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Moving to Hatfield, Herts

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socrates
socrates Posts: 2,889 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
My friend is downsizing and moving to Hatfield - he is looking at property in Hatfield Garden Village area - he doesn't need a train station or schools - but having seen a property today he noticed an estate near by....

This is his last move and he is trying to get it right

Does anyone have any input who knows Hatfield - is this location OK - his budget is up to £500k and it must be 4 bedrooms

Thanks in anticipation ......
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  • leslieknope
    leslieknope Posts: 334 Forumite
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    i live fairly close to hatfield and aside from the galleria and uni there is nothing there. he'd do better off going elsewhere in herts. hatfield is overpriced too for being on the london commuter belt
    CCCC #33: £42/£240
    DFW: £4355/£4405
  • socrates
    socrates Posts: 2,889 Forumite
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    I must explain he drives into Central London 5 nights a week after rush hour and returns before the morning rush hour - so he needs to be able to get in and out easily

    Any suggestions?
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    leslieknope wrote: »
    hatfield is overpriced too for being on the london commuter belt

    And for having an insane rental market for students.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 46,960 Ambassador
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    socrates wrote: »
    I must explain he drives into Central London 5 nights a week after rush hour and returns before the morning rush hour - so he needs to be able to get in and out easily

    Any suggestions?

    Shenley? Not sure of current prices, but plenty of modern housing and no train station to push prices up; easy access to M25 and A1.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • leslieknope
    leslieknope Posts: 334 Forumite
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    hertford, welwyn garden city, potters bar, cuffley/goffs oak (bit pricey!), stevenage. all within driving distance of central london and slightly/much better than hatfield. honestly, i have to go over there for work sometimes. the town centre is a ghost town with only a big supermarket bringing in foot traffic and the galleria isn't that great. hatfield, unless you are a student, is not worth it.
    CCCC #33: £42/£240
    DFW: £4355/£4405
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    leslieknope wrote: »
    hatfield, unless you are a student, is not worth it.

    The Marquess of Salisbury might not agree with that :D

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield_House
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • pollyanna24
    pollyanna24 Posts: 4,370 Forumite
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    Watford?

    Varies in price from north Watford to south.

    I live in rural Watford, but all depends on what you want I guess.
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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    He's looking at moving to Hatfield, and is worried there's an estate nearby...

    Has he ever been to Hatfield?
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    He's looking at moving to Hatfield, and is worried there's an estate nearby..

    I guess, given the location, the 'estate' in question is the distribution depot estate with HGV traffic night and day trundling past the residential areas - a masterstroke of planning genius.

    And looking forward, does the local planning authority solve the problem by constructing a direct link road from the industrial area to junction 4 of the A1(M).... no, they zone all the greenfield land adjoining the industrial area - and near to the motorway - for future housing :doh:

    Of course the 'estate' in question might also mean the rather attractive one surrounding Hatfield house ;)
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • Cirias
    Cirias Posts: 68 Forumite
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    I've lived in and around the area most of my life and Hatfield is generally considered a ghost town and a bit of a dump by locals. Say Hatfield and most people will picture the Galleria or Tesco - there just isn't much going for it as a town.

    Stevenage used to be pretty poorly thought of, but it has actually come up over the last decade or so and it's had a lot of investment in the Leisure Park, Roaring Meg (new Debenhams going in there) and also some big biotech companies moving in. There are cycle paths practically covering the entire town and it has great transport links. Town centre is a bit of a dive, but there's really little reason to go there to be honest. Having lived near the town most of my life I will say I love it, and don't listen to those who slate it, it's not actually as bad as you would think.

    Welwyn Garden City is my other local town and it's quite a polar opposite of Stevenage. However, it's actually not a town on an upwards trend, it's remained pretty level across the years. The town centre is pleasant but there's not much in the way of good shops. You'll pay a premium to live there though.

    Letchworth Garden City I can vouch for. I lived there recently for around 4 years and I absolutely loved it. I'll travel back there regularly just to visit the bookshop, barbers and have a walk around. Very nice town centre, great community feel and the regular food festival is fantastic.

    Hitchin is also pretty nice. It's got a really nice historic town centre. The surroundings are a bit of a mixed bag, but it's a pleasant place.
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