Caddington

whitesatin

We are looking to move to an area near St Albans and/or Hemel Hempstead. We can't afford St Albans, that's for sure and have been considering Caddington or surrounding areas. Does anyone know the area in terms of how suitable it might be to a retiring (but not old yet) couple?

**Upsy_Daisy**

Not sure myself but I know the week leading up to Christmas was hell for many residents due to a burst water main flooding gas pipes

That said - the utilities infrastructure is probably now in tip top condition due to having had extensive repairs

Not sure about local facilities there shops and social etc but no doubt someone on here does

DVardysShadow

It would be workable, I suppose. Handy for Luton, a bit close to the airport, I would think. I would suggest you post more info her like your top 10 desirable features of a house and locality and your 5 worst show stoppers. This si so that people can assess how Caddington matches up, rather than just telling you about Caddington with no idea what you are looking for.

If you are retiring, I would have thought you would ahve wanted to move away from StAlbans Hemel Hempstead?

Graham1979

DVardysShadow wrote: »

If you are retiring, I would have thought you would ahve wanted to move away from StAlbans Hemel Hempstead?

I'd be inclined to agree, you pay such a premium for the ease of commute to London and the road links (M1/M25) in these areas. Moving a little further North somewhere up the A1 corridor (the nice parts of Stevenage, Sandy, etc) gets you so much more for your money.

lincroft1710

Caddington seems a pleasant village with quite a few bungalows and good range of other housing also 5 mobile home parks within 2/3m. Several shops. Not as expensive as Kensworth/Whipsnade/Studham but not cheap, although Beds is cheaper than Herts.

whitesatin

We need to live near Hemel/St Albans as I will be looking after my two grandchildren for a couple of days a week and don't want to have to stay over at either of their houses as I am having to do now. When I say retirement, I am still up for doing a bit of supply teaching a day or so a week, my husband is 51 and is obviously still quite active. He may or may not seek work in the future, depending upon how bored he becomes.

As far as what we require in a house is concerned, we are in a detached, old house now and would certainly prefer a detached when we move (that counts St Albans out!). We don't want to have a mortgage and, depending upon what we get for our current house, would be looking to pay around £320,000. We need parking, preferably a garage, a reasonable garden, three bedrooms, a kitchen/diner or a dining room, an average lounge. We don't want to have to do any structural work as we have been through all that. It would need to be within walking distance of a small range of (everyday) shops, maybe a nice pub/restaurant too.

I don't like driving on motorways so would prefer to avoid them.

DVardysShadow

Depends how much travel you want to do. For looking after the grandchildren, I would suggest that you could look at how frequently you do it and for how long and you might find that the ability to do it without an overnight stay is important, but being closer is something you can sacrifice. If there is a bias towards the Hemel Hempstead side, I could suggest Edlesborough.

whitesatin

Edlesborough, funnily enough, was one of the first places I looked at but not much comes up.

I will be looking after the babies (in Wheathampstead probably) for two consequetive days a week. I would prefer not to stay over, can leave quite early each morning, maybe around 7.30, possibly avoiding school traffic.

Of course, there is also the situations, such as now, when nursery and eventually, schools, close due to bad weather. I would love to be in a position to either have the children stay with me or for me to go to them as easily as possible.

Thanks for your suggestions.