Where to move…

[gratty132]

Hi,

I live in Aylesbury and work in Northwood. I am looking to buy house with my partner and be closer to work.

We don’t live together and due to her being a young single parent, she doesn’t have a job nor decent qualifications so will be relying on my salary until she gets a job, which I’m okay with.

We have a six year old and are looking for a three bedroom house.

I earn £48k a year and have an own a one bedroom flat valued at £170k so could afford around £300k.

Was thinking Watford but not too sure on any other local areas.

Any suggestions?

[alscar]

I guess your problem is 2 fold - affordability v commute time.
On a straight line to Northwood basis ,Aylesbury is already probably the cheapest place.
Watford I imagine is cheaper but good parts and bad -maybe not too dissimilar from Aylesbury.
Tring I guess is still commutable but not sure about pricing ?
Hemel might have same issue.

[Collectingbrass]

alscar said:

I guess your problem is 2 fold - affordability v commute time.
On a straight line to Northwood basis ,Aylesbury is already probably the cheapest place.
Watford I imagine is cheaper but good parts and bad -maybe not too dissimilar from Aylesbury.
Tring I guess is still commutable but not sure about pricing ?
Hemel might have same issue.

Houses in Hemel are cheaper (for a reason) than Watford, but rail fares from Hemel are far more expensive. Also, depending where in Northwood I would stick to the Met line.

[alscar]

Collectingbrass said:

Houses in Hemel are cheaper (for a reason) than Watford, but rail fares from Hemel are far more expensive. Also, depending where in Northwood I would stick to the Met line.

Good point about rail fares -agree if not driving ( which was how I read it poorly ) then Watford makes more sense ie Met line.

[gratty132]

Can confirm that I am driving.

Tring would have been a good option but it doesn't have much there for us as a family. To put it into context, our ideal location is Milton Keynes but that is too far unfortunately. Which leaves the larger towns.

I see Hemel as a sideways move from Aylesbury so am not entertaining it as an option yet but may do in the future if nothing realistic pops up.

I would be happy with Watford but I would have to find one of the better areas to live.

[alscar]

Yes if driving, sounds as if a " better " part of Watford might be the only real alternative.
Good luck with your deliberations /plans.

[drgoatboy]

Depends what you want, Watford has more shopping and more nightlife than Hemel but personally would prefer to live in Hemel over Watford. There are some lovely areas in Watford but 3 bed houses will be more like £600k than £300k. There are some really awful areas in Watford, much worse than Hemel but it depends what areas you can afford.

Loads in Hemel for kids to do but like you say it's a bit of a sideways step from alyesbury in most respects just a bit closer to work I guess.
Problem is the closer you get to London the more prices go up!