Is St Albans a nice place to live? I certainly think so. But every city has its pros and cons. The question is it a good place for you and how do you know?
Searching for the best place to live near London can be quite a task, especially if you are not familiar with all of its neighborhoods and their respective qualities. As an American, trying to find where to live near London from across the Atlantic is one of the most stressful tasks as part of the overseas relocation process.
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Best Place To Live Near London For Families
I’ll be honest, even after living near London for 3 years I still can’t break down all the neighborhoods on a map without using Google. The number of London neighborhood options to learn are overwhelming – let alone figuring out which one is best for your family to live. [Update 2025: I’ve included a London map, realtors, and questions to ask when renting a property in England in Househunting Essentials that you find in the shop.]
After factoring in kids, pets, good schools, a garden, off-street parking, laundry (not in the kitchen), and a home office please, you’ll suddenly feel like you might have better luck winning the lottery than finding the best place to live!
Fortunately, after 1 house-hunting move and a whole lot of faith, St Albans became our city of choice. There weren’t any St Albans houses on the market to let when we made that decision (and tends to be the biggest challenge when you settle on living here), but our brilliant realtor did the rest. Within a short period of time and 1 virtual tour later, she found us a dreamy home that met every aspect of what we wanted and more. Call us lucky indeed!
But beyond the home itself, St Albans City has so much to offer.
Even though St Albans Hertfordshire is repeatedly ranked as one of the best places to live just outside London, the details beyond its easy access to The Big Smoke are typically left a mystery – especially if you’re an American trying to sort it out from afar. And that’s why I decided it’s time to reveal why St Albans really is a nice place to live and an excellent choice for anyone seeking where to live near London for a family.
This list of St Albans’ pros and cons is entirely my opinion and not that of anyone else. Like anywhere, places change and evolve over time. But I certainly hope St Albans stays the same. Here’s why.
St Albans Is a Nice Place To Live Because…
- Easy train access to London
- Easy train access to London Heathrow Airport via the new connecting Elizabeth line in central London that opened in November 2022
- Walking distance to virtually everything
- Markets: Wednesday, Saturday, plus St Albans Antique & Vintage Sunday market, Sunday monthly food market & Christmas markets
- High street shops including Reiss, Anthropologie, and Whistles. All the high streets suffer from the impact of the pandemic, but lovely independent shops like Cositas work hard to keep the brick & mortars going.
- No shortage of restaurant options, including many that creatively pivoted to serve customers during the lockdown – from spicy cocktails to savoury burgers.
- Excellent schools. St Albans is one of the most sought-after secondary schools. Stephen Hawking, anyone? And St Albans City School for primary school is relatively new and many American friends love it. Several private schools are available within a 20-30 minute drive if private school is an option for you, too.
- St Albans Cathedral and other amazing historical sights like the Roman amphitheater (only one in the country and they host Shakespeare plays every summer) are icons of the city. There’s also the Roman wall in Verulamium Park, Ye Olde Fighting Cock (oldest in the country), and St Michael’s Village (cool village with the most amazing 6 Bells Pub and the notorious Waffle House). There is a whole slew of cool things to explore in St Albans.
- St Albans is considered an affluent place to live. Whether you are or not, it’s nice to feel a part of such a well-established city. Take a walk down Fishpool Street and you’ll feel the vibe, too.
- It feels incredibly safe in St Albans. My husband accidentally clicked the panic alarm in our bedroom (we had no idea what it was when we first moved in) and the police arrived within minutes. There is crime in St Albans like everywhere but in general, I felt far safer in St Albans than anywhere I’ve ever lived – California, Oregon, Maine, Texas, Georgia, CT, and Virginia to name a few!
- There are sporting venues for the sporty family. Clarence Park is home to St Albans City which is similar to MLS in the US. Attending a game is a great family weekend option for getting out. Westminster Lodge anchors one end of Verulamium Park and is one of the biggest Everyone Actives in the country, with a rock-climbing wall, hot yoga, and swimming pool activities, too.
- There are fresh events going on all the time, such as “Pub At The Park”, Meryaki Festival, shows at The Alban Arena, charity runs, community events, and more.
- St Albans offers a city feel on a quaint scale with plenty going on. Whenever you need something more you just go to London for the day. When you need the country, walk/bike to Gorhambury Estate or take a long walk along the River Ver.
- 25 minutes to Luton Airport for easy weekend escapes (a £25 Uber ride) or 60 min to Heathrow (about a £60 Uber ride).
- St Albans is a prime location for visiting a lot of really fun places to see within a 1-2 hour drive, such as Oxford, Dover, Brighton, Bath, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Bibury, Windsor Castle, Norfolk, Jurassic Coast…
- Affirmation from others…When people found out I lived in St Albans, most people would say:
Wow, how did you know to choose the most lovely city in the country.
