Am I too posh for Cambridge?

[BeAmberWasp]

Leave my house and my odds of being harassed by a male seem to be almost 100%. Chances of passing someone stinking of weed/human shit/body odor are also 100%. Chances of being sworn at by a vagrant: 100%. Chances of having my bike stolen 0% because it's worthless and has 5 locks on it but if there was one less lock it would be 100%. There is no sense of community here. Everyone seem to be extremely rude to each other and there's a stabbing every week.

I am trying so hard to be less judgemental and stuck up but I don't have the fight in me anymore.

What the hell am I paying SO much MONEY for?

Can someone recommend somewhere better that isn't too far. What is Norwich like? Ely? Seems to have lower crime. Is moving to Southwold my only hope? I can't do this anymore. Cambridge is sold as a salubrious area but is extremely uncivilised.

You are exaggerating /misrepresenting "facts" OP
You come across as being very judgemental

So none of the people who replied and live in Cambridge understand what the OP is talking about.
How strange.
I don't live in Cambridge, but I still don't know what the OP is on about.

lol I live in Cambridge and this is nothing like my experience. Apart from the weed smell which is very strong in my garden- but it doesn’t bother me. 😛

I just used the Street Check website mentions by a PP for my area of Ely- it’s the place to be if you want to keep your bike safe 😂

I do recognise a bit of what the OP says. The place stinks of weed, and a foreign exchange student was stabbed to death by the station last week. There are scores of dodgy/illegal eSkuta bikes being ridden by men with masks over their faces.

And on a completely unrelated note, why do we fetishise Jesus Green Lido so much? I mean, has no one in Cambridge been to a decent European outdoor pool? It’s literally some shacks around a pool, and it’s hideously unclean because there are no footbaths and no-one enforces a no outdoor shoe rule. It’s also surrounded by overgrown trees (the tree lovers will be along to object shortly) that dump loads of leaves and crap into the pool, and the grounds are so grotty and nowhere nice to spread your towel out. It should be so much better!

We’re outside Cambridge now but still go in for shopping, I definitely think it has more eccentrics than the average city but not scary ones. My friend saw a man swigging cold tomato soup out of the tin on a picnic the other day, it’s that sort of odd. Does anyone remember the singing bin? And the naked cyclist with the boom box?

I do think it’s quite unfriendly though, more like London than such a small place should be in terms of politeness on the streets etc.

There is poverty but also merrily bombed about on my bike at all hours for several years which I didn’t in bigger cities I’ve lived in.

Where In Cambridge do you live OP? As I used to live in one of the rougher parts and don’t recognise this at all. But, I moved to a Cambridgeshire town instead of the city itself a couple of years ago now and I love it, feel super safe, lovely area, never any issues.

Do you live up the dodgy end of Mill road by any chance

Which is the dodgy end?

Up near Sainsbury’s end

Holt is being ruined by lots of tacky yet expensive housing.

Do only 'posh' people have high expectations of behaviour or do your expectations make you posh?

Maybe you're not too posh, but too poor. Maybe you need to live in a nicer bit of Cambridge, but obviously that comes at a cost.

We usually go into Cambridge, as our nearest city, but recently visited Norwich. I really liked it, though we mostly saw the city centre.

Are you sure you’re not in Hackney !?

I have an aunt who lives there. They think they’re posh but the private school kids are yobs who smoke weed!

Move to Manchester. Much less of the horrors you describe.

Oh dear, that's where I lived for four years :). I didn't feel particularly unsafe and I was often out in the street at 3am because my dog needed the loo! The biggest drama was when the president of Turkey visited the mosque there were two lines of police with riot gear outside my flat! (For a small group of very middle class protesters.)

Norwich is lovely, we moved here from Bucks a decade ago. It's a fine city as they say, well connected, clean, good access to the coastal areas in north Norfolk etc. We think it's fab 👌

Wells next the Sea is better than Holt but too touristy unfortunately now. Plus overtaken by second home owners too.

Everyone seem to be extremely rude to each other and there's a stabbing every week.

Pretty sure there's more than one stabbing a week here, sadly.

My son knows at least 3 boys who have been stabbed in the area within the past year alone...

I moved down to Cambridge 20 years ago. It's lovely although I live in one of the villages now so it might be awful to live in the city centre. I must admit, I was shocked by the blatant racism here. Not sure if it's the same now (probably).

Also not the friendliest of places. I remember going to a baby group in Girton and not one person would speak to me. Just one word answers. Very odd. I am northern though, so obviously too common 😁

when I used to go to clubs ( early 2000s) I was always surprised at how little violence there was on a Saturday night in Cambridge. Being from up north I thought several fights a night was the norm 🤔

Is Disco Kenny still around? I only go in to Cambridge for shopping now so haven't seen him in years.

“Vagrants”

Posh isn’t the descriptor of the OP that comes to mind.

All university towns where there is no other major employer tend to be shitholes IME.

Oh wow I was planning to book a place there for Christmas to invite some relatives for a week. I had not idea it was like this now.

No other major employer? Do you know Cambridge?!!