Cambridge commute?

[tbleca]

I'll be starting a fixed term post at Cambridge shortly and am currently based in Norwich. Initially I thought I would commute for a few days a week but the few trial runs of the commute I've done have been grim!! Delayed, packed trains etc which are pretty expensive too... From my initial research Cambridge looks awfully expensive with a huge demand for properties...

Just wondering if anyone commutes/has done the commute and has any recommendations for affordable and nice places nearby?

Cambridge is very expensive.

People who commute in usually come down the mainline from kings lynn, so places like Ely, Littleport, Downham market etc.

I can imagine the commute from Norwich is not fun,

How many days do you need to be physically there?

It really is eye-wateringly expensive!😥

At looking to be in 2/3 days a week, but would also like to have easy access to drop in for random events and lectures/seminars at short notice (can't imagine that with the commute I'm currently facing at the moment!).

Cambridge traffic is completely grim. How long is your fixed term for, and do you have a college affiliation?

There are a few people who rent rooms, which I think would be your best bet. It’s also easy to get the worst of both worlds in a neighbouring town or village - a nightmare commute and expensive rent/housing costs. You can generally cycle anything within a 7 mile radius.

You could use the guided bus to commute in. It runs from St Ives and stops and various villages on the way. At the moment I think its about £6 return and there is a bus approximately every 20 minutes

Mon-Fri room rental is probably your best bet unless you are looking at relocating.

Double rooms in a shared house in Ely run from about 400-600 pounds a month.

Littleport costs less but has fewer trains.

Cambridge rooms (that are actually in Cambridge not one of the villages) run 500 upwards but you usually need to pass an interview with the other housemates.

Thanks everyone - I can't drive so will defo have to get a bus or train in... I am also very loathe to do a house share ever again so am trying to avoid this at all costs😂

I have no college affiliation and am on a 18 month contract @aquarimum do you mean that I could potentially rent a room from a College? And that was my worry about moving to a village too and getting the worst of both worlds... I actually feel it would be easier to move to London and commute from there😂

@Octavia64 thank you for suggesting Mon-Fri rentals - I was thinking of this too, but have never done it before in practice - I worry it might be a bit unsettling being split between two places...

I recently was doing a masters at Cambridge.

One of the lecturers commuted in from Sheffield.

If you are only needing to be in two or three days then honestly a premier inn in Cambridge and a folding bike is probably cheaper.

Cheapest studio flat in open rent in Cambridge at the moment is this one

www.openrent.co.uk/property-to-rent/cambridge/studio-flat-kings-hedges-road-cb4/1987380

Which is 850 per month. Area is dodgy but nowhere in Cambridge is really bad.

Ely doesn't have any studios available but this one went for 775 per month (and is in the middle of Ely)

www.openrent.co.uk/property-to-rent/ely/1-bed-flat-forehill-cb7/1825418

St Ives also no studios available but cheapest there is 750 per month.

www.openrent.co.uk/property-to-rent/st-ives/studio-flat-studio-outhouse-pe27/1671831

What's the chance of you staying on? From bitter postdoc experience, I wouldn't bother uprooting any life you have in Norwich for less than 2 years contract unless you have a very strong chance of extension. Just cut down the number of days you're in the office, network like mad when you're there and use the Cambridge name on your CV without committing. You'll probably be leaving for your next contact before the 18 months are up anyway, or at least spend the last 6 head down applying for everything rather than attending seminars.

Ely is very easy by train and a nice place to live.

@Octavia64 thanks so much for the links! I was struck by how little properties were actually available when I did a quick search in terms of studios/one-beds the other day - I do wonder if it's because we're mid-term and they'll become available in Sept... ps. hope you enjoyed your masters!

Everything in Cambridge/area turns over in Sept.

There are two universities there and they drive a lot of the rental market. It also impacts the villages around.

There will be a lot of stuff over the summer.

@StamppotAndGravy thanks for your perspective and really sage advice - I am also cynical about uprooting myself given the circumstances hence the hesitancy - I'm being encouraged by some older academics who aren't really aware of the housing market craziness/never had to do the ECR precariousness to somehow magically move to central Cambridge and attend every seminar/lecture I can and say yes to everything😂And I didn't realise that most people left post-docs earlier than expected until very recently so that defo helps put everything into perspective... I don't expect there will be any chance of an extension. The university feels a bit like an insider's club so am not sure about whether I'd want to stay on really (I'm probably projecting there though!).

If you can get a college affiliation then they are normally able to sort out pretty cheap sccomodation fairly centrally.

Not sure how you would do that; not really my field. If you know/have some contacts there offer to supervise some post/undergrads and ask if there is a college fellowship or something going?

