Moving to Ware

[yummyscummymummy01]

Have been looking to move out of London to Hertfordshire and have been looking at various options. Ware has become a particular favourite. What's it like to live there? What are the schools like? Are there things going on? If you moved from London are you to glad you made that choice?

Hello. We moved to Ware 2 years ago, and were in north London previously. We enjoy living here. It's a pleasant, safe town. The town council organises loads of stuff like free holiday activities and concerts, and there's a lot going on in the surrounding areas too. Proto Bakery and French and Day delicatessen are great to have on the doorstep. We go into Hertford a lot too, which has the theatre and other things. Schools are generally good. I don't have personal experience of them yet, because my child is only 3, but people I've met seem to say they are all pretty good. I don't think you can go too far wrong really! My other half commutes into london on the train line and its pretty reliable. If you have specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks so much @Depressedbarbie Are there any areas to avoid? What have been the downsides of moving out of London?

I’ve lived in ware for 20 years this November having moved out of London when expecting dd1. I love it.
avoid King George’s Road area maybe but even that isn’t terrible tbh.
We also go out in hertford a lot. And we love the tow path walk between the two towns.

The train is still fairly slow to London, if you get on the one that stops literally everywhere. So you need to make sure you get on the right (less stops) one.

Schools are all great. Can’t think of a bad primary. Chauncy is rated outstanding for secondary as is Presdales (girls) and Richard Hale (boys) in Hertford. Simon Balle in Hertford has been amazing for sixth form for dd2.

I guess depends where you were in London. The need to run a car here, which we didn't in London. Greater range of shops on the doorstep in London I guess. Later tube travel and things. Nothing you wouldn't be able to predict. There's a great range of restaurants across Ware/Hertford.
Areas to avoid in Ware- generally, the area round king George road and tower road have been mentioned to me, but I don't have personal experience of them.

We moved to Ware from East London a few weeks ago, and it's early days, but we're enjoying it so far! Im originally from South London and my partner is from Manchester, but he recently got a job in Herts, so the whole area is new to us. Our first baby is due in October, and we wanted to be able to buy a house rather than a flat and liked the area when we'd visited before. We now live about a ten minute walk from the station, and it's easy enough to get back to London (particularly North or East London) on the train when you need/want to, although I think there are only two an hour, so I've had to time it right - so that could be a downside when you're used to trains/tubes every few mins? Also if you have friends or family to visit on the other side of London, it can end up being quite a long journey and probably quicker to drive round the m25. It also costs about 18 quid return to Liverpool Street with contactless, but i might not have worked out the cheapest way to do it yet! So far we've found that there is lots of nice countryside to explore and the town centre seems to have most things - library, post office, a few nice independent shops and restaurants. We also found we were able to register with the doctor and get appointments really easily here, which wasn't always the case where we used to live.There's also the lido which is an added bonus and there seems to have been a few events and things going on in town since we've got here. Lots for kids I think. Welwyn Garden City is nearby and has a John Lewis and wider range of high street shops. Hertford is really close and has lots of pubs, restaurants and a cinema too. We have found that we've used the car a lot more - which I suppose is to be expected outside of London (and i'd probably do a bit more walking if wasnt heavily pregnant!) I don't know much about the schools yet as won't need to be thinking about that for a while, although a friend who lives in Hertford tells me that they've all got pretty good reputations. So far, we're enjoying it although it's obviously very different to living in London!

Thanks so much for all the replies, I'm yet to hear a bad thing really except the trains being a bit slow. I think the worst thing I've heard is that it's full of North Londoners 😉