Honest opinion - what is Newmarket like?

[Fagin99]

I've just been offered a job on the Suffolk border (currently live in North London) and Hubby and I are looking for somewhere to move to where I can get to work, and he can still travel to London 4 x a week.

Cambridge is a clear favourite and is beautiful but isn't a lot cheaper than where we currently are (we're renting but want to buy in the next year or two). Newmarket is much more affordable and nearer to this job, but I don't know anything about it and I've seen completely mixed reviews online. Some say it is a dump, others say it is quite middle class (which, I have to be honest, I do prefer...). On the plus side, I do like horses :-)
Are there different areas to Newmarket which are 'good' or 'bad'?

Any advice much appreciated. x

I like Newmarket . Nice traditional high street and lots of horses. I don't live there though so can't give you any solid information.

I live near Newmarket, I like it but some consider it a strange place. I think you either like it or hate it.

It looks a little rough around the edges in places and the selection of shops on the high street isn’t that attractive. There are lots of betting shops and charity shops, coffee shops (Starbucks, Costa etc and a couple of independents) and hairdressers... a few independent shops, a tk maxx and some ‘value shops’. There was a small M&S but it has just closed. Plenty of supermarkets including Waitrose. There’s no cinema (closest is bury or Ely)

The horses are nice to see but hold up the traffic in the mornings. The racing industry has a huge influence on the town.

Schools wise I’m not sure I’m afraid. I don’t think the secondary school is well rated. There’s a private primary school.

There are lots of nice pubs in the surrounding villages but I’m not sure about those in the town itself. There’s a good selection of restaurants, independent and chain.

There are plenty of open spaces, the racehorse training grounds are open to the public in the afternoons once training is over.

It’s an easy drive to bury st Edmunds and Ely which are nice. Cambridge is also easy to get to. To go west of Cambridge, currently the roadworks on the a14 are a nightmare.

I think the nicer areas are around Bury road and Fordham road. Exning is also nice- a small village just outside the town. Further away are the swaffhams and Burwell which are nice.

To get to London on the train from Newmarket you need to change at Cambridge, but it’s easy enough. Have you considered villages north of Cambridge within easy reach of Cambridge North station (eg Milton, waterbeach)? There are some direct trains from Cambridge north to London. Or Ely, which is on the mainline to London?

I wouldn't commute to London from Newmarket 4 days a week, sorry. Whereabouts in London does he need to get to? Your best bet may be someplace along the Cambridge - Liverpool St line, but it won't be cheap.

I would reiterate the commuting from Newmarket to London would be hard. Have you considered Sudbury (dont live there but know it is very well regarded)? Where on the Suffolk border will you be working because it may be very easy to drive there from places like Diss or Stowmarket (on the main London to Norwich route)

its one of the weirdest places in the UK

The richest people in the country live there.

It is also a major hub for people trafficking and slavery, particularly of ethnic origins with a lower average weight, such as pakistani boys, who are used to ride horses, but may not be paid or even adequately fed.

There are many upper middle class schools and communities, and many aspiring-to upper middle class families, much judgement and snobbery, and the last relics of the English class system very much upheld and rigidly applied.

There is appalling organised crime, mostly within the racing industry.

There is a prevalent culture of gambling, with all that goes with it, flash Harry's with their brand new millions, and those who have crashed out of the system, losing everything on their way to rock bottom, and destitution.

it is not a place to raise children.

I lived there for three years and it’s weird. Lots of people who live there are transient workers with the racing industry. There is a lot of money and an awful lot of poverty, side by side. The villages around it are lovely but no way would I live in the centre again.

Ely is on the trainline to Kings Cross ans Liverpool Street, but that might make your commute harder depends where you’re working? But it’s a much nicer place to live and have kids.