Cambridge
Apr 8th 2004, 11:29 am
#16
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Posts: 711
Thanks - so how much does a flat in the Docklands go for a month?
Apr 8th 2004, 11:34 am
#17
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Originally posted by bromleygirl
Thanks - so how much does a flat in the Docklands go for a month?
Thanks - so how much does a flat in the Docklands go for a month?
You can have my 2 bedroom furnished with modern decor ( as am in my early 30s ) for 1,000 pound a month. Its a new building ( 1998 ), you will have to pay the service charge. There is a communal swimming pool, gym, parking space, and a room with pool table for residents.
Apr 8th 2004, 9:56 pm
#18
talking Ter Sami
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: hybrid territory
Posts: 1,107
Originally posted by bromleygirl
Just trying to get around Bromley was a nightmare - it took so long trying to get from point A to point B. I think in Cambridge is is a lot easier driving around.
Just trying to get around Bromley was a nightmare - it took so long trying to get from point A to point B. I think in Cambridge is is a lot easier driving around.
The main roads surrounding the town (A14/M11) are always busy at rush hour, as are the buses from Huntingdon etc. But if you are commuting against the main flow (eg live in Trumpington - work in Royston) it is not too bad.
Driving times from the villages really depends on which road the village lies on. It is MUCH less busy during school holidays and off-peak. You should be aware of this when you are looking round. It can take as little as 5minutes or as much as 30minutes to drive 3 miles from a village into the city by car (providing it isn't snowing;-). Needless to say, scooters (mopeds) have become popular for all ages.
Apr 8th 2004, 11:34 pm
#19
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Yorkshire, UK
Posts: 247
Originally posted by mickj
Hello there,
You can have my 2 bedroom furnished with modern decor ( as am in my early 30s ) for 1,000 pound a month. Its a new building ( 1998 ), you will have to pay the service charge. There is a communal swimming pool, gym, parking space, and a room with pool table for residents.
Hello there,
You can have my 2 bedroom furnished with modern decor ( as am in my early 30s ) for 1,000 pound a month. Its a new building ( 1998 ), you will have to pay the service charge. There is a communal swimming pool, gym, parking space, and a room with pool table for residents.
Only Joking!
Actually I suppose 250 a week isn't much for a pad in London.
Now my rent is 250 a month! What a difference eh?
Apr 10th 2004, 6:31 am
#20
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Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 3,113
I lived in Cambridge for 30 years and would agree with what acer rose wrote a few posts up. Traffic is a nightmare in and around the town. I never owned a car while living there, as it was easier to use a bike or motor bike to weave through traffic. Forget travelling down east road on a saturday afternoon!. Housing prices are high, but not quite to the London level. When I left 9 months ago, a one bedroom flat within the city limits was around £80 to £100,000 plus, but its hard to find those £80,000 bargins anymore. Try www.tylers.net for some local prices. Its cheaper to live out in Bar Hill, but you have the nightmare of the A14 to deal with every day. Renting a 1 bedroom flat would probably start at around £500+ and a room in a shared house upwards of £300 a month. The city centre is a nice place to visit. Plenty of bars, pubs, clubs, coffee houses, shops and restaurants to choose from. If I was looking to move back, I'd wouldnt mind living in the Milton area just past the Science park, or maybe some parts of Cherry Hinton. The small village of Histon is also rather popular. I'd avoid Arbury and some parts of Chesterton.
Regular trains run to both Kings Cross and Liverpool street stations. The non stop to Kings Cross takes 45 minutes.
Regular trains run to both Kings Cross and Liverpool street stations. The non stop to Kings Cross takes 45 minutes.
Last edited by Pimpbot; Apr 10th 2004 at 6:34 am.
Apr 10th 2004, 6:38 am
#21
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Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 3,113
Just checking that Tylers site. They have two 1 bedroom apartments for sale about 2 miles from the city centre for £125,000 each.