Although where you choose to live is entirely personal, it doesn’t hurt to get a high-five. After all, choosing where to live while still living in another country is a big decision with a fair amount of risk. A little praise offered a lot of reassurance that we made the right choice when we were first getting settled after relocating from Texas. Now it’s my turn to offer you that same assurance!
St Albans City is a brilliant place to live
St Albans Is A Good Place To Live But…
Now having shared all the good points, there are some downsides to living in St Albans you also need to know.
- The high street shops struggled before the pandemic and even after the pandemic, businesses are working hard to best recover. With that said, many great businesses sadly come and go.
- Getting stuck in London because of train issues quite frankly sucks. It happens to everyone, but when you’re traveling with kids or rely on the train for daily commuting, it can make for an incredibly stressful and inconvenient affair. Thankfully St Albans isn’t that far from Central London so Uber, taxi, and bus access are available when stuck in a train bind.
- St Albans is expensive compared to other places to live…but cheaper than London.
- When I say expensive, you can count on high council taxes, too. But if you’re relocating from America, use this to figure out if you can afford living in St Albans.
- Traffic…there is always traffic in St Albans. But if you live within 1-2 miles from St Albans City Centre, walking makes traffic a non-issue and a great way to get those steps in.
- And when traffic is bad, finding where to park can be a royal ***ch.
- Nightlife for singles and university-aged kids is practically non-existent in St Albans. For families, it probably doesn’t matter, but if you’re regularly looking for late-night fun, sleepy St Albans might not be for you.
- The nearest true hospital is Watford. That’s all I’ll say about Watford. 🤣
- Heathrow is a 1-hour car commute. And with rush-hour M25 traffic, that commute could easily double, possibly triple. Fortunately, the new Elizabeth line that opened in late 2022 connects to Heathrow via central London. St Albans commuters can be at Heathrow Airport in 1.5-2 hours via the connecting Elizabeth line. Gatwick is easier by train because it’s direct, but also 1.5 hours away.
Certainly, there could be far worse things, but that’s all I have for bad things about living in St Albans.
St Albans has many local artists
Final Thoughts On St Albans As A Nice Place To Live
Obviously, I think St Albans is great. I miss it terribly while living in the United States. It couldn’t be any more different than Texas!
But I’m not the only one who thinks St Albans is the best place to live. Even with the pandemic hardships in 2020 and 2021, The Times ranked St Albans as one of the best places to live in 2022 and again in 2024, and House Beautiful in 2023.
If you have the opportunity to live in St Albans, make sure it becomes your next home because this little city has a lot of benefits for everyone that lives there or visits — not just me!
And if you still don’t believe my words about how wonderful life can be in St Albans then head to The Pudding Stop and order the butterscotch blondie. You won’t regret it- promise!
What else do you want to know? And if you live in St Albans, what makes St Albans a nice place to live for you?
Looking for more about St Albans? Try these.
- 10 Best Places To Eat In St Albans On Your First Visit
- St Albans Travel Guide
- 12 Things About Moving To UK From USA You Need To Read First
15 comments
Hi Lori,
My husband might take a job in London this year and I will have a work visa for the film industry which is NW London. We came to visit different areas of London and liked St. Albans the most. I have a son who would be going into year 3. Could you give me any guidance on the private schools in St Albans? Any nuanced opinions that you might have or any recommendations on where I could find some guidance? Also was it easy to book an estate agent for St. Albans? Thanks!
Hi Linette! Congrats! That sounds very exciting and happy for you. We toured nearby St Albans private schools but were focused on one that accepted boys and girls. I can’t say enough about Westbrook Hay School but it’s a 30 minute drive (Hemel Hempstead) which might not work for you. I’ve written several posts referencing Westbrook Hay…it’s the one thing my kids miss the most about living in England! As for other schools, look into Beechwood Park, Lockers Park (also in Hemel Hempstead), Manor Lodge (Shenley), and St Columba’s College (located in the heart of St Albans City – I know many people who have sent their boys here).
I have a listing of all international private schools you can find in the Shop link BUT I did not include local St Albans prep schools. Please feel free to email me if you want to chat outside of this post here.
Regarding an estate agent, YES. Highly recommend Strutt and Parker in St Albans. Tell them I sent you 🙂
Good luck and please look through this blog…I’ve written about nearly everything for an international relo to England. If you can’t find an answer to your question, let me know.
xx – Lori
I disagree.. is it become so popular and overcrowded with such an abundance of top quality schools that the London and Essex royalty plus other nationalities have now flooded in making this a saturated city .. you can’t get from one side of town to another to drop off the kids – what was a five minute journey now takes 45… The roads are awful and full of Deliveroo riders 24/7 .. the amount of HGVs serving building works for the councils insatiable appetite for more and more money is obscene .. ripping up the roads .,The city is small and yet the council believe they can cram in more people , turn every spare sq foot into a flat.. we have have no decent shops, just Cafes, bars and restaurants .. You can’t get an appointment anywhere for anything unless you book months in advance , it’s saturated . Progress !
