Luton (the place not the van) - thoughts?

[Puddy_Tat]

Due to a combination of newish job turning out to be not really that secure, the way london house prices have gone since i accepted the job, and the way interest rates are going, i'm not convinced that staying in the current job and moving back to london is going to work. this was pretty much last chance for it, and getting anything else in my line of work in the london patch seems pretty unlikely.

There's a chance of something that is pretty much what I used to do, but it's in the Luton-ish sort of patch.

Apart from the question of care and maintenance of aged parent who's in south london, which is a separate bridge i'll have to cross (although with whatever thameslink's called this week, it's probably better connected than where i am now...)

I've been there for work a few times in the past and it seems fairly inoffensive (I live somewhere dull near Reading and Wokingham now, so not expecting too much in the way of excitement) - aware it has a bit of a bad press / reputation, but a lot of that seems to be based on there being working class people / non-white people living there, neither of which bothers me all that much.

I would want to live somewhere not too rural, maybe the west side of Luton.

Any thoughts / insights from urbanites that know the patch better than I do?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

well...

this has got as far as a job offer (subject to references and so on)

although on the basis that i won't actually have to go there all that often - maybe one day a fortnight, which is do-able from here in the short term, so no need to do anything just quite yet.

longer term, there's no real reason to stay in berkshire, so i'd probably be thinking in terms of moving nearer the job.

on a bit of (internet based) research, dunstable and leighton buzzard look mostly harmless if not all that exciting.

any thoughts welcome.

 

[yield]

A friend's moving to Leighton Buzzard soon. I'll be helping with some DIY in the next few weeks and will say what I think of the town.

My mum's aunt used to live in Dunstable but I've not been there for decades. May have changed.

 

[Elpenor]

Hmm, I did the Luton marathon as my first marathon in 2005. It began in Leagrave which seemed a fairly inoffensive place. Lots of nice villages on the outskirts which the route went through. That’s not much help really is it sorry

 

[platinumsage]

Check the airport flight paths before you move.

 

[JimW]

Had great times at my nan's there about fifty years ago if that helps.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Check the airport flight paths before you move.

thanks

Had great times at my nan's there about fifty years ago if that helps.

 

[weltweit]

Sorry Puddy_Tat I've only been to Luton to get to the airport.

 

[BoatieBird]

Lived in Leighton Buzzard and a village near Dunstable as a kid. There are some nice villages in that area.
Do you drive Puddy_Tat?

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Do you drive @Puddy_Tat?

yes, I do.

not keen on small villages, though...

 

[Athos]

Due to a combination of newish job turning out to be not really that secure, the way london house prices have gone since i accepted the job, and the way interest rates are going, i'm not convinced that staying in the current job and moving back to london is going to work. this was pretty much last chance for it, and getting anything else in my line of work in the london patch seems pretty unlikely.

There's a chance of something that is pretty much what I used to do, but it's in the Luton-ish sort of patch.

Apart from the question of care and maintenance of aged parent who's in south london, which is a separate bridge i'll have to cross (although with whatever thameslink's called this week, it's probably better connected than where i am now...)

I've been there for work a few times in the past and it seems fairly inoffensive (I live somewhere dull near Reading and Wokingham now, so not expecting too much in the way of excitement) - aware it has a bit of a bad press / reputation, but a lot of that seems to be based on there being working class people / non-white people living there, neither of which bothers me all that much.

I would want to live somewhere not too rural, maybe the west side of Luton.

Any thoughts / insights from urbanites that know the patch better than I do?

With parents in south London it'd make sense to be on the train line. And, if you're thinking west of Luton and avoiding villages, then Leagrave is the obvious choice. It's not that interesting, and there's a real lack of pubs, but, you can get into central Luton on the train in five mins, or to Harpenden, St Albans, Flitwick, or Bedford easily. Or, short drive and you're in the countryside.

Plenty of pubs and a few good places to eat and see bands in Luton, and all the shops you need. And, when the new football ground comes, the centre will be completely regenerated (until then, the existing ground is a great, idiosyncratic throwback, if you're interested in football). I'm not a great believer in buying houses based on pricing the market, but, by all accounts, it's predicted to be a real growth area as more and more people priced out of London.

Finally, it's a bit of a cliche, but it's transport links are great, with the stations, the M1 and the airport. You can be in London in 40 odd minutes on the train, drive to Birmingham in less than an hour and a half, and nip to loads of places on Easyjet cheaply and quickly.

 

[pieandmashfirm]

Worked for a Building firm that had a maintenance contract for Luton town council .....Its awful

 

[Saffy]

I'm from a couple of towns over and Luton was always the place to go shopping when I was a teenager. Shopping there is pretty poor now though, I believe.
There are some lovely places within easy reach from Luton.

 

[Knotted]

I live in Luton. There's countryside all round and people are friendly. Not too many stabbings/shootings. Marsh Farm and Lewsey Farm are the roughest parts of town, the parts around the A6 are the poshest. If you're getting stalked by a cat person, there's plenty of buses to show up and scare it away.... It's got three train stations, an airport and the M1. Great thing about Luton is that it's easy to leave Luton. Honestly though, it's fine if not particularly "happening" or pretty. I like it here.

