Commuter Towns for London - Bedfordshire

Oliviab21

Hi, 
Currently myself and OH live in East London and are looking at buying a flat or house in a commuter town around London. 
We were initially looking at Hertfordshire but have been looking at Bedfordshire area as seems you get more for your money. 

Budget is around £325k max. Ideally looking for a 2-3 bed house. 

Have looked recently at houses in Bedford (Castle road area as read this is nice area)
Leighton Buzzard (Linslade side of town near station?)

We want somewhere in walking distance to a main station, safe area, would like a few independents around (pubs, shops, cafes) and nice walking spots. Not too fussy about having a super nice town center as I know this can be hit and miss in many commuter towns. 

We haven't visited any of these places yet but have been to St Alban's and really liked the town - it it just too much out of budget.

Would appreciate any advice  

Fionaanne141

Hitchin is lovely but expensive to be in walking distance. Letchworth is a little cheaper. If you could be further away from the station then Shefford is a lovely small town just north of Hitchin. Arlesey isn’t my kind of place as no high street really but you’ll get lots for your money in walking distance of a station 

FiveMoreYears

I have a mate who lives near Milton Keynes, and he raves about Leighton Buzzard. I've very much liked what I've seen of the place: a couple of excellent independent record shops, good real ale at the Black Lion pub, a small micro-brewery, and a well-regarded non-league football team. From a commuter point-of-view, it has decent train links with London and Milton Keynes. I've always liked Bedford too - a underrated town, I reckon.

A place you might not have thought of is Bletchley (admittedly in Bucks, on the edge of MK). The town centre shopping area is a bit grim (Bedford is much nicer), but it's cheap by MK standards, and within the next two or three years the town will be on the rebuilt Varsity rail line, putting it on a crossroads of railways between London, MK, Oxford, Bedford and eventually on to Cambridge. And you'd still only be six minutes by train from the nice shops and pubs in Leighton Buzzard.

Milton Keynes itself (again just in Bucks) is much nicer than many people believe - everyone I know who lives there obsessively loves the place. However, it's still an acquired taste in some aspects - local pubs are rare, shops are dominated by chains, and you're unlikely to be living within walking distance of the station. The suburb of Wolverton has more in the way of traditional Victorian terraces, plus a station, while Stony Stratford (on the A5) has a bit more independence about it.

SMcGill

Castle Road in Bedford is a nice area, as is Poets area although the houses tend to be larger there. Look into Flitwick, it’s on the main Thameslink train route and very near to Ampthill which is a lovely market town but pricey. 

Getting_greyer

L.Buzzard is good shout.  Used to visit there to see me wife few years back.  And probably ticks all the things you mentioned.  I do like Bedford, better high Street than Luton.  But Luton is probably the best for commuting. Depending how far your walking distance is you could look round Leagrave Station, just not too close.

FTB_crossed

Bedfordshire county has Luton at the top of the list for commuting purposes. It has direct link to London St. Pancras with fast train taking only 21 minutes. The house prices are high considering the rest of Bedfordshire but you get value for money in contrast to St.Albans or London. Leighton Buzzard is further away with no direct train links to London. I think with £325 budget, you can easily get a decent 3 bed house close to town and big advantage is Luton Airport which is on the door step. Area wise I'd suggest you look at Wigmore, Bushmead, Round Green and Stopsley. LU2, LU3 areas. Try and avoid LU1, LU5 & LU4.
 

tommyp

FTB_crossed said:

Bedfordshire county has Luton at the top of the list for commuting purposes. It has direct link to London St. Pancras with fast train taking only 21 minutes. The house prices are high considering the rest of Bedfordshire but you get value for money in contrast to St.Albans or London. Leighton Buzzard is further away with no direct train links to London. I think with £325 budget, you can easily get a decent 3 bed house close to town and big advantage is Luton Airport which is on the door step. Area wise I'd suggest you look at Wigmore, Bushmead, Round Green and Stopsley. LU2, LU3 areas. Try and avoid LU1, LU5 & LU4.
 

Wrong. LB has a 29 min direct train into Euston.

allIcouldwishfor

We moved to Hitchin from St Albans 18 years ago and are currently preparing to move to Biggleswade. We looked at Bedford and there are lots of nice houses in that price range. 

What about Stevenage? 

jimbog

I know the Castle Road area of Bedford very well having lived there once. Next to Russell Park, the river and great walks around Priory Country Park a 10 minutes walk away. Town centre is 15 min walk and train station is 30 min walk. Properties are sought after. This is typical:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88249924#/

silvercar

Look at the train prices, any saving on your mortgage payments could be wiped out by your extra travelling costs.

Oliviab21

jimbog said:

I know the Castle Road area of Bedford very well having lived there once. Next to Russell Park, the river and great walks around Priory Country Park a 10 minutes walk away. Town centre is 15 min walk and train station is 30 min walk. Properties are sought after. This is typical:

We rang about one in this area yesterday and it already had bookings sorted for rest of week and is likely to be snapped up straight away. So can tell it is very sought after!
I've read a few negatives online about the town center not being very nice and it being full of crime.. I take it all with a pinch of salt but trying to get a clear picture. Thanks!