Moving to Cambridgeshire

[MelBD123]

Hello Mums in Cambridgeshire

Urgently need your advice as to where to live in Cambridgeshire.

We are planning to relocate to Cambridgeshire due to job changes. Need to commute to Cambridge city centre at least twice a week. I have a school age DS, and a nursery age DD. And I don't drive!!

Budget for house is between £650k and £750k. Of course the lower end of the budge is preferred because of the high mortgage rate these days. 4-bed detached with a good sized garden would be great. Hopefully, there would be easily accessible shops/facilities for entertaining kids nearby. Also, good local primary and state secondary schools are required.

I've looked into in-year transfer for DS. It seems to me that selling current house and buying new house on chain would not be a good idea. I want to avoid the tragic situation that the chain takes ages and when house purchase is finally completed and the school place is gone! So to be on the safe side and to secure a place for DS in a desired nearby school, renting first would be a better option (correct me if I am wrong!)

So far we've considered 1. Meldreth/Melbourn, 2. Water beach and 3 Ely.

Option 1 (Meldreth/Melbourn) is significantly more expensive than other two options. There are 2 primaries in the area and 1 village college there. Ofsted reports are good for each one but academic performance does not appear to be outstanding (correct me if I am wrong). There is just 1 nursery and I don't know whether I can secure a space for DD. Also I am not sure whether it would be easy for me to get by because I don't drive.

Options 2 and 3 seem more reasonable priced. Not so sure about waterbeach because of the new town development plan. I've heard a lot of good things about Ely. I can see that there are several decent primaries and a lot of nurseries in Ely. So I assume it would be easier to find a school and a nursery for DS and DD.

We also considered other villages (harston, newton, comberton) in south Cambridgeshire. They are nice, but how to commute to Cambridge seems to be a problem. The buses appear to run at 7:30am-ish and 9:30am-ish during rush hour, without any services in between?! How do people living there travel to Cambridge then?

Which area would you recommend in my situation? In addition, if there are ways to commute from south cam villages (which are not on the train line) to Cambridge, we will definitely consider them again.

Thank you very much for your time.

Have you considered Cambourne? You can get the bus to Cambridge and it's a lovely community with several nurseries and schools and a secondary. Feels villagey with nice lakes and walks and a few amenities and 20/25 mins drive to town (not in rush hour and in a car) I think you could get 4 beds for your budget there. Or you can try Oakington, Waterbeach, Cottenham - all lovely villages with schools and amenities. Closer but may be trickier for transport so I'd check the busses. Not having a car is a little tricky but I guess you could train from Waterbeach?

I used to live in Comberton.

People who needed to commute to Cambridge either went by car, or used bike/electric bike.

It's a fair way by bike but I used to do it quite a lot (used to do triathlons).

The bus is not particularly good. Certainly when I was living there no evenings and no Sundays.

I ferried my teens around a lot.

I live near Ely at the moment. Cycle to train station and train into Cambridge will be much easier than bus from Comberton and the trains are generally good.

Lots of newish build houses so for your budget you will get a good house.

Waterbeach village itself only really has a couple of roads through it and obviously it is just off the main A10.

The A10 carries a lot if the commuter traffic between Ely and north Cambridge, and us very busy during rush hours. It also frequently has roadworks, and sometimes jams for hours.

The trains to Cambridge are good, but the village itself is quite spread out and there is no shelter at the station so you get the chill Fen winds straight from Russia.

Not many facilities but that may be changing with the new developments.

Have you looked at Linton? I think it would tick all your boxes and the bus service is pretty good, running every 30 minutes throughout the day.

To be honest, without a car, I'd consider changing your expectations for house size/detached and trying to move within the city. Then you can cycle everywhere. It's super easy to live in town and not need a car for anything. The issue is 4 bed detached for your budget - maybe 4 beds but not detached.

Definitely Ely. Good transport into Cambridge and great places for education. All amenities are within Ely too.

Secind that if you dont drive i would live in the city - even ely might be a struggle with school and nursey runs distance wise - and it has a hill! However in the city cycling would work v well and loads of people dont run a car -

Histon and Impington might be doable without a car as it bigger and has more there and nearer the city. Although 4 bed deatched would i think be also a stretch there as well.

Look along the train lines if you want to live out a bit so Royston, Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton are all on a train mine which is fair easier to use than buses. I'm fairly sure the secondary in Melbourn has just had a bad ofsted though so that's a concern. Nursery wise, most of the villages have a preschool term time but not sure they have full time options. Royston does have more options on all counts but is much more popular and expense than going towards Ely. I would say the A10 isn't great for commuting but if you plan to use trains then fine.

The secondary in Melbourn has just had a bad ofsted.

It's part of a trust which is generally pretty good but it's a small school and they've had trouble recruiting.

Can't comment on the primaries.

Royston is very much its own town - twenty mins into Cambridge by train but you'd need to get to the station. Schools didn't used to be very good but they might have changed.

Seconding cambourne at least while kids are at school. Buses are good into Cambridge too.

