Radlett/St Albans

[tron1039]

Hi!

We're currently looking to move to around Radlett (within 3 miles). My husband has a job just outside St Albans and I will commute into London via Thameslink so easy access to Radlett station is important but I'm happy to drive 10-15 minutes if needed.

We're not from the area so hoping to get some views on areas to look for/avoid? Our budget is up to £600,000 for a three bedroom house. We would like space for parking and access to open space/parks for children but also happy to compromise where and if we need to.

When searching on Rightmove areas like Shenley, Bricket Wood, London Colney or Borehamwood come up. Does anyone have any views or could you recommend areas that we might not have considered?

Thanks!

if you are commuting into London you'll save a fortune by going from Elstree and Borehamwood, not Radlett. Oyster does now work at Radlett but the fare difference is massive.

Thanks! I've never been to Elstree and Borehamwood? Any views on the quality of area, schools, open space etc?

sorry - can't help there but bumping in the hope of someone who can.

You can look up school stats on here:

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/find-a-school-in-england

It is one of the most expensive train lines. Although the commute from st albans will be more expensive, all trains stop at St albans , many are fast to st pancras, only the slow and semi fast ones stop at Radlett and Elstree and Borhamwood so the service isn't as frequent. Also take into consideration shenley and LC don't have stations so you'd need to factor in driving time and parking costs

Have you looked at Napsbury park in London Colney?

Do you need schools?

Elstree is ok but I am not keen on Borehamwood.

We're in London Colney I like the fact we have our own community feel let me go right move shopping for you.

Yes for schools although not immediately. We're keen to stay put for a while after moving. Can you tell me any more about LC? Good restaurants and things to do? Well take a look next week but always hard to know from a couple of visits. It's great to hear from people who love there.

Dear Tron1039

I would personally go for Shenley. We were in the exact same dilemma as you. Selling up our house in Stanmore and wanted to go somewhere around Radlett (love the area but way out of our budget) so, opted for Shenley! Houses on Potters Drive are fairly new and your money can stretch a lot. We got a lovely 3 bedroom semi-detached for 470k, 1.4 miles from Radlett station. We had to compromise in size thought as these new homes have fairly small bedrooms, however, I believe that with a 600k budget you will not have any problems finding somewhere spacious. Shenley park as a lovely café, high street has some lovely pubs (white horse being my favourite), tesco extra is just a short walk from Potters Drive and Radlett and its vast array of shops and restaurants is only 5 min away either by 602 bus or driving.

Regarding schools: My LO goes to an independent school but I’ve heard very good things about Newberries School in Radlett.

Good luck. x

The primary in Radlett isn't great at the moment I don't think.

Borehamwood is a dive. Avoid. London Colney is ok but boring as.

Hi! We're thinking of buying a house in Shenley. What's the community like? Any good restaurant or shops nearby? I'll be interested to know if the OP moved and liked the area.

Bumping as also looking to buy in this area, similar budget 😊

@tron1039 borehamwood was the first place I looked at, my budget was a lot smaller at £400k and you could get a 2 bed house for that..I ended up buying a 2 bed flat in East Finchley because the non faith schools in borehamwood are quite bad and the Jewish school (we are Jewish) is oversubscribed so no backup plan in terms of local schools unlike east Finchley. Also no guarantee we can afford private,- quite a lot of great private schools in the area like Haberdashers. However private schools generally have buses that go to all sorts of areas so no benefit to living locally.

The high street is quite grotty but there is a good range of shops. I don't think it's dangerous? Not pretty of course.

Lived in Borehamwood and planning to move back there at some point. Quite young as an area with lots of shops and decent transport links. Much cheaper to get to from town than Radlett or St Albans.

And £600k will get you a lot more in bwood than Radlett or St Albans