Possible move to March, Chatteris, North Cambs. Advice please???!!!!

[ruthimar]

My husband may have a job in Cambridge, but due to the potential salary and the value of our current house in Yorkshire we can't really afford central Cambridge or its suburbs prices. Houses in March and Chatteris appear to be very reasonable but I'm not sure whether they are nice places to live? We don't need to be near rail links to London and he doesn't mind a longish drive to work as he currently commutes approx an hour each way. We have two kids of primary age, so a half decent school is important though I am not obsessed with league tables and ofsted etc... I have seen a few threads on March, Chatteris etc... and they seem quite negative but they are a few years old so I would really appreciate some honest up to date advice. Do you live in these areas/know these areas? We currently live in a small market town outside of Leeds so we are used to being a fair way out from the city, but enjoy having a little town to shop in etc... Could you recommend any areas? We would be looking at spending approx £200,000 on a 3 bed house, pref with a garden. HELP PLEASE???!!!!

We are looking at that area as well. So I would be interested to see the replies.

Hi Gonzo - where are you moving from? Where else are you looking? Have you been to visit the area? Questions, questions!!

BUMP!

You might get a more knowledgible response on the Cambridge local board. I don't know March, Chatteris other than by reputation similar to that you have gleened from earlier threads. Other places to consider are Ely, St Ives in Cambridgeshire and also Suffolk, Newmarket area and beyond. Bury St Edmunds is a lovely market town, a bit of a trek to Cambridge but probably within an hour commute. In which part of Cambridge is your husband's new job?

My DH used to work in March (and my mum sometimes does now) and they both hate(d) it with a passion. Its the back end of beyond and its a miserable (and dark in winter) commute from Cambridge. DH had to do this daily and ended up stuck behind tractors etc, which made the drive take forever, and the car was permanently filthy from mucky/muddy road. My mum (teacher type) doesn't rate the schools round there much either. I'm trying, and clearly failing, to restrain myself from mentioning Fens and probably false reports of inbreeding there... but there were definitely people my DH worked with in March who were proud of never having left the town!

Ely is lovely, much nicer shops and a real feel of community, so I can recommend there. Schools are ok (again from what my mum says).

An old boss of mine used to live in Bury St Edmunds and commute to Cambridge and she loved it there and didn't find the traffic/commute too bad - and that was with an old, slow car.

St Ives is ok/nice (friends live there and like the schools) but traffic on A14 is very, very bad - although possibly better since the guided bus? If your DH has flexible hours it'd make it easier as then he could drive early/late to miss the worst of the traffic.

Cottenham has a fantastic school, but is possibly/probably out of your price range.

St Neots is also worth considering if affordable. Not too bad a commute and a nice small town - fab range of shops and community feel. There's a big new housing development there and the school attached is small/growing and friends love it.

any help? :)

Love's Farm was the development I was thinking of. It looks affordable-ish. Hopefully the link works. :)

Do not move to March, Chatteris for all the reasons stated above. Just don't.

There are lots of much nicer villages in the Newmarket area, only 20-30 mins to Cambridge (depending on particular village and whereabouts your husband works in Cambridge). Some villages are quite 'naice' and rather pricey, but others are quite affordable.

Lots of new builds in big villages like Burwell keep prices lower there than elsewhere (can't find an example though).

Bottisham is a nice village and v. accessible for Cambridge
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35918069.html

If you want lots of house for your money without going to the extreme back of beyondness of March and Chatteris, try Soham which is a little further away from Cambridge:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-31756000.html?premiumA=true
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-36127868.html

This house is in Dullingham (a rather posho village) if you can stretch a bit more over £200K - not pretty but good garden:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-20991561.html

Well, the big advantage of March is that it's on the train line to Cambridge if your husband needs to get to the station end of town, though I don't know how much the commute costs.

You do have other options as people have said, if March doesn't grab you.
There should be plenty you can find in Royston and the area to the west of Cambridge:
e.g. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32252872.html

This one has the world's worst photo of the outside, but the village is very chocolate box, the schools are excellent, very good restaurants and the house is nice on the inside and has a big garden:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32261141.html?premiumA=true

There's also Cambourne, which is an entire new town where the houses are much cheaper than Cambridge. However, there aren't currently enough school places for kids, so some children end up with very long commutes.

The Bourne house would be seen as 'best' for area IYKWIM, but a village may well not suit you.

Hi ruthimar

We are looking at several options actually. Currently we live overseas (hubby is Army). We are being posted to Cottesmore (Rutland) in the summer. Currently we own in Hampshire, and the house is being put on the market in February as we are hoping (I know) that it will sell before we get back to UK. Then we will start looking at areas properly. My husbands parents live Holbeach way and love it.

We are looking at Wisbech as he can commute on a daily basis to work then instead of having to live unaccompanied, or we are looking Norfolk way. Wisbech is better for work for us too. Depends on what we see when we get back as well though, the schools seem to be much of a muchness.

grendel has given me food for thought though.