Apr 10th 2004, 6:47 am
#22
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Thanks Pimpbot for your input. My cousins live in Histon so I know that area fairly well.
I would agree that getting into the centre of Cambridge can be difficult but when compared to driving in and around London it's still the better if the two. It took a lot longer for me to move around the Bromley area than when I was in Cambridge.
I have seen some monthly rents for 3 bed houses in the villages for as low as 550GBP/month whiich for temporary housing isn't to bad. I will start looking for somewhere to buy though as I do feel that it's important to get on the property ladder as soon as possible before the prices rise beyond what I can afford.
Thanks for the estate agent tip - I'll try them out.
So did you like Cambridge Pimpbot or did you want to leave??
I do like the fact that Cambridge is close to London and has all the amenities of London. Do you think that there is a good singles scene there??
My cousins live in Histon so I know that area fairly well. I would agree that getting into the centre of Cambridge can be difficult but when compared to driving in and around London it's still the better if the two. It took a lot longer for me to move around the Bromley area than when I was in Cambridge.
I have seen some monthly rents for 3 bed houses in the villages for as low as 550GBP/month whiich for temporary housing isn't to bad. I will start looking for somewhere to buy though as I do feel that it's important to get on the property ladder as soon as possible before the prices rise beyond what I can afford.
Thanks for the estate agent tip - I'll try them out.
So did you like Cambridge Pimpbot or did you want to leave??
I do like the fact that Cambridge is close to London and has all the amenities of London.
Do you think that there is a good singles scene there??
Apr 10th 2004, 8:40 am
#23
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Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 3,113
I enjoyed my time in Cambridge. I think I took the scenery and history for granted though. When my wife came to visit a few times before I moved out here, I'd be like "There's another old building, now lets go to the pub". She's the same with here though, as the Grand Canyon is just "A hole in the ground!" where as I thought it was amazing. I'd certainly still be living there though if I hadnt met my wife a few years back while holidaying in Vegas. I'd got myself on the property ladder just off Milton road and had a fairly good job at the University Press. But now I am out here, I have no plans to move back, other than for a week or two to see my family.
Not sure if I am the best person to ask on the singles scene, considering I moved out here to get married. lol Plenty of places to meet people though.
Not sure if I am the best person to ask on the singles scene, considering I moved out here to get married. lol Plenty of places to meet people though.
Apr 13th 2004, 1:29 am
#24
She's a bird, you know
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 7,655
Ahhh, Cambridge. This is our current home - been here on and off for the past 10 years (school, uni, and now work). There are good points and bad, many of which have been mentioned. Starting with the bad points:
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
Apr 13th 2004, 2:14 am
#25
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by bundy
Ahhh, Cambridge. This is our current home - been here on and off for the past 10 years (school, uni, and now work). There are good points and bad, many of which have been mentioned. Starting with the bad points:
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
Ahhh, Cambridge. This is our current home - been here on and off for the past 10 years (school, uni, and now work). There are good points and bad, many of which have been mentioned. Starting with the bad points:
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
Hello there,
Are you sure you don't work for the university press? The longest post have seen on here
Apr 13th 2004, 2:18 am
#26
She's a bird, you know
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 7,655
LOL!!!
Was a bit long-winded. Sorry. I have very little to do at work at present and I have to stave off the boredom somehow...
Was a bit long-winded. Sorry. I have very little to do at work at present and I have to stave off the boredom somehow...
Apr 13th 2004, 2:49 am
#27
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by bundy
LOL!!!
Was a bit long-winded. Sorry. I have very little to do at work at present and I have to stave off the boredom somehow...
LOL!!!
Was a bit long-winded. Sorry. I have very little to do at work at present and I have to stave off the boredom somehow...
You might want to have some of that stuff in your Avatar
Apr 13th 2004, 2:52 am
#28
She's a bird, you know
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 7,655
Originally posted by mickj
Hello there,
You might want to have some of that stuff in your Avatar
Hello there,
You might want to have some of that stuff in your Avatar
Apr 13th 2004, 3:01 am
#29
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by bundy
Wish I could....but I'd never make the long slog back through the 5 miles of backed up traffic into Cambridge!
