Moving to Cambridge - recommendations for villages?

[joeybopp]

My husband and I have recently moved to Girton with our young baby but we are just renting here and looking to buy. We cannot afford to buy in Girton and are looking for recommendations for villages. Our budget is 200K for 3 beds which we realise is not a lot for the area. Good schools are top of our priority list. We are both Oxbridge educated ourselves but won't be able to afford private education for our son. My husband works in the city centre (Huntingdon Road) and I am currently a stay at home mum although I'd like to return to work when we've finished our family! We currently attend a city centre church and would like some green space for walks (we have just moved from Sheffield where green space is abundant!)

I have family in Ely and they absolutely love it. Very good primary's and I understand that the secondary is on the way up, they have DC there and are happy with it and have a high opinion of the Principal.
When we visit it seems prettying ideal. Big enough to have things to do but small enough to feel very safe. Good transport links too which is handy.

Bourn is lovely but prob too expensive. Takes me 25 mins to be in the centre of camb in a car.
People slate Cambourne but I have friends that live there that like it.
The school will be very good when it opens if it is anything like comberton village college. My ds goes to comberton and its a high achieving school. Lots of homework though.
Have you thought about caldecote. That's about 10 mins to camb by car. And there is a cycle route through to camb.
I think the other side of the a14 is cheaper.
My in laws live in willingham.
If you can buy to get into the swavesey village college then that has a very good reputation. As good if not better than comberton!

Thanks for the input about Ely. I live the thought of living in Ely but have concerns about secondary education. What makes it seem like its on the way up? We won't be ready for secondary for some time yet but won't want to move again if possible!!

Yes I like the look of Caldecote. I haven't looked seriously at swavesey - will have a look. Thanks.

Had a long chat with the car salesman, who lives in Longstanton & loves it. Don't want to out him, but he has DCs aged 4 & 8, both very happy at the local school. There are shops & small businesses there and he said it's 4 miles from Cambridge, so cyclable. Loads of green fields (you'll find it flat, after Sheffield!). Range of housing, so should be some within your budget - sorry I didn't have time to check! Choice of Cambridge or Ely stations to get back home - I'm over the border in Suffolk.

What is transport to Cambridge like from those villages? They are a long way out and ideally we'd like to be closer (Ely has the advantage of being reasonably large itself) but ultimately budget will dictate where we can buy!

My cousins all lived in bottisham (well actually a small village nearby, but they went to bottisham village college). Have all done well.

But my uncle only commuted to soham. I think Cambridge meant car journey and probably park and ride.

Though the kids all went to long road VIth form and not by car, by bus.

But think is out of your price range.

Great and Little Shelford both lovely, but v pricey. How about Hauxton, Haslingfield, Foxton, Thriplow, Great or Little Eversden, Orwell, Balsham, either Swaffhams, Burwell? All of those are nice.

There is an issue which hasnt been mentioned - some villages north of Cambridge are close to traveller sites/potential sites. This can impact prices. Cottenham, Willingham and Rampton are the most affected villages.

Thanks Follyfoot - that's something I'd heard about and forgotten to consider. I haven't come across some of the villages you mention so will take a look.

Ely College's Principal introduced zero tolerance last year and the 'right to teach, right to learn' last year and according to my friends dc it has made a huge difference to school life and lessons for the better. She seems to be totally committed to raising the school standards and had recently got funding for a new science block with more to follow.
When we moved to our present home we visited several schools in the area and talked to the heads etc. we eventually decided to send our do to the school that we preferred but which was a long way from outstanding.
We don't live in Ely but I would move there if I could.

Thank you for the info about Ely. May I ask why you would move there if you could? I've visited a long time ago and liked it but I was in a very different position now I.e. married with a child and DH working in cam.

Just like it, has a really nice community feel to it. I have family and friends there already but think its the kind of place it's easy to make friends. It's small enough for young people to be independent but safe. It's easy to get to Cambridge, bury st Edmunds and Norfolk (an hour to the coast) but has everything you need for day to day living. Seems like a very safe small town and I know several people who have moved there with their families and never want to leave.

Hi all

We've thought a bit more and at present narrowed the options down to Comberton, Bourn? & Cambourne (West) and villages south (Sawston? Linton? Royston and area?) (my parents lived in royston and liked it. Although not cam, schools look ok)

We haven't visited the southern villages yet but I like the countryside (hills!) and if there's any possibility of me returning to work in healthcare it would be more convenient for addenbrookes.

Is anyone able to advise on commuting from any of these areas? I've had some advice on the west but anymore thoughts appreciated too. DH works on castle hill currently with parking but his offices might be relocating to the city centre next year - not sure about parking. He works flexible hours as long as he does a 7.5hr day (usually without a lunch break) and all combinations of transport arrangements considered at this stage (car/bike/public transport). Unlike myself he's not a huge cyclist (despite the excellent cycle network here, although that might change once he experiences cambridge traffic!)

I know trumpington is being developed so this might affect the commute? Would appreciate any feedback!

Thank you!

You could do worse than Fulbourn if you are working at Addenbrookes.

A1307 (for Linton and Abingtons) gets very busy beyond the Gogs roundabout (by the golf course/P & R) from 7.30 am onwards. Lots of people who work on Addenbrookes site (and in city) park at the P & R and get bus into town as the bus route avoids one of the worst stretches.
You can store a bike at the P&R and then not have to pay the bus fare - the bike paths in from P&R to the city are reasonable.
Of course, if you live out in that direction there is always the possiblity of the town beginning with H if you want a much better house for your money.

Thank you definitely up for the p&r which sounds feasible. Actually if DH isn't keen to cycle then P&R will prob be best option in most cases.

In my experience, you get bad morning rush hour traffic going into Cambridge on Barton Road past the motorway junction, and bad rush hour traffic on Madingley Road past the junction with the A428. However, I'd guess that the traffic's bad going into Cambridge in all directions at that time.

Just tried to pm you but had a very random message saying I couldn't, or maybe I sent it three times?! Will try again!

I know this is an old post but hoping it may get revisited... Anyone here live in Fulbourn? We're hoping to move there in the very near future with our 2 young daughters aged 6 and 3 (and another baby on the way) and would love to gather some local contacts and get some burning questions answered! It's a big move and would love to get as much reassurance as possible! Thanks in advance.