There is also a trainline that runs hourly from Ipswich to Cambridge and stops at Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket as well as other small villages. Might be worth a look for commuting.

There is also a trainline that runs hourly from Ipswich to Cambridge and stops at Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket as well as other small villages. Might be worth a look for commuting.

I have a nightmare commute with no chance of moving - think 2 hours either way on commuter trains with no tables etc. I have to be on campus at least 3 days a week. What I do to make it manageable is get a very early train and make two of my days super long ones with an overnight in a travel lodge. I also have an LG gram laptop which is very light and so I can move it around a lot. I commit to 3 days a week when I will stay past 2 (until 7 normally to miss the evening rush) but any other days that week I leave at 2pm to beat the evening rush hour. I leave emails to the train. It takes some adjustment but it is actually doable if you can cope with early starts. However, I do the overnight because 9pm home and out again at 5 is soul destroying :)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - really appreciate it! Am googling them and also planning on watching Escape to the Country episodes on the Cam commuter belt as part of my research 😂It also just occurred to what if I move but everybody else mainly works for home for most of the week and I'm suddenly the only one in 😂might have to wait till I start and then judge what it's like... Am in serious awe of those who move every so often to take up new posts/contracts esp. less than a year long - it's so stressful!!

@Octavia64 great idea about the fellow and accommodation links - will do a bit of digging and see if I'm eligible...

@MassiveTit ouch, I'm sorry about the commute - have done similar 2 to 3 hour one way-commutes in the past, but only for a day or 2 a week and agree that overnight stays are the way. I remember my brain would feel like it had fallen out after a full day of commuting long-distance and would hate to have to wake up and do it all again. Really hope that it is only like that during term term for you and you're able to wfh more during the summer term/outside of UG teaching terms at least??

Make that £8, and good luck sitting down unless you're on there before all of the 6th formers.

I've spent hundreds of hours standing on that bus for over an hour at a time. And once you hit rush hour it can easily take 40 minutes just on the stretch from histon to the train station. I absolutely hate that bus journey.

Again getting home anytime between 3.30pm and 6pm - be prepared to have to stand for an hour on that bus while being jostled by dozens of rowdy hills rd 6th form kids.

There is (or used to be - no recent experience), a university accommodation service, which lists rooms and flats and houses that are privately rented (i.e., not college owned) but to people who are connected to the university. It is worth enquiring to see if it still exists - they tended to be slightly cheaper rooms as the landlords were happier renting to university people as they expected them to be good tenants.

There are lots of long term air B&B type places too I believe, and might also still be a couple of private accommodation room finding sites; I'll try to remember the link.

Networking is certainly easier if you can stay nearby - dinners in colleges are very common ways to meet/be hosted, and talks often have drinks or dinner after etc, and getting all the way back to Norwich each day would be a real hassle. Even Ely would get annoying, though much more possible!

Definitely worth talking to the department/whoever you're working with to see if they have any leads, as someone might well have connections with colleges etc.

Accommodation service link: https://www.accommodation.cam.ac.uk/

What subject? That makes a difference to how many people are back physically.

I've realised I've also made assumptions - based on the fact that this is in the academic section - that even though you said you didn't have a college affiliation, you are actually still working in a department/institute within the University of Cambridge, which you never said and might not be the case! There are of course other universities, as well as academic posts in any number of other research institutes and facilities, hospitals etc. So the various links and ideas might not necessarily apply, though if you could get some kind of affiliation to a college or department if you don't have one already, it could be extremely helpful.

@leafbuds thanks! I'm finding the college affiliation thing all very confusing - in my naiveite, I thought all staff would automatically be linked to a college. As others have said, I think I could apply to be a fellow which looks like a competitive process. I might just have to suck it up and do the commute and stay overnight sometimes for events - maybe it will get easier once you get the knack of it and learn little tips and tricks...

But are you working for the university in some capacity? In that case, try the accommodation service for sure. What type of organisation is your post with and what sort of level is it?

I don't think you'll want to be commuting regularly and it would just put you off staying for the talks and drinks and dinners etc that you might get invited to - or might not, if people know you don't live nearby - so it would be much nicer if you could get some kind of local accommodation, and particularly in the centre of town, which univeristy related accommodation often is.

applying to be a fellow wouldn't just be something you could do for this length of job; you could apply for a junior research fellowship (depending where you are in your career) which is indeed a competitive process, but that's not quite the same thing as what you need. You need a college post or affiliation of some sort and then could ask if there is any chance of accommodation through them. Or if you are already staff at the university (not necessarily a college) then you could use the link I posted to the accommodation service - you are more likely to find a suitable flat or room that way, and don't need to take on more college work! (Though being associated with a college would certainly be good for networking)