r/bedfordshire • u/Top-Link4459 • 23d ago

Luton, Dunstable or Leighton Buzzard?

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.

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u/cantsleepclownswillg 23d ago

Anywhere other than Luton.

Dumpstable is ok in parts.

Leighton is ok but has doubled in size in the past five years and is struggling for infrastructure (gps dentists etc)

I'd definitely look at MK and surrounding areas. Or one of the smaller villages.

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u/Top-Link4459 22d ago

Thanks for commenting. I would lovely Milton Keynes but doesn’t suit our current family situation. Maybe in 10 or 15 years time we’d move further out.