Moving to Cambridge - advice please

[twoterrors]

We are thinking of moving from london to Cambridge. My partner will be working in London so we'd need to be fairly near the station. All advice on schools, what the commute is like, nice places to go/live/things to do with children welcome.

Nappybrain:
We are kind of townie types, at least, we want all the services of a town to be closeby. We can and do cycle places, but love living without a car. I am not willing to play chaffeur for my kids when they become teens.

No one knows what students in Cambridge are paying? Or can tell me day rates in nursery ? Only one of the 4 Cambridge places I phoned would give an answer, £32.42 for a 2yo, and £29.55 for a 4yo, which would just about leave me me with pin money. I wondered what childminders charge....?

I went to CCAT too. I also had a lovely little house in Rathmore Close off Cherry Hinton Road.

I worked for Midlaand bank in Market Place and Mill Road too.

DH lived in BarroW Road and then bentley Road. I lived in Oakington when at home. I also worked in Heffers.

I love Cambridge, but do so hate the traffic. I can't believ that when I meet my mother there I use the park and ride!

I was at the university in the early 90s and LOVED Mill Road, though I didn't discover it until I'd lived in Cambridge for over a year! They had a radical bookshop - I think it might have been on Gwydir Street which I went to all the time - and Arjuna was fab, just what you needed after too much academia. I lived in Arbury for my third year and joined a local am dram group which put on Blood Brothers! floats off, lost in happy memories!{}

Now why did it move my brackets about there?

Do you remember The Whim in trinity Street? I used to go out with the owners son!

Also the Gardenia greek in Rose Crescent, great kebabs, but don't look too closely at the kitchen!

We're looking to move up the property ladder in Cambridge from 2 beds to 4 (amazing how much stuff a baby accumulates!) and can't quite believe a) how much we're going to have to spend and b) how quickly things move. Try here and here for excellent web pages - both are local - best websites of the whole shower of estate agents...when I'm not lurking on mumsnet, I spend my time struggling through estate agents sites.

Not many bad areas in Cambridge. Having lived in big cities all my life till I moved to Cambridge, I feel just fine about living in a 'rough' area (Arbury/Kings Hedges) and have had no trouble/ not seen any trouble since I moved in.

DS is 6 months now and it took four months to get enough things to do to make me feel I had filled my week. Gymoree (closing at the end of the month), Tumble Tots, Sing and Sign, various mother and baby groups, Birthlight baby swimming and yoga - I think I have info on most of these if wanted.

Local schools are variable - Netherhall and Impington have a very good reputation. (As a teacher, I would be happy to send my child to either.) Avoid Coleridge, as it has just gone into special measures I think. Vast range of privte schools as well, the Perse regularly comes in the top ten in exam tables.

Sorry for the long post...I've finished searching through the dozen or so rubbishy estate agents' webites to find nothing of interest today. Sigh. Not all of them are updated everyday, so it is worth walking down Regents St and hassling them in person...very difficult with a buggy tho!

alibubbles - I had a holiday job waitressing at the Whim.

Enid - I know all those steets you mention - I had lots of friends in that area. But as I remember you are younger than me and so my CCAT time dates back to pre-enid days.

We pay just over £600 a month for full time nursery care. There is at least 1 nursery that does do certain days (rather than just mornings or afternoons) - can't tell you which one just remember talking to a mother about it at a mother and baby class. Nursery vouchers start the year before you child strats school (i.e. about 3). Cambridge is wicked and I love it!!! Its just got soo many things going on! and its great for rowing!!!!!

hi ya, we live nearer to Bury St Edmunds, dh drives to Cambridge a couple of times a week for work, no probs, 40 mins!

we are visiting the town more often and begining to venture of the main drag, where is this infamous mill road?, I often look for good wooden toys and never find any, ds is having a birthday very soon!

misspastry, if you head towards the Queen Anne car park, then Touch Wood toy shop is just round the corner at the town end of Mill Road...

