Nice Areas Around London

Glowboy

Entertainer, I was also going to suggest Kent, although it looks as though it's the wrong side of London for the OP. I live in North Kent (Medway to be precise) which is definitely one of the worse parts, but at only 40-50 minutes by train from the City it represents good value for money and will probably get better over the next 10 years. The grammar schools here are particularly good and there are also some excellent primaries. Compared to other areas a similar distance from London, I reckon property is cheap. I don't know other parts of Kent so well but would love to live in the western Weald, if only I could afford it.

BTW, I used to know someone from the Bishop's Stortford area and she reckoned it was a reasonable place to grow up - although admittedly she lived in a nearby village not the town itself. A quick check on https://www.rightmove.co.uk suggests a 2-bed for under £700 a month might well be achievable there.

Philip624

Quote - My hubby visited a place called Bishop's Stortford in Herfordshire and said he thought the people there were quite nice. Any thoughts on this town?

The only thing to be wary of in Bishops Stortford if that sort of thing bothers you is aircraft going to and from Stansted can be very noisy and low.

A good tip is to check out a local website and in particular the discussion forum. wareonline and hertfordonline are mines of information and the locals there on the discussion forums will be only too willing to advise you.

Dummie_2

Whilst aware I'm running the risk of sounding totally Dum and living up to my user name........I really need to ask. What's the difference from a Grammar school and a 'normal' school?

ReportInvestor

Grammar schools select their pupils at 11+. So there is automatic streaming.

Teachers who choose, and are chosen by, Grammar Schools may well be more "academic".

You might like this or not.

whambamboo

ReportInvestor wrote:

Grammar schools select their pupils at 11+.

which tends to keep out those who don't want to learn and disrupt others.

Maisie

SmartGirl wrote:

Most of Hertfordshire is nice, but I would avoid Stevenage/ Welvyn Garden City/ Cheshunt though. It really depends on what you like - whether you would like to live in a small village or a town and whether good schools are within the catchment area. And most important, how big is your budget?

Essex has good schools and it is much cheaper than Herts/ Bucks, but I do not know it well, so I can't comment on whether it is niceor not.
You can check out school league tables in http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/05/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/919_alevel_lea.stm.

What's wrong with Welwyn garden City? I live there. It's a very pleasant town. Tree lined streets/ nice houses/ good schools.
The comprehensive schools have 'special science status/ sports status/ and other. All produce good exam results. There are several private schools here too.
The 'West side' is the more expensive side for housing. Very expensive in fact. A small 3 bed house 'west side' sells for around £200K. We overlook open parkland/ beautiful trees,. Nice walks around and we saw muntjac deer on the green outside our house early the other morning.

Town centre is pretty with a fountain and gardens well maintained. Small restaurants and pubs and a couple of nightclubs nearby.

Nice villages of Welwyn/Datchworth/ Burnham Green / Digswell and Tewin etc adjoin WGCity.. Housing expensive though.

Hatfield House and Knebworth are nearby.

Also have easy access (5 mins) to AI motorway and our mainline trains get you into Kings Cross in half an hour.

Hertfordshire is called the 'hidden gem' and I think it is.

(small 3 bed houses for rent are about £850 monthly.)

Dummie_2

ReportInvestor wrote:

Grammar schools select their pupils at 11+. So there is automatic streaming.

:think: doesn't 'normal' schools choose their pupils at 11+ as well? That's the age for moving up from primary to secondary isn't it?

LOL I can imagine quite a few people doing :wall:

SmartGirl_2

Maisie wrote:

What's wrong with Welwyn garden City? I live there. It's a very pleasant town. Tree lined streets/ nice houses/ good schools.
The comprehensive schools have 'special science status/ sports status/ and other. All produce good exam results. There are several private schools here too.
The 'West side' is the more expensive side for housing. Very expensive in fact. A small 3 bed house 'west side' sells for around £200K. We overlook open parkland/ beautiful trees,. Nice walks around and we saw muntjac deer on the green outside our house early the other morning.

Town centre is pretty with a fountain and gardens well maintained. Small restaurants and pubs and a couple of nightclubs nearby.

The expensive side of Welwyn Garden City is nice, but I found the rest of it very monotonous, i.e. most houses looking the same and some parts of the town are industrial. The walks around are very nice though, especially Stanborough Park.

I have listed some nice areas in Herts below, you mind want to check them out. Some of them are quite expensive though, for example St Albans.

Bishops Stortford
Broxbourne
Bushey
Harpenden
Hertford
Radlett
Shenley
St Albans
Tring

You should be able to find a house to rent for approx £800 a month.

lil'H

I live in Surrey (Epsom area), prices ridiculous, but 30 mins train to Waterloo/Victoria, and schools are good. Also you are near to capital but still in a really nice area for children to be able to have lots of access to parks, adn countryside areas. Some areas in Surrey are priced lower than other, but all depends on what your budget is really.

5 mins form M25 easy access to Gatwick/Heathrow, try looking on findaproperty at Espsom, Leatherhead, Bookham, Redhill and Reigate, to see pricing differences, oh also Dorking.

Lil'H

Bewhoyouwanttobe

CCStar wrote:

Stevenage is cheaper than other places in Herts.

I live in Stevenage, it's ok, depends what you are looking for really, has some lovely schools and if you are comparing to London prices you could probably afford to live in the nicest area, with the nicest houses and best schools. I would also recommend - Hitchin, Letchworth and villages, Knebworth, Bennington, Weston, Graveley, Cromer, St Ippolyts and Todds Green. It's a direct train route to London and my DH travels by car into North London for work and it takes him about 35 minutes, he doesn't travel rush hour though. The nice thing about Hertfordshire is that you are never too far from the city, but you have lovely countryside too.

I really like North London too and they are on tube routes. Also Crews Hill, Sawbridgworth, Hertford are also all lovely areas. Same with everywhere you get bad areas and good

Good luck with your decision.