Londoners are flocking to my beloved hometown — but there’s one problem

With its quaint market square, historic Victorian houses and world-famous lavender farm, Hitchin has a huge amount going for it.

It’s no secret that my beloved Hertfordshire hometown has long been skyrocketing in price. But now, new statistics confirm in my heart what I’ve known deep down for a long time: locals like me are increasingly being priced out. I’ve simply no chance.

With a going rate of £410,366, a recent Lloyds study found that Hitchin is actually the UK’s most expensive market town for first-time buyers, shattering any remaining hope I had of creating a future for myself there.

Locals around me have long complained that it’s ‘Londoners moving in’ who are at least partially responsible for pushing up the house prices – and I now know that to be true.

According to data from Hamptons exclusively shared with Metro, so far this year, 9% of homes sold in Hertfordshire were bought by Londoners.

It was even a headline issue for the local community in the 2024 General Election, as in the five years prior, newcomers moving in from the capital contributed towards rents rising by 36%. During the same period, house prices also increased by 13%.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted that people love my hometown so much that they want to up sticks and live there instead. It’s just that I do, too.

Sometimes, when I catch the train back to Hitchin, I get a slightly sinking, sad feeling. Like me, most of my friends have moved out to London and spend the occasional weekend visiting their family homes.

At the risk of sounding hypocritical for complaining about Londoners when I myself chose to become one, the reason I decided to move in the first place was that, as a journalist, the job market is heavily weighted towards the big city.

For many of my peers, the same is true, even in other industries. And, while Hitchin is undoubtedly a beautiful place to raise a family, it’s not exactly where many might choose to spend their 20s. As we approach our 30s, many of us are seeing the appeal – but the sad reality is that our deposit pots just don’t stretch far enough.

The few that have stayed are living in rented flats that cost almost the same as the capital. According to ONS, the going rate for a place in North Hertfordshire is currently £1,361 per month, while the cheapest borough in London is currently Bexley at £1,485.

And when you consider the cost of commuting into the city (£33.70 for an anytime day return, without factoring in Tube costs), it can work out cheaper just to move to the capital.

It’s still bittersweet knowing that I’ll likely never be able to afford to move back and put down roots where I already firmly have them. The older I get, the more I understand the charming market town’s appeal; from its array of local businesses, great schools (take Hitchin Girls’ School, where I went) and breathtaking countryside.

And with such close proximity to London (it’s just 35 minutes from Finsbury Park on the Thameslink), it’s an ideal spot for commuters who want to keep a foot in the capital.

If you’ve got the funds to buy a house here, then maybe that’s fair enough. But given the influx of city-dwellers pushing prices up, it might be a good idea to get in there quickly.

Things to do in Hitchin

There’s no delight quite like spending a Saturday afternoon pottering in and around the market square. Head to Groundworks for a spot of brunch, and then top it up with tea and cake opposite at well-loved institution Halsey’s Deli. They also do an excellent sausage roll, if you’re that way inclined.

St Mary’s Church (the largest in Hertfordshire) is just around the corner, and being right by the river, is a lovely spot to sit and watch the world go by.

Run by a local family for more than five generations, Cadwell Farm, the home of Hitchin Lavender, has been in operation for over 120 years. Last year, it was even ranked the 10^th most beautiful flower field in the entire world. Yep, just let that sink in.

With over 30 acres of lavender, the farm has a designated field to pick from (the other one is for viewing purposes only). The main flowering season is between mid-June and late August, and likewise, for a small fee, you can pick your own (frankly giant) sunflowers.

You needn’t wait until June to see the flowers in bloom, though: between May and October, the fresh flower area is open, presenting a gorgeous mix of Dahlias, Cornflowers, Strawflowers, Nigellas, Cosmos, Zinnias and Astrantia.

And it isn’t just rows upon rows of sunflowers and lavender that you can see: the farm’s film initiative, Sundown Cinema, shows classic films on a huge screen.

In the past, film fanatics, camping chairs and flasks in hand, have flocked to watch the likes of Breakfast At Tiffany’s and Top Gun amid the picturesque rural backdrop.

Housing in Hitchin

As previously discussed, Hitchin is no longer cheap. Admittedly, it’s always been a nice place, but as my mum likes to recall, back in the 1970s, it was just a normal market town. There weren’t any nice delis, and it was long before the days of Oliver Bonas.

Now, there’s even a Gail’s – which is a classic sign that gentrification has taken hold. I don’t think there’s any way back.

Over the last year, semi-detached homes in Hitchin have fetched even more than Lloyds statistics at £561,376, and prices have increased by 4% since the year prior, according to data from Rightmove. The peak was reached in 2022, at £493,276.

If Hitchin is still within your budget, I don’t begrudge you. Good for you. I had the best childhood growing up there, and when I settle down in the future, I’d return in a heartbeat to give my future children the same joyful, albeit sheltered experience I had.

Behind every house sale, though, there’s a story. Ultimately, the housing crisis isn’t solely down to Londoners choosing to leave the capital to start a new life elsewhere if they can afford to. They have every right to do that, and I’m conscious that I myself chose to abandon Hertfordshire in my 20s in search of the big city lights, as is the rite of passage.

When there’s no hope of return and no chance of a spot on the housing ladder anyway, why not relent and give half your monthly salary to your landlord? No matter where I live, I’ll always think Hitchin is, as the locals say, bitchin’. And it’ll always be my hometown.

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