Cambridge/London commuter towns

[gerji98]

Hi all

I'm aware this topic has come up a lot but would love any thoughts - my partner and I currently rent in London but are hoping to buy in the next few years so will of course need to look a bit further afield given the current market!

We don't have strong family ties in the UK so we aren't stuck with any particular location. He works remote and I currently work in London but would be happy to relocate if needed.

We love Cambridge so we are looking at surrounding areas probably on the Cambridge - London train line to give us the option of working in/visiting London if needed.

We've been looking at Bishops Stortford, Saffron Walden, Stevenage etc. so would welcome general thoughts on these areas (as well as anywhere else recommended), but I'd also like to know how diverse and welcoming these areas are?

My partner isn't white and he grew up in a very large city (not in UK) so he's slightly wary of moving to a small, overhwelmingly white village where he would feel a little uncomfortable!

Any thoughts would be really appreciated :)

Anywhere with new housing is generally diverse I’ve found.

in terms of commuter villages to London and Cambridge, what price point are you thinking?

@RudsyFarmer We'd probably be looking to spend up to £400k ish, but ideally a bit less, for a 2-4 bed. Might be optimistic given the current state of affairs!

I think Saffron Walden is the nicest of those places though Bishops Stortford is just a bigger version bit closer to London. Right in the centre are the nicest houses and they are generally period houses. Not sure about racism, they are both quite middle class educated places in centre but very largely white, Europeans of many nationalities are common and no issue for them afaik. I would have thought you might have more issue in the further from centre houses but it's a guess. It might be worth renting first or even staying for a week or so. I think racism tends to be worse in villages and village schools but Bishops Stortford is a fair size and Saffron Walden is a town. Though one issue is whether schools deal with it.