I was only in there yesterday and they have many cool things (sigh - when I win the lottery!!!)...
find parkside swimming pool and the firestation and there is some traffic light (near parker's piece and the Grafton centre) and look around there is mill road. Walk up it past the wine shop and not much further is the toy shop (just before the health food shop, also worth looking in!).And you are very close to my house and are welcome to a coffee (if you excuse the mess)!

If you want a copy of the weekly Property News, ask the techies for my email and I'll send you one (its paper only not on a website). Zebra, Prufrock, Twoterrors, anyone else.....
By the way I love Cambridge and have been here for ever (both as a student and as a regular person!). Have moved a few miles out, however, for a bit of space. Trip into town very easy, also lots of park-and-ride schemes. Wouldn't want to upset anyone, but know lots about the schools too (public and private)

thanks for the instructions will report back when I have spent too much money, yet again!!

Hey Cazzybabs, where are you based - I think we're nearly neighbours (although I live on the 'wrong' side of the Mill Road railway bridge!)

Trying to avoid Touch Wood at the moment, as my bank balance is too low and the last time I was in there it set me back more than £50!

Zebra, my ds is at nursery full time at £670 per month (oh god that looks bad written down). His nursery will only take older children (over 2 I think for half days) so I don't know if that's much help for you.

I'll have a look at the rental section of the property press when I get home Zebra (am at work now - nice )and let you know what's what with individual rooms

So, looking at the Property Press, rooms are available on the open market at £240 - 325 pcm, depending on size and facilities.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Gizmo. Could be helpful.

DH is now applying for jobs in Diss (Norfolk). Can I live somewhere that remote & rural??? I told him we have to go scope it out before I say ok.

My whole life is up in the air, at the mo'.

I live on Eden St - near starbucks by the Grafton Centre. Which nursery do you send your ds to? How old is he? My dd goes TO JCN and is 14 months. and is trying to help type

Hi Sed,
could you send me a copy of that Property Newsletter for Cambridge? Just to soothe my anxious soul? Email me as ma dot zebra at
ntlworld dot com. Ta!

Sure - will do

Hi Zebra - I live about 30 mins away from Diss in Suffolk, so let me know if you have any 'Suffolk' questions I can help you with. Beautiful part of the country BTW but very rural.

Actually, I noticed a cloth nappy napuchino in Diss advertised on UKP so started to think Diss might not be a redneck-style backwater after all.... But what do people who live in very rural places do all day, esp. with kids??? How do you cope with knowing everybody in the village or town?

We don't want to own a car which makes me & DH think a little town is out, but I am trying to persuade him that Diss probably has a car-hire place.

I grew up in a city of 1 million and progressive seem to be heading for smaller & smaller places to live in. Weird because I'm definitely an urban gal. I'd like clean air and low traffic, but not sure I can cope with few services & shops. I found a 1:50k OS map of South Norfolk in the cupboard & couldn't believe empty the countryside looked around Diss.

Babble, babble, babble... I'm babysitting macros, honest. -Z

What do people do in rural areas all day?

Err........ go on Mumsnet!! Take long walks; spend time with friends & neighbours (yes, you do get to know 'everyone' which can have its disadvantages!!); do voluntary work; lie in the sun all afternoon on days like today!! Organise the toddler group & pre-school ........ that sort of thing!!

Diss is pretty quiet, but it has shops (no shop in the village where I live) - it probably doesn't have a car hire place, do you want me to find out?

Zebra - dh grew up in a large city and we now live in a small town/large village. He did find it hard to adjust at first, since you do have to make an effort to go places or do things, as everything is not on your doorstep as it quite often is in a city. However, having been here 11 years he is used to it now and doesn't miss the city life any more. Also he says he would rather bring up children here than where he used to live.

I have just read in this month's Junior (sorry) that Allison Pearson (I Don't Know How She Does It) is moving to Cambridge... are any of you her?!!

Thanks Lindy, I guess if DH gets offered a job in Diss I might take you up on that. We could live in Ipswich/Norwich & commute, or even gasp step off our pedestals and buy a motor, after all. DH says he applied for 3 more jobs this morning. He works in IT (C++ progamming, etc.). I sort of thought he'd at least get an interview by now (has applied for at least 12 jobs). Oh well!