Haverhill, Suffolk

[WhimsyWoo]

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

@Gunpowder I’m not sure where you’re thinking of but Haverhill has neither a train station nor an outlet village.

I live close to Bury St Edmunds and grew up there.

It's very pretty and has good middle and upper schools. Has lots of open spaces and isn't far from larger places like Cambridge and Norwich.

It is going to feel very slow in comparison to London. In my work I meet a lot of folk who moved out of London and are frustrated and bemused with the pace. It makes me giggle as I know no different and advise them not to move into Norfolk as it's slower still.

Haverhill does have a reputation. There are loads of villages in the area which a better

Ok so I have lived here but also have my extended family that still live there.

I visit maybe twice a year , and it's certainly changed from when I was little and has some fantastic memories with my grandparents and family .

I don't know about the crime rates. But I do know that everyone seems to know everyone . My dad has lived there all his life and he won't move from there .

The high street is awful, but I'm used to living in a big city so really can't compare. There's lots of pubs , probably too many for such a small town.

The Clements isn't somewhere I would live now but when I was small i loved it .
There are parts of haverhill that look lovely to live in .

If I were to live in Suffolk again it would be in the surrounding villages . I have driven through most of them and Great Shelford seems very nice .

I have fond memories of growing up on the Chalkstone estate.

@Gunpowder sounds like you are thinking of Braintree not Haverhill?

Haverhill hasn’t got a station, if being able to get to London matters then that may be worth thinking about. It’s one of the reasons it is cheaper than lots of the other places in the area.

North Cambridge council estates have a reputation

Haverhill really isn't as bad as some posters are making out. Yes there are a couple of less well off estates that have some social issues but no more than anywhere else. Generally, and we've lived here for 14 years, people are friendly, we've a lovely big (affordable) house, we have some beautiful countryside walks on our doorstep, the schools are good, public transport into Cambridge is great and London is an hour's drive away if you need to commute.
The main drawback is Hancock as the MP!

Personally I wouldn’t want to live there. Bury St Edmunds, on the other hand, is lovely.

Depends what you want op,good schools?restaurants,good community?
Fwiw,I would not move there,it's ok to drive through but I wouldn't want to live there.
Woodbridge is lovely,as is framlingham and villages around there.

@RockNRollNerd l was thinking they meant Braintree as well?

It was on long lost family (what happened next)last night

I wouldn't. I looked around outskirts when moving to Cambridge for work, years ago. I was single and mixed ethnicity and Haverhill was awful. Got a terrible vibe everywhere apart from a lovely cat lady. Ended up in Chesterton, which was lovely.

Haverhill isn’t too bad. The town centre looks awful but lots of the people that live there now commute into Cambridge because it’s so expensive there. The schools are good but it is mainly white people like most of Suffolk.

Saffron Walden’s nice (but expensive) with good train links into London and Bishop Stortford and Royston are also on good train lines.

Bury and the villages around Haverhill are all lovely though.

The people saying its awful, a hell hole etc must live in some very nice areas.

Because i can tell you, It is ALOT better and ALOT safer than most parts of London...

Like a lot of small towns some of the shop have shut - but there aren't many gaps. There are several green areas across the town East Town Park (natural area with a good dc play area & the river running thru- the Flood Park which is actually lovely with a lake (fishing!) with wildfowl & a pretty island, quite a few different eating places (forget the spoons!) including decent pubs nearby & quite a few clubs for different ages - it has an unwarranted bad reputation
& again the theatre - live music plays etc (much cheaper than when the groups appear in the big towns

@RockNRollNerd you are absolutely right!! thank you!

Please ignore me OP/everyone!

I’m not sure anyone would actually choose to live in Haverhill if they didn’t have to. It’s pretty bad.

There are many, many, many nicer places to live, including London.

Haverhill is horrible. Bury St Edmunds is a really nice, pretty place in Suffolk and house prices are reasonable too.

Bury st Edmunds is lovely, there's some nice places nearby.
Ipswich isn't bad either, obviously there are some estates that are nicer than others.
Stowmarket is worth a look too

Bishops stortford is a whole world of price difference from Haverhill though.

Can I ask exactly what’s wrong with Haverhill? My friend looks happy even though he’s never there and his wife always posts lovely pics of them going for walks and things, and really likes it as far as I can tell. Is it just boring or rough or not much to do?

If you are mixed Asian, Cambridge is a good city. My brother and his family work and live in that area. His wife is white English and their children are mixed.
They are very happy and live in the northwest part in a village. The school systems are very good and have links to Cambridge university.
It also has a fast train to London. I think they told me it’s only 1 hour to Kings Cross.

Well I like it. 😉

me too! we moved from one of the "posher" areas mentioned & I might add there are quite a few people moved from there that I know of - who like the town & whose dc have done very well & people are friendly - of course you meet the odd bod but we had a god awful neighbour in the last place we lived - & we are " a cultural mix"
unlike some country towns the bus is regular because it serves Addenbrookes & the city from v early in the morning to late enough at night to go out in Cambridge - most people don't drive into Cambridge (it goes close to Cambridge station & the Botanic Gardens)

& students go into Cambridge for colleges because the bus goes that way -like Hills Road - & regardless of what school college you go to you have to get the marks to get into Cambridge (& - ahem - some dc do get into that "kind" of prestigious university from Haverhill)
google Haverhill Arts Centre & the Sports Centre & the cricket club etc