Stevenage and Harlow - opinions?

LFH

Dear all,
I'm still looking in the London commuter area, and thinking of trying Stevenage or Harlow. Does anybody have any opinions on these towns?

From looking, it's very hard to tell which areas are nicer and which are rougher when everything is new build housing that hasn't had the time to get run down.

From my visit, it seems that Harlow has rougher areas than Stevenage does - and I do like the city wide cycle network in Stevenage.

Thanks for any help,
LFH

Annoyed.com

Well my parents lived in Harlow and I used to live near Stevenage, it was my local shopping town. I'm going back about 7 years though.
My parents never had any trouble living in Harlow, town was okay for their needs and I'm sure there were areas that were getting makeovers.
Can't really comment on living in Stevenage, but again the town seemed okay, but I do remember it being quite built up and grey looking, but that could be because at the time we were living out in the middle of nowhere, so coming into civilisation was always a bit of a shock.
Check the local newspaper websites, maybe book a travel lodge for the weekend and try and get a feel.

PasturesNew

Best cheap/simplest way to tell what an area's like is to buy a return ticket to town on the local bus ... see who gets on/off and it'll take you round all sorts of roads ... I've been in some very unsavoury areas on buses in the past.

Then think "do I want these people as my neighbours?" If the answer's "yes" then it's right for you.

skint_chick

Old Harlow is nicer than the rest of Harlow and has its own train station. Do you drive or are you relying on public transport? Because the buses are expensive and Stevenage is huge - you'll be glad of the cycle network with THAT many roundabouts! Stevenage old town is pretty central and a few people I know have lived there with no issues. Have you thought about Hertford or is it out of your budget? Or somewhere a little further than Harlow/Stevenage?