Cambridge - are you happy living there ?

[yellowrose]

Hello

I am thinking about moving to Cambridge with my 2.2 year old son. We are a multicultural family, so I just wanted anyone's view on what life in Cambridge is like.

I used to live and work in Oxford (in my youth !), so I imagine its a similar place, quite cosmopolitan because of the university ?

Does anyone know anything about the nurseries/primary schools there ? Are they very difficult to get into ?

Any views appreciated. Thanks I am sort of new to mumsnet !

We love Cambridge - good schools, lots going on, nice green spaces. No nothing about multi-cultual issues - Carribean queen is your lady who will be able to help!

Driving is a nightmare and houses are expensive! And just read in the paper they might have to put roads over the nice green spaces due to congestion on the roads !

i live about 12 miles away and agree with cazzy... lots of people from all over the globe! only an hour from london, the coast and a little further to birmingham..

cazzy - I am thinking of renting as I am a single mother and not working yet.

It looks like the rent for a whole house with a garden is cheaper or the same as what I am paying for a 2 bed flat in London (£800 per month), so that is one of the reasons I am thinking of moving there.

I just find London impossible to live in now, with the high rents, my inability to afford renting a house with a garden, schools impossible to get into, etc.

Oh Cazzy, I live near the North Circular, so the tarffic here in London drives me potty. I haven't even dared drive into London with my 2 year old since the day he was born, I only shop and go out locally in London now and so feel very restricted. I am hoping life in a smaller City will be better ?

Well we have no car - live about 1.5 out of the centre and bike/walk in. Cambridge is lovely - lack of graffeti. There is loads to do with kids to!

Life in a smaller city will be different

Driving in Cambridge is a pain in the bum, but because it is so small you can usually get where you need to be within 30-40 mins (it's just that it should only take 15!) or more quickly if you're on foot/bike.

I imagine renting and buying will be cheaper than in London, but it's not a particularly cheap city, IYSWIM.

Having said that I absolutely love it here, and find there is a lot to do for a city of its size. And if you get bored, then the train into London is fast and direct.

I'm white, so can't comment on the multicultural aspect with any insight, except to say that it feels like there are good representations of most minorities, some of whom are studying at the universities, some of whom are settled here. DS's catchment primary says they have children from around 30 different cultures (in a school of c.120)

Good nurseries used to be difficult to find but there's now almost an oversupply of places (largely thanks to Kids Unlimited, who seem to have a stranglehold on the market round here). Generally the standard of primary schools is middling to excellent: there's only one or two that you'd actively want to avoid.

Come and have a look! At the very least it's a nice day out

Thanks everyone for the fantastic info. I am converted to moving there !

One more question, is there any area of Cambridge you would avoid ? Every city has a few places one should avaid (I can think of quite a few places in London !) especially with small children.

Are there such bad areas there ?

I LOVE CAMBRIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!

Use to live there before I had ds.

Housing is very expensive.

Arbury estate not so nice but that's 2 miles away from the centre. Chesterton isn't great either. Avoid being on parker's peace, Christ pieces, Jesus Green alone at night but otherwise very pleasant for a stroll during the day.

For primary schools, Milton Road has a good reputation.

The bad bits of Cambridge aren't as bad as bad bits of london - but having said that there are drugs etc!

Please feel free to ask any further question - areas around Mill road are multi-cultural and quite nice - having said that St. Philips school doesn't have a great repuation!

If you want to meet up - I will have happy to show you round!

boogie and cazzy - thanks so much. Thanks also for the guided tour, gosh I get so much more help here on mn that I had ever wished for ; )

cazzy - if you don't mind, I will contact you by email and we can meet up one day ? It won't be until Oct, Nov time, which is when I will be ready to view properties.

If I could reverse my previous question:

What are the top 5 locations to live in Cambridge ?

I appreciate some areas will be too posh and expensive, but I would like to know where these are any way incase I am lucky and can get a small house

Hi yellowrose - I've been looking at moving to Cambridge (dh has been offered a job there) and all I can say is that it must be a very friendly place if the Cambridge-based mumsnetters are any thing to go by!

If you search for threads with "cambridge' in the subject line you'll find the one I started - but I was more concerned with buying a house than renting, and with commuting back to London for my job.

thanks bluebear - will do ! true it sounds like everyone on mn who lives in Cambridge is very friendly !

Or a potential stalker

Nice to hear your husband got the job offer, BB.

Gizmo - mothers with small children following one around doesn't seem quite as bad as strange men with beards following one around (not that I have ever had a stalker with or without a beard, just a prejudiced image !)

Aha - but how do you know I'm not the proverbial mumsnet hairy ars* trucker?

Gizmo - go for the home delivery, hairy arse** or not !

I had my son at a birth centre here in London, the best thing I ever did. Avoid NHS hospitals like the plague, my opinon of course, but an educated opinion nevertheless !

Due you have a baby due soon ?

Hi Yellowrose, I used to live near the N Circular and know what you mean.

I am now in Cambridge and love it. Various reasons why we moved here, but no regrets at all. I guess it is pretty multi-cultural, but to be honest I don't tend to think in those terms or really notice these things.

Schools are very good in general, state and private and not usually a problem to get into - at least where I am.

Houses are quite pricey, especially south of the city, but there are some lovely villages around. Come up and have a look round!

Hello Cazzybabs

Hi CQ - nice to meet you too !

