Hitchin/St Albans /Surrey - moving South and after advice

[cheshirecat777]

Hello

We are potentially looking at a move to HItchin/St Albans/other parts of Hertfordshire/ or Surrey from Cheshire (in the NW)

Budget c £700k
Needs to be c30 mins train to london and if pos have a bit of personality as a place
we have 2 children one of whom would require an in year place in yr3 - the ability to do an n year transfer to a half decent school is really the thing that is concerning us most. With seeing a lot of negativity regarding getting school places in Hitchin

Anyone got any advice or experience of doing Hitchin/St Albans/ Surrey or other suitable locations?

We appreciate the size of house may be smaller and thats fine. Its the in year transfer that is a bit mote of a worry

Also has anyone done the move from North to South regardless of where and if so how have you found it??

Thanks in advance

Also consider Letchworth. Hitchin train station would be a further walk from the residential areas with houses in your budget. South of Letchworth is the best side and you can definitely get a house (4 bed) in that budget. And it would be closer to the station.

Thanks NoName will have a look at Letchworth

This one is close to Hitchin station. Worth speaking to schools in the area to check how much movement there is in the year group.

Hitchin has far more personality than Letchworth IME.

You basically need to contact the coucil to find out where the spaces are.
I’m in oute London and people whinge about oversubscribtion. However, looking at the list from the council, there’s always a place in one excellent primary or another.

If you’re looking in the commuter belt, Guildford in Surrey has personality and is pretty. The other way Harpenden and Bishop’s Stortford have good schools (not sure how pretty as I’ve never been, though).

If you’re going to work in London and could compromise a bit on personality, then you can get a very good house in outer London, great schools and easy/cheap commuting.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55338768.html

Something like that?

BTW, is Trafford your LA now?

IT makes a huge difference which area of London you need to get to for work IMHO

Which are your stations nearest to work and then work out from there?

Then it will be easier to find an area I think

Hopefully your chosen area will have school places (after all other families will be moving away for work or family or other reasons)

I'm from the Letchworth/Hitchin area and live in St Albans...!

You will get more for your money on Letchworth but I agree that Hitchin has more going on. Trains are probably more frequent too (but you can confirm by looking at National Rail). Letchworth does have a lovely Art Deco cinema/theatre, splash park and a few restaurants now but there are definitely more shops, bars etc in Hitchin.

St Albans is like a larger Hitchin - lots of nice historic bits and houses and v good schools. Trains (when they work) are fast into London but your money doesn't go as far as Hitchin or Letchworth.

@Chickenkatsu that house would probably fall into the central St Albans school black spot - ie not in catchment for anything and end up getting a place at a school at the other end of the City.

So very important to research catchment areas very carefully.

Berkhamsted.

Train line into Euston.
Good high st, indie cinema (The Rex), canal walks, Nat Trust countryside on doorstep. Easy access to M1, M25.

St Albans is super busy. Getting in/out of train station is a pain.

Guildford way, although you won’t get much for 700k
Westbyfleet is 25 mins to Waterloo, more for your money. Good schools. Likely to get a year 3 place..
There was a recent thread about westb

One of the cool things about hitchin is that the schools are all good to very good, primary and secondary, so you don't really need to worry about that (unless they are full). I know schools are patchier in Letchworth, but your £££ will go alot further there. £700k will get you a 3/4 bed semi within a 20 min walk of the station in hitchin, it will get you a 4/5 bed detached in Letchworth.

The trains have been shocking this summer. They don't have enough drivers so every holiday or big sporting event the trains are buggered. But when they run well the journey is ok, we can now get directly to Kings Cross and London Bridge.

I much prefer hitchin as a place, but if space is your priority, Letchworth or Royston would be better for you.

Tbh, though, if you’re moving somewhere very quaint/charming, want to live in a market town, then the commuter belt makes sense. However, rather than moving to an average commuter town, you’re better off in outer London. On the edge of the coutryside, loads of transport options and fantastic schools. For 700k you can get a 4-5 bed 30’s semi with a large garden and a garage.

