Simply the best: top places to live in Hertfordshire and Essex

Finding a new home is hard enough. Moving to a new location can make the task even harder. From transport links and school ratings to green spaces and local services, there’s a lot to consider when deciding where to live.

In the latest Attwaters Private Wealth Guide, we highlighted two places featured on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live shortlist for 2025: Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire and Saffron Walden in Essex.

In the guide, we explored how living in both towns could boost your social and cultural life. In this blog, we look at why Berkhamsted and Saffron Walden are good practical choices too.

Travel around with ease

Berkhamsted and Saffron Walden are popular bases for people that need to commute to larger hubs for work.

Although Saffron Walden was named as the overall best place to live in the UK in 2025, the historic Essex market town doesn’t have a central train station. The nearest main line station is located about two miles away in Audley End, which connects travellers to Cambridge in around 40 minutes and London in under an hour.

Saffron Walden is situated near to the M11, which means Cambridge and Stansted Airport are about 30 minutes away by car. The airport is even closer when travelling by train: direct services take just 20 minutes.

Berkhamsted also boasts good road and rail links. Located near to the A41 and M1, you can drive to Luton or Watford in about half an hour. The train commute to London takes a similar time with four direct services to Euston per hour. As well as being well-situated for Luton Airport, the Hertfordshire market town is a 45-minute drive from Heathrow.

Home in on property prices

The jury is out on the average property price for both towns. The Sunday Times puts it at approximately £750,000 for Berkhamsted and £607,000 for Saffron Walden while estate agents cite lower figures of around £695,000 and £450,000 respectively. Either way, the cost of property in both locations is well above the national average of £270,000.

According to estate agent data, a detached property in Berkhamsted will set you back around £1.2 million while the average price for the same type of house in Saffron Walden is almost 50% lower at just under £670,000. With both locations seeing a decrease in prices over the last year, there could be the potential to pick up a bargain.

Top of the class for schools

For families, a choice of good state and independent schools can be a major factor when selecting a new home town.

Saffron Walden boasts four outstanding schools spanning all age groups; none of its schools have an inadequate or needs improvement rating from Ofsted. The historic town is also served by several independent day and boarding schools in Bishop’s Stortford and Cambridge.

A number of state primary schools and academies in Berkhamsted have been rated as good by Ofsted with one outstanding junior and grammar school. The town is also home to an award-winning independent school, which takes children from aged three through to sixth form.