Where should I live in Hertfordshire?

[foodislife1]

Hello wise people. Husband and I are planning on moving to Hertfordshire with a little baby.
Looking for period properties with decent links to London and decent schools nearby....I know...it's a big ask!

Any recommendations?
We are thinking Boxmoor/Bushey/Watford?

Unfortunately we are priced out of our faves - Berkhamsted/St Albans / Radlett.
Budget of £750ish

Boxmoor, Bushey are lovely. Watford also has lovely areas. But other areas which are very built up.

Each of these have good schools and plenty of period houses. Are you looking for 2 bed or 3 or more? Do want somewhere on met line (ie Watford) or is mainline into Euston ok? Do you need to be within walking distance of station?

Do you prefer urban or rural style? There are some pretty villages around. Do you want cafe lifestyle, or surrounded by country?

Bushey out of those three, Boxmoor is Hemel. What are you looking for st 750? detached?

Cafe culture would be lovely! A nice high street and relatively close to the stations
3 bed minimum but don't mind if it's semi detached or terrace.
Is Hemel one to avoid?

Also do you need to be in Herts, eg if you were in Bushey Heath you're on the edge of London Borough of Harrow, so perhaps worth widening the search?

Actually I'd say either cafe culture or countryside..not really fussed. We just like Victorian/Edwardian houses which I limited on these areas I think

I would say that the period properties in Watford tend to be in the central, busy areas. Have a drive around before you look at any. Not bad areas, but parking can be a nightmare etc.

The nicer bits are out towards Croxley Green, but you're looking at 1930s semis there.

Great schools, lovely countryside, plenty of cafes though.

I live on the border of Herts and Bucks (Chorleywood/Rickmansworth). Pretty but the traffic is dire!

If you're looking for grammar schools, I'd suggest just over the border in Little Chalfont or Amersham. On the met line but, more importantly, on the quick Chiltern Line into Marylebone. Alternatively Chenies and Sarratt are pretty villages and only a 5-10 min drive to the station. Watford is not that nice, nor is Hemel.

"Watford is not that nice, nor is Hemel."
Well I like it!

OP, what about kings langley? A similar vibe to berkhamsted (on a smaller scale). Lovely high street, great schools, loads of countryside.

How about Hitchin?

Oxhey Village has a lot of period properties that would be within your budget (and I think it's lovely there). Easy for commuting in from Bushey station as well

@Gazelda I'll take a look at a kings Langley too!
@Gloschick hitchin will be too far to travel to work :/

I have just moved to Oxhey Village . As @anotherwayout says most of the houses are period properties and we are only 5 min walk to Bushey Station. It seems to have a nice Village community atmosphere. There are a few shops, cafes and pubs in the immediate area and about 20 min to walk to Bushey High Street. Of course there is also Bushey Arches and Watford for all the big/practical shops.
Make sure when you search on RM or zoopla you select Bushey Station rather than Bushey. The area covered by 'Bushey' doesn't include the Station and many of the houses close to the high street or Bushey Heath are a mile or more from the station.

Bushey has the villagey feel in parts and benefits of being close to Watford for major shops and close to Bushey Heath which is a nice area. Be aware though: there are fewer trains into / out of Euston from Bushey than from Watford.

Oxhey village is lovely, I agree. Make sure you get somewhere with a drive if you have a car, or be prepared for permit parking which can be a bun fight.

I'm surprised you think you're priced out of St Albans with that budget. It certainly has its fill of very expensive houses (and just generally overpriced it seems!) but I've definitely see v nice Victorian/Edwardian 3/4 beds under that amount. The Bernards Heath area is nice for young families btw...

Rickmansworth is nice

Tring?

It’s a lovely place. Train goes straight into London

There are 2 great houses in Kitsbury road for sale in Berkhamsted- right in the town centre

3 bed, £630/650 - about 1050 square feet

Boxmoor is lovely. 30 mins on the train from London, but you are walking distance from proper countryside. In fact, you can walk through a field of cows and ponies from the village to the station.

I’ve just moved from there. We loved it, and would have stayed if hadn't moved to be closer to family. Lovely friendly neighbours and a real villagey community feel. There are a couple of nice coffee shops, pubs and a decent village shop. My friends have children at the local primary school and are happy with it.

Victorian housing is mainly on Kingsland, Horsecroft, Cowper, Puller and Sebright Roads and much better value than St Albans or Berko.

Wonderful! Thank you all for your comments/help
@StrongTeaDropOfMilkNoSugar is Hemel as bad as people say? I've heard it's quite 'chavvy'?
Understand that Boxmoor is slightly further out of the town centre but how do you find going into town?

Hemel is a mixed bag. It's good for shops (it has two Aldis), has some nice parks but parts of it are quite industrial like (particularly the part nearest the M1).

It really depends what you're looking for. Watford and Hemel are big busy towns and are a bit rough in places but have lots of amenities. Watford has two excellent grammar schools although the catchment areas for distance only is tiny. There are some nice houses around the Cassiobury Estate which is by a huge park and the Met Line station.

There are lots of nice outlying towns and villages. If you like more rural and want your money to stretch further, Sarratt, Flaunden, Chipperfield and surrounding villages are all nice, albeit a drive to the station.

If you want to live in a town with a train link, I'd pick Chorleywood (I'm a bit biased), Rickmansworth or Croxley Green which have lots of restaurants and pubs, good schools and are on the Met Line (CW and Ricky are also on the Chiltern Line). Both Clement Danes and Croxley Danes are highly regarded partly selective comprehensives.

If you like new builds, Leavesden (right by the Harry Potter studios) has a lot of choice and is a bit cheaper. But doesn't really have much of a high street although it's a 5 min drive to Watford.

I was out in letchworth yesterday and thought of this thread. open air pool, cafe culture. .art deco cinema. .train station. ..but was built after 1900.

watford is good. ,town centre is good for shopping and leisure facilities. lovely park at cassiobury. good grammar schools boys and girls. The housing on the cassiobury estate can be very expensive and is from around the 1930's

West watford and north watford have period properties but there are many rentals in both areas and parking is a nightmare.

you could look at the nasot wood area..still quite close to town centre.

PP mentioned Leavesden area, near harry potter, but no high street and all 1940's onwards..lots of new builds. abbots Langley very close by does have a nice high street and will have older housing stock. parmiters school in this area is very highly regarded.

ime traffic around watford town centre, bushey arches and the station is mostly nightmare.

If you ever watched afterlife with Ricky Gervais some of the town scenes were shot in Hemel old town apparently!

Where are you travelling to for work? You’d get a lot of house for your money on the east side of Hertfordshire (Bishops Stortford) if commuting to Liverpool Street or via Tottenham Hale on the Victoria line was an option. Fast trains are about 25 minutes to Tottenham Hale, then the Victoria line.

I would also have suggested Hitchin, or perhaps Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire.

I would have a look at Abbots Langley, very close to Watford. Lovely little village, great schools and a nice high street. We're in Garston, Watford which is nice, more on the outskirts of watford going towards St Albans.