Maybe have a look at Downham Market - it’s Norfolk but on the same train line as Ely - easy to walk to from most locations in Downham. You’d get a pretty decent property for that budget too. It’s a nice little market town with several nice primaries and a secondary that got a “good” in its last inspection. My eldest goes there and is happy enough.

I would go with Ely with your budget. You will get better bang for your buck and the trains are more reliable than the buses in Cambridgeshire. Stagecoach and Whippet have trouble recruiting and retaining bus drivers and services are frequently cancelled at the drop of a hat.

Is there a reason you’ve discounted villages on the southbound train line to London, like Shelford, Whittlesford and Great Chesterford?

Have you considered Bury St Edmunds? Not Cambridgeshire, but there are direct trains to Cambridge.

I'd go Ely or Cambridge itself.

I'm from Bury St Edmunds (the villages on the Lawshall / Hawstead side). Very nice areas. 3 miles from the town where station is which gets you to Cambridge quickly.

The train from Downham Market to the main station takes just under 40 minutes. The first train in the morning gets in at 0835. Bury St Edmunds is about 42 minutes away by train.

The bus timetable for Cambourne to Cambridge allows the same time in the morning rush hour as later in the day. I can’t believe that’s realistic, given how frequently colleagues are late when they have had to drop at nursery first.

You should probably be aware that Drummer Street bus station is right in the centre of town whereas the railway station is about a mile from the centre. Whether that matters to you will depend on where you’ll be working. Apparently frequent bike thefts mean it’s not safe to leave a bike at the railway station, but you could always buy a folding one.

Several friends have bought in Ely and are happy there, but none has children so I’ve no idea about schools and nurseries. Villages on the south side of Cambridge with train stations tend to be more expensive than the north because it’s easier for London commuters.

Another vote for bury at Edmunds. It's got way more going on than Ely, cheaper houses but really affluent and the countryside is stunning. The commute is the same as the A14 runs much smoother than the A10. Great schools, lovely parks and super foody. Because it's less of a commuter town it has more community spirit. The trains run to Cambridge once an hour and take about 30 mins.

Whereabouts in Cambridge do you need to get to? Melbourn and Meldreth are lovely but the village college has just been rated inadequate so I’d probably give it a swerve. Few of the Cambs primaries in the villages have stellar primary performances. If you need the trains, Royston might be worth a look.

Not driving is a real issue. I use an e bike to get around 7 miles from a village to the biomedical campus - it’s quicker and cheaper than a car. Waterbeach/Ely would be the furtherest I would go - anything north can be very bleak and isolated tbh. Can you afford Histon/Impington/Cottenham?

Hi @MelBD123 I used to live in Harston and have family in Newton and Meldreth too, so I actually know these areas quite well, as well as the Royston area. These areas are good in terms of community and amenities, but as you said pricey. Having said that you have a healthy budget so I'm sure you'll find something, especially in this climate! However, the buses that run from Newton and Meldreth are AWFUL, they never run to time and I believe they're cutting the service soon so they'll be run at even more irregular times. I would recommend looking at places on the commuter line - Royston and Meldreth are around 20 to 15 mins respectively to Cambridge, and you could consider places like Duxford and Whittlesford, again both lovely places near a train station to commute in.

Comberton is lovely - I attended the school there, and quite a few of my friends families still live there, I believe the buses are a bit more regular from there but I would still always choose living near a train station over relying on buses. Cambourne is also a good shout, but there are nicer areas than others within Cambourne (it's a pretty big town!) so I would research the areas first, or rent to see whether you like it.

I hope that has helped, feel free to message me if you want any other further info!

I'd probably look at either Ely or along somewhere on the guided bus line. Somewhere like St Ives would let you get a detached 4 bed in your budget whereas somewhere like Histon, Impington and Oakington will need a compromise on the detached part. I think it all really depends on what lifestyle you want as to where to look. I personally wouldn't look at Cambourn without a car to get me around and the police post about patrolling the area quite a bit. Someone put about Linton but the villages that side of Cambridge might have regular buses but the traffic is horrendous along the route and so full of people you can't necessarily guarantee being able to even get on the bus from what I have heard. Hopefully that is going to improve but not great at the moment.

Moved away 6yrs ago, back to DH home, but spent 9yrs in Ely.

I don’t drive and commuted to Cambridge every day. I had flexible ish hours so could chose less busy trains. They ran approximately every 15minutes.

I had both my babies at the Rosie in Cambridge and they went to a lovely nursery in Ely, although I think it has change lots since then. I used to love my walk down past the cathedral, through cherry hill park, drop off at nursery and walk along the river to the station.

The primary schools were good but the secondary used to have some issues, this may have changed now though.

As a non driver, I used to love that I could walk into town, all the supermarkets within a mile. Market on a Saturday etc.

As a resident you are given a pass to the cathedral which was lovely for rainy days with the children, I have fond memories of DS trying to find the letter G as many times as possible on the plaques etc.

We live in Ely and love it. Lovely city. Lots of nurseries to choose from and lots of decent schools .

Also look at places along the guided bus route like St Ives that’s a lovely place to live and easy access to Cambridge .

Histon is good, also Barton or Comberton