Topic ID 3654
I understand this forum is mostly for people already living in Hertford !, however, my wife and I, with our 2 yr old son will soon be moving to Hertford, as a result of job re-location etc. ( My wife will work in Hatfield ). We feel Hertford is such a lovely town, and favour it greatly in comparison to other nearby locations. I would really appreciate it if anyone can help us with information of benefit regarding the better nursery/primary schools, any areas where you feel we should maybe avoid etc... We are a very sociable family and look forward to meeting some of you in the coming years ! We like Bengeo a lot, and I am curious about the south of Hertford along Horns Mill road, We will probably be buying a house for about 300k - 330k. prefer west side of town. Please feel free to answer privately if you do not want to be seen as talking bad of any particular streets etc ! sorry to be so forward, but such advice will be invaluable. regards.. Pete
Reply ID 53316
Hi Pete You are right, Hertford is a lovely town. I am in the West side of town and am in no hurry to move (apart from wanting a bigger house). My children have used Hollybush Under 5's Pre School and then Hollybush Primary and have all been happy and done well there. However, I don't believe there are any bad schools in Hertford. I don't know Horns Mill at all, so can't help there. HTH
Reply ID 53317
Hi PetePete There's an item in the archive that you might want to take a look at... http://www.hertford.net/yoursay/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=1468
Reply ID 53318
thank you for your replies so far, please keep it coming, and thanks for the pointer to older discussions. regards Pete
Reply ID 53319
You'll pay a premium for anything in easy striking distance of the town centre and stations these days, with previously cheaper, formally privately rented areas (such as East Side near the railway and Folly Island) having caught up completely. North Station is a better line than East. Ex-authority estates are;- Sele Farm, Horns Mill and Pinehurst and consequently cheaper to buy. Foxholes is also cheaper because of it's distance from any facilities and reputed cheap build on landfill. Within Hertford itself, all schools are in walking distance and there is no such thing as a bad Hertford school. Wherever you choose, you'll be in the catchment area for every school, so don't be swayed by the "favoured sg13 postcode" thing that the agents do. There is no such advantage or preference. Taken as a whole, you are right, Hertford is considered to be more desirable than it's immediate neigbouring towns. Be guided by price. If you seem to be offered a lot for very little, when compared to other areas in the town, there will be a reason.
Reply ID 53320
quote:Oh yes - I remember that one. I haven't changed my views either! [;)]
Originally posted by Steve
Hi PetePete There's an item in the archive that you might want to take a look at... http://www.hertford.net/yoursay/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=1468
Reply ID 53348
Thanks again. The link from a couple of years back seems to cover a lot of relevant ground. I also enjoyed very much Shunt's description of Hertford Nightlife from aug 2006 ! Definitely Bengeo tops my list, but anything could happen between now and the end of the year in the housing market... hmmm. I will keep my options open, and try to learn as much as possible about Hertford in the meantime, to enable swift decisions to be made later. I understand how different people living in the same street can have very different views about their neighbours/surroundings. I very much look forward to a more peaceful life, hopefully in Hertford, a house with a garden, some nice cafe's and restaurants, friendly neighbours etc. Many people on this forum have made me even more certain that Hertford is the right destination for my family. So thankyou for that. Maybe now I can move on a bit from where to live in Hertford, and instead enquire as to how long it may take to travel by car from the upper part of Bengeo to a) Hatfield, perhaps leaving home at 8am, perhaps stopping off at a nursery b) Central london ! where I often work.. leaving before 7am. thanks again Pete (Hopefully this is not too off-topic to remain under 'housing')
Reply ID 53349
quote:Where in Central London do you work? It may make a difference.
Originally posted by PetePete
Thanks again. The link from a couple of years back seems to cover a lot of relevant ground. I also enjoyed very much Shunt's description of Hertford Nightlife from aug 2006 ! Definitely Bengeo tops my list, but anything could happen between now and the end of the year in the housing market... hmmm. I will keep my options open, and try to learn as much as possible about Hertford in the meantime, to enable swift decisions to be made later. I understand how different people living in the same street can have very different views about their neighbours/surroundings. I very much look forward to a more peaceful life, hopefully in Hertford, a house with a garden, some nice cafe's and restaurants, friendly neighbours etc. Many people on this forum have made me even more certain that Hertford is the right destination for my family. So thankyou for that. Maybe now I can move on a bit from where to live in Hertford, and instead enquire as to how long it may take to travel by car from the upper part of Bengeo to a) Hatfield, perhaps leaving home at 8am, perhaps stopping off at a nursery b) Central london ! where I often work.. leaving before 7am. thanks again Pete (Hopefully this is not too off-topic to remain under 'housing')
Reply ID 53368
As you have a 2 year old, you may want to consider moving near to a school that offers "wrap around care" i.e the option of childcare in segments between 7.45am and 6pm. It's very handy when you start getting your 2 hours free nursery care at 3 years old as you can opt for your child to stay for lunch, stay for part or all of the afternoon etc. and it's generally quite flexible. You also get the option of care during the school holidays. Mill Mead offers this, as does Morgans School. Not sure about any others. Also check out the waiting list of your chosen school - you might have to live very close to a school to be guaranteed a place. Again, at Mill Mead this has become quite an issue recently. So many children now live on Mill Mead way behind the school, there are families not far away on New Road and North Road that have been unable to get a Reception place.
