Relocating to Cambridgeshire for a young family

[JollyTeaScroller]

Seriously considering a move to Cambridgeshire from North London.
We have had many suggestions about places there, such as Waterbeach, Ely, Histon/Impington, Comberton, Trumpington, Eddington..
We are Danish and Greek, and we are used to the diversity of London but want something calmer for our young family.
Ideally we would like to be close to a nursery and a good primary and a good secondary, so we don't have to consider moving again down the line.
One of us does not drive so we are considering either somewhere like Ely, where one could take the train to Cambridge, or Waterbeach, or somewhere like Histon, where you could take the bus to Cambridge (the one that goes directly in the centre, rather than the one that goes around the villages and takes a long time)
We both cycle, even though we don't both drive, so we were thinking of either a cyclable route to the centre of Cambridge, or a place inside actual Cambridge, that we can afford. Budget is around 500 for a 3 bed
Any places inside Cambridge that combine good primary and good secondary that are relatively affordable?
Do you think in the long run, it would be best to choose a village, or choose an area in Cambridge?
I feel more drawn towards inside the city but my partner prefers a village for the community feel.
Is there any places/streets in Cambridge that have community feel, families with young children? Or any other villages that combine what we need (good primary and secondary and cyclable to the city) that we haven't thought about?

Girton, Oakington?

There's a Danish community in Cambridge; some living centrally with the typical cycling, allotment lifestyle and most CB1 primaries are good. You can look in CB1 catchment for Morley and Queen Edith's primaries and Coleridge, Netherhall or Trumpington secondaries. I'm not linked in with them but I know they exist, possibly look on Facebook etc There's also a Greek community centrally with Greek school at Church of St Athanasios also CB1. I think your budget is tricky but not impossible if you consider properties that are ex council, need work, or a flat. Eg Hulatt Avenue area, St Thomas's square area, or the streets off Cherry Hinton Road near the park. Not stunning houses, but fine for a family and cyclable to town etc From your list above I'd also recommend Histon. Good luck from fellow international family!

I have a Hack.

Marliegh primary school is good and doesn't have catchment yet as it is few years new and you can live in Whitehill area , has very good nursery, access Marliegh and it is feeder to Netherhall school for secondary which is decent and cycling distance from Whitehill. Whitehill has abbey swimming pool, meadows, is close to city centre and you can find a house with your budget I think.

community support is overall same in cambridge, t has very good nursery my kid went to .

One more good primary I can highly recommend is Milton road primary, and it is feeder for good secondary schools right?

This area around cherry Hinton road is good too , ex council houses and flats are in the range

Have you visited any of the villages? Takeaways exist in Cambridgeshire villages!

There are some reasonably priced decent houses in these areas but they would put you in catchment for North Cambridge Academy. There are mixed feelings on that school.

One final comment. If you want to live in Ely then look in Ely. It's a great place with lots going on. But in my experience once people move to Ely they live their lives there. If you want more of a Cambridge vibe stick with the villages just outside Cambridge.

Unless it has changed significantly in the last 10yrs I would think carefully about Ely if you're planning to do a daily commute into Camvridge.

I used to take the train in with my pre-schooler at peak morning time, then pre-5pm and the train was ALWAYS overcrowded to the point of people not being able to get off at their stops because they coudln't get out!

I loved loved loved living in Ely, but we only managed 6mths as it was just such an unmanageable experience.

We lived in Milton, which was a bit too quiet for my liking, and then up by the hospital to be in the catvhment for Queen Ediths (which was excellent).

It's such a wonderfully and easily cyclable city, I don't think you necessarily need everything directly on your doorstep.

Am sure with just eats there's plenty of scope for takeaways across a lot of Cambridgeshire.

Best of luck OP, it's a lovely place to raise a family.

I live in Ely and regularly travel into Cambridge for shopping, theatre, museums, walks etc. It’s also a good bike ride. My experience is people find what suits their live.
The train commute between Ely and Cambridge depends on the times you’re travelling. The London services are now eight carriages so that capacity helps.
0715-0800 Ely to Cambridge gets busy but people are sensible about loading and unloading. Main issue I’ve seen is on the Norwich and Birmingham services in the afternoon heading back to Ely, which have longer distance travellers.
There’s usually 5 trains an hour from Cambridge to Ely so there’s some flexibility finding a quieter one.

Where in Cambridge do you need to get to for work or travel to work? Ideally you need to live on that side of town to avoid crossing the city at rush hour.

A suggestion not yet mentioned is Cambourne. It’s a new development made up of 4 villages that is now designated a town so may hit your brief in both respects. Good schools, plenty of activities for children and 6 buses an hour to Cambridge. The community is diverse and welcoming, without the attitude of not speaking to in-comers that you may find in some villages.

Someone else said Cambourne and then someone else said that Cambourne is a bit 'soulless' as it's a new development. To be honest with you, I feel like a new development would suit us nicely. But it's not cyclable to town is it?
Also they told me Trumpington is nice.
The village vibe felt a bit suffocating for me, but maybe it's because I left one to come to London so it's my personal trauma :)

I moved to Histon from London 20 years ago and lived in Histon for 7 years. Then I moved to Cambourne and have been here for 13 years. I really like it, I find it a bit more down to earth than Histon and people are really friendly. You can also get a much better house for your budget.

It obviously doesn't have the green with the thatched cottages around it, but there is a lot going on for kids, a great range of play areas and a lovely country park with lakes and walking paths. I actually like living in Cambourne better than Histon.

The public transport is also good. DS2 has been at 6th form in Cambridge for the past 2 years and has found the commute fine, there are plenty of buses. DH used to get the bus daily to central Cambridge and sometimes cycled (or ran), but mainly WFH now. I agree with OP that it is more welcoming than other villages.

We looked at Cambridge but in the end have chosen to live in Letchworth in Hertfordshire. A fair bit cheaper than Cambridge for property and easier train ride to London. Cambridge is close on the train and Letchworth is a really lovely place to live.