So why is Hertfordshire so expensive? The most Googled questions revealed

The most frequently searched questions on Google by county

Using Google’s Autocomplete function with the search questions ‘Is’ and ‘Why’ we were able to see what the most searched questions were about each county.

Whether the results are a reflection on the actual counties or the people searching is up for debate. But we have tried to be helpful by answering some of the burning questions according to the Google searches.

In Herts, the most Googled search questions were ‘Why is Hertfordshire so expensive’ and ‘Is Hertfordshire a city’.

So is Hertfordshire expensive, and if so, why? Well it is a big old county but according to property website Zoopla, four of its highest value towns are in or close to Dacorum.

Boosted by easy access to London the likes of Berkhamsted, Kings Langley, Harpenden and Radlett (which was the most expensive area in the whole of Herts) feature in Hertfordshire’s top 10 highest value towns according to Zoopla.

We all know the answer to the next one, but clearly a lot of people don’t. But why might there be confusion about whether Hertfordshire is a city?

The clue is in the title, the fact it ends in ‘shire’ means it is a county, not a city.

The county was the area assigned to a fortress constructed at Hertford under the rule of Edward the Elder in 913. It was reportedly derived from the Anglo-Saxon heort ford, meaning deer crossing.

The name Hertfordshire is first recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 1011 and there is evidence of humans living in Hertfordshire from the Middle Stone Age.

But what of some of Hertfordshire’s near neighbour counties? The Google Autocomplete search for other counties included:

‘Why is Buckinghamshire postcode HP’ and ‘Is Buckinghamshire posh’.

‘Why is Oxfordshire abbreviated to Oxon’ and ‘Is Oxfordshire going to get snow’.

‘Is Bedford awful’ and ‘Why is Bedford not on Google maps’.

‘Is Northamptonshire a good place to live’ and ‘Why is Northamptonshire called the rose of the shires’.

‘Is Leicestershire ok’ and ‘Why is Leicestershire associated with foxes’.

‘Why is Warwickshire associated with bears’ and ‘Is Warwickshire near Birmingham’.

It could be worse, though. The most common search for Essex is ‘Why is Essex so bad’ while the capital city is ‘Why is London so crap’.