Moving to Cambridge, help!

[Cluelost]

Hi All, I know there are lots of moving threads already, I've probably read them all and still going round the houses with our decisions! My family and I are relocating with my role to Cambridge. My partner works from home, I have a 4 year old due to start school in September, a 1 year old and another baby on the way. So schools are important. Also, we have a German shepherd and like getting outdoors so access to green space is a must. We would like a fairly large family house (4 beds, office space, garden, parking), budget is around 800-1mill. I'll be working central Cambridge 3 days per week.

We liked the sound of cambourne but we're worried it might be too little going on(?). Histon sounds brilliant but we might be priced out? Central Cambridge we feel might be too much hustle and bustle for us.

We are at a complete loss! Please help!

Speak to a local estate agent, Tylers in Histon is a good place to start. Ask for Marcus.

Have you read the ‘moving’ threads on the Local -> Cambridge board?

Cambourne to Cambridge is very slow by car in the rush hour. A guided busway is being proposed, but there’s a lot of opposition to it. There was a Public Inquiry at the end of last year - the report should be out soon.

Histon has a lot going for it, I don’t know the area very well or about prices though. There are parts of what I think of as central Cambridge (it’s very small for a city) which are quiet, but many houses would be out of your budget. This one is in a lovely area for families, although I’m not sure about flooding, and the University keeps trying to build houses on the area between that estate and the M11. It’s less than two miles by bike into the very centre of Cambridge, mostly off-road. Search here.

I would suggest looking at villages near the Cambridge to Huntingdon guided busway (it’s off-road until you get to Cambridge) although I hear that the buses can get full as you get nearer to Cambridge in rush hour. I have several friends in Willingham who like it there.

Hiya,

Thanks for your message, it looks like Newnham is out of our budget even if we stretched. I've seen some houses on right move near mill road, do you know anything about that area? Or cherry Hinton? I'm not sure what is considered central

I would definitely focus on how you are going to get into your job in the centre of the city. The traffic is awful and whether the train might be useful depends on where your job is.

Impington side of Histon is very accessible to Cambridge on a bike or a bus. I don’t like Camborne (have family living there and there is nothing to do, you have to drive everywhere). St Ives and surrounding areas are not what they used to be. Newnham is lovely but v expensive. What about Trumpington?

Hello! Look at the necklace villages in the North. Girton, Histon, Impington, Milton. Then go further up the A14 and look at Northstowe, Swayvesey, Willingham, Over.

I would suggest one of the villages nearby that have a station, such as Melbourn or Waterbeach.
Cambourne, I wouldn't even consider.

I used to live near Mill Road and have friends there now. I understand it still has a good community feeling. If you find any particular houses tell us the road and we can comment. Some of the semis are local authority housing, or were. Cherry Hinton is pleasant but I don’t know it well, and it’s a bit further out. People still cycle into town from there, though, the fitter ones, anyway. 😊

Cycling to the centre from anywhere is likely to be quicker than driving in rush hour, even if your employer has parking. The council has organised lots of cycle paths.

The Gilbert Road area has lots of semis. Generally speaking the whole area on the north side of Cambridge to the east of Huntingdon Road is a mix of LA and private housing.

there are new houses being built near Addenbrookes hospital on Worts Causeway. Don’t know what they cost but might be worth looking at. An easy cycle ride into town or a bus from the hospital.

Mill Road is an easy cycle into town.
lots of shops along it, mix of families and students.

cherry Hinton is further out but still a fairly easy cycle. Fewer shops and less community.

Chesterton? Something like this? It needs a bit of work but is at the lower end of your budget so might be okay. Easy access to Milton Country Park and Stourbridge Common for your dog, and not actual central Cambridge but probably only a 10/15 minute cycle in.

Wow, thanks so much everyone! I flip between being totally overwhelmed and thinking this move was the worst decision I've made and then that it may be okay in the end - so thanks for your input!

