Moving to Cambridge

[RooTwo]

I think there are always loads of threads about moving to Cambridge - it seems v popular! - but wanted a bit of advice anyway ... we are thinking about moving there from London with our two DCs aged 3.5 and 2, to get more space, a buzzy city without the hecticness of London. We can't really afford to buy a house in the area of London we want to be in, but I think £300k might get us something decent (3 bed) in Cambridge?

I would love any advice on good places to live in the city- we would like to be near some decent primary schools and in a friendly area with stuff going on - shops cafes etc - parks ideally I guess - but are not averse to a bit of grot too as we have lived in inner city London a long time! I know Cambridge is expensive property-wise but we do really want to be able to get a decent-sized house with a big garden or there is no point in us moving out of London ...

Also any advice on commute most welcome - DP will be commuting to Kings Cross three/four times a week so I guess we want to be not too far from station - or cyclable distance.

Many thanks in advance!

Hmmm - the problem is that a lot of people in Cambridge commute to London, so near the station you can find yourself paying London prices.

What sort of house are you looking for? Old or new? When you say decent-sized and with a big garden, what do you really mean? Do you mind about being on a main road, or on a road with parking difficulties?

If you have a look on the web and show some of the sorts of houses you're drawn to, people could probably tak about the ups and downs of the area and suggest some other possibilities.

Yep, GrendelsMum, I know what you mean about London prices - I look regularly on rightmove.com and actually the more I look the more I realise just how bloody expensive it is ... We would like an old house, on a quiet road - with a garden big enough for kids to really be able to charge around in - not some pokey London-style skinny plot ...

The houses that seem to fall within our budget all seem to be in Romsey Town, but none of them seem to have very big gardens, and I'm not that keen on the way they mostly just seem to open straight on to the street. I am beginning to think that we really won't be able to afford the kind of thing we want after all! Hmm ...

As GrendelsMum says, near Cambridge Station you will be paying London prices. Come back with some possibilities and we can tell you what the areas are like and other important matters such as local schools.
Cambridge is a popular commuting town and the Kings X trains are very busy - though some are now running 12 carriages, so there is a chance of a seat at least on the morning journey. I commute via Liverpool St which is slower but gets you to the City more easily.

Well, that's the problem, you see - if you want the old house on a quiet road, you're looking at Romsey Town, and much as I loved the area when I was young and single, and still miss it, there are definite downsides. The doors often open onto the pavement, there is very little off-street parking and a lot of 2 car families, and the gardens aren't huge. There are some smashing houses there, but I suspect that they aren't £300k.

However, if you drop the idea of the old house, and look more towards the Cherry Hinton area, there are quite a lot of 20th century houses which are not attractive looking but which are roomy and have okay gardens. I don't know what the schools are like over there, though.

My colleague and her two young DCs live on this street in a house I think must be not unlike this one, and did a loft conversion and put a big extension on the back:

www.cheffins.co.uk/cheffins-property/gunhild-way-cambridge-10780

You don't want to go for Cherry Hinton road itself, as it's too busy, and as I said, a lot of the Romsey Town houses have no parking.

Having said all that, someone on here recently moved to Histon and her DH cycles to the station to commute every day. But I wouldn't advise that - the days my DH had to do that, it just shoved such an extra hassle on the beginning of a stressful commute, it didn't seem worth it.

Thanks all for advice. We do definitely want an old house though - that's not something I'm prepared to compromise on - so not sure where that leaves us. DP could certainly cycle a good way to get to the station, that would not be a prob.

Can I do my Phil and Kirsty impression now

Phil: So, they're looking for a spacious 3-bed period property with a big garden in a buzzy area of Cambridge with good access to the parks, shops and cafes, and of course the station, for that all important commute to London. They're not asking for much, are they?
Kirstie: We're never going to do it. Lets just jump in the Cam now.

This is the only 3-bed period house I can find in your budget (and it's slightly over) not in Romsey Town.

www.cheffins.co.uk/cheffins-property/greens-road-cambridge-10873

And this one is in Romsey Town but is a little bigger than the smaller houses (but still not big)

www.vebra.com/property/671/19895051

It may not really be worth you moving out of London, I'm afraid.

p.s. you must be thinking I'm obsessed with MN, but I'm actually supposed to be doing an analysis of a rather dull website, and keep switching back to MN to give myself a break!

Oh that's true - I'd not thought about the guided bus.

Histon is very nice, but I still don't think it's a great location for getting to the station.

I think Phil and Kirstie would totally give up on us ... how funny, though, GrendelsMum, I had seen those very two houses on various property sites, and they were pretty much the only ones which really grabbed me! (but still out of our budget). Will keep looking ... perhaps a village within cycling distance from station is the best option. Histon does look nice.

As someone currently living in Cambridge and looking to move, I can tell you that £300k isn't a big enough budget if you want to be fairly central, period house and want space (inside and outside) I'm afraid.

You will definitely need to look further afield really. House prices are not a good reason to move from London to Cambridge I don't think.

