Move to Beds but commute to South Herts??

[Rosie5060]

Hey fellow parents,

We are interested in moving to a Bedford village like Toddington (or surrounding). The schools and bigger house for money are the main attractions. but the big fall will be my husbands commute.

We live close to Watford and my husbands work is mainly based here in the Herts/North London border. He is a tradesman so this is where he has built up his clients.

Does anyone know what the commute is like? And any thoughts or advice on moving from Herts to Beds?

Hi. ....I moved up to beds from Watford 10 years ago. I regularly go back to watford (well pre covid ) and it's easy enough to jump on the M1 (Flitwick j12) back down. especially from Toddington, However the traffic is always heavy and if there's been an incident you are stuffed it's not a journey I enjoy very much. also I only go as far as Garston. ..It takes just as long from there to get into the town centre as it does to get from Toddington to watford.

at the moment central beds is a three tier school system. .but this is going to change in the very near future. .so this upheaval may impact on kids depending on how old they are. I think there are better secondary schools in Watford. .parmiters, the grammar schools.

There are some nice villages around. ...and yes you get more for your money. .It feels like they are doing a lot of building around here.
didn't really move out of choice. .and I would prefer to go back but house prices have gone up way more than here so we are now priced out unless we want a very very tiny house (of flat).

The commute really doesn’t sound appealing...I’m worried my husband will end up spending time, petrol and stress every day getting to and from work that the shine of the big house will wear off.

My son will start reception this September and I looked up 2 ofsted rated outstanding schools nearby which was impressive. The 3 tier system will likely be gone by the time he is of that age.

I have always loved living in Herts but property is much more expensive, but do we put more money in the pot to stay in Herts and save our sanity on the commuting?

The drive from Toddington southbound may not be a lot of fun at peak times, but if he's a tradesman I'm guessing he won't be doing the exact same journey each day and might have flexibility in timing (it's usually better if you hit it before 7.30am or after 9am)? Might he also shift his client base over time to be nearer your new location?

In terms of incidents on the M1, if you check before setting out there are other routes to bypass it.

The 3 tier schools you would be looking at for Toddington have recently formed a multi academy trust. They've fought quite hard to protect the 3 tier system for those schools, because they're really good schools, which is my understanding of why they've converted to academies to be able to preserve it.

Why Toddington? And is there anything else you'd like to know about living here?

We were going to buy in Shefford, but decided not to. Dh works south St Albans and I work North Herts. Too far and too much traffic.
The M1 is a nightmare in ‘normal’ times. I can see the attraction of Mid Beds as you get more for your money and they have a different schooling system with middle schools.
Depends if your dh wouldn’t mind the commute.
I have friends in Ampthill, Wixams and Marston Mortaine, they’re always looking for tradesmen.

Tbh if he is a good tradesman there is no shortage of work. Leighton Buzzard, Milton Keynes have plenty of people looking for them. Plus you have all the new build work as well
We relocated from the area to East Sussex but it's a good place to live. I'd probably just have an eye on future developments.

Yeah I’m sure he would eventually pick up more local work, but for a while he will definitely have to do the commute. I have no doubt he would do well anywhere we moved once he had the contacts.

Toddington was a suggestion from my husband, I don’t know Bedford too well but the schools in Toddington do look good. I am up for a fresh start and would like to secure our ‘forever home’ before my son starts reception. We would definitely get the full package house we want moving over. But I will still love Herts!

I'm completely biased but I am a fan of Toddington. Although without knowing what you want from a location beyond commute and schools there might be other places that suit you better.

Things that may matter to you in choosing a forever home location...

It's big enough that there's community if you want it but can opt out if it's too much for you. There are a core of people who organise community events and traditions, but they're usually pretty keen to embrace anyone who wants to get involved too. People pulled together really quickly when the pandemic started to organise a network to provide support to people who were isolating or struggling.

The GP surgery is decent. Purpose built. Currently a vaccine centre. L&D hospital is all of 10-15 minutes down the road.

There are more groups offering activities than I can keep track of in the free newsletter that gets delivered. The churches are responsible for some of them (and organising the newsletter - which sells advertising space for businesses) but not everything. Scouts, Guides, rambling, dance, brass band, football club, amateur dramatics (they have their own theatre)... I think there may be a group called ladies who lunch... Can't remember what else, this is probably a very poor sample!

Easy access to transport links but when you're away from the main roads it's peaceful. Never that far away from a footpath across the countryside. A pond. A few parks and children's playgrounds (one with outdoor exercise equipment for adults). Village hall was purpose built late 90s (I think) and is decent sized. Short drive to Dunstable Downs (and Whipsnade zoo) which can be brilliant for kite flying... various other National Trust places nearby. Also Woburn Abbey / deer park / safari park.