Thanks All

JoJo - we are not in Trafford but would have the ability to apply to one of the grammar schools in trafford f we stay put

Outer London - any suggestions? We are a bit clueless we did look at Lee in S London but found it a bit too urban.

We have had this thought ourselves re outer london suburbs as Hitchin/StAlbans in particular seems almost at parity with London prices. But as I say wouldn't know where to start

In terms of location for jobs that may vary across london for OH though canary wharf is likely to be one location

Again thanks all. Your advice is v much appreciated

A fab option in outer London is Sutton. The schools are at the very top of the national league tables (Trafford sort of attainment). There are 5 grammars, a lot of excellent comps and top-notch primaries. It’s the safest borough in London.

The borough is made up of Sutton (largish, practical if not that lovely town centre with a pedestrianised high street). Then there’s Cheam Village (a super lovely place for a family), Carshalton Village- feels like a rural village but has London traffic, Carshalton Beeches - 30’s burbs, super leafy and chilled out, Worcester Park - 30’s but more built up, Wallington - nice period houses but tricky for schools.
I live in South Sutton and can walk to pastures with sheep or lavender fields etc but DH can cycle to his office in under 1h.

If you have a google, Sutton regularly publishes list of vacancies. If you want a super academic school, then Cheam Common Juniors is expanding from 3 to 4 forms and recruiting 30 children/year group. Last year, 44% of pupils achieved at higher level in Y6. But there will also be other lovely schools with vacancies.

Isn't Canary Wharf on the eastern side of London?

How about Essex or northern Kent?

Subis, Kent is a disaster for non-selective secondaries. Essex could be a better shout.
However, even from South or SW London you can get a train to London Bridge or Waterloo + the Jubilee line (door-to-desk in under 1h).

Oke doke thanks

I didn't know that about Kent

Thanks Again All - its really really helpful.

Will look at Cheam, Sutton, Betkhamstead and into Essex

OP, when you’re in Cheam/Sutton (they’re only a mile apart), have a look at the lovely Nonsuch Park. Cheam Village also has tennis, cricket and rugby clubs, a leisure centre, library and a David Lloyd Health Club. In Sutton, the more favoured/affluent side is South Sutton. Lots of tennis clubs, there’s also a trampoline park, climbing wall, a public golf course and a community farm close by. Loads for families to do. The green belt countryside is right on the doorstep. The Surrey Hills (AONB) are 20mins by car and the beach is 1h away.
The stations are in zone 5 with direct trains to Victoria, London Bridge and the Thameslink up to X Cross and beyond via the city. Even at 3am you can get home by tube+bus (or £10 mini cab from the tube).

JoJo thanks for all your info about Cheam it does sound our type of place will do a weekend trip to explore I really like Hitchin but it does seem a bit OTT price wise for what it is - but that is the SE for you😄 and we accept that money will not go that far and we are realistic.

One thing to consider is where your extended family live? If they live in the North, and you hope to visit them from time to time; it’s way better to move to St Albans, Hitchin, wherever in Hertfordshire; than Kent, Surrey, etc! Just look at the motorways on a map of Greater London and SE!

OP, if you’re going to do a weekend scouting trip, you could have a look around the borough of Bromley. Beckenham is affordable with excellent schools (comps + accessible grammars). The town centre is small with a very nice feel (some independent shops, cafe culture). It’s in zone 4 and a lot leafier/spacious than Lee but it is miles away from the coutryside.
Bromley has a big, practical sort of town centre and good schools. Further south, Hayes is calmer and pleasant but might be a bit 30’s for your liking. Chislehurst is very green with quick trains but the non-selective secondaries won’t impress compared to other areas.

In terms of pretty towns in Surrey, Reigate is lovely with good schools but expensive and pants for commuting (most commuters catch trains from Redhill). Dorking is very picturesque and further out but commute not great. So not sure if either make sense over the towns in Hertfordshire.

Best of luck with your search

Make sure you do some proper research on public transport for your commute - as you might think that somewhere on a tube line is closer and quicker commute - whereas many overground trains from further out are much faster. Agree need to consider how often you want to visit family (and them you) as if they are in NW and you want frequent visits - getting across London or around it can take 2hrs.

M25 is called a car park for a reason!