Wish I could....but I'd never make the long slog back through the 5 miles of backed up traffic into Cambridge!
I bet you wish it was Cambridge Ontario, which is not very far from me, and has no traffic at all
http://www.city.cambridge.on.ca/index.php
Apr 13th 2004, 5:46 am
#30
58.38264% - Extreme Geek
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: The Place To Be
Posts: 2,270
Originally posted by bundy
Ahhh, Cambridge. This is our current home - been here on and off for the past 10 years (school, uni, and now work). There are good points and bad, many of which have been mentioned. Starting with the bad points:
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
Ahhh, Cambridge. This is our current home - been here on and off for the past 10 years (school, uni, and now work). There are good points and bad, many of which have been mentioned. Starting with the bad points:
* House prices: in town these are astronomical and going up almost on a daily basis. We live in the centre of town (in a tiny rented shoebox flat) and the house opposite has just sold for 280,000 within 6 hours of going up for sale. Two-bed terrace house. Yikes. Basically, house prices are pretty much up there with London prices, but you don't get London loading in your wages. Prices are cheaper out of town, but then we come onto the next point...
*Traffic. Blinkin' nightmare. They don't want cars in the city and that's the end of it. For those trying to drive in to get to work, you will probably be faced with queues of 2+ miles on all the major approaches. The ringroad is stuffed because they keep messing about with one-way systems that don't work and traffic lights here are a law unto themselves. I work out 5 miles out of town (thus going against the flow of traffic) and it still takes me 30 minutes to do a trip that should take about 7 mins
*Parking. Forget it. There isn't any, and what little there is is about to be demolished for a shopping centre
*Tourists. Millions of them. Literally. From March to October the place is inundated. All very well for the local economy, but it's a hassle when you can't walk down the street, get mown down by a foreign cyclist going the wrong way up the road and can't get into any pub/restaurant/cinema/park without fighting through hoardes of tourists, most of them language students wearing identical backpacks
*The clique syndrome. I am of Cambridge 'stock' ie been through the uni system, now work for the uni. But if you don't work for or have connections with the uni, you are An Outsider and it can be hard to break into it. Mr Bundy found this, although as an aussie he had the advantage of the novelty factor
*Work. There's not as much of it about as there was (unless you want to be a research assistant). Cambridge is going through something of a population explosion at the moment and there aren't enough jobs to go round
*Weather. There's nothing between us and the Siberia to stop the wind. That means you'll be suffering a Siberian winter here. It's not nice. Icy wind, horizontal sleet, mist from the fens, flooding on low-lying areas.
*The socially disadvantaged. A large population of drug dealers and addicts, forced out of London, have ended up in Cambridge. Having spent a miserable year accidentally living next to a crack den (in a civilised street, no less), I know that the council's current policy on the down and out falls way short of the mark. Expect aggressive begging, lots of homelessness (no wonder given the house prices!) and drug-related crime
On the plus side...
*It's beautiful. No denying that. A very green city with lots of parks and open areas. Not many places where you can find cattle grazing a stone's throw from the centre
*Size. A small city with lots of the benefits of a bigger place. You can walk across town in about 15 minutes, but we've got most things you can need here. Not a total shopping mecca, but enough to get by. Everyone knows everyone else, although that's not always a good thing!
*Location. London 45 minutes away and a decent train connection. Definite plus.
*Cycling. Heaven for anyone on foot or wheels. No hills, great foot and cycle paths.
*Schools. Academics demand good schools for their kids, so the standard is pretty high
*Culture. Being a student town, there's always some art show, theatre production, exhibition etc going on
*Eating out. Lots of places to grab a decent feed, and many of them are cheap because it's a student town!