 

[hash tag]

I'm with Athos in respect of St Alban's. I've visited a few times and it's always seemed like a reasonable little city which has good selection of shops, infrastructure etc.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Thanks for all the thoughts - certainly some basis for further investigation once the job starts and so on. The home working element means I don't have to do anything in a hurry (in honesty, probably wouldn't have gone for it if it had) but certainly gives me some ideas where / where not to look.

Point about flight paths was worth making and will bear that in mind.

Not sure about St Albans - seems to be a lot more expensive than Luton / Dunstable (as in would get a smallish flat there for the price of a modest house in L/D) but not sure it's closer enough to London to justify it from my perspective...

 

[hash tag]

Not sure about St Albans - seems to be a lot more expensive than Luton / Dunstable (as in would get a smallish flat there for the price of a modest house in L/D) but not sure it's closer enough to London to justify it from my perspective...

There is a reason it's more expensive
It's all about location, location, location.

 

[pbsmooth]

one is a bit posh, the other is a bit shit.

 

[what]

I'd use the thameslink map as a guide and live on that. If you want to be nearer to London there are places like Hendon and Cricklewood which are still relatively cheap

 

[Saffy]

St. Albans and Harpenden are expensive. Maybe look at Hitchin too.

 

[Athos]

Avoid Dunstable.

 

[A380]

Luton : I once wrote, and someone published: it combines the charms of Chiltern Market town with a bustling London Borough.

They burnt the town hall down there in a riot after the first world war so it can't be all bad. But then it is the birthplace of the EDL so there is that.

Suffers from chronic under investment in the public sector as its a big town/small city in a very small county so funding formulas don't work in its favour.

Luton has bits which are truly shit - 'communities' that have been properly abandoned. Marsh Farm, Hockwell Ring and Tin Town by the airport. Also avoid Houghton Regis, it sounds like something out of a Jane Austin Novel but it really really isn't. Bury Park has the lowest (highest?) deprivation index scores for any ward not in a London or other metropolitan borough. However that's mostly because its a very poor Asian (unusually Luton has Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian communities - which made it a bit of a tinder box back in the 2000 when the last two were threatening each other with nukes. At one point there was a motorcade led by a car with a missile on the top with 'look out India' painted on the sides, which was nice,) area and there are lots of 2 up 2 down terraces with multi generation families living there. I quite like the area TBF - although it also houses a fairly large street prostitution scene.

It does have some really nice parks and a cracking local museum. Houses around Stockwood Park or in the Old Bedford Road area are great and would probably be twice the price anywhere else within 20 miles.

I never thought I would say it but the Arndale Centre is probably better for shops than anywhere closer than Milton Keynes or Cambridge - which would have been weird even ten years ago. That combined with a few retail parks mean you have all the same shops as anywhere else in the UK.

Bizarrely, there is little in the way of a club scene, lots of pubs but that's about it. Most of the night time economy stabbings tend to be based around about three kebab shops rather than clubs.

I wouldn't worry about flight paths, the airport is right to the south of the town so the planes either go/come over countryside between Stevenage and Luton to the East or out over the Downs to the West. The only place to get lots of aircraft noise is by the airport and you wouldn't want to live there anyway.

If you pick the area it would be OK to live in Luton.

I've chosen not to. I used to live in the Buzzard but that's twice the size it was 20 years ago and the amenities haven't caught up. Plus its on a different train line to Luton. Don't move to Dunstable. Its just a boring version of Luton. If you like villages, which I don't, there are loads of genuinely lovely ones to pick from within 20 minutes. On the train line the twin town of Ampthill / Flitwick is OK, but the nice bit is Ampthill and the Station is in Flitwick.

I live in Bedford, Its OK, the embankment, arts scene and restaurant choice is great, but the town centre retail sector is dieing. You do get an 01234 phone number though. I am selling my house which is less than ten minutes walk from the station in the second nicest street in the town....

If you want more granularity about bits of Luton, or other places (or want to buy my house,,,) PM me.

 

[Athos]

Luton : I once wrote, and someone published: it combines the charms of Chiltern Market town with a bustling London Borough.

They burnt the town hall down there in a riot after the first world war so it can't be all bad. But then it is the birthplace of the EDL so there is that.

Suffers from chronic under investment in the public sector as its a big town/small city in a very small county so funding formulas don't work in its favour.

It has bits which are truly shit - 'communities' that have been properly abandoned. Marsh Farm, Hockwell Ring and Tin Town by the airport. Also avoid Houghton Regis, it sounds like something out of a Jane Austin Novel but it really really isn't. Bury Park has the lowest (highest?) deprivation index scores for any ward not in a London or other metropolitan boroughs. However that's mostly because its a very poor Asian (unusually Luton has Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian communities - which made it a bit of a tinder box back in the 2000 when the last two were threatening each other with nukes. At one point there was a motorcade led by a car with a missile on the top with 'look out India' painted on the sides, which was nice,) area and there are lots of 2 up 2 down terraces with multi generation families living there. I quite like the area TBF - although it also houses a fairly large street prostitution scene.

