Haverhill, Suffolk

[WhimsyWoo]

AIBU to think it just isn't the place for raising a mixed family?

Sorry I visited a few years ago and thought it was pretty grim. Maybe it’s improved.

It's not a place to raise any family...

Christ.
It isn't that bad....
Its a hell of alot better than alot of areas of London and other places, Manchester, Blackpool etc....

There are afew crappy estates but violence and crime is nothing compared to most areas

It's pretty grim

It is mostly white people....
Mixed how do you mean? Race?

Haverhill hasnt got a big black community

There are alot more Eastern Europeans

There are some beautiful villages around Haverhill, nice little schools...

The Chalkstone and Clements estates aren't great, but not awful..

As i said ALOT better than other areas.

Wow, I didn't know there were even crime issues there at all. Time for me to do my research!

Mixed in ethnicity, yes. We're looking to move anywhere around London but is so bloody hard trying to find somewhere to raise children to understand people are different if they don't see the difference or representations of themselves.

By around London, we're moving from there to anywhere of a certain radius around there, think a circle with Suffolk being the highest we'd agreed on.

They don’t call it Haverhole for nothing.....

the 2 high school are decent there is an Art Centre (live theatre not at the moment sadly) a market twice a week good bus service into Cambridge including evenings & Sundays which means access to schools there - lots of new housing swimming pool & sports centre - & it not far from Bury St Edmunds which also has West Suffolk College
The biggest downer is the MP its …. Hancock

Like any town it has areas that have problems but so does Bury St Edmunds (which people think of as more middle class) & as for Cambridge...

If you live in London, Crime is 90% less or even more in Haverhill....

I grew up in London, Worked in all areas.
I wouldn't walk around alot of places in London, especially at night

Haverhill - Would walk anywhere , any time.
Kids play out alone, skate parks, basketball courts, people talk to each other,
The bus driver isn't behind a shield, and they actually talk to you as well...

Haverhill has much more of a community feel.

Honestly, Haverhill is awful.

Hasn’t Haverhill just been on (long lost family what happened next)

I have a friend who lives there. His house is enormous and very cheap. He seems to spend a lot of his time elsewhere though, he’s always in Essex doing something.

@mumwon what about Cambridge!?

My DH nearly choked on his dinner when I told him about Hancock.

@SisterAgatha that's the thing, the houses look lovely but I'm already spending time elsewhere due to hating where I live!

What's Bury At Edmonds like and what's wrong with Cambridge? It was next on my list to look at.

Cambridge prices arent much different to London

Hancock was our MP.

He got booed out the local library not so long ago

@SisterAgatha

I have a friend who lives there. His house is enormous and very cheap. He seems to spend a lot of his time elsewhere though, he’s always in Essex doing something.

He wouldn't have to go far, Haverhill is right on the border with Essex!

Yes, literally....

Haverhill borders, Essex, Suffolk and Cambridge pretty much off the same roundabout 😂

Cambridge is expensive but lovely, at least as far as the central part goes. The town itself, whilst not exactly the most diverse place ever, is a lot more diverse because of the university, which is lovely. Have you looked at villages and towns around there? There are some gorgeous little villages around Newmarket (our where the racing studs are) and Saffron Walden, although Saffron Walden again isn't cheap.

@mumwon as for Cambridge what exactly?!

Don’t move to Haverhill. It’s a notorious hell hole.
Cambridge is great and so are some of the surrounding villages. I’ve been here all my life and have no intention of going anywhere else

Bury St Edmunds is great. Pretty, nice places to eat, beautiful surrounding countryside, good theatre, Waitrose, half-decent shops. It’s a different kettle of fish to Haverhill which probably only has a good train line into London and an sub par Bicester-style outlet village to recommend it. (Sorry Haverhill).

Downsides of Bury are that the train to London takes ages and involves a change (much better to drive to Sudbury or Haverhill) and also that it’s massively lacking in diversity, like most of the area.

Cambridge is gorgeous and a bit more diverse although still pretty white, but property is as expensive as parts of London.

Sorry, didn’t mean to be so mean about Haverhill. It’s just not as pretty as surrounding towns and villages. And very unmixed.

It’s primarily white but there are mixed race families here and I’ve never known them to have any problems because of that.

Like any area, some parts of town are nicer than others but it’s pretty standard. If you’re coming from London it will seem lovely in comparison. The main issue with it is the lack of variety of shops but Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds are within half hour of Haverhill for a big shopping day out.