*Working environment. If you work for the uni or a college, you are likely to be working in an historic and beautiful setting. Not the case if you do something teccy - you're more likely to be out on the Science park
*Health. Addenbrookes Hospital is a good one, and a teaching hosp so they do lots of pioneering stuff here.
*Living somewhere famous. It can have it's pluses and there is a certain pride to living in such a fine historical city.
There's a few points to be going on with!
spent working in LA, NY & Geneva).Bundy's summary pretty much tells it like it is, but I would add:
*Nothing* is more beaut than King's College Chapel in the snow. Nothing, not even Sydney Opera House at Sunset...
The King's carol service is just wonderful & you can hang around outside with the BBC sound engineers' vans while they're broadcasting it live all over the world, & just *be* there. Really fab experience. (if you have the right college connections you can get in on the congregation, too
) We have the best buildings of any city anywhere in the world IMO.
If you have links with the U (we do) it's great (college dinners, high table port, all great fun).
But....
In the last 10 years this gorgeous city that I couldn't bear to leave has changed. Woe is me.
Asthma & respiratory probs are endemic here; it's a combination of pollution (too many cars in too small a city), and the dust that blows in from the agricultural Fenlands, containing nasty chemicals as well as good East Anglian dirt. 1 in 3 Cambridge kids have Ventalin inhalers now & many people I know are actively moving their kids out of the area. My asthma only ever troubles me when I'm here. I'm told that lung specialists try to get transfers here because we have so many interesting respiratory conditions in this region. Cool if you are a medic, not so good for those of us on steroids.
The train service to London is very unreliable, esp. if you need it each day. I used to commute to London & some days I spent 6-7 hours traveling, what with the 5 mile journey to the station that would often take 1 hour (rush hour starts at 0630am) and all the rail problems (Hatfield, Potters Bar, most bolshy and put-upon staff ever). Do not bother! Drive down the M11 to Redbridge, park on the street there & get the tube in, it's far better/less stressful.
Parking in the City - total pain in the a***. Long, long lines most of the time. To park for 2-3 hours to see a movie - about 6 quid. To park for a good long day's shopping - 30 quid. Rip off. Some of the car parks are full of rough sleepers, drug taking waste materials and awash with 'bodily fluids'. Ok if you wear the wellies and a clothes peg on your nose!
Housing - hurrah, our prices have rocketed consistently, so for *me* it's all worked out well. Problem for many poor souls, though, is affording one in the first place. 1-bed flat costs min. 125000 GBP. A 2-up-2 down tiny terrace house from 220000 (for a really slummy one) to 300000. These are London prices. Prices in the villages are getting high now too - very high hikes in last 6 months.
Drugs - I would not bring a kid of mine up here the way it is now. The City's drug problem is totally out of control & all kids seem to have access to whatever they want in terms of the old mind-expanding stuff.
Crime - mostly drug-related: burglary, car theft/break ins (have had mine done over 3 times in last year), mugging. Not really safe to walk round City Center at night. Police are of the 'chocolate teapot' variety.
Shops - lovely if you like expensive designer clothes/jewelery, fancy designer handbags, shoes etc (yes, I do, so fine for me). Tough if you want good value things for your home, or clothes that won't blow your credit card to Mars. Personally I will miss the 300 quid handbag stores
, but my friends all moan like mad about how dear everything is here (they all go to Peterborough to shop). Peterborough - excellent for shopping - about 40 mins drive from Cambridge, can park all day for about 4 quid. Huge Mall, good restaurants, beaut Cathedral (choral evensong is divine) Brill M&S (far more stock than in Cambridge), Co-op, BHS, John Lewis etc etc.
So where would *I* live in this area?
Probably Saffron Walden, a lovely civilised place about 13 miles S of Cambridge. Houses cheaper, loads of cute Tudor cottages, great schools, better asthma stats & you can still get to Cambridge for those Gucci handbags when you want one. Worth a look?
Good luck, anyway, whatever you do!
Anya.
