people will just read the OP to see whether to reply.

Hitchin and surrounding villages are lovely. But pricey, so it depends on your budget as to whether you can get something you like. I used to do the Hitchin to WGC commute regularly and it was fine. Being on the stopping trains meant I nearly always got a seat Have also done the commute into London, and it’s ok, depending on where in central London you need to get to. Letchworth is also worth looking at; more people prefer Hitchin but that means prices are lower in Letchworth.

I would say that Stevenage isn’t that bad... but it is very different to Hitchin. Schools are more variable, town centre is more chains than independent shops and looking quite dated now (but the regeneration plans look nice - if they happen!). As with most towns, some parts are nicer than others, so worth doing more research if you’re interested.

I would suggest that a good place to start is to work the London commute backwards and see which train line would suit best, then identify possible areas based along that line.

You’ll get more for your money if you head towards Bedfordshire.

Markyate

Caddington

Or maybe Wheathamstead

wheathamstead

Thanks @PrincessSarene and @Loveislandaddict. We are looking at both renting and buying options at the moment; renting up to £2,500pcm and up to 850k to buy. We are more interested in finding the right location. Ideally, we would like somewhere with a little bit of space and not super built up with everyone living on top of each other! We are looking for a family friendly area that is safe (as safe as places can be these days :)), picturesque (sick of looking at flat blocks) but with good reliable transport links. We don't want somewhere that is crazy busy as we have enough of that in London! Thanks all :) Dx

Yes Ware /Hertford have excellent train links. I would avoid Stevenage as not a good reputation.