Moving to Cambridge?

September 6, 2006 8:41 AM

Anyone moved from the states to Cambridge England?

So I received what I think is a decent offer of employment in Cambridge, England.

It's a very interesting job, and the move appeals to both me and my wife.

Anyone done this? What are the pro's/cons of a place like Cambridge?

It's me, my wife and 3 cats. The 3 cats represent a problem but we're starting the vaccination and blood testing process now.

Assume we're going to be simplifying our lives/lifestyles and plan on traveling more.

posted by Lord_Pall to travel & transportation (26 comments total)

Oh yeah. I currently live in Austin, Texas.
posted by Lord_Pall at 8:41 AM on September 6, 2006

In fact, I have moved from Austin, Texas to Cambridge, England. (No, really!) I think Austin is a better place to live, but of course there is the excitement of living in a different country, the ability to travel more, etc.

There is a lot less to do in Cambridge itself though. And I imagine that there is much, much less if you aren't associated with the university somehow. London is only a 45 minute train ride away but you won't do it as much as you think.

Also, the weather is pretty crap from October to April compared to Austin weather. On the other hand, the summer here feels better than any weather in Austin.
posted by grouse at 8:49 AM on September 6, 2006

Also, I'd be happy to answer more specific questions.
posted by grouse at 8:50 AM on September 6, 2006

I'm not going to be associated with the university.

I'm less concerned about "stuff to do" at the specific moment and more concerned about the day to day living.

This will be our first time living overseas, and our first attempt at living without a car. So that's a biggy.

I think I've got a handle on budgeting, but take a look and see if I'm missing or grossly underestimating something.

I'm assuming taxation at flat 40% or so for calculations.

Rent, decent 2 bedroom house or townhome = ~1000-1200 Ls

Gas/Elec/Water/Internet - 200-350l's

Food (raw groceries mostly, some restaurants). We're picky foodies and trend towards local produce, organic meats, etc. I'm hoping to use the farmers market in town for major groceries and smaller stores for everything else. ~600 Ls

Any idea if these are about right?

Also, what are the downsides of Cambridge? It's a teeny tiny town so I'm aware it won't have the facilities or even culture of a larger place, but what about the more intangible things. Pro's, cons?
posted by Lord_Pall at 9:14 AM on September 6, 2006

I lived in Cambridge for years & still have a bunch of friends there.

Where are you planning to live? IMO Cambridge is great if you can afford to live in the city itself or within close cycling distance but a right pain if you're living far enough out to have to drive in.
posted by pharm at 9:17 AM on September 6, 2006

Downsides of Cambridge: it's dominated by the university; there's a certain amount of Town/Gown friction. Certain pubs used to be no-go areas for 'obvious' students for instance.

Traffic is awful to appalling, and not helpful by the council's penchant for blocking off more and more roads.

It's in the middle of the fens, home to some of the more, um, parochial elements of the UK population.

It's miles from the rest of the UK, apart from London. It could be worse though; you could be going to Norwich.
posted by pharm at 9:20 AM on September 6, 2006

By L, you mean £, right? You can see what sort of accommodation you can get in that price range here.

What more intangible things are you interested in?

Hard for me to estimate the costs of the rest as my living situation is very different, but you could ask on the cam.misc newsgroup, and I'm sure they would be very helpful.
posted by grouse at 9:24 AM on September 6, 2006

You'll eat much better in the UK. Organic food is much more popular in the UK than in the States, even in towns like Austin.

Markets, farmers and otherwise, are much more common as well.
posted by k8t at 9:44 AM on September 6, 2006

I was planning on not owning a car and living as close to the city as possible (cycling or walking distance).

For intangibles, I'm interested primarily in travel. That's the major motivator for moving. :)

This would range from lots of daytrips, weekend trips to more long-term 1-2 week trips throughout the UK and mainland Europe.

I'm still not entirely sure how you buy things like cat litter with no car :)
posted by Lord_Pall at 10:12 AM on September 6, 2006

Depending on where in Cambridge you're living it might be easier to just go to a supermarket for your food. British supermarkets sell organic food. I think there's only one vegetable stall in the market and I don't know if it's organic, although it probably is. I don't think there's a butcher anywhere near the market, although there is a small Sainsbury's.

Outside of the university area (where the market is) there is a fairly large Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda (the three major supermarkets).

If you plan trips to Europe in advance, you can get very cheap air fares (sometimes they're 1p, not including taxes (which are quite a bit more than 1p) from Easyjet, Ryanair or their competitors.

If you're a car driver then Cambridge is pretty horrible. If you're a cyclist then it's pretty good, especially compared with the rest of Britain and I'd imagine Austin. There are lots of cycle lanes and things. Lots of people in Cambridge cycle, especially students, so cars are expecting you.

Cambridge has quite a lot of homeless people, which isn't fantastic.

I think you can attend some university-related events even if you're not associated with the university (townspeople go to student theatre productions and some society talks, for example) but it might be difficult to find out about some of them.
posted by Mik3 at 10:45 AM on September 6, 2006

You'll eat much better in the UK. Organic food is much more popular in the UK than in the States, even in towns like Austin.

Maybe it is more popular as a percentage of the population, but you aren't going to find Whole Foods or Central Market in Cambridge. Your choice for raw "foodie" items will definitely decrease here, and your choice for going out will decrease substantially. Although going out costs a lot more here so you wouldn't want to do it as much anyway. Save your money for going out on the Continent. :)

OTOH, Borough Market in London is fantastic if you can stock up on some things there. Probably foodie heaven.

Will add more later. Including some very positive things.
posted by grouse at 10:58 AM on September 6, 2006

Yeah. We're definitely willing to cook around what's available at any given time, heading into town as necessary for obscure staples (town being London).
posted by Lord_Pall at 