Topic ID 318
Me and my girlfriend are currently considering moving to Hertford from North London due to house prices. Although it seems very nice everywhere has 'less desirable' areas. I would be grateful for any info on areas to avoid.
Reply ID 2139
This is difficult to answer without the possibility of offending people. I'm sure we all have our own understanding of what might be deemed as less desirable. When I moved to Hertford 10 years ago I looked in many areas. We were not very keen on the parts of Sele Farm that we saw. Nor were we too keen on the estate opposite the Foxholes either (Birdie Way, etc). And the Campfield Road area was also not on our favourites list. Having lived in Hertford for more than 10 years I would add Hornsmill to the list above. I would recommend being very specific when talking to estate agents. Tell them exactly what you want and what you don't want. We noted a distinct change in the attitude of the estate agents when we did this. Feel free to post again if you want any specific advice on certain areas. One thing I would add is not to expect Hertford to be like London. It's not just the house prices that are different. London is a growing town with a lot of Londoners moving out here, but it is still quite rural.
Reply ID 2140
Important to mention if you intend to commute by train to London.
Reply ID 2141
Thank you for that, it was very helpful. One of the houses we are due to look at is in Mount Road which I see is off Campfield Road. Do you feel this this likely to be an area that is more likely to be troublesome than others? The attraction about it for me was that I work in London and it is only a few mins walk from Hertford North BR.
Reply ID 2144
Coincidentally we looked at a house in Mount Road 10 years ago. It was immediately after that visit that we had a frank conversation with the estate agent about what we were expecting. Mount Road was not for us. Two doors down from the house we looked at there was a house with an old transit van in the front garden with concrete blocks supporting the axles. Enough said, I think, although I know I may receive some comments in response. I never met the people in the area though. I would suggest that you look at the area. Times do change areas and the council recently spent a quarter of a million turning the Campfield Road area into some sort of local community residential zone (or something like that) with fancy speed humps. Alternatively......I live 7 minutes walk from the train station. You can have my house for a tidy £1 million!
Reply ID 2147
Fair enough, that would put me off too. My understanding of Mount Road is that it is slightly 'aloof' from the surrounding roads but to be honest I have no idea if that is right. I guess I will find out shortly enough. If you (or anyone) can think of any particular areas in the price range of about £200k that are nice and near the Br station then that would be useful. I'll speak to you in a couple of years about your house...
Reply ID 2149
Also, how do you think the crime rate in Hertford compares to other Herts towns like St Albans and Welwyn Garden City?
Reply ID 2153
I moved to Hertford about 10 years ago from Cheshunt. I'm originally from Finsbury Park. I live on the Sele Farm estate which is considered one of the less desirable places in Hertford. I would rather live on Sele Farm than Cheshunt or Finsbury Park. If I have a night out in the town I walk home without any worries about being mugged or attacked. Something that I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable doing in Finsbury Park or to a degree in Cheshunt. I can't think of anyone I know that has been mugged, burgled, etc. You get the odd incident but at the moment I wouldn't swap Hertford for anywhere.
Reply ID 2157
We moved to Hertford 21 years ago, we lived in Valeside now live in Riversmeet. Originally we lived in Holborn. I would agree with Ewoowar that the atmosphere is very different from London, very friendly and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I would say that anywhere within reasonable walking distance of Hertford North Station is a good place to live, also places close to the town centre. Post where you are looking, and ask peoples' opinions. I do get the impression that there isn't the same community feel in either Welwyn Garden City or St. Albans.
Reply ID 2160
Can't help much about where in Hertford is best, but the following may aid your thoughts on moving here. We are a young couple, I grew up in WGC, moved to North London for a few years then soon moved back! as previously said WGC etc... dont have the same friendly feel that Hertford has. I'm quite happy for my girlfriend to walk to and from the station after dark, this did not happen in north london! and wouldn't feel so comfortable with it in WGC. Having grown up in WGC, the only area near by really for me to move to was Hertford, surrounding towns have their plus points but Hertford out weighs them all! Hope my brief life story helps!!!
Reply ID 2162
A Grove, If you want to find somewhere where traffic is light, you might consider avoiding certain parts of Bengeo - Bengeo Street, Cross Road, Byde Street, Nelson Street and a small stretch of Wellington Street are used heavily as rat-runs. If that's not a problem for you, then you can certainly find some cracking houses on those streets at "reasonable" prices. Within easy walking distance of Hertford North, too. Best thing to do is spend some time here - have a walk around the places you are considering and talk to people you see in the street - I'm sure most would be happy to give you their honest opinion. Been here in Bengeo since 1999 now, by way of Sheffield, Norwich and Cambridge. Wouldn't swap it for anything!
Reply ID 2228
If you intend to set up a new life here, be careful of flood plains. Most of the town centre, and surrounding area are flood plain, and over the coming years, Insurance companies are going to charge a fortune. Houses on flood plains will drop in price significantly. Just something to bear in mind. Get on a hill. It will be worth its weight in gold!
Reply ID 2230
Flood plains might seem a problem, but also be wary of sink holes, which have appeared on the Sele Estate before(incidently Sele is on Dude's favoured hill.
Reply ID 2286
quote:Unfortunately this kind of problem is likely to occur in Hertford because of its location on several rivers. Either you are in the flood plain or you are on a hill made of sand and gravel. That would be Geology - unfortunately
Originally posted by barry a c
Flood plains might seem a problem, but also be wary of sink holes, which have appeared on the Sele Estate before(incidently Sele is on Dude's favoured hill.
Reply ID 2291
I lived in Hertford all my life up until about 8 years ago when I went even more rural and in that time Sele Farm has gone downhill quite a bit. My parents still live there and since I moved, they have consistently had their car vandalised, & the local shops have put up metal shutters (usually a sign of much vandalism). The postoffice has been raided & the local fish & chip shop was held up with a gun by somebody I used to go to school with! Basically, it's not the place I grew up in - I wouldn't move to Sele Farm now, but then I like the village life too much to go back to a town I think!
Reply ID 2301
I have lived on Sele Farm my whole life and it has always had a bad tag attached to it. Personally I don't think it is as bad as outsiders seem to think but maybe it is just what you get used to........? Saying that, the area does seem to be getting back to its old ways of late with more crime, vandalism etc but then you are going to get that anywhere. I would not personally choose this area if I was coming from the outside, and if I had money to spend on a house in Hertford I would probably choose one of the many villages that surround it or Willowmead (although probably at risk of flooding!) as it is near to everything but also quiet and out of the way in a nice setting. The Ladywood Road area is also pretty quiet and close to all amenities but I have heard bad reports about the state of many of the houses down there (e.g. very thin walls, damp etc) but this area was thrown up in what seemed like a few weeks so thats probably why!
Reply ID 2309
We live in Riversmeet, even though it is by a river, and the road has flooded in 2000, because the houses are 2ft off the ground the houses were unaffected. What I like about Riversmeet is that you get lovely views over farmland, with a river (well large stream) at the bottom of the gardens and it is only 10 minutes from the centre of Hertford, and just over 5 minutes to Hertford North station. We moved to our present house in 1988 and I have no desire to move again. I have noticed that there is a comparatively low turnover in our road. The only downside with our houses is that they don't look that brilliant from the front, they look good from the back.
Reply ID 2312
You forgot to mention the great neighbours!