Letchworth vs Hitchin - pros and cons

[househunter9301]

Hi all,
Hoping to get your insight - me and my partner are making a move from a small 2 bed property in Cambridge looking to upsize to a decent 3 bed with garden in a town with a shorter commute to London (I commute around 2 times a week), we are being priced out of Cambridge 💴 really for what we want in our next house. Our budget is around 650k.

It's clear you can get more house for your money in Letchworth! Below are a list of things that are important to us, it would be great to hear from you all on your thoughts on Letchworth vs Hitchin (or any other suggestions!).

• Would like a med to high spec house, large 3 bed with decent garden walkable to a station in a smart area. Off road parking bonus (we have a car but prefer not to use it unless really necessary)
• We have a dog and enjoy walking in green spaces 10mins from house
• We both enjoy going to the gym and sports clubs (e.g. Hockey or Rugby)
• We would like a good orchestra and choir to be commutable to :)
• We want to be able to easily make friends where we move so friendly clubs/general people would be ideal!
• We plan on starting a family 🤞 and childcare will be needed / good schools / things to do with young children

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts on the above 👆 🙏

Hitchin is seen as a bit more ‘trendy’ at the moment but Letchworth is a very nice place to live lots of green spaces, tree lined streets. Also it has a cinema!

Yes - Hitchin is everywhere in the press when I was searching! The town centre looks lovely (I can appreciate this moving from Cambridge) but the housing stock looks mostly 70s houses (in my budget anyway) and there doesn't look like there's a lot to do - especially keen on sports clubs and gyms/musical orgs if anyone knows?

Please correct me anyone if I have the wrong impression!

Have you done a google search for choirs and hockey clubs in letchworth /hitchin?

I’m not too knowledgeable on some bits you wanted to know, but re Letchworth:

• Best gym is probably Nuffield Health (gym, small pool, 2 studios, classes)
• See also Letchworth Sports & Tennis Club; Letchworth Outdoor Pool (open in summer & open as a mini ice rink in winter); Letchworth Golf Club, North Herts Leisure Centre
• Arts-wise, there are loads of groups under the umbrella of LALG (Letchworth Arts & Leisure Group)
• See also Letchworth Settlement
• Green spaces - Norton Common is great for dog walking
• There’s also The Greenway (13-mile route)

No clue about hockey/rugby I’m afraid, but hopefully someone else might know!

Probably an obvious point, but Letchworth/Hitchin are close enough to go between for clubs/sports etc.

Thank you gabriellag - this is really helpful. There's so much going on in Letchworth, I'm amazed - and so good to have it all grouped under an umbrella org. In Cambridge you have to search around to find something to do or join.

Letchworth has more green spaces and a broader housing stock to choose from.

You could probably get what you’re looking for for £650k on the south side of Letchworth, close to the countryside, the Greenway, Nuffield gym, country pub and the hockey golf and rugby clubs plus access to good state and private schools.

But Hitchin centre is better, more and varied shops, but yes it’s less green, and far busier. But if you like busy then Hitchin might be for you. Not sure you’d meet your requirements with that budget quite as easily though, as it’s more expensive.

Main issue with Letchworth is the secondary schools are much worse. If you're willing to move again before your kids hit secondary age, it would be a great choice.

(I'm local-ish).

Also local - agree there is less choice for secondary school in Letchworth. Only one is any good, but that’s hearsay.

I live in Letchworth at the mo and I think it's a great place. There's a big old rugby club down the far end of Works Road, no idea about hockey. There's quite a few choirs of the Rock Choir, City Chorus (Community choir) type of thing - I've not seen much in the way of really serious music, but have a google of Benslow Music in Hitchin - there's loads of good music going on there. There's loads of choice in terms of gyms. Personally, I go down to the Odyssey in Knebworth because I like the pool there, but there's the Nuffield someone's already mentioned and a Bannatyne over at Fairfield as well as a couple of smaller gyms in the town centre and the council leisure centre.

In terms of Letchworth v Hitchin, I'd always vote Letchworth (obviously). Hitchin to me is just a standard busy town - loads of Victorian houses on busy roads, nothing special. Letchworth is a really unique place - very green, very pretty - with your budget you should comfortably be able to buy a classic garden city house within an easy walk to the town centre and station. Things I particularly love about Letchworth - the outdoor pool (ours is greener and calmer than Hitchin's), David's bookshop is a gem, and the art deco cinema - independent, beautiful and a comfy walk from home.

