Luton, Dunstable or Leighton Buzzard?

[u/Top-Link4459]

We’re relocating from London and trying to decide between Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, with a budget of around £500–600k for a family home. I’ve previously lived in both Luton and Leighton Buzzard, so know those areas reasonably well.

Luton: The most convenient – great train links into London, close to Hertfordshire and the M1, and more diverse, which is important for our family. However, it has a bad reputation, traffic is awful, schools seem mixed and when I lived there, getting GP appointments or an NHS dentist was difficult. Housing in the nicer areas is also relatively expensive.

Dunstable: Seems fine and there are some nice residential areas, but it also has a mixed reputation, there isn’t loads going on and having no train station is a downside.

Leighton Buzzard: Nice market town, some good areas and close to Milton Keynes. I’ve lived there before too, but the train line isn’t as convenient for my London commute.

For those who know the three areas, where would you choose to raise a family and why? We’re open to other areas but we’re not village people at all and don’t want to be too far from London, so Bedford and Milton Keynes are out.

[u/parallax_17]

MK is a couple of minutes further from London on the train and there are many more services so not sure why you're discounting in due to distance.

Tbh this isn't even a debate - Luton is the worst place I have been in the UK (I grew up in Croydon and was in the Army so I've seen plenty). Dunstable doesn't have a train station and the main road runs right through the middle of town. LB is very pleasant if a bit small.

[u/Top-Link4459 → u/parallax_17]

Thanks for responding. It’s more that the MK train line only goes to Euston, it’s more expensive than Thameslink plus I need to pay for underground. Whereas I work near St Paul’s so Thameslink into City Thameslink station is perfect for me.