Areas of Cambridge to choose?

[ShroeLove]

I am moving to Cambridge with my children (daughters aged 20 and 18, and son aged 13).

Secondary schools are a big factor in choosing the area.

Which of the following areas would you recommend and which to avoid?

Abbey and Newmarket
Cambourne
Cambridge City
Cherry Hinton
Chesterton
Kings Hedges
Marleigh
Mill Road Romsey
Northstowe
Orchard Park
Arbury
Trumpington extension sites
Trumpington Village

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Choosing the right area in Cambridge is crucial, especially when considering secondary schools for your children. Here's a breakdown of the areas you listed:

Abbey and Newmarket: This area offers a mix of housing options and good access to amenities. It's relatively central, making it convenient for commuting and accessing schools in various parts of the city.

Cambourne: Cambourne is a newer development located outside the city center. It offers modern housing and amenities but may have limited options for secondary schools compared to areas closer to Cambridge.

Cambridge City: Living in the city center provides easy access to amenities, but housing options may be limited and more expensive. There are several good secondary schools in or near the city center.

Cherry Hinton: Cherry Hinton is a popular suburb with good access to schools and amenities. It's a family-friendly area with a range of housing options.

Chesterton: This area is close to the city center and offers a mix of housing options. There are several good secondary schools nearby.

Kings Hedges: Kings Hedges is a residential area with good access to amenities and schools. It's relatively affordable compared to some other parts of Cambridge.

Marleigh: Marleigh is a newer development with modern housing options. It may have limited amenities and schools compared to more established areas.

Mill Road Romsey: Mill Road Romsey is known for its diverse community and vibrant atmosphere. It offers good access to amenities but may have limited options for secondary schools.

Northstowe: Northstowe is a new development located outside the city center. It offers modern housing and amenities but may have limited options for secondary schools compared to areas closer to Cambridge.

Orchard Park: Orchard Park is a newer development with modern housing options. It may have limited amenities and schools compared to more established areas.

Arbury: Arbury is a residential area with good access to amenities and schools. It's relatively affordable compared to some other parts of Cambridge.

Trumpington extension sites: These are newer developments located outside the city center. They offer modern housing options but may have limited amenities and schools compared to areas closer to Cambridge.

Trumpington Village: Trumpington Village offers a mix of housing options and good access to amenities. It's relatively close to the city center and has several good secondary schools nearby.

Hi OP. This is going to obviously depend on your budget and what kind of property you’re looking for. Are you able to tell us that? The responses above are useful, although very neutral on the reputation of some of the less well thought of areas.

This is going to obviously depend on your budget and what kind of property you’re looking for.

Yes... I'm afraid much of Cambridge is hideously expensive. We had a vague look last year as my dd is in that area... she's not going to be buying anytime soon.
The trumpington new builds appeared to have been designed by Dementors and feature a lot of shoddy building.

I am new to this, but circumstances have led me to seek as much help as possible, so please excuse me if I am not replying correctly.

I am fleeing serious domestic violence under police protection and have been accommodated by the Cambridge City Council on the outskirts of Cambridgeshire.

I am applying for housing with Cambridge, and those mentioned areas are the options on the Homeless/Housing application.

I have lost everything and am starting from scratch, so it is crucial for me to make the correct decisions in order to rebuild a future for my children and me.

(I respectfully ask not to receive any negative comments in response).

Thank you so much for the valuable advice already received.

Sounds like something spat out by AI. Don’t you actually know any of these areas? Lots of these points are also wrong, too!

Hi, OP. Sorry about the circumstances: I hope you’re doing okay. You say secondary schools are key. Most are OK in Cambridge, but only a few state ones are very good. What kind of ability range/personality is your 13 year old, and what kind of school are you looking for? Cambridge is generally an 11-16 area with most sixth form provision being by sixth form college. The outstanding schools are hideously oversubscribed, so in-year places aren’t guaranteed, so don’t get too fixed on one school. There is a mix of different ones with slightly different characteristics though, so it might depend on your requirements.

