Great community (arty, kindness!, etc) stone's throw from London?

[annakdangelo]

We are moving from the states next year (we have a three month old daughter and four year old son) and are looking for a London commuter town with friendly people (and ideally, a yarn shop, as I'm an avid knitter.)

We had been set on Cambridge (Morley primary looked great for us!) but it gets such mixed reviews here on Mumsnet! :)

We will only be in the UK for a few years, so primary schools are most important to us. Although we are coming from the very high pressure Silicon Valley in California, we are a very low-pressure family- we just want a school where a child can be a child, is known and loved, and learns a lot! :)

Nature, museums, and good food are important to us, but we are willing to travel for these things. Sell me your town! :)

[Nb65988]

Do u have jobs lined up and we're about

[Snog]

What's wrong with Cambridge?

[namastayinbed]

Cambridge sounds perfect for you. Especially with the science park for jobs (that bit is based on a massive assumption from me!).

[ScrubTheDecks]

Would you need to commute to London every day?

There are areas of London which are very much as you describe, East Dulwich, Balham, Richmond and many others.

[annakdangelo]

Hi ScrubTheDecks- totally open to different places, though was thinking we'd have a bigger garden outside of London. :)

[Snog]

Cambridge prices are very high, higher than many parts of London.
What is your budget?

[Theworldisfullofgs]

What do you mean by a stone's throw?

I'm wondering Stamford? Great yarn shop though I don't know what the schools are like.

Or my village if you want a wonderful primary! It's Cambridgeshire but not a town. Lots of people commute to London from here.

[annakdangelo]

Theworldisfullofgs- where are you located?! Budget is flexible (Bay area prices are crazy high right now, I think we could get 4500-4750 USD per month for letting our house.) Thanks for all the info!

[Snog]

On that budget I'd move to a nice house in Newnham, the most genteel part of Cambridge. Close to the river, parks and meadows but also close to great schools both public and private. A ten minute cycle over the common to the station. You can afford pretty much any rental in Cambridge OP.

[Snog]

Morland Terrace, Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge, CB2
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-65161966.html
Barrow Road, Cambridge
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-72970343.html

This is the kind of rental you could get in Cambridge. These are closer to the station than Newnham and in very good areas. Both are very close to the private schools.