Opinions on Broxbourne/West Cheshunt and surrounding areas

[mrsys]

Hi All,

We are originally from London and moved to Milton Keynes 2 years ago, but are moving back due to being really far from friends/family/support system.

We are considering Broxbourne, West Cheshunt, Hoddesdon, Cuffley, Goffs Oak but are not sure which one to go with for our young family (two girls, aged 4 and 1, we are in our early 30s).

Ideally we'd like an area that is somewhat culturally/ethnically diverse with parks, community, a high street and transport links into London as being close and easily accessible to family is a priority for us.

Which areas have great primary/secondary schools that our kids can grow into, with things to do in the area - soft plays, farms etc. We're happy to travel into London for date nights etc, but would love to be able to eat locally or in surrounding towns.

Thanks so much in advance!

A support network is a help to a young mother. The OP has now told her that her family support is no longer available because the MILs have health problems and cannot give her the help she seeks.

Nor has she actually said what help she wants. She told me that the GP, schools and other amenities are fine, but she has no one to take over when they are ''doing things''.

I asked what sort of support she needed and suggested if the area lacked people to employ and volunteers, perhaps hiring someone would help. I must have made the right suggestion, because she now tells us she has a nanny.

She needs friends and has none where she lives. She has two little ones to care for, and that takes a lot of time and effort. If there is no one of her own age with similar age children, I can understand that need, but she asks about the area to move to, not about seeking companionship.

I just cannot see what sort of support network she needs. That is the most important aspect of deciding why and where to move to.

Hi @mrsys

i don’t know how much help this will be, but we moved in 1989 (so pre internet) with a 5 month old baby, a 3 and 6 year old!
one thing I did do was drive around the area we were looking at at different times of day. I also visited the local primary schools (appointments with head teachers) and asked a friend, who’s husband worked for the education authority, to check out the local comprehensive for me. I checked out leisure/ sports facilities, and clubs like cubs/ brownies.
we were very happy there for 23 years. Good luck!
(By the way I grew up in Waltham Cross/ Cheshunt - I haven’t been back for years, but Cuffley/ Goffs Oak was always much nicer!)

@llizzie why are you still hounding the OP. You are really weird.

she specifically asked for recommendations on the area, you clearly do not know the areas atall and randomly googled crime stats etc.

'I expect to go and build a community of friends etc
I’m not looking for free help or babysitters, as you have said we can buy that which we already do by hiring a nanny.'

That is more support that thousands of other mothers have.

Have you considered getting a job where you can make friends, or is that not possible because you have times when you are ''doing things''?

Who helps you at the moment when you are ''doing things''?

Bloody hell. It’s like a dog with a bone. Goodness.

Hi

What's approx your budget and where do you need to get to work.
I m in cheshunt last nine years very happy , easy to get into London . However high street is a bit lacking and I tend to go to community events in Enfield . You LL get 3 bed semi 500 ISH
Hoddesdon is around same price better high street , terrible train station.
Broxbourne has the best of both but another 200k for houses.
Cuffley and goffs oak you could easily spend over 1 million and limited trains and high street .

Now that can be done through the internet. Local authorities publish all sorts of information about there area to attract people to it. Zoopla do more than just list houses for sale.

There is information about travel and access to amenities online, any information needed is there. The police publish crime statistics.

The OP made it clear to me that she has no problem with surgeries, health visitors, social services and local amenities where she is, but doesn't say what she means by support groups. She has a nanny so isn't seeking child minders for when she is out ''doing things''.

The OP has friends in these places and said she doesn't need information about them, so I am at a loss as to what she expects from responses.

If you have no support, no family, no friends, then move to another place if you know for sure you have a connection there. Now the OP says she wasn't asking about 'specific places'.

It's like banging your head against a brick wall.

So ask your friends and family what support they will give you if you move house to be closer to them, as you consider them to be your support network.

You are satisfied with all the local services around you, such as GP, schools and shops. I think that is what you said?

If it is lack of support when you are ''doing things'' that makes you want to move and there is no one who can give you that support, then it seems to me you should ask your friends if they are willing to support you if you move near them.

Then move to wherever your friends are for a support network.

A bit more verified copy and paste about Milton Keynes@

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › CityofMilton_Keynes

Is Milton Keynes an affluent area?

