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We used
to live in a rented flat in St Albans and when we decided to buy,
there was no question of ever staying in that city because we knew
that we couldnÂ’t afford the kind of property that we wanted in
that area.
We
were looking for an older style property with a bit of space and
we could never afford that in the St Albans district.
One
of our sets of parents (SimonÂ’s) lived out in this direction
so we knew the area, and as such it was good place to start looking,
but we considered everywhere within a 10-15 mile radius north of
St Albans. We didnÂ’t bother looking southwards because that
was even more expensive.
We
now have a four bedroom detached property which only cost us 10K
more than a two bedroom terrace in St Albans would have cost us.
Admittedly we bought it bought it five years ago - but thatÂ’s
not that long ago.
And
even though we have lots of fields around us and our neighbours
are further away than they would be in a town, we feel much more
part of a community than we ever did in St Albans.
Our
next door neighbour is not around much but weÂ’ve still managed
to go round a few times for drinks and heÂ’s been round to us
and weÂ’ve also been to another neighbour for Christmas.
In
St Albans we only spoke to our neighbours occasionally, let alone
go round, and they were two yards rather than 30 yards away.
We
never feel like we want to move back, even though we both work there.
Maybe if only one of us did it might change things but as both of
us do itÂ’s OK because we travel together. In a way weÂ’d
like not to work in St Albans but commuting is not really a problem.
We
drive up over the downs each morning, we go past Whipsnade Zoo and
see the animals. On our commute we see buffalo, wallabies, and penguins
- weÂ’ve even seen a cheetah - AND we have a seat!
Downside
The commuting is the only real downside to moving away because,
even though itÂ’s a relatively easy route, it takes the best
part of two hours out of our day. But itÂ’s not really that
bad, and at least weÂ’re not sitting on a train. And at the
weekend youÂ’re completely separate from work.
We
definitely donÂ’t feel trapped or cut off out here. The area
is good for getting into London because weÂ’re still on the
Thameslink line. In fact, we are only ten minutes from two stations
and about 15/20 minutes from a major international airport.
But
at the same time we accept that, because of this, we might have
to move further out again in ten years time if we want to keep our
space.
In
the next decade weÂ’re going to have the Luton / Dunstable bypass
running close by and about 40,000 new houses in this valley!
But
thatÂ’s what you get for living near an airport that can get
you all over Europe and being near the motorway. And with the new
Eurostar terminal at Kings Cross, weÂ’ll only have a ten minute
drive to Harlington before we can get all the way to Paris.
But
if you choose to live in the South East near to London and all the
services and infrastructure that goes with it you are going to be
battling with other people with more money than you to buy those
places.
And
if you live in this area you have got to expect that the capacity
for Luton Airport is going to double.
Anybody
whoÂ’s expecting this countryÂ’s infrastructure to decrease
or stay the same has a brain missing! Major airports and transport
systems are going to get bigger. ItÂ’s just the price that you
pay for working 25 - 30 minutes from central London and the best
city in the world.
Move
So eventually itÂ’s going to be a similar story out here as
it is now in St Albans, where house prices have been pushed up as
people move out to the area from London.
Therefore,
although weÂ’ll have made money on the property, eventually
weÂ’ll have to move to upgrade or get the space we want. WeÂ’ve
got fields around us at the moment and we donÂ’t really want
to be surrounded by houses.
But
we also accept that thatÂ’s life! And we would rather move further
away than go back into a major town because weÂ’d be back in
a one-bedroom flat.
And
our aim is to eventually work from home anyway, which means it wonÂ’t
matter where we are. And that will probably be the same for more
and more people as time goes on.
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Have
you had problems getting on the property ladder?
Have
you just got on it? If so, how did you manage it?
Do
you want to upgrade but will have to move away from the area to
do so?
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