Living in Letchworth

[Boymother]

We (family of 4 with two boys who will be 7 and 9) are planning to move from London to Letchworth. Can anyone give me any advice on schools/areas/sporting facilities...? And any general feedback. Is it a good place to live with teenage boys? It's a huge move for us and we are all rather nervous, just in case we are making a big mistake.

Hi! I live in North Herts - not actually Letchworth but close by. We moved up from London seven years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute. The whole North Herts area is lovely. Letchworth and Hitchin both have very nice town centres for shopping and eating out. Letchworth has a cinema (three screens) and there's a pool/leisure centre. My children are still small so I can't offer any advice on the teenage aspect. Hopefully someone with older children will come along and help you out there. I'm sure you're going to love it when you get here.

i havent been to letchworth or hitchin for about 5 yrs now, but i always liked both towns

letcheworth is nice, i lived in hitchin and loved going to letchworth to shop etc. good restaurants and a lovely retro type cinema that does kids club and cheap night setc - still go there sometimes. open air pool, standalone farm, lovely country side. i'm not sure about teenagers but i guess it's bit like where i am now, it's what you make it and it'll depend on the kinds of friend s they make. i grew up in a small town and hated it but looking back, it was actually great!

I spent my secondary school years living in Hitchin. I haven't been back since and now I am 40, so no up to date advice on schools. I do seem to remember that most of the good schools in Letchworth were private, and that was one reason my parents moved to Hitchin.

When your boys are older they will find that there are very few pubs in Letchworth! My boys are younger than yours but making it hard for them to sneak in to a pub underage by moving to a place without pubs strikes me as a very sensible move. There was just the Black Squirrel next to the cinema in my time. Lots of nice pubs in the surrounding villages though.

Have only just seen this. I lived in Hitchin, Stotfold (village near Letchworth) and now Royston, though not Letchworth itself.

However, I end up going to Letchworth quite a bit one way and another.

The shops there are quite an eclectic mix - your usual high street stuff, but also quite a few independent ones (can recommend Tom's Deli - good range, "old fashioned" service, and the traditional sweet shop in The Arcade - think it's called Annies). These days there are a few more pubs and bars in the town centre itself, though I've never been in them .... but can recommend an Italian restaurant called L'Artista, very reasonable, very family friendly, large and generous menu.

Just oustide the centre you have Sainsburys which is being refurbed and extended, plus the North Herts Leisure Centre, half way between Letchworth & Baldock. It has a swimming pool, courts, gym etc. In fact there's quite a few gyms in and around Letchworth. There's also an open air pool in the summer (ditto in Hitchin).

Letchworth is equadistant between Hitchin & Baldock which both also have a lot going for them. Hitchin in particular has a huge range of amenities, and a really good selection of restaurants.

I'm afraid I can't speak for Letchworth schools but the town itself I really like. Both Letchworth & Hitchin have always felt very "safe" to me (though like anywhere they have their less attractive areas) with a good vibe. As I'm sure you know, you'd be on a reasonably quick train route into London or Cambridge (great shopping .... yes, I'm obsessed with shops), and on the A1, so communications are very good. Similarly, you only have to drive 5-10 mins and there are plenty of villages with nice pubs, attractive countryside and so on ..... so you have the best of both worlds.

If there's anything more specific you'd like to know, ask.