Reply ID 53370
shunt's post here has it spot on. Hertford is a great place. Bengeo is favoured by many and nowhere is more than thirty minutes walk. There are buses that go from one side of town to the other if you don't want to walk.
Reply ID 53374
quote:my work takes me to many different areas, it's always changing, but typically the financial district/city, also Hampstead, Chelsea, Mayfair, even the company HQ in Surrey !
Where in Central London do you work? It may make a difference.
Reply ID 53376
Thank you Nora. I had temporarily (conveniently) put the issue of nursery/school placement, booking a place etc, to the back of my mind.. I need to make some enquiries along these lines, probably very soon ! I already have a list of nurseries and primary schools in the area, I think I should contact each of the likely ones, and get as much info as possible.
Reply ID 54236
Hi Pete We moved to Hertford nearly 3 years ago and had the same questions as you. I dont regret the move one bit. Nursery/school: We had a 6 month old at the time and now have a 1 year old as well. The youngest went to Busy Bees and I can't speak highly enough of them. Superb nursery with lovely staff and children! Mill Mead - I can't see what all the fuss is about. My daughter went there after Busy Bees and none of us really liked it (including her). It seems great if you know people already there (siblings or other mums) but for a newbie you felt pretty isolated and the other kids weren't that friendly (just my opinion!!). She's now off to Bengeo for nursery so hopefully things will be better there. Housing: We moved to the west side of town near Hertford North station and find commuting to London fine. It definitely seems better than Hertford East. Bengeo seems a nice location too but the hill has always put me off for cycling or walking back from town. One thing, if you end up living on the edge of town you sometimes wonder why you live in a town at all. To get anywhere you always end up using your car or bicycle and you might as well live in a village with a real community (people seem to keep themselves to themselves in Hertford - just my opinion!!) and still drive/cycle everywhere. Travel: I work in Hatfield and can get from door to desk in 15 minutes. Depends where you are based and where the nursery is for your journey. Hope this helps. Cheers
Reply ID 54241
quote:I think this is an unfair generalisation. Whilst it may be true of the street/area where gregb has moved to, it is not necessarily the same everywhere in Hertford. In know some streets where everyone is familiar with their neighbours and others where they are not.
Originally posted by gregb
people seem to keep themselves to themselves in Hertford
Reply ID 54242
quote:I agree with Steve. It took us a couple of years to really get to know the neighbours but now I wouldn't move simply because of them. We have a great community feeling to our road.
Originally posted by Stevequote:I think this is an unfair generalisation. Whilst it may be true of the street/area where greb has moved to, it is not necessarily the same everywhere in Hertford. In know some streets where everyone is familiar with their neighbours and others where they are not.
Originally posted by gregb
people seem to keep themselves to themselves in Hertford
Reply ID 54244
yup, very unfair, I know both of my neighbours very well! And indeed when we moved in we were welcomed and given a bottle of wine on the very same day! Very friendly!
Reply ID 54381
Forums are for expressing opinions....and that's mine. Sorry if people disagree - if we all agreed what a boring world it would be. I must admit, I don't live in a traditional road with two rows of houses opposit each other - maybe the layout of the houses where I live makes community engagement diffcult. Some neighbours you don't see for weeks on end. Wasn't like this when I lived in a traditional road layout.
Reply ID 54384
You said that "people seem to keep themselves to themselves in Hertford". I was pointing out that this is not my experience and others have echoed that. Are you talking about people in Hertford generally or just in the street where you live?
Reply ID 54420
If you work in Hatfield it's better to live on the west side as Gascoyne way can double your journey times in the rush hours.
Reply ID 54437
quote:I agree. Two days after moving here we were invited to a barbecue to meet the rest of the families who live here.
Originally posted by Steve
You said that "people seem to keep themselves to themselves in Hertford". I was pointing out that this is not my experience and others have echoed that. Are you talking about people in Hertford generally or just in the street where you live?
Reply ID 54448
I've been meeting with my immediate neighbours more often in Wetherspoons than in the courtyard! All seem friendly who I've spoken with, with the odd exception who refuse to make eye contact. It's probably the same wherever you go. Some people are friendly and others aren't. Just like internet forums. More people around here know my cats' names than mine though; that's probably because my cats talk even more than I do.
