Anyone lived/ living in cambourne ?

[Busymummy50]

I am currently living in London but looking at possibly moving out of London.

Discovered Cambourne and been up twice. Looked at a house, visited Morrison's and also cambourne village college open evening. It ticks most boxes but even though not too keen on new builds, it means we can afford a bigger house compared to in London.

Please can someone let me know what it's like living in cambourne? Is there much crime and what kind of crime happens most? Is there much anti social behaviour too? Is it convenient on buses to get into cambridge? Does it feel quite safe especially at night?

Has anyone not liked cambourne and moved out of It and why?

Hearing from people who live there is much more information than I can get through research!

I'm sure I will be outing myself here, but I know Cambourne pretty well as my ds recently moved there. We live in a neighbouring village and I attend many social activities in Cambourne, and have lots of friends who live there.

My ds always had lots of friends in Cambourne and in his teenage years went to Youth Clubs etc there. There is a lot more to do in Cambourne than in nearby villages. There are buses every 20 minutes into Cambridge during the day, and every hour at night until quite late. Lots of smaller villages round here have a very limited bus service. Also, one of my sons is very sporty and I used to have to take him off to football, cricket etc in other villages. Cambourne is big enough that it has all that, so teens can walk to those activities.

There is some low level anti social behaviour, but that is true in any area with lots of teens. Even the "naice" village where I live has had its share of vandalism etc. I go to a Bootcamp class in the evenings in Cambourne and usually cycle there and then on to Morrisons, so I'm often cycling around in the dark and it feels fine. I also go to visit friends there and have never felt unsafe even when coming home quite late. Cambridgeshire Constabulary has a page showing the latest crime stats, and for the Cambourne policing area there was one reported incident of ASB in the last period. In contrast, the Histon policing area had 7 instances of ASB. The reality is, I'm sure, that both areas had more but they are not always reported. I know that there's an ongoing problem in Cambourne of unlocked bike being taken by teens to cycle home. These are then abandoned somewhere, and usually a helpful person pops up on the Cambourne Information FB page with a photo of the abandoned bike and a description of where they spotted it. So I wouldn't leave my bike unlocked in Cambourne but otherwise it's fairly safe.

My son moved there recently into a shared house and loves it. He's in Great Cambourne. If I was going to live there I'd probably opt for Lower Cambourne as it's prettier.

The other factor is commuting times to London. My dh sometimes gets the 07.18 from St Neots (15 minute drive) Which gets into Kings X at 8am. He doesn't go regularly so has to buy ticket etc but if he had a season ticket he could probably be in Kings X within an hour of leaving home. There are several trains in rush hour and some are slower.

Hopefully someone will come along who actually lives in Cambourne and who can advise you better.

The school is lovely. My close friend is the heads PA.
my dd was going to transfer there earlier this year due to problems at her current school. They were so welcoming and kind. I would have liked her to go there. The school isn’t too big for a secondary.

Cambourne in a great place for children to grow up. Loads of parks and open spaces, a big country park and nature reserve, lakes to feed the ducks in, lots of primary schools.

It feels very safe and friendly. Yes the is a bit of antisocial behaviour but nothing like a city. I came from Cambridge city centre and love it here.

My teens go to comberton village college so I can't comment on Cambourne, but they are part of the same academy.

You can commute to London via st neots or Cambridge.

The teens use the bus to go to Cambridge but it's not cheap.

I'd highly recommend it.

I live in Upper Cambourne and my DS goes to one of the primaries. We've been here 4½ years now and we like it. I travel into Cambridge for work which is a nightmare at the moment due to the A428/A14 roadworks!

There is a lot for kids to do, my DS goes to Beavers and there's loads of sports going on. I often get the bus into Cambridge to go for a meal/drinks at the weekend, its' £13.40 return for 2 adults. Cheaper than a taxi for sure.

St Neots is also good for local shops and there is a cinema and nice restaurants there. I have used the St Neots train to get to London a few times, it's quick and cheap and the parking is good value.

I feel safe but then I don't walk about at night too much. There are a few FB groups which you should look at.

There is low level crime, many bored teenagers moving bins into the roads at night or recently some people had their wing mirrors damaged overnight.

I'm originally from Cambridge and I'd recommend it.

I moved from London to Lower Cambourne 13 years ago and I'm still here. It's a great place to bring up children and we have experience of the primary schools and the secondary here. My daughter was the first year to go there and is in year 11 now. My eldest son also attends. It's a very good school.

It feels a lot safer here than it did in London, I'm from the East End and the crime there is vastly different to here. There isn't a lot of crime here and you don't really hear of violent crimes. Some teens get bored and do the usual teen thing of drinking and making a bit of noise, but again, nothing compared to London.

Bus into Cambridge is ok but it's a lot more convenient to get around if you drive.

Happy for you to pm if you want to talk further.

@Busymummy50 - I'm in the same boat and situation as you ( we must have been at the same Cambourne open night on Wednesday?), however, I moved from London to Cambridge with DH & DS 4 years ago. Love Cambridge. now divorced, thinking of moving to Cambourne due to secondary school options for next year as Parkside is our first choice and we are in the centre, but its very competitive. I don't know wether to take the leap to Cambourne, which as a Canadian made me wonder why so many houses and no shopping centre or cinema locally? anyway, I a really scared of feeling cut off now I'm a single mom, although I suspect it will be great for my DS who makes friends easily and will be near to school. However for me, that highway everyday! I wonder if anyone who works in town can tell me how they cope with feeling cut off from Cambridge, especially any single professional mom on here? @Busymummy50 do let us know if you move. Thanks everyone and this is my first post ever on MN!

There is a very good bus service into Cambridge from Cambourne Sustygirl.
The cafe has a drinks night every month that looks popular.
The hub has lots of exercise classes as does the gym.
Might help you not feel isolated.

Live near Cambourne and know lots of people who live there & they all really love it. Lots of people from London already moved there & to this area as a whole / as it is easy to get to London.

it's popular as it is a nice location. Low crime and very safe. Good schools, plenty of amenities. Nearest cinema is St Neots or Huntingdon. Travel to Cambridge is a bit of a chore - but Cambridge isn't the best city to commute to from anywhere in fairness. For London, the A1 etc its great.

FYI There is another pub & hotel on the cards. Also an investment bid has been submitted to finish the high street.

Overall good value for your money, we went a bit further out as we couldn't quite afford Cambourne at the time, but we use a lot of the facilities there.

Thank you! @ihatethecold I love your username btw. Same here!

Susty I know lots of single mothers who have moved to Cambourne following marriage breakdown, usually because the housing is more affordable. One of my close friends moved there 3 years ago after earring from her husband and loves it. She especially likes the fact that there are enough activities for her dc to do in the evenings without her having to be a taxi service.

Her dc are at Comberton because they had already started there when she moved to Cambourne, but it's even better if you live in Cambourne and the kids go to the village college as they can walk or cycle there really easily.

EmmaGrundyfor PM, Thank you so much! that's very encouraging! I would be delighted for any contacts via DM. Can't help being Canadian I think, we always want to make new friends and contacts. Thanks again for your time. You should be PM

Susty I dont know any Canadians who live in Cambourne but im sure there must be some. I live in a small neighbouring village and there are two Canadian families living here so there must be more in Cambourne.

There's a Cambourne Information FB page which might be worth joining if you have questions about Cambourne. People on there are very helpful.

Join the Cambourne uncensored page. Much more interesting 😉