I was planned to trade my car for a nice electric bike and try cycling, my office is very close to the station. But we thought that living somewhere closer to the town might be better for convenient shuttling of kids…. That said waterbeach may also be worth a look if there are good school/nursery options.

we did like that house in Chesterton! Whats the relationship like between the student community and local families?

I’ve always thought trumpington seems well laid out but everything is so modern….

Take a look at Shelford. Ticks all your boxes I think.

Waterbeach definitely worth a look if your job is near the station, it's 10 minutes by train from there. And there are now 2 bus routes into the city centre. There's no secondary school (but there are school buses to e.g. Cottenham where the catchment school is) but there is a primary school and a couple of nurseries.

Something to add about the trains - they aren't always reliable but for Waterbeach it can help that it's on the lines for trains to both kings cross and Liverpool Street. A few times all the trains from Kings cross have been cancelled but trains from Liverpool Street have been running (or vice versa)

Definitely look for a small town/village on the train line - the traffic in Cambridge is awful. How about the villages between Cambridge and Royston that have village schools?

Cambourne isn’t bad! Plenty of activities, esp for children, and plenty of school options. However, if you need to commute into Cambridge on a regular basis, I wouldn’t move there - traffic is just awful. When I commuted, it could take me up to 1.5 hours for a 12 mile journey! And there is no public transport alternative.

On the relationship between students and local families, I can’t say I really notice the students other than seeing them out and about in their gowns in town. I guess the Cambridge ones are mainly confined to college accommodation and I don’t know where the ARU ones live!

However the university is definitely a big benefit of living here, most of the museums are free because they’re university run, they put on literature and culture festivals and events throughout the year, and student events (eg. concerts, footlights) are pretty good!

Where are you moving from? It may help to get an idea of the type of area you like.

Cambridge is a small city and there’s a lot of villages nearby. Honestly I’d rent near the city initially and explore some of the local areas before buying. I moved to Cambridge from London and was initially completely set on buying in the centre but after living there for a bit decided I’d actually rather be a bit further out and get more house/green space around me.

Questions that may help direct your search:

• What is the max commute you’d prefer and how do you want to commute?
• Are there any other places you travel to regularly (e.g. London, other cities to visit family)
• Is there anything you’d want to be walking distance to? Or any particular facilities you’d want nearby?
• Do you have a preference on style of house?

Chesterton is mostly families and some post grad students.

i rented there for a bit. Easy cycle into the centre along cycle paths across the river. Local shops so I didn’t have to go to the big Tesco on Newmarket Road much.
chesterton high street is traffic calmed now so doesn’t get much traffic but the area generally is quite busy. Milton Road gets a lot of the traffic and is the main bus route.

Histon is very family friendly and has a great community. Also great transport links/easy cycle down the busway.

I would definitely look at the villages just on the outskirts. Harston, Great Shelford, Newton or Histon, Girton etc. Camborne isn't that close to Cambridge especially once you factor in travel, potential schools too for the children.

Thanks everyone, this is so helpful. I think we will look closer to Cambridge, Chesterton sounds nice as long as we can find something in budget!

We currently live in Stockton heath with is a lovely little suburb of Warrington. We've been totally spoilt by a great high street. We have an Edwardian semi ATM, which is full of character but also has its quirks, we have original stained glass windows which are lovely but drafty. I think this is our preferred style of house, but we'd compromise.

I think 20minute commute would be long enough either by bike or train etc. at the moment my commute is closer to 45/50mins and it's not great, my partner does nearly all the kids drop offs...

Sounds like there's a good few areas we should investigate, we're coming down for a visit next week!

We'll probably be heading back north relatively frequently, losing our grandparent support network is one of the hardest parts of this relocation!

It's be nice to be in walking distance of a park and the kids school, anything else is a bonus. I've already looked at swapping my car for a bucket bike haha!

Barton is nice, very sweet church school, comberton is reasonable but not as convenient, haslingfield also a bit fancier than comberton, but they’ll tick the good schools list. Large number of dog owners in Barton. Newnham & grantchester probably getting too expensive. Histon is nice but more like a town than village feel given its size now. If you are situated by the M11 you’ll have faster access north.