Moving to Harpenden - advice?

[Movingtoharpendenadvice]

We would like to move to Harpenden (from East London). We have two DDs aged 5 and 2.

Any advice on where to look for a house? We can go up to a max of 900k for a four bed. Ideally we don't want to be too far from the station but we also want to be in catchment for the schools. Our current area has some 'black holes' where kids sometimes don't get into any local school. Do these exist in Harpenden?

Our eldest DD will need in-year transfer to a primary school but if the Hertfordshire website is to be believed there are several primaries with spaces in year 1. Does anybody have any experience of transfer to Harpenden schools?

We are not too worried about the culture shock of moving from London as neither of us are originally Londoners and we feel we have realistic expectations! I'm really worried about the commute though. DH will need to go to London 3/4 days a week and me 1/2. Any tips on making it bearable?

I do have a possible option of transferring to an office in either Potters Bar or Hemel Hempstead. Would either of those be a decent commute or would rush hour traffic mean they'd be less attractive than they look on paper?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hopeful bump!

We looked into moving to Harpenden too but the sale fell through. From what I found the schools were pretty much all rated quite well. We would be in the same position in regards to schools. How did you find out if there was places available? I could only see the school distance. I contacted the school local to where we planned to buy and they would have accepted our child into preschool. Although there aren’t many houses for sale right now.
My husband tested the commute to the city and I think it was very doable although forums seem to say the train journey might be painful but similar to St.Albans. It is hard viewing a place with covid as you don’t get an idea of how busy it is normally.

I worked in Harpenden for approx 2. Years. The community feel there is very good and the commute into London via a train is ok. As PP said, it's the stop before St Albans so tends to be a quieter platform. Hemel and Potters bar both easy enough to to get to - my manger drove from Hemel and another colleague from Potters Bar with little grumble unless there was a big accident on the M1 which naturally increases traffic elsewhere.

Are you talking about rail commuting or driving?

I’m from a nearby town but know harpenden very well and I would say £900k isn’t going to get you much for your money in the nicer areas on the town. More likely a 3 bed than a 4, unless you’re happy to compromise slightly on area. All schools are good so I wouldn’t worry too much about that. In terms of black holes, you’re going to struggle with schools in West Common. You get much bigger houses for your money there than in the more central parts of the town but no schools so have to use private which can make resale a little slower.

I also work in education so happy to give insight on the schools that do have in year availability.

@gra18 I'm sorry your sale fell through Where are you moving from? That's good to know about the commute. Hertfordshire County Council have a page on their website which has all the school vacancies (just google Hertfordshire school vacancies or something like that). I'm sure the picture is changing all the time but there were some spaces at Harpenden primary schools. It doesn't cover preschools though. How old are your DC?

@bingeonchocolate that's very helpful - thank you!

@presentingpercy we would be travelling by train into London, but if I got a job in Hemel or Potters Bar I would drive.

@puffitsgone thank you, that's good to know. To be honest we had sort of been working on the basis that all of Harpenden is nice but we only know the centre well so perhaps that's a bit naive!

There seem to be a few properties in our price range as you head up from the station towards Batford, is that not a good area? It's not as close to the station as we would like but I guess we will have to compromise on something. For school catchments it looks good.

One thing I forgot to mention is that we are already regular church goers (C of E). I think that might help with St George's? Or is it so competitive that it doesn't really make much difference?

Houses on East Common are a bit less expensive and it's a twenty minute walk to the station or into town.
Rail commute to London is fine though you won't get a seat (in normal times). Plenty of trains but very busy.
Road commute to Hemel would be OK.
The whole place is pretty up itself though.

Batford isn't very nice.

Batford isn’t great. Had a quick look on Rightmove and for your budget the only house I’d go for is the one on Park Rise really. You might also consider the Dalewood one but that’s not somewhere I’d want to live myself- but Crabtree is a v good school. Slightly confused by a PPs east common comment. East Common is definitely going to be over budget for you, only one house available on grange court road and that’s on at £1.5m so it’s irrelevant.

On St George’s- it will help but it’s very over subscribed and you don’t know if the rules may change by the time your children reach that age so you can’t bank on getting in in 5/6 years time. I would say the other schools (RPS/SJL) are both decent state comps, the new school is of course very new so can’t comment. You have girls so may be interested in STAGS in St Albans, a lot of harpenden girls go there.

If private secondary is of interest then the High School in St Albans is very well regarded.

I live in Harpenden (NC for this thread)
I think a house in the aldwickbury estate would be affordable (Dalewood mentioned by a PP is there) and that would be around 15-20 min walk to the town and station depending on which side of the crescent you were. I would expect to be in catchment for Crabtree and/or High beeches schools there which are both popular schools.

For secondary, I would expect to get a place for SJL living there but not neccessarily St Georges (although it depends year on year) The last few years I believe the catchment area has been about a mile which would exclude that area. You would also get a place at KWS, and by the time your DC are old enough to go there will be a larger number of puils that have been, and exam results to go on. (The current cohort are I think year 9 and below and I've heard positive feedback from it)
The Ox lane area would potentially be in budget (not Sauncey avenue or Stewart road) and not too far from town, and would be in catchment for Manland school and SJL , possibly even st georges.

The Cross Farm estate is probably affordable but further away from town, and in the past has been tricky with high schools.

Depending on where you want to be in London the commute is generally not too bad. It is expensive, and has had periods of quite poor service but recently has been ok. (althouh its very quiet at the moment with so many people wfh)

There are lots of clubs and activities for small kids, I think less going on for teens.

