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Original poster

Living in Ely...

15 replies

SweetAndSourChick3n · 03/06/2023 20:18

Does anyone live in or near Ely and can tell me about areas, schools etc? Planning to move to the area with 3 DSs (8, 5 and 2) and need to find somewhere to live. Budget is £700k for a 4 or 5 bed.

Which areas should I look at, where should I avoid? What are the local schools like? Thanks!

OP posts:
bloodywhitecat · 03/06/2023 20:22

Ely in Cambridgeshire or Ely, Cardiff?

Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 03/06/2023 20:23

Cambridgeshire! Didn't know there was one in Cardiff.

OP posts:
Octonaut4Life · 03/06/2023 20:25

I live nearby. It's pretty much all nice and with your budget you should be able to find a really nice place. The less desirable area is around high barns and the less desirable primary school is spring meadows. Other state primaries in the city are all Ofsted rated good, plus there is Kings School if you want to send your kids private and fancy competing with other parents for the most ludicrously oversized car 😂

Outside of Ely itself, I would personally avoid Littleport and Soham. They're not terrible but nowhere near as nice as Ely. Little Downham is nice as is Sutton but both lack a train station so you'd need to drive. There are some lovely houses in Stretham and Wicken if you're happy being a bit more rural (and again, if you drive!)

CasperGutman · 03/06/2023 20:32

SweetAndSourChick3n · 03/06/2023 20:23

Cambridgeshire! Didn't know there was one in Cardiff.

The Cardiff one's been in the news a bit recently - as a result of which it would probably be on some people's lists of "areas to avoid"!

Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 03/06/2023 20:39

Octonaut4Life · 03/06/2023 20:25

I live nearby. It's pretty much all nice and with your budget you should be able to find a really nice place. The less desirable area is around high barns and the less desirable primary school is spring meadows. Other state primaries in the city are all Ofsted rated good, plus there is Kings School if you want to send your kids private and fancy competing with other parents for the most ludicrously oversized car 😂

Outside of Ely itself, I would personally avoid Littleport and Soham. They're not terrible but nowhere near as nice as Ely. Little Downham is nice as is Sutton but both lack a train station so you'd need to drive. There are some lovely houses in Stretham and Wicken if you're happy being a bit more rural (and again, if you drive!)

Thanks! I do drive but don't want to be too rural, I was hoping we could find somewhere with public transport and things to do that would allow my DSs a bit of freedom to see friends etc as they grow up without me playing taxi driver constantly.

My car is mid sized so I probably wouldn't fit in on the school run at Kings Grin

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Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 04/06/2023 09:03

Bumping for the morning crowd...

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DCIJackieDeering · 04/06/2023 10:17

Ely isn’t really big enough to have lots of areas, the nicest houses seem to be along Lynn Rd and Downham Rd, but the bigger houses are in the villages. If you need to be able to get to Cambridge, either be in Ely or villages to the south such as Haddenham, Wilburton or Stretham. I don’t know about primaries in Ely, there’s one secondary, Ely College which seems to have improved a lot, otherwise you’ve got Soham (seems good) and Witchford (also improved a lot).

Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 04/06/2023 14:32

DCIJackieDeering · 04/06/2023 10:24

Thanks! The first one wouldn't work for us without a proper garden but have saved the others!

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dreamersdown · 04/06/2023 23:19

I think if you’re hoping to avoid being mum taxi, Ely might be a tricky move for you. The schools tend to pull from quite a large area so you can expect to be ferrying your kids to other people’s houses for quite some time!

fireflyloo · 06/06/2023 20:00

With your budget I'd give Ely a miss. I'd go closer to Cambridge and look at Histon/Impington/Waterbeach or Cambridge itself. Ely is lovely but it's awful to get into Cambridge by car and there's just not a lot around it apart from fenland.

Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 06/06/2023 21:48

fireflyloo · 06/06/2023 20:00

With your budget I'd give Ely a miss. I'd go closer to Cambridge and look at Histon/Impington/Waterbeach or Cambridge itself. Ely is lovely but it's awful to get into Cambridge by car and there's just not a lot around it apart from fenland.

I've seen a couple of potential houses in Waterbeach, will take a look at Histon and Impindon too. Thanks for the advice! Is Ely not a nice place to live in your opinion?

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Original poster
SweetAndSourChick3n · 06/06/2023 21:49

fireflyloo · 06/06/2023 20:00

With your budget I'd give Ely a miss. I'd go closer to Cambridge and look at Histon/Impington/Waterbeach or Cambridge itself. Ely is lovely but it's awful to get into Cambridge by car and there's just not a lot around it apart from fenland.

I was thinking it might be easier to get the train into Cambridge rather than drive? I've heard that traffic can be a nightmare.

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fireflyloo · 07/06/2023 09:53

Ely is a lovely place. I lived there for a few years but dh and I worked in Cambridge so eventually moved there. There wasn't much going on in Ely though there's been a cinema/ leisure plex been built since we left. Traffic is awful. Train is fine but the stations in Cambridge aren't that accessible to some parts of the city, so depends where you will be working. Histon/impington have lovely pubs/ restaurants/ cafes/ shops/ parks/ duck pond and a very villagey feel but only a few miles from Cambridge. Schools are excellent. Histon and impington primary and impington village college. Some examples of houses.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134689448

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134047286

Primatronic · 13/11/2023 19:26

Good evening
I am trying to locate an old workmate of mine, he used to work at Primatronic Plc in Biggelswade in 1985 to app 1998.
He was living in Ely in them Years. Any info would be very much appreciated.
thx Reiner

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