Hi Greg. Thank you so much for sharing this. Hugely invaluable to those that need all perspectives when thinking about living in St Albans. Would you say Harpenden has declined in the same way?
A couple of updates. Since Elizabeth Line had opened, Heathrow is a much easier commute. And on hospitals, never go to Watford….. always choose Luton & Dunstable ….. even if distance is further, time of journey is not longer, and much better ER room hospital
Those are awesome tips. Thank you so much, Neil!
Hello! Thanks so much for this. 2xCanadians + 1 year old son looking to move back to London after a year away. We are hoping for somewhere quiet, and St Albans seems to tick all the boxes. I’ll be commuting into London 2 days a week for my post-graduate degree though, and I am concerned about train delays/cancellations… how often were there issues with the train? I am also curious about meeting other young families, was it hard to build a community there? And lastly, just because I assume we’ll have a steam of overseas visitors, was it more practical to fly into Gatwick instead of Heathrow based on the fact that it’s a direct train? x
Hi Mel! I’m so glad you found this post to help you figure out where to move back to. St Albans is so lovely. We’re going back this summer for a long visit and can’t wait! Regarding your questions:
1 – Train delays/cancellations – I dealt with it probably 6 times but I did not commute daily. Most people that live in St Albans commute to London so I imagine employers are totally used to dealing with this. And to be honest, I’d say train delays are equally problematic in London central going from one tube to another. Just check every day before you leave for the station…
2 – Building a community – It wasn’t an issue for me because I have children and we had a sweet dog that got all sorts of attention. Between meeting other parents at school and living in the awesome village we were in, we had a lot of friends. Start following @thealbanway on Instagram. Jen and Soph are awesome at sharing what’s going on – in fact there are often forums for meetups and just general workshops or fun things to do to meet other people. Also, join the Facebook group: StAlbansMums
3 – Airport – Heathrow is the best for international. There is no easy train from Heathrow to St Albans at all. Gatwick has the better train option to St Albans BUT it takes forever. Given how far it is for your overseas visitors, my recommendation is Heathrow and then Uber to St Albans. We did that every time. And for local travel, although parking is a nightmare at Luton, it’s super easy to get to. It’s only 20-25 minutes from St Albans.
I hope that helps! xx
Check me out on Insta too, if you haven’t already. Best! x
Hi Mel! The Times recently published an article about St Albans being one of the best places to live. The article published current stats about the train:
1) Thameslink reports that passenger numbers are 50% less than pre-pandemic levels,
2) commuter levels are higher midweek than Monday and Fridays,
3) Thursday is the busiest commute day
Hope that helps! xx
Thanks Lori, we are thinking of moving from CA to St Albans area with 2 teenagers. I hear you bout the lack of nightlife for them but I am curious about how you navigated getting them schools places, or did you just go with a private school?
Hi Lorraine! We went the private school route because we were way past the state school registration deadline. Although my kids were primary school ages when we moved to the UK, you can find links to secondary schools in this how to post. Registration for secondary schools is October so be sure to check it out asap if you’re shooting for 2022. Also, and if state schools just aren’t a good fit, private school worked out awesome for us. Good luck & lmk if I can answer anything else for you! x
HI,
I really appreciated your post. We are moving to London from CA, with 4 kids and I am trying to figure out the best place for our family. Did you feel like you needed a car in St. Albans or could you have gone without?
Hi Cal. Congrats on the move!! I could have gone without a car but I needed to drive my kids to school (about 30 minutes away). Aside from driving back/forth to school, my car was parked in our driveway. We lived near enough to St Albans city center where walking was preferred. I hope that helps! Good luck! x
Curious to hear, what’s with the face about Watford?
It’s closer to where I’ll need to be.
Hi, Julie! For whatever reason I’ve always struggled with the Watford infrastructure because there are so many one-way roads. And since it’s a busy working city, it’s left me flustered having to drive there every single time. It’s less charming than St Albans but obviously bigger, with a massive mall making shopping the big-name brands (Apple included) super easy…and they have The Florist restaurant (soooo pretty)…also a Botanist (I wrote about them in my York post), the home of Harry Potter WB Studios, lots of parks and obviously their own football team. I’ve just always had a bad time navigating Watford…hence the face. I’m glad you asked!