Let me know how you get on.

I grew up in March and it really is the back of beyond. But far ar worse is Wisbech. If you take one thing only from all the time you are on MN, let it be this. Do not move to Wisbech. It is an absolute hole.

I don't know if this is still true, but IIRC about 8 years ago the state secondary schools in Wisbech were seen as rather weak, though the Grammar is supposed to be very good. The schools in the Cambridge area are all good, and most excellent.

Having said that, I always really like Wisbech as a town, though I suspect that people there might have definite ideas about which areas are more and less desirable.

p.s. Bourne is almost hilly by East Anglian standards. Wisbech is flat as a pancake.

F*ck. For us it is almost the only workable solution. I don't want to live in Peterborough, although work is better there for us. Anyone got any ideas?

I think Ely is a good place to start. I've no idea of property prices, but will probably be a bit more expensive as it is that much closer to Cambridge. Or look at the suburbs. I took dp back home for the first time last year and he thought Ely was lovely. I shan't tell you what he said about March and Wisbech

Hi. Thanks guys. That is all really helpful. Bless you for even giving me links to rightmove properties. Lovely MN's!

I have just spoken to my husband and he has definitely been offered the job now... hard to turn it down in this economic climate as he was recently made redundant. Don't mind moving, but want to find the right place. Perhaps renting before we buy could be an option... He has been seduced by March and Chatteris as it is so cheap (typical Yorkshireman!!) but obv I'm the one who has to spend most of the time there and bring the kids up etc... So I am really not that keen...

Right will stop waffling and get the kids to bed then, check all your links out and report back. I also liked Bury St Edmonds and that is close to the family we have who live near Colchester...

Time for a and a think...

Thanks again lovely MumsNetters x x x :-)

I live in Peterborough and honestly there ARE some lovely areas of it! My dad has commuted to near Cambridge everyday for the past 20 years at least. What puts you off Peterborough may I ask (just being nosey, won't judge!)

I think it is too built up for me. I miss the country and country living.

It is difficult because if it was Hampshire I'd know precisely what I was looking for, but that part of the country is my PIL's territory and they are not very helpful.

Where exactly does your DP have to get to for work? To Cottesmore? There seem to be plenty of places in your budget near to Cottesmore.

We should also warn you that the traffic around Cambridge is appalling at rush hour. The A14 is particularly notorious, but all of it is very bad.

From my name - you may guess I'm also in this area temporarily at the moment!

My other half has been asking if its somewhere I'd want to move to permanently as it would be good for my job and it looks like you can get a lot of house with plenty of land for your money relative to my home location of Manchester, but my honest answer is no.

Although at heart I am a country bumpkin and want to live in a rural location, its just too rural. I guess people assume that London, Cambridge are 'nearby' so there's no cosmopolitan feel in the small towns of the area.

Can you take some time to come and visit the place, just drive around and get a feel for it before making any big decisions. Its got a unique feel to it - and I wonder if it's the flatness. To me it feels like the sky 'hangs low' and even though the horizons look big, it can feel strangely closed in at the same time.

(ps am also originally from outside Leeds!!! A small village near Wetherby!)

Just out of interest, where are you currently based abroad? Just asking as my DP is in the army in Cyprus and is moving to Cottesmore this summer.

That was meant to Gonzo33, sorry for hijacking the thread!

I PM'd you mincepiefreak

Sorry to hijack OP.

I'm in Peterborough but would definitely stay away from March and Chatteris. And Wisbech.

My aunt lived in Soham, Littleport and Sutton (uncle in USAF) and all 3 were lovely.

You could probably still find a 3-bed within the city limits in Girton or Cherry Hinton for £200, though it probably wouldn't be that nice. Worth it for the Cambridge schools, none of which are bad.

Ely is lovely, though schools aren't fantastic. Cottenham would be a great choice. Sawston a good option too. All within about 15 miles with good public transport links.

I'd die rather than live in March.

Echo above- avoid March, Chatteris, Wisbech. Middle of nowhere, long drive to get anywhere interesting. Flat, dull and miserable/bleak in winter.

Soham's ok, primary schools are outstanding I think , secondary 'good with outstanding features'. Good location between Ely and Newmarket too. Ely has some nice villages around it. If you lived in Ely your DH would want to commute by train though as the A10 is a nightmare.

Burwell is nice, as are most villages around Newmarket. Choice of two secondaries in Burwell too.

Can I throw Thrapston or Oundle into the mix? Oundle has a v decent state secondary school (as well as the famous public school) and Thrapston feeds into this sec school.
Thrapston especially has very good house prices - 200k would get you a nice 4 bed detached such as: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29752897.html and is quite a nice small town in nie countryside.
Oundle more expensive but sounds like may have a good feel to it.