Thinking of moving to Stevenage

[HappyOctober]

Only visited once but liked it. Are there any nice green spaces/ walks around?

Any recommendations of nice places/ things to do there or nearby would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You’ll get the usual responses to this that say it’s a complete shithole but that’s really not true. I have friends that live there and it’s like any average town tbh, got its share of problems but it’s not any worse than most others. Town centre is a bit dead these days. To compare it to nearby areas (if you know them), it’s better than Harlow but not as nice as Hertford.

Don’t. Towns like Hertford, Ware are much nicer. Harpenden is brilliant - lived there for 10yrs and still visit regularly. And yeah, lived in Stevenage and Hertford too.

Have a look at Welwyn Garden City OP. Its a similar new town with decent shops/road links and open spaces like Stanborough park/lakes

Stevenage is ok, but there are nicer towns around. WGC has a decent town centre and is generally nice. Hertford has a bit of character and kind of has a nice town but not the big chain shops. Ware is nice, although you'll need to go elsewhere for town stuff beyond cafes. Stevenage does have some nice parts and has the out of town stuff going for it as well as a nice theatre, but the town centre itself is very dead now with loads of empty units. Hertfordshire in general is lucky to have lots of green spaces.

Are schools important to you op? London connections? Other? If you say your priorities we could maybe help suggest places. Watton-at-Stone for example is a nice fairly big village 10-15mins from Stevenage in Ware/Hertford direction. But that might not do it for you if you are focussing on towns.

Thanks so much for these responses, I need to commute to Euston relatively easily, (5 days a week) which is partly why I was looking at Stevenage, but I hadn’t thought of WGC and I used to have friends there, who liked it, so will definitely look there and at the other suggestions too, thank you all.

I think Letchworth is even nicer than Hitchin, and both are much nicer than Stevenage.

Who on earth can afford to live in Harpenden?

If the OP had millions she wouldn't be considering Stevenage.

I can’t think why you liked it, tbh. It’s widely known a shit hole and completely deserving of its ‘worst place in Hertfordshire’ ranking. The town centre is depressingly awful, full of 1960s brutalist architecture, it’s socially deprived, loads of ugly housing estates, high rates of crime and antisocial behaviour.

It’s surrounded by much, much nicer places.

What about the old town?

The old town is fairly nice, but it’s a tiny pocket of ok in a sea of ghastly.

oh fgs - there are affordable houses in Harpenden, esp the Southdown area. Grow up

oh fgs - there are affordable houses and flats in Harpenden, esp the Southdown area. I’m no millionaire. And shock horror - it even has council houses!

Yes, I know someone who lives in a council house there, but the OP won't be able to get one.

What’s your budget? How many bedrooms do you need?

imo Stevenage is grim.

You think the price of houses in Harpenden is comparable with Stevenage? I just looked on Rightmove.

Cheapest 3-bed terraced house in Stevenage: £250k
Cheapest 4-bed detached in Stevenage: £450k

Cheapest 3-bed terraced house in Harpenden: £500k
Cheapest 4-bed detached in Harpenden: £675k

Part of the old town is lovely.

I lived there - for 10 yrs and yes - less house for your buck. But the area is much nicer. And yes - I lived in Stevenage too.

I also lived in Stevenage for many years. I have visited Harpenden a number of times for various reasons, and the two towns couldn't be more different.