Do you have a car and drive? That might make a difference to where you want to live. In general, I’d tend to say avoid the far north and east of the city - transport isn’t great and areas v mixed in say, Arbury/Orchard Park and Newmarket (I’d avoid Newmarket Road, or anywhere around there, like the plague). West Cambridge is posh but expensive, and there’s not a lot of teenagers or much friendly community. The Mill Road/Romsey/Petersfield areas are busy and lively with shops/amenities/decent schools (eg. Parkside, Coleridge CC); but they are expensive areas and housing is old, rickety and very cramped but desirable because it’s near the station.

South city and Trumpington is, despite being new build, more family-oriented and now had a lot more amenities (good transport links; housing isn’t actually bad quality at all). Trumpington CC has just gone up an Ofsted rating and is a small school ambitious to do well. Milton, Impington, Chesterton and Cherry Hinton all good with access to good schools, eg. Impington VC which is very well thought of, and Chesterton CC which is outstanding. Impington/Histon are nice village suburbs above Cambridge; Cherry Hinton and Chesterton are suburbs but with a more village feel, especially Cherry Hinton, but the transport into the city centre is less good than eg. Trumpington. Many people bike around, or get the Park&Ride into Cambridge centre. (Most of the centre is owned by the colleges, so there isn’t much residential housing there at all.)

Of your areas listed, with teenagers:

I’d avoid:
Abbey and Newmarket - ugh (tatty, drug problems, probably Cambridge’s least nice area, some red light activity and drug issues especially around the Elizabeth Way roundabout. I lived here as a student for a while and someone was murdered in a drug robbery next door! Most of Cambridge is pretty low crime, but this is one area definitely to avoid.)

Cambourne - 30 mins away by car, not much for teenagers to do, not much shopping apart from Morrisons).

Kings Hedges - some very tatty bits; not much for teenagers to do except get into trouble, bus services to centre not great

Marleigh - expensive modern development way out to the east, nothing to do, near ugly retail parks, you have to go down Newmarket Road to get to city centre (see above)

Northstowe - not yet fully built. A long way out of Cambridge - you’d need a car as it’s 20 mins drive away on A14. School is good however.

Orchard Park - right up on the A14; difficult for kids to get anywhere, not much to do.
Arbury - ditto. Some nice bits; some very tatty bits. More things for young kids; not much for teens.

Good options:
Cambridge City
Cherry Hinton
Chesterton
Mill Road Romsey
Trumpington extension sites
Trumpington Village

Chesterton. Brilliant secondary school. Easy to walk/bus to centre. Local shops and parks.

@asterel just helping the op considering I was the first to offer the perspectives, feel free to correct any mistakes I made using travel guides ect, trained in Oxbridge essay skills so did not take long to pull together, have a good day

Cambourne is not 30 minutes away and has an outstanding secondary school with an attached sixth form opening in September. There's a sports complex and tons of outdoor space. It will eventually benefit from a train station too but that's obviously in the future. Public transport is currently crap but if buying it's a good bet.

The AI post above is utter bollocks, ignore it all.

I looked at Trumpington and it's fantastically connected by the guided bus lane but the housing is best described as a future slum.

You'll get more for your money the further out you go. Swavesey is another outstanding secondary, as is Comberton. Swavesey is better linked by the guided busway though.

Can’t help you with areas OP but good luck and hope things work out. I was in a similar situation 10 years ago although the domestic abuse was not as serious 💐

I'd try and visit Cambourne if you can. It's a "new town" and it always gives me a slightly "uncanny valley" feeling when I visit. BUT I know quite a lot of people who live there and they have a great community and do seem to love it. I don't know how much it has to offer to an 18 and a 20 year old though.

Mill road, Romsey etc are vibrant and nice - not sure about schools. I used to live in Chesterton and liked that as well - the river up there was lovely. But I didn't have kids so I'm not necessarily totally up with the info for teenagers there.

Agree with @asterel s recommendations.

We lived in abbey near city boundaries and it's quite shabby and probably the poorest part of the city. It's better closer to the city center but obviously more built up.

Kings hedges has a very poor reputation and similar poverty as does arbury but that's a large ward and varies considerably.