Conundrum - move from London to Bedford?

[Cris1976]

Hello there people! I could do with your advice as I am a bit confused on whether Bedford is a decent place or not to move to in order to get a proper house and garden with decent amenities.

I have been a few times just to view properties and it seems fine, more of a third tier town. But parts of the town centre look pretty dire and it looks like most shops are shutting down. I have seen a house I really like which is just south of the river (probably 20mins walk to the station). But now I'm getting second thoughts if the commute to London would take it's toll (on the OH, I am stay at home) if there is a massive trade-off with Bedford not being a decent enough place to live and bring up my young daughter. He will be commuting and I hope we can find her a pretty good school.

Seeing we have no network in the area, we are flying a bit blind and don't want to make a big mistake.

So would those in the know suggest it as a family place which is improving and will be a good place to settle? Many many thanks.

I don't know the town at all, but I think being the terminus for the train has huge benefits for commuters. It's an expensive line though.

I'm from close to Bedford and pre pandemic we were weighing up moving out of London that direction. I would have my family close by.

We decided not to even though we'd be able to afford a really lovely house. A few things that stood out to us;

1. the cost of the commute! Ok we'd have a lower cost of living in some areas we'd be looking at £££ for the annual season ticket
2. the commuting time. It would mean all drops and picks were down to me and when I go back to work I'd need a local job for sure. It would also make life quite miserable for DH
3. at the moment we have a few choices of commuting routes. If one goes down there are others and always Uber's. That far out, you've got one option and if that fails you're stuck
4. I felt we'd end up in the situation where DH starts staying the week with his parents because the commute is too much and that would leave me stuck in the country with the kids.

I was brought up there so bit out of date. It's a decent commute to City/Moorgate/Farringdon/London Bridge but less convenient for say Victoria or Canary Wharf which might be an issue in certain sectors. If it's just Thameslink door to door it's more convenient than many technically shorter commutes within London. Alternative route via Milton Keynes if any Thameslink disasters would be possible.

Schools - state secondaries suffered from the Harper Trust bursaries acting a bit like a grammar school and creaming off a decent chunk of the middle class and academic kids in the area. Maybe less now there are only the 3 schools (2 girls' schools merged and one of the boys went coed).

Had (and still has) decent sporting facilities too. I liked the community spirit in the Castle Quarter.

Thanks for the responses...really appreciate it.

He is based in Victoria, so it would be 1hr 30m door to door. Bearable for 3 days but probably not if he had to commute 5 days (it's a large unknown right now). Also, there's might be a possibility of him working other places at some point. I think travel is 600pm so not a small chunk.

He would be prepared to make the sacrifice for the right house only if the City itself was good. It's reassuring to see very affluent areas but I guess all areas have their good and bad parts. The town centres is a bit depressing though.

Thanks for the insight on the schools. She is only 3.5 but need to think ahead for her primary and secondary education.

It's either that or look to spend another 150k to come further in!

Hi OP.

You might also look at this thread:

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1938159

It depends on the area. I'd avoid anywhere near the station so might not be the best place to commute from. Castle quarter is the nice bit of the actual town and there are some lovely villages.

If you need to be in that train line, you could look at Flitwick or Harlington.

Personally, I think it is a dump . Sorry to anyone from there. You don't say where in London you are. Whatever the commute is now , dont underestimate the toll that taking the shitty , overcrowded , overpriced train will be.
Sorry to be such a bummer!

We live in Bromham which is less than a 10 minute drive from Bedford station.

Since Covid the trains have been notably quieter. You can catch a fast train into St Pancras in around 35 minutes.

Some areas of town itself are a bit ropey but we love living here. DH was born and raised in East London before moving to Bedfordshire to be with me in his late 20s and he says he couldn't imagine living in London or raising a family there.

Bedford embankment is beautiful on a warm day and there's an abundance of parks and lovely walks to enjoy.

It's a shame that the town centre has struggled like many high streets but there's lots of entrepreneurial / creative types in Bedford so there's often lovely little pop up shops, but the high street itself is so high on rent it does put many off.

I visit regularly and think it's fairly grim, especially close to town. So many homeless people. I'd look somewhere else.

What made you consider Bedford? If you have no network there? If the commute is to Victoria would areas south of the river work better?

Thanks for all the replies! I’m very grateful for them.
We have no network there, the only reason we chose the area is because of the schools , but now I understand it’s quite polarised given the brain drain from state schools to the private ones.
Also the fact that 400k buys you a very nice home, whereas in London you would need at least 600k for the equivalent. It also seem just about commutable if you live near enough to the station. But still a 3hr round trip at least.
We have no affiliation or prior knowledge about the place which would therefore be a huge risk to jump into if people close to the place tell us what the place is really like Gabi lived there.

Thanks for all the insights, but worrying that most think it’s not a decent place, even though it’s reassuring there are some really expensive areas there too (sorry for the snobbery there).

Much as I am a fan of Bedford I would not consider it for a commute to Victoria. As soon as you add a change to tube at a major station the commute gets much less robust.

