Where to live in Cambridge/ Cambridgeshire, please?

[Batlou]

Our daughter and her boyfriend are thinking of moving out of London.

Heres the criteria:

She would need to get to work in the Hills Road area
He mainly works from home but will access to trains to London a couple of times a week
They need to get to the A11 to drive to Norfolk to visit us!
They need a good primary school and to live somewhere where they can settle, make friends and build a nice family life.

I don’t know the area at all. What would you suggest, please?

Thanks in advance.

Agree with Sawston and Saffron Walden, especially the latter. The No7 bus is hourly Mon-Sat and goes to Cambridge via Hills Road. You could look at Great Chesterford which also has a railway station running between London and Cambridge. All are within 10 minutes drive of the A11.

I would advise against Haverhill itself, but some of the small villages such as Withersfield, West Wratting or Linton.

From Newnham they could cycle virtually all the way to Hills Road and then the railway station on off-road cycle paths. No traffic holdups!

With £700K they could afford some of the lovely villages surrounding Great Shelford or Whittlesford - both of which have train stations on the Liverpool St line. Easy cycling to Hills Road and tick the other boxes too.

For 700k you can be in Cambridge. Why would you go through the hell of commutting?? Saffron Walden, St Ives, etc are really far away! I second Great Shelford, maybe Sawston although not as nice. If they're interested in a new build Trumpington is great.

What about Ely? easy access into Norfolk. Extremely quick trains to hills road area. Regular trains into London, including quick ones that take just over ran hour.

House prices are fairly reasonably priced compared to Cambridge. It’s quite a nice little place, with easy transport linked to London, Cambridge, Peterborough and Norwich. It’s got direct trains to stansted airport and it’s also very easy to get to Gatwick.

But also as others have said their budget will allow them to live in Cambridge.

I wouldn’t consider areas not on a train line to the west of Cambridge, such as st Ives. Commuter traffic is awful so trying to get to a train station can be hellish in the morning.

Also depends where you need to get to in London - ie is Kings x or Liverpool st better? Is size of property important? Preference of city or village? Requirement to cycle to hills rd or train/bus is ok?

Cherry Hinton would tick all of their boxes. It’s a lovely village and they could definitely find houses for their budget.

Cambridge traffic is a nightmare so I’d recommend living in Cambridge itself. Depends what they want from an area- quiet suburbia or lots going on. if the latter maybe Mill road area. If the former then Queen Edith’s area would suit. Newmham
Is lovely but expensive. Chesterton Area is great too but maybe a bit further from Hills Rd area.
As others have said buying in Cambridge is a nightmare I’m afraid! V expensive

Romsey Town, Petersfield or Cherry Hinton Rd area (as distinct from Cherry Hinton), cycle or walk and avoid driving. Lots of character and spirit. The primary schools are St Philip’s, Ridgefield and Morley Mem. Try not to be too close to Hills Rd itself as the character disappears and it’s just big house land.

I second Ely, it's really lovely, train straight to Cam station right next to Hills Road.

Ely, it’s a 15 min train and the station is very close to Hills Rd. Ely is a fab compromise between twin and country, it’s beautiful and the people are great.