It does have some really nice parks and a cracking local museum. Houses around Stockwood Park or in the Old Bedford Road area are great and would probably be twice the price anywhere else within 20 miles.

I never thought I would say it but the Arndale Centre is probably better for shops than anywhere closer than Milton Keynes or Cambridge - which would have been weird even ten years ago. That combined with a few retail parks mean you have all the same shops as anywhere else in the UK.

Bizarrely, there is little in the way of a club scene, lots of pubs but that's about it. Most of the night time economy stabbings tend to be based around about three kebab shops rather than clubs.

If you pick the area it would be OK to live in Luton.

I've chosen not to. I used to live in the Buzzard but that's twice the size it was 20 years ago and the amenities haven't caught up. Plus its on a different train line to Luton. Don't move to Dunstable. Its just a boring version of Luton. If you like villages, which I don't, there are loads of genuinely lovely ones to pick from within 20 minutes. On the train line the twin town of Ampthill / Flitwick is OK, but the nice bit is Ampthill and the Station is in Flitwick.

I live in Bedford, Its OK, the embankment, arts scene and restaurant choice is great, but the town centre retail sector is dieing. You do get an 01234 phone number though. I am selling my house which is less than ten minutes walk from the station in the second nicest street in the town....

If you want more granularity about bits of Luton, or other places (or want to buy my house,,,) PM me.

Luton has The Bear Club, voted by Jazz Magazine as one of the best clubs in the world!

 

[A380]

Luton has The Bear Club, voted by Jazz Magazine as one of the best clubs in the world!

Jazz? Well if you like Jazz clubs fill your boots. I believe you can also get root canal work done at many Luton dentists.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

must admit that jazz isn't quite what i expected from a venue called the bear club but that may say more about the company i keep...

and wonder if the Bedford phone number 01234 567890 is actually in use?

 

[A380]

The football ground is great - proper 100 year old thing, it is in the middle of Bury Park and away fans have to go through a path through someones garden, One of the stands is made of wood - fans tend to be quite vigorous in robustly 'self policing' dickheads with flares in that stand. Its a proper old school ground.

I don't like football (prefer the oval ball game) and deffo don't support Luton but the atmosphere's great. I went a few times in the before times and once this season so far and its a far better outing than any of the Premier League grounds I've been to. Will be a bit sad if the redevelopment plans do come off this time.

 

[Athos]

Jazz? Well if you like Jazz clubs fill your boots. I believe you can also get root canal work done at many Luton dentists.

It has lots of other stuff, too. And some great booze. Really is a gem of a place.

 

[Athos]

The football ground is great - proper 100 year old thing, it is in the middle of Bury Park and away fans have to go through a path through someones garden, One of the stands is made of wood - fans tend to be quite vigorous in robustly 'self policing' dickheads with flares in that stand. Its a proper old school ground.

I don't like football (prefer the oval ball game) and deffo don't support Luton but the atmosphere's great. I went a few times in the before times and once this season so far and its a far better outing than any of the Premier League grounds I've been to. Will be a bit sad if the redevelopment plans do come off this time.

I'm a season ticket holder in the main stand - the one made of wood. And was there on the infamous occasion a home fan set the Welsh flag alight in a game against Cardiff City. He was 'robustly self-policed' indeed. And the Cardiff fans went nuts, too!

You're right about the atmosphere. I went on Saturday when we went 2-0 up against the league leaders, they clawed it back to 2-2, and Luton won it seven minutes into injury time with a fantastic goal - the whole place went mental.

Where do you drink in Bedford, by the way?

 

[A380]

I'm a season ticket holder in the main stand - the one made of wood. And was there on the infamous occasion a home fan set the Welsh flag alight in a game against Cardiff City. He was 'robustly self-policed' indeed. And the Cardiff fans went nuts, too!

You're right about the atmosphere. I went on Saturday when we went 2-0 up against the league leaders, they clawed it back to 2-2, and Luton won it seven minutes into injury time with a fantastic goal - the whole place went mental.

Where do you drink in Bedford, by the way?

I saw the match report and thought it must have been great to be there!

The Wellington is my go to place - proper real ale pub even if it does have quite a high proportion of people with beards discussing specific gravity.

The Foresters is the closest decent pub to me, but I'm worried as its up for let again.

I also like the newish 'Charlie Wells Brewpoint out of town place, Its a bit of a mixture of micro brewery, american bar and beer garden but it works really well.

If you are ever up here let me know.

 

[Athos]

I saw the match report and thought it must have been great to be there!

The Wellington is my go to place - proper real ale pub even if it does have quite a high proportion of people with beards discussing specific gravity.

The Foresters is the closest decent pub to me, but I'm worried as its up for let again.

I also like the newish 'Charlie Wells Brewpoint out of town place, Its a bit of a mixture of micro brewery, american bar and beer garden but it works really well.

If you are ever up here let me know.

Wellington Arms is a good boozer.

Not been to Brewpoint, but keep meaning to.