I live in Bedford. The old mantra was always don't go South of the river. I have been to the town centre twice recently. No reason to go now. Most big shops are closed. It's a depressing town centre. The castle area is OK and the river lovely. Bedford is just a bit dull! Lots of argument about new train line at the moment.

If trains matter, perhaps look at Ampthill or Harlington but it's pricier round there for a reason.

The other thing is that the area around Bedford is dull. Miles to anywhere really pretty or interesting imo. We struggle to think of where to go for days out. But people born and bred here are very loyal to it. Can offer more info if you said where your South of river house is?

I grew up in Kempston (pretty much attached to Bedford), lived in a shared house in the castle quarter and now live in Clapham (a village just outside Bedford). I commuted to London for a year and it was fairly reliable but cost about £5k at the time. Think it's closer to £6k for an annual pass now. The town centre isn't great. They've developed parts to make them nicer but they seem determined to price shops out of the area. There are some lovely cafes, restaurants and bars but very limited shopping. The current effort to make the high street better for pedestrians just makes it difficult to get from one side of town to the other so traffic can be horrendous. If your partner is planning to drive to the station it's a complete non-starter (unless he's a very high earner). Parking is limited and expensive making it difficult for most people already paying for a season ticket. Bromham and the castle quarter mentioned by a pp are the nicer areas and for that reason, slightly more expensive than the rest of Bedford. They're also great for getting to the station. A friend of mine walks from bromham to the station every day. I haven't been to the other side of town in a while but when I was house hunting 5 years ago it was best to avoid south of the river. There are plans to build a railway line going from Oxford to Cambridge so you'd need to Google the east west rail route to figure out if you're about to buy near somewhere that will be a building site for the next ten years. It's a massive project so have a look before looking at any other areas in this direction. I do like living here but just want to point out the biggest negatives that you might not know about.

I moved from North London to a village not far from Bedford, DS went to 6th form at one of the private schools. I used to walk the dog along the river, at the marina etc and my other DS worked in a restaurant in Bedford town centre and went to Bedford college.
There are some nice areas and some good bits, but other bits are not nice at all. My DH ended up commuting (but on the Peterborough line rather than Bedford) it was 1.5hrs each way, he did it for 4 years, he didn’t moan but it made for such a long day and was exhausting it also cost £5000 a year and another £800 for parking.
We’ve now moved and are just buying back in North London again. We had a lovely house for 8 years and I don’t regret doing it but I never fitted in or felt at home, I’m so happy going back to London.
I think a lot depends on the age of your children, ours were teenagers, if you’ve got younger children you will make more friends. There are some good things in Bedford but it’s also quite rough in places, it just depends what you like doing.

I have re-joined mumsnet just to tell you don’t do it OP! Bedford is shit…. Very very shit!

A PP said those of us born and bred there are very loyal…. Not me! Finally convinced DH to leave a few years ago and on the very rare occasion we go back I am more horrified by the grimness. You’re right, the shops are closing and nothing is replacing them. Mayor Dave has been spending handsomely to try and make it more popular but you can’t polish a turd as the saying goes!!

I have relatives in Clapham, which is quite nice and in the catchment for Sharnbrook Academy, very popular State school. However the commute from Clapham to the station can be quite difficult in the morning.
There are other considerations - my relatives found it hard to find a decent GP, and Bedford hospital isn't the greatest.
There are lots of private schools.

Have you considered Hitchin or Letchworth in Hertfordshire?

Bedford is now grim, and south of the river has always been the worst part. Try villages and small towns around Milton Keynes

Thanks all to residents past and present ! A lot to be taken into consideration here. Everything is a compromise it seems … live in a nicer village further out and endure a lengthy commute or further in and enjoy the grimness. I’m looking at a couple of places , one around Cardington Rd (south of river) another in Kempston.

Now we will have to re-think Bedford altogether!
Re Hitchin and Letchworth. This seems to have become an extension of London price wise and we have looked there and nothing seems to be coming on for sale which is even worth considering!

Really invaluable advice here …. And it’s so appreciated. If anyone has any other recommendations of other areas (we are actually open to anything!). I’m all Ears ! Will start looking around the MK area.

Have a look at Stony Stratford, its got new and period property, a thriving little high street with independent shops, cafes and restaurants. Great river walks and 10 minute drive to Milton
Keynes. Its an old coaching town, property always slightly more than general MK. If you go more modern MK I can advise the best areas. I am from Bedford and would never go back. MK hospital is also much better than Bedford General which is dire.

Cardington Road has always been one of the roughest parts!! Avoid avoid avoid! Kempston is it’s own little town and is improving but I still wouldn’t.

You’re right to rethink - lots of great recommendations for the MK and surrounding villages. I’d love to live there but it is in totally the wrong location geographically for DH work and he won’t change job any time soon!

Cardington Road : Not the bit by BGS! That's perfectly nice.

If low house prices are literally the only thing drawing you, then I'm not sure it's enough to compensate for a horrible commute (and I think you are underestimating the total commute time) and a lackluster place to live.

If you are set on having a house and garden, could you bear somewhere like Eltham? Bexley? Or of course a total move to a city you would love to live in, if your DH could work outside London.