If you have family living in north London where would you buy a country house?

[Dilemoth]

We live in London and have been entertaining the idea of moving and buying a country house but can’t decide where. We have looked around just a bit and found a nice house in the Surrey area but feel it would be too far from family.
Any ideas for rural areas not too far from North London (30min-1hr drive)?

For context we have two young children and family is in the Finchley area.

Most people moving out of north London go to Hertfordshire

Thank you, we looked a bit in Buckinghamshire but didn’t see anything we liked so will check Hertfordshire out.

Radlet, Aldenham, St Albans, Chiswell Green, Bushey...

stay in your hole

Bushey isn't rural.
Brookmans Park, Cuffley, St Albans, Welham Green, Hatfield, Stevenage etc.

🤣🤣🤣
Buckinghamshire is lovely

Depends on your budget

Hertfordshire is a traditional place for the North Londoners

Laughing at brookmans park being rural 🤣
sorry
but yes there are rural bits of herts

How is St Albans rural. Do you actually mean rural as people here are not getting the definition.

East herts-west Essex-any if the villages around bishops stortford. The Hadhams and The Pelhams are lovely.

Or Standon-beautiful village just North of Ware. Great schools, and it's own lovely festival.

Essendon is handy for North London.
Hertingfordbury also nice. (Both of those near to Hertford)

Herts/Essex borders.
You get more for your
Money on the east side of M11

We were in the same position and entertained st Albans and st neots but neither are rural so we took a risk and went for south Yorkshire. Its 2 hours on the train so was easily commutable which was what we needed, more of a pain by car but we looked for places with easy access to the M1 or A1 and that works well but of course longer than the train (we live just off the A1 in London). Much more land for you £ and good community.

Those aren’t rural either.

You’d need to go further north.

The best bits have been dug up to accommodate HS2 😢

The OP stated their idea of "rural" which isn't what most people would expect Any ideas for rural areas not too far from North London (30min-1hr drive)? Hence some if the replies

Exactly-to North Londoners ( I am one) Hertfordshire is rural, though obviously some parts are more rural than others.

Check out wormley west end, brickendon, little berkhamsted, bayford and surrounding areas. Feels rural but so quick and easy to get into both north and central london.

Nowhere less than an hour from London is rural nor country. It’s all suburbs and anyone who thinks it is, is playing having the ‘country life’.

Much Hadham just outside of Ware. Beautiful countryside.

Depends on your budget. Harpenden, St Albans, Radlett is pretty pricey.

If you hop:across the border into Bedfordshire, it’s a lot cheaper, and still a lot of rural areas.

when you say ‘country house’, do you mean a house in the country, or a stately home-type country road?