About 25 min drive to MK if you want city stuff. Or 10 mins to Dunstable/Luton. Train station in Harlington is Bedford-Brighton line and takes you to St Pancras in 45 mins.

It's under Central Beds council - my experiences of them are all positive. We get 3 wheelie bins (waste, recycling, garden) plus a glass box plus a food waste bin. Collections alternate on a 2 week rota. The nearest tidy tip was recently ish built and is really good. (I know bin collections are important to people!)

Garden centre with a restaurant just on the other side of motorway bridge (technically still Toddington apparently). Hopefully it will survive the pandemic. Hopefully all these things will.

In non-pandemic times, we have a summer fete, the band perform concerts (including a "teas on the green" one in summer), there is a well attended remembrance parade and service on the green, Christmas light switching on event, carols, Christmas tree festival, ad hoc events to celebrate special events or anniversaries, coffee mornings, TADS (Todd am dram society) do performances throughout the year and a Christmas panto...

We don't have a supermarket, but we do have some shops, bakery, takeaways, pubs, a library, a petrol station and a fire station.

Anyway, I hope your family has a happy life wherever you end up.

I realise you weren't actually asking for my sales pitch I just got a bit excited someone here is asking about where I live

I grew up in Toddington.

Parkfields is a good school and Harlington upper is too. The pubs in the village are great though there are some slightly rough elements in some.

There isn't much for teens to do and that, I think, is my over- riding memory of the place. You will spend you children's teen years driving them around a lot as they'll make friends in villages such as Barton le Clay, Greenfield and Silsoe due to the school catchment area.

The other thing to be aware of is a lot of teens congregate in the park and round the green in the evenings and can be noisy so you're best off not buying too close to those areas.

It's a pretty village though and a nice community.

Bedsnc I can’t thank you enough for that information...you’ve painted a really good picture of Toddington life. It’s hard to get a real grasp of what a place is like at the moment with the pandemic.

It sounds ideal place to raise a family but I can understand the teen situation, really unless you’re in a city or big town I think that’s how it is for most teens. I’m not keen on what the teens get up to round here either but we’ve all been that age just wanting to hang out with friends. I get the feeling that Beds is a bit quieter and low key compared to Herts on a whole.

Are they an open village with new comers?

Deciding factor is still husbands commute will feed back to him and see how it sits.

If you like the feel of Toddington, but worry its a bit small have a look at Ampthill. Lovely market town with Waitrose, good schools, lovely park. Not much further out and a bit more happening. Teens can get the bus into MK.

Not sure how fairly I can answer the question of being a newcomer here as it's been so long.

I would say I think it's small enough that you can get to know familiar faces who've been here a long time or are very involved in the community (and become one of those faces if you want), but big enough that if you newly cross paths with someone you don't necessarily assume they're an "outsider".

I am fairly sure that the known faces are a mixture of people whose families have been here generations and people who moved here when they started a family. It's not unusual for people to move here for commuting potential (that's how I ended up here) so I don't think it's considered a big deal if you didn't grow up here.

I guess there probably are some people who think in a more insular way, but there are enough other people for it not to be an issue in my experience.

When I've tried out groups in the village when nobody there had met me before I've had an enthusiastic welcome. They genuinely seemed excited that a new face had joined them. I get the impression that people want to share the things they love about the community with others so that they continue on for another generation.

Actually I think my first post painted too bad a picture tainted by my own personal experience.
I know lots of people who have moved from watford to beds for same reasons as you...watford is so expensive. I live in a little village and most of the mums I met when DD was at lower school where not locals! DD is now at middle school and we are getting to the stage of ferrying her to different villages as she made friends from different places. .pre covid obviously. great place to bring up a little one..but very boring for teen.

local fb page is always asking for tradesman recommendations. .so like a previous poster said.I actually think the commute is a red herring long term.

PP mentioned ampthill which is a really nice place , but I don't know Toddington very well.

I used to do the commute the opposite way travelling up to toddington and the M1 travelling southbound was usually very congested hardly moving etc

Other places I'd consider in Beds -

Harlington due to the train line which I know won't work for your husbands commute but it opens up the world a bit for you and your children as they get older. It's pretty, though very small. Beautiful views from some of the houses and the kids will be able to walk to their secondary school and sixth form college.

Ampthill - bit bigger. More going on and great schools plus the huge park in your doorstep but it's very expensive.

The castle area of Bedford - right on the river, walk to town, cinemas, swimming etc, good schools. Lots going on. (We have friends there).

Flitwick - looking up a bit I think. Big, on the train line. Much cheaper than Ampthill and very close. Also in catchment for good schools.

Biddenham- might have spelt that wrong! Very pretty, not much going on but walkable to Bedford train station and town centre.