Where to live in Cambridgeshire?

[Kiwi20]

Hello Cambridge Mumsnetters,

I'm looking for suggestions about where to live. Feeling a bit lost and clueless at the moment! The last post on this was from 2014, which was really useful, but wondering if there's new info for 2020 people wouldn't mind sharing.

Our situation: Me, DP, DD (2 yrs) and DS (10 weeks) are relocating to Cambridge from NZ in July this year. DP will be working at Addenbrookes, and I'm looking for a part time university research post, ideally in Cambridge, but I would travel to London if necessary.

We know virtually nothing about Cambridge (where young families live, where good nurseries are), and we don't have any friends there. We will be there for at least 3 years, so looking to settle a bit after being abroad. Our main criteria are: 1) to be within 9 miles of Addenbrookes/the train station so we can cycle to work 2) to buy a 3-4 bedroom place for ~350k 3) somewhere we can meet some other parents/make friends 4) get the kids into a decent nursery, ideally walkable from home 5) decent primary school nearby/walkable, and 6) has some nearby fun things to do together at weekends. This is our ideal, but I'm aware we could be expecting too much! We're not decided on city, suburban or village living yet.

Any suggestions would really welcome, as we are too far away to visit in person before we make the move. It all feels a bit daunting. So far we've come across Linton as a village option, but the nearest nursery requires driving (rather than walking), and they can't guarantee places for the kids at the moment.

Thank you very much!

ALOT of the places require driving and is joint by a carriageway where you wouldn't be able to cycle too...
Train stations are few and far between.

Sorry... That sounds really negative...

There are some lovely villages in Cambridge...

Thanks DecemberSnow, it's good to know what's possible. We have no idea! Which are some of the villages you think are lovely?

done this search for you

here
have a look and see what you think.

that was based on 3 beds not 4 though

"to buy a 3-4 bedroom place for ~350k"

Within 9 miles of Addenbrooke's?!

Good luck with that

Poor OP - I just had a gander out of interest - you don’t get much for £350k in Cambridge do you?!!!

What about Ely or Peterborough

House prices are awful! I’d look at whether you can get what you want with your budget. It may be worth commuting into Cambridge from other areas

My advice is to try and find somewhere to rent for 6 months, if you can (the standard term is 12 months but some ASTs have a 6 month break clause) which will give you some breathing room to visit various areas before committing to buying somewhere.

There's lots of new housing in Trumpington and it's a good location for Addenbrooke's but for your budget you'll need to go to a village further out. There are some great villages south of cambridge on the train line to London but they're expensive obviously. Prices will get cheaper if you go east of cambridge but be careful about the commute; I think PPs have already said that cambridge traffic is awful.

There are plans for a new train station near Addenbrooke's (Cambridge south) but it won't happen for years unfortunately.

I have friends who have moved to Histon on the express bus way, they are very happy with the schools and the house, I dont think it's too far from your budget.

Oops sorry too expensive

Have a look at Northstowe, It’s a new town, north of Cambridge, prices are reasonable and it’s on the guided busway that goes directly to Addenbrooke’s

Trains from Kings Lynn (norfolk) to Cambridge hourly, possibly half hourly. Might be worth looking along that line?

YY guided busway is a good shout

Maybe somewhere on the busway route from Royston to Addenbrooke's... would probably still be over budget, though.

www.thebusway.info/routes-times.shtml

For you, what kind of research?
Would it be worth looking at any of the following rather than Cambridge or London themselves?

Johnson Matthey, Royston (catalysts, precious metals)
Babraham Research Park (bioscience)
Granta Park, Abington (mostly bioscience, but also TWI, which used to be called the Welding Institute)
Chesterford Research Park (bioscience)
42 Technology, St Ives (tech transfer company)

There are obviously many more, but those are all commutable to Cambridge by bus or train.

A quick look on Rightmove suggests that Sawston might be worth a look. Good access by bike to Addenbrookes, but also Babraham, Granta Park, Chesterford and Royston. Large enough to have a secondary school.

Sawston definitely worth a look. Nursery and good schools.

Sawston is a good idea but is it within budget?

We love the villages just north of Cambridge (Milton, Histon, Waterbeach) - nice communities, good schools, parks, amenities, but it's quite a trek to Addenbrookes. People do do it from all of them though. If and when they get round to opening the Cambridge South train station then train from Cambridge North would be great. Otherwise you can get the park and ride into town and another out to the hospital.

Peterborough and Ely are a long commute from Addenbrookes.

As pp said waterbeach is a good option- has a train station too.

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and for all your suggestions. I really appreciate it. There are a lot of good options and more research for us to do. Rightmove is quite addictive. The guided busway sounds brilliant. Sounds like we'll need to up our budget if we want to live closer to town. Tricky, as until I get a formal job offer i'm classed as DP's dependant, and the amount we can borrow is lower than we thought! My research is public health/epidemiology so I would be looking to work at Cambridge uni or travelling to London with some remote working. Trumpington and Cherry Hinton seem like good locations for commuting, but we'd definitely need a bigger mortgage. Does anyone have any nursery recommendation for those areas?

There are good nurseries in both areas but I'd worry about the job and mortgage first.

In general there's plenty of good childcare.