Thanks for the advice. I have also been reading some other Cambridge threads and get a very positive vibe about it.

I used to live in Vienna (a United Nations city) and went to an international school for 5 years and have spent the past 20 years in London, so I guess it is quite important to me to have my son mix with lots of different nationalities. It has made my life so much richer knowing people from all corners of the world, so that is why I am not that keen on living anywhere that is too monocultural.

I used to live in Oxford for a few years and worked there, so if its anything like Oxford, I know I will love it !

I am on a limited budget and lifestyle as I am not working, but hope to be able to rent a decent house with a garden for my son and a kitten to run around in

yellowrose, not sure what size of house or area you are looking for but as a guide to rental prices - our ex-neighbour rented their house out for £850 a month. it is a 3 bedroom detached house with a large-ish sort of garden in a quiet cul-de-sac in cherry hinton (which is about 15 minutes from the centre / about 3 miles?) and which was also in the catchment area of a very good primary school in the area. cambridge prices, unfortunately, is still pretty expensive as it is a commutable town to london. hth

with regards the multicultural society bit, because of the university presence, i think the city is rather multicultural. and like cazzy said (i think), mill road is the main area with its coutless ethnic grocery shops.

Thanks fez - I have looked on the internet and you are absolutley right £750 - £900 is just about the right rent for a house in Cambridge, an ordinary one of course not one with a swimming pool or tennis court

Oxford is the same, its full of fantastic ethnic restaurants and little deli shops which is what I loved about it as I am a serious restaurant-goer !

Thanks for advice re homebirths, yellowrose. Yup - baby due at end of September, so it's all kinda relevant at the moment.

By the way, you asked about top 5 locations in Cambridge? I have to say, I lived in the Mill Road area for 7 years and absolutely loved it for its neighbourhood feel, good delis and strange little 'local' shops. It's also got a good stock of rental houses of the type you describe. However, some people find it a bit shabby and even threatening at night (there are quite a lot of pubs there) and the local schools are middle of the road, by Cambridge standards.

Come and have a look - you'll probably either love it or hate it. Other areas worth thinking about would definitely be Cherry Hinton Road, Huntingdon Road/Castle Hill, possibly the end of Chesterton nearer to town or Milton Road (which is chock full of newer, semi-detached family houses at a reasonable rental).

Hi Gizmo

I have seen a terraced house (3 bed) on the net very near Milton Road. It is just behind Milton Road Primary which another poster here said has a fab reputation ? I would like to live near the city, I am a bit of a city centre freak and less of the village sort !

What do you think, would this be a good choice for a mother and toddler new to Cambridge ? I have an appoint. to see the house next week. Let me know your views please !

I have a friend who is a bit of a hippy chick sort (like me !) and she had a home birth with her first baby at age 25. She thought it was great, although the 2nd midwife took her time to get to her house. But this was in South London, in a "deprived" socio-eco. area with a shortage of mw's and lots of bad NHS hospitals.

If Cambridge has a better ratio of mw's, it is defo. a good choice to have a home birth. I am not planning on having any more children but if I were, it would be a birth centre or a rented pool at home for a home birth. Even at the grand old age of 38, I would avoid a hospital

Any way, I am sure you have already received lots of good advice on this website to make the right decision. Best of luck with the new baby !

Sorry I don't know anything about this part of town (it's north isn't it?), but I hope the viewing goes well.

Let us know how you get on.

Hi Yellowrose!

Ahhhhhh,Cambridge.....!!!

I grew up in Cambridge, went to primary and secondary school and then returned later to do my teacher training. I moved away for a job but my DH works there and our friends are there. Is my spiritual home!

It is a fab place to raise children and most areas are really nice. Like someone else said, the "roughest" areas are a world away from those in other cities. Without offending anyone, the Arbury estate and some part of Kings Hedges aren't so nice (with some parts being ok). I grew up in Chesterton - it's interesting having visited again as an adult, it feels like it's gone downhill. On the otherhand, a couple of roads which were really rough are having houses bought up by young professionals who are scraping the £200,000 together, so feel it could improve again. I would also not choose to live in the Fen Ditton area. (sorry sorry sorry if anyone is offended, my opinion only as a cambridgite)

Some of the roads around Victoria Road are very nice and that is Chesterton as well. Gilbert Road, Milton Road etc is great. Easy access to the parks and fifteen mins walk to town. Cocktails at the Maypole on Jesus Green in the summer.....mmmmmmm!

My ideal area would be the Mill Road area, but some terraced houses with 2/3 beds can go for as much as £1000pcm because of the "cool" label of the area, proximity to town and the young profs. Def worth a look though. Cherry Hinton is nice, but a little drive, though buses are good.

Off Hills Road/Cherry Hinton road is good. I rented a house off both roads (one at each end) for £750 with two beds about 4 years ago.

The area you are viewing a house in sounds good and just near where I grew up and went to school. If you want a chat, please do feel free to email me. Am [email protected] (no idea what CATing is).

Cambridge is the best place - the science park, university and hospital bring a real mix of people from all over the world. Our aim is to get on the buying property ladder elsewhere and be back there in time for primary school (am 13 weeks pg so planning ahead somewhat!!!!!!!!!!!). By the by, the Rosie Maternity Unit is excellent and nationally renowned, I believe!

Whoops that was a looooooooooooooong post. Over enthusiastic about Cambridge!