Thank you @@Tupster that's the impression I have got too. I'm visiting Hitchin and Letchworth at the weekend to look around some houses and see what vibes I get. Market also seems like it needs to warm up a bit though as nothing is shouting out at me as being the dream house at the moment. I would LOVE a classic garden city house. The history behind the place is amazing.

Do you always feel safe in Letchworth / is crime ever an issue?

Hitchin - hands down. I live here so I am biased but I always say Hitchin would be perfect if it just had a beach. People are really friendly and it has a great chilled, laid back vibe despite it being quite a busy little town. It feels a very creative place too, but maybe that's the people I know.

It is a lovely, green place - I mean there's a great big hill right in the middle of it with small woods you can potter around. Plus lots of fabulous country walks on your doorstep: you can walk to Priory Fields and Oughtenhead Nature reserve, easy car ride out to Pegsdon Hills. I have a large hound and walk the dog every day somewhere different, everywhere but Pegsdon Hills is within walking distance of my house.

The town centre is full of independent shops, yet surrounded by supermarkets so within five minutes there's a Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda with a very handy Tesco Metro right next to the station. Lots of nice restaurants too with a whole variety of types: Turkish, Japanese, Fish, Pizza, Tapas, Mediterranean, Chinese, burgers, bbq... tons of them. Some really nice independent cafes and loads of lovely pubs: I love the Vic, the Highlander and the Coopers. There's a market which has seen better days but still has some great traders. The plant stands are brilliant and very cheap, the material stand run by Dawn at the Church side of the market has absolute bargain fabrics. My dog has many friends in the market and would probably rather go there everyday as he always gets tons of treats.

The Churchyard with river makes a nice picturesque centre (watch out for Hitchin legend Grumpy the goose) and I always think Hitchin is particularly lovely in snow or at Christmastime with all the pretty medieval buildings.

The theatre is a good plus for the town and you can see live music in a few different venues, although there's a real worry that we'll lose Club 85 which has been a major deal in launching lots of local bands and has a very eclectic selection of live music.

There are a few gyms - Archers with the swimming pool has the most options. My husband goes to the Exchange but I don't rate it. There's a great yoga centre near the station and Yoga Mind Space does excellent yoga classes. Lots of things for kids to do too, although mine are much older now so I'm out of the loop with that one. However one thing that I do notice having older teens is that it is very easy for them to go out safely in town - lots of places for them to socialise and an easy, safe walk home. Same for me too I guess. Also nice easy walks to their secondary schools. In fact walking is the key thing here - we walked to their primary, I walk to the station, I rarely use the car for anything other than long journeys or to find new places to walk the dog at the weekend: Barton Hills is a new, wonderful find.

I personally can't fault the schools as both of mine did very well and both rated their schools highly. The secondary schools are notably good.

Don't know about choirs or orchestras though...

I personally think Hitchin has more soul, especially the centre, but you'll certainly get more for your money in Letchworth. Watch where you buy as I think there has been planning agreed for hundreds of new homes in both places.

Letchworth is really very low crime and trouble free - compared to any city it's childsplay here. I feel incredibly safe - and I often walk home from the station in the small hours. There are two biggish estates on either side of town - Jackmans and Grange. Jackmans is the one people are snobbish about and say to avoid, but it always seems to be the Grange that anything happens on - but really both are just very normal places and it's just snobbery. Either way, in your price bracket you won't be looking at houses on either of those. There's smaller areas of ex council further in - perfectly safe, but the areas tend to be a bit less pristine looking, but again, houses on those go for well under your £650k so I doubt you'll need to worry about that.

Big reason I moved here (from London) was a big benefit of being a planned town is that Letchworth was designed to be walkable, so there's lots of good houses, within easy reach of the centre but which aren't crammed in terraces of townhouses. Spending some of your money to get close in is well-worth it. Anything central is a good area. Just be aware though, much of the town is a conservation area and we have a Heritage Foundation who have to give permission for any work on the exterior of houses (in addition to the normal council planning etc), so the original Garden City houses can be trickier to extend or add parking, remove hedges etc. I think it's good because it's what keeps the town looking so nice, but other people hate those limitations.