Milton Keynes was born in the late 1960's and includes towns like Newport Pagnell, Bletchley, Fenny Stratford, Stony Stratford & Wolverton. It is now one of the most affluent towns outside London, which is only 38 minutes away by train, less than an hour to Birmingham and 25 minutes to Luton Airport.
Why move to Milton Keynes - Mason Kelly

Mason Kelly
https://www.masonkelly.co.uk › why-move-to-milton-ke...

Is Milton Keynes worth visiting?

Milton Keynes is home to a thriving arts scene, excellent shopping, and top-notch attractions such as Bletchley Park, a key site in World War II history. Families will enjoy the wealth of leisure activities, from indoor skiing to water sports.

@llizzie are you okay? You seem to be completely obsessed with this.

Dogs don't share bones.

That is an insult to me and shame on you. Just read the op and my help again, because I think you have missed the point.

How so? The op post seemed as though she genuinely needed help, without actually saying what help she needed.

This thread was ignored for four days and I was concerned that no one had tried to help her. I can happily leave it to you.

She wanted support from friends and family. In response to mine she said the services like GP and schools were fine. Then she said her family cannot help her because of help issues. She asked for information about the areas she was looking at. I gave her that. Then she said she didn't really want that because she had friends at those places and knew they were OK.

She wanted help when she was doing ''other things'' but didn't say what they were. She wanted to live somewhere where there was culture, and learning and a social life. She has those where she is now.

I hoped I had given her questions to ask herself so that she could find somewhere to live where she would get the support she was asking for without saying what support she needed.

I tried to understand what she wanted. Did you?

I have posted information about all the places she mentioned. Now she says she didn't want information on specific places because her friends lived there,

I have tried to help her. Have you?

@llizzie Do you work in the Russian troll ministry?

.the OP says:

”Support” from GPs etc is not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about having a village/community of people we are familiar with to help able to help us with our children if we have things to do. Currently we always have to drive 50 miles or family to do the reverse to support us, which is not always possible.

The part ''village/community of people we are familiar with'' makes me wonder if she is being discriminated against in some way, perhaps colour or creed, and is reluctant to say so. It is all I can think of now, because everything else is discounted and no one has offered her any tangible help at all, apart from saying they lived in one or two of the places years ago.

Help in the community is a two way stretch. Perhaps she is finding it difficult to integrate and is reluctant to tell us?

I don't know why she should be reluctant if it is true, I am disabled, and God knows have been discriminated against.

Who would've thought a simple question about towns would lead to such a weird frenzied response. Sorry, your thread has gotten derailed, @op. That's the thing with posting on social media, you never know what characters it will draw from the completely sane to complete nut jobs.

She asked for specific info on the area.

and actually, yes I have helped. I gave her the info on the schools and suggested nicer areas around. I know all the areas very well. You have just googled them ! 😂😂

Now that is good advice.

She did indeed, and if you look on the first page you will see I gave it to her. Then she said she didn't want advice on specific areas.

Like banging your head against a brick wall.

She had information on the areas she specified. When I gave it, she said she didn't mean that.

People rarely agree on whether an area is good or not. A personal opinion is not always helpful. The only real advice is not to move to where there is a lot of traffic, because there is noise and pollution - and asthma.

I suppose you are going to tell me that is wrong advice as well.

The internet gives an unbiased opinion usually. Those opinions are set out by the local authorities and estate agent sites like Zoopla.

In fact, looking at house prices and the photo descriptions of houses for sale in a given area tells you a lot about the locations you are thinking of moving to.

If you don’t understand this very normal question and haven’t got anything helpful to add, perhaps go and find another thread where you do have something relevant to say and leave OP alone. Your rambling isn’t helpful!!!

I like that area and looked into moving there. The lea valley farm is lovely and certainly used to do an annual pass. When I looked there were 3 requires improvement secondaries around cheshunt so definitely check catchments and move close to one of the better secondaries. Goff academy cheshunt has feeder primaries so you need to be both close to the secondary and in catchment for one of the feeder primaries.

The OP was looking for opinions from actual people instead of Google or AI, your replies are just odd

You might be surprised! There are definiely some nice places around for that much, depending on what your priorities are but the 500-600k ones do seem to go quickly.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/158684741
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/162131006
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/160966343