Thanks, this is all really helpful.

@puffitsgone I can't seem to see the property on Park Rise. Is it this one?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/102087230#/

Others I thought might be possible include the following (all totally academic as they're under offer but just for illustration purposes!)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86749306#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97299734#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97303802#/ (pushing the budget a bit though)

I haven't considered St Alban's Girls, I thought we would be too far away. Interesting to know it can be an option from Harpenden.

For primary schools our choices are going to be limited by what's available as our eldest will be transferring in-year. I'm banking on the fact that most schools in Harpenden do seem to be good so wherever we end up should be ok. It's not ideal but a risk we're willing to take for the secondaries as we have no decent ones in our current area.

@miserablecat this is all hugely useful, thank you very much! You make a good point about KWS, we will need to keep an eye on it but hopefully it will be an option too in the future. Do you have school age DC?

yes my DC are junior age/high school age.

Theyve had class mates join in-year throughout infant/junior school, I'm less sure about secondary although that isn't an issue for you.
Also know several parents with DDs at STAGs and its well regarded - I'm not sure what allocation they have for Harpenden

I live in Harpenden too. I also live in the East Common area and can assure you that it isn't all £1.5m houses, and although there might not be anything available right now in your price range, keep an open mind about the areas you would consider. Batford has a bit of a historical reputation, but it isn't terrible. Although I have to say that a 4-bed house for £900k within a few minutes walk of the station is probably not going to be possible, but 20 minutes or so gives you some great options. (Two of the houses you have linked to are in the area where my parents live, about a 15 minutes walk from the station).

You won't go wrong with any of the primary schools in Harpenden, but getting into a secondary could be tricky depending on where you live and what the intake is like in a particular year. One thing to bear in mind is that Harpenden Academy (right near the station) is a feeder school for SJL. We have one in STAGS and one in Y8 at KWS (so one of the founding cohort), because of our location and the fact that both years had a very high sibling uptake in Harpenden schools, however I have no complaints about either of the schools.

Sorry yes harpenden rise not park rise! It’s a nicer area than say Batford or Southdown. Of the three others you posted I would personally only consider the one on Overstone Road. Have you been to Harpenden? I’d highly recommend coming out and driving around looking at houses in your budget. I don’t mean go on viewings, but drive and look from the outside at the streets of those 3 you’ve posted to get an idea about location and feel of area.

@puffitsgone yes we have been to Harpenden quite a few times but mostly the centre. We have driven round but not looking at specific streets, however my perception had always been that most of it is fine to very nice. We may not have gone to the right areas, or it could just be that coming from East London my standards are lower

@brownsauceofcourse thank you that is reassuring. I think we might need to be readjust our expectations a bit in terms of closeness to the station! Really good to know that your DC are having a good experience at both STAGS and KWS.

@PuffItsGone
out of interest what would put you off the others that OP linked? (don't worry, I don't live in any of those roads but I know them all and would be intersted in what would be off putting)

We are moving from SE London. We had thought about Kent too as I find the houses and space are bigger/better but the north is closer to family and has better a transport network.
Our children are pretty much the same age 5 & 3. My DD (5) is quite excited about living so I hope it happens soon.
We’ve been to Harpenden a few times and each time we liked it but after the last house we decided to widen our search.

I wish I could edit while excited about living she’s more excited about moving!!! We are in Zone 2/3 and just need more space and access to the countryside!

nc for this thread as i’d be easily identifiable

I grew up in harpenden; i went to crabtree and then st george’s. Prices are truly bonkers nowadays - as an example, my relatives’s house there (a three bed terrace in need of total modernisation) went a few weeks ago for £600k. admittedly, it’s two mins from the station/centre and five mins from st. george’s, but even so!

In terms of living there - it’s not super friendly (but no worse than london!). People are quite materialistic and there’s a lot of wealth flaunting/snobbery. It’s also not a great place to be a teenager - very little to do for that age group, really.

However, it’s also a lovely place to be a small child (and, i would imagine, a parent of young kids), has amazing parks and green spaces, and has some lovely annual social events like classics on the common and the highland games. There’s some nice cafes, a great gym and pool, and the surrounding countryside is absolutely lovely if you enjoy walks running, cycling etc. St Albans is also lovely and is a short trip away.

Overall, I consider myself lucky to have grown up there (despite now living at the other end of the country )

Name changed for this too!

Everybody knows everybody in Harpenden! It is great for the kids growing up - not great for them after the school years.

Schools are all the same, they get good results, everyone tutors their kids so sometimes it's hard to tell, not much in the way of variety they all hold the same line. See themselves as proudly old fashioned, with a "if you don't like it, you know what you signed up for and you know where the door is" attitude. You might like that, if you don't, tough you just have to put up with it.

You should find something around the Crabtree area for that price but it will probably be a 1960's house. Nothing wrong with the areas you linked to. We nearly bought a house in West Way. I would avoid the Cross farm area, it's nice enough - it's just a very long walk for kids going to any of the Secondary Schools (I know that feels like a long way away) and I wanted my kids to walk - they really enjoy walking with their friends to school!

I don't think Batford is bad at all, it has some local authority housing - lovely park and good local facilities and if you've just come from London you will scratch your head and wonder what the people on this thread are talking about - just hope you don't become them - those who people who live in the Harpenden bubble terrified to go to Luton and not much keener on London!

Bottom line it's great for kids, it's a bit dull (food scene is pretty awful) and a bit small town but we have met loads of fantastic people here - I rarely meet the snobby people, in my opinion people are friendly and as nice as I've met elsewhere. Good luck with your search!