I think a big reason Hitchin is more expensive is because it's on the mainline to London, so gets more London trains that we do in Letchworth. The towns are so close though, anything in either town is very accessible wherever you live. It's £20 ish in a cab.

Have you considered Hemel Hempstead or Hertford?

@ChangeAgain2 yes both places have one thanks. Just keen to see if anyone can vouch for any clubs etc

I thought I'd chip in to say that as they're both (relatively) small towns, it's a matter of minutes to travel between the two (bar rush hour on the Cambridge Road!). So whichever you pick, it's fairly easy to pop to the other to use the facilities and clubs etc. I know you said you prefer to walk and you'd be able to do that in either town for most things but it will become normal to need to pop to nearby towns likes Biggleswade or Stevenage etc for various shops and amenities. We lived in north Hitchin for years and it was equidistant pretty much to either town centre. Hitchin is far nicer for shops and cafes in general but Letchworth is improving as Hitchin becomes increasingly expensive. Primary schools are better I think in Hitchin, something to consider. William Ransom and Sam Lucas are often over subscribed.

When you know you know. Hitchin has always been and will remain the better place to live. It has a better more upper market feel and all that you mention in terms of cultural past times are evident with historical mature teachings and leanings. The. atres both small and large. Gyms and social clubs with a hip independent shop culture and a vast array of local societies. Museums to shopping and sports (blue herts hockey and hitchin rugby club) are all tied into local charities where local amenities are promoted and funded. The town is full of housing that is largely 1950 based with detached highly sought after areas of hitchin that are beautiful. Once voted one of the best towns in the country to live with its own Lido and family orientated culture. It is more expensive than letchworth to live no doubt but it is all about location. The problem with letchworth is poor town centre. You have nice housing and then a lot of local authority housing and not a lot in between. Schooling in hitchin is superb with boys school girls school local comps and independent schools. As I say those that know know. Letchworth, nice Morrisons. Hitchin one of the best Waitrose around. You know what I mean.

OP I am actually planning to sell my house in Letchworth (4 bedroom semi). Happy for you to DM me if you have any questions about Letchworth or the house, it's a lovely area.

I don't live in either but know both. Hitchin by a country mile! Apologies to Letchworth residents but with the exception of the cinema I find Letchworth relentlessly depressing. The town centre makes me lose the will to live, however there are attractive Garden City houses at significantly lower prices than Hitchin equivalents. Although only a few miles apart, the countryside around Hitchin is in my opinion much more attractive to the south and west, whereas Letchworth is surrounded by quite plain landscape. That said there's a very nice pub in Willian on the edge of Letchworth. Clearly it's a matter of personal taste and as seen above there are advocates for both.

There is loads to do/groups in both towns. I live just outside both…Hitchin is definitely a ‘nicer’ vibe and a good town centre but Letchworth has a nice more alternative feel in some places. And much greener. You don’t get a lot of land or garden for your money in Hitchin.

HOWEVER coming from London I do find Letchworth can feel oddly segregated…higher and lower income people are in quite different places in the town, which when you’re used to everyone rubbing along together is hard to get your head around. Have you thought about Baldock? Basically merged into Letchworth, on the same train line, better schools and similar price.

I live in Hitchin and can honestly say it’s the most boring, awful place I’ve ever lived. It’s tiny. You can walk around the town centre in 5 minutes. Yes, it does have some independent shops however they mostly stock the same items as they go to the same trade fairs. Yes, there are some nice places to eat but you’ll have done them all within the first 2 months.
the arcade is a dump. The market is appalling.
its full of bored housewives and competitive mums who are incredibly cliquey. The yoga community is a total bitch fest.
I would go somewhere more interesting and more diverse.
its proximity to London is really the only draw here.

It sounds like you’re more suited to city life, Ballbuster.

I have lived in both, know them well, and I'd say that Letchworth Garden City is a better fit for you than Hitchin.

Are you talking about Hitchin or Bitchin. I think you are best suited to Letchworth to be honest. As I say those that know know and you obviously have not got a scooby doo of a clue. Utter utter nonsense.

I live here and this is my experience of it. It’s horrible.

Absolutely