Looking further afield might be worthwhile but you will tend to find that cheaper prices usually mean more modern houses (1930s onwards on the whole).

RooTwo, listen to the locals, the house you want doesn't exist. I used to live in London, then Rugby, and I'm now in Cambridge.

I was looking for the samish type of house, but had to give up as 300K buys very little. Popular villages are expensive, if you want to spend that, you need to be miles from the city centre.

We have been outbid on various houses all going over the asking price. Supply is low so people are prepared to pay a lot for nice houses.

The house you want costs 500K or thereabouts and you might get four bedrooms if you are lucky or more if you are prepared to go to villages.

I gave up on Victorian houses, I wanted one but you are looking at a big premium. No wrecks to be had either. We don't mind doing DIY but not a sausage.

If the house you are describing existed I'd be in it by now.

I know it's hard, the area in London where we used to live has crashed pricewise but not sign here.

There is a local Cambridge discussion area if you want more opinions.

Thanks goldenpeach for v frank advice! We want/need to leave London so we can get the kind of house and space that we just can't get here, so I don't want to move to Cambridge if that is not remotely an option ... perhaps it is even more fiendishly expensive than I'd thought. We would certainly be prepared to find a doer upper as well, but you are right in that it is not always easy to get those. Maybe realistically we will need to look at other cheaper places outside London that are not too hard to get to Kings Cross from.

Harpenden

Commute is 24 mins into St Pancras. Everything is walkable in the town - really good shops, park, tennis courts, excellent restaurants, walks, cycle paths, outdoor swimming pool, indoor swimming pool. The schools are among the best state schools in the country. And the season ticket will be half the price it would be from Cambridge.

I live here and it really is the best place I've ever lived. You can even still go for evenings and days out in London, so don't need to absolutely give it up.

Also all three high schools are excellent so there is no fighting for catchment.

The house I've linked to would be catchment for the Grove Primary and Sir John Lawes Secondary.

Otherwise, if you really want the big house and garden thing. Which I understand. Have you thought about Canterbury? You would actually be able to afford a properly large family house in the centre of Canterbury, and you would get that ancient city buzz, perhaps.

I think Canterbury commuting via the new Ashford high speed line is under an hour.

But I have to admit I've never been to Canterbury.

How about Grantham/stamford area commute is 1hr15 to kings cross station and you would get a 3 bedroomhouse for £300has good schools primary and grammar schools.

We live in village outside grantham, near to sleaford and several of the dads commute to the city 3/4 times a week.

Lenin - whoops.

But how much does an annual season ticket from Cambridge to London cost? It's loads. I'm guessing about £300 or £400 per month. That's like a mortgage.

If I was moving to Cambridge, I'd either want to be in the city centre proper or in one of the lovely outlying villages. Living in the outer-reaches would be as much like living in Cambridge as living in West Norwood is like living in Chelsea... without the good transport links. At least in London you have good public transport to get to the rest of what the city has to offer, even if you don't live in a particularly appealing bit. And isn't the traffic in Cambridge appalling?

OP - You need an Excel spreadsheet and to list the places (even if you think you don't think it's your first choice) and score it out of 10 for Schools, commuting time to London, the desirability of the sort of house you would get for your budget, time (1 out of 10 for over an hour and 10 out of 10 for 20 mins or less - don't forget to include the getting to the station bit!) spent commuting, cost of commuting, swimming pool, cinema, and all the other things you like to have nearby. If you never go to the cinema, leave it off the list etc.

Mine is on the market
5 bedrooms, Large garden. 30 mins from Cambridge or 30 mins from Audley end (station)
and its WELL under £300k
but noone wants it

Cheffins tend to overprice, so I'd mentally knock a bit off anything for sale with them! It might be worth going to see those two houses with a mental offer of £300k. I bet they're small bijou, though!

How about giving up on Cambridge itself, and moving to Saffron Walden? This looks nice:
www.intercounty.co.uk/ViewProperty.aspx?adid=600012797

I think GP lives in one of the villages to the south-west of Cambridge?

We spent insance amounts of money on a house with a damp problem 7 miles to the west of Cambridge - but we do now have 4 bedrooms, a big garden, and spacious rooms.

Thanks everyone ... Swedey have to say I'm not too keen on the idea of Harpenden - without wanting to offend your chosen place to live, isn't it a bit sterile? This is rather unfair of me as I have never been there, but not heard great things about it. However thanks for most useful tips about spreadsheets etc! And a reminder about commuting costs - Jesus yes that is a big thing to factor in - does anyone know how much monthly commute from Cambridge is?
HarrietToo Saffron Walden an option I guess but we would really like to be in more of a buzzy city ... I am a London girl and think small towns will be too much of a shock!

I love cambridge - but we live right on the outskirts with an OK garden in a horrible 60s house..it is OK but it cost a lot more than your £300K...and a smaller 4 bed than ours just went for £425K but you can cycle to the train station (or walk about 20 minutes)...there might be something for 400K around Morley Memorial school - nice victorain houses, good schools, nice area

houses are cheaper on the north side of the city