Where in North London/ Home Counties could I afford on a budget of £300-£325k?

Section62

Poppie90 said:

Thank you for the reply, I'll be working in central London and partner is working in North Hertfordshire so ideally we are hoping for somewhere between these too. We are young so I would like it to be quite vibrant but I understand we don't have a huge budget so for me that would be a preference rather than a requirement 

If you are of an age where you might be having children before your next house move (or have children already) then think carefully before picking somewhere which involves a long commute into London.

All transport routes are prone to disruption and there is nothing worse than having to get back by 'X' o'clock to collect children from childcare and opening an app notification or arriving at the station to find that no trains will be running for the next two or three hours hours. Although some childcare providers will usually allow late pick-ups (for a fee) the added stress of needing to get back by a specific time is very wearing. (been there, done that)

Of the locations already suggested, I notice that Stevenage and Hertford both have an advantage with two relatively independent railway lines so there's a chance that if one is disrupted you might still be able to get home on the other. That could also possibly work if you can get a taxi to your home town from a station on a different line.

London is more vibrant, and has lots more public transport options. But the commute for your partner to north Hertfordshire (presumably by road) would be tough, and the southern part of the A1(M) is notorious for accidents and congestion. I recently read that a scheme to tackle the bottleneck between Stevenage and Welwyn has been kicked into the long grass by concerns over the safety of managed motorways, so is likely to result in ongoing pain.

ratechaser

...and a good job too, I was very glad to hear that the 'smart' motorway plans had been shelved given the apparent dangers they create. I'm actually quite surprised that they can't just add another lane for the few miles where the road is down to 2 lanes, but then while it's busy at rush hour, it's not quite on the same scale as the M25 or M1.

That said I'm not really an expert as I'm not a road commuter but there are alternatives in getting up to Stevenage in rush hour. 

Poppie90

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! We are early 20s so although would like to have children one day I imagine this first home won’t be the one we have a child in, hoping to live here for the next five years before thinking about a family home  

JGB1955

Croxley Green/Rickmansworth worked for us before we had out first child.  End of the Metropolitan Line but with the beautiful Chilterns on our doorstep.  If you're happy with mainline stations - Kings Langley?

Salemicus

There are very few 2-bed flats in Rickmansworth or Croxley Green for under £325k. If you want to be in that neck of the woods, I think it would have to be Chesham. But if your partner is commuting to North Hertfordshire, the Chilterns will be much less convenient than the Stevenage/Hertford/WGS/Enfield corridor.