Reply ID 54478
quote:Hi Pete We chose Bengeo because it offered good schools for our son (he was just 3 months old when we moved in). It is also on the edge of beautiful countryside (half hour walk across the corn fields to the Woodman at Chapmore End). It takes no more than 10 mins to walk into town to shop in the market and there's a good little Co-Op in Bengeo itself. When we moved into this house we thought we'd probably live here for about 5 years. That was 18 years ago! Our son and later our daughter both enjoyed a happy and productive education at Bengeo nursery, then Bengeo Primary and later moved up to Simon Balle secondary school. All of which they walked to. I used to commute to London regularly (thankfully no longer!) but still have ready access into the City or West End for occasional meetings from a choice of 2 Hertford mainline stations. Like most places these days Hertford has its challenges (battles with expanding supermarket chains, traffic congestion, alcohol fueled anti-social behaviour etc). However, from toddler to teenager Hertford has served our family very well. In particular, Bengeo is predominantly, friendly, peaceful and convenient - so I have no hesitation in recommending it to you as a place to make your home. Good luck with your search and I hope you enjoy living here as much as we have.
Originally posted by PetePete
I understand this forum is mostly for people already living in Hertford !, however, my wife and I, with our 2 yr old son will soon be moving to Hertford, as a result of job re-location etc. ( My wife will work in Hatfield ). We feel Hertford is such a lovely town, and favour it greatly in comparison to other nearby locations. I would really appreciate it if anyone can help us with information of benefit regarding the better nursery/primary schools, any areas where you feel we should maybe avoid etc... We are a very sociable family and look forward to meeting some of you in the coming years ! We like Bengeo a lot, and I am curious about the south of Hertford along Horns Mill road, We will probably be buying a house for about 300k - 330k. prefer west side of town. Please feel free to answer privately if you do not want to be seen as talking bad of any particular streets etc ! sorry to be so forward, but such advice will be invaluable. regards.. Pete
Reply ID 54505
thank you Busker and everyone else for replying to this thread. I hadn't checked in the last couple of weeks, and thought replies had stopped ! However, it is heartwarming and encouraging to hear again how positively people describe Hertford and particularly Bengeo, the nurseries, schools etc. I Know it is going to be a difficult process to sell and buy property over the coming months, and I probably have to lower my expectations as to exactly how much house we are going to be able to afford, but I am sure now that we have chosen the right destination ! Maybe we also will stay long enough for my young son to complete his entire education in Hertford, and then he can buy me a pint in the Woodman !! regards Pete
Reply ID 54524
quote:I agree on both counts. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion. As for my experience, I've lived in 6 roads all over Hertford and I found people kept themselves to themselves. Some roads were slightly better than others, but mostly, there was never a community feel, and it not because I was a hermit, I would always invite the neighbours over or accept an invite if offered.
Originally posted by gregb
Forums are for expressing opinions....and that's mine. Sorry if people disagree - if we all agreed what a boring world it would be. I must admit, I don't live in a traditional road with two rows of houses opposit each other - maybe the layout of the houses where I live makes community engagement diffcult. Some neighbours you don't see for weeks on end. Wasn't like this when I lived in a traditional road layout.
Reply ID 54526
quote:Was there anything that these six roads had in common? Maybe all estates? Maybe all modern properties? I would suggest that the mere existence of this forum is evidence of a community in the town, not to mention the site as a whole. How many towns can boast anything similar?
Originally posted by Dude
I've lived in 6 roads all over Hertford and I found people kept themselves to themselves. Some roads were slightly better than others, but mostly, there was never a community feel, and it not because I was a hermit, I would always invite the neighbours over or accept an invite if offered.
Reply ID 54528
Hi Pete As everyone on here has said Hertford is a great place to live but at the risk of being stoned alive by everyone on here have you considered Hitchin? My youngest son bought a place there 6 months ago now and has not regretted the move from Hertford. Property is cheaper there so he got more for his money. He describes Hitchen as like Hertford only bigger and better. It has a great rail connection for Hatfield and London and is close to the A1 and M1. I'm off into hiding now before an angry mob starts banging on my door [;)]
Reply ID 54532
Hi Pete I have lived in Hertford for some time now and can say I have enjoyed it as a town. I have two young children and the oldest attends Wheatcroft school which we have found to be excellent. The shops are great although we could do with a few more and not just eateries and bars !! Have never had any trouble in the town when on a night out and friends who visit always say how lucky we are to live in such a nice town with access to most things you want near by; Parks, Shops, River walks, Transport links and the countryside on your door step. All in all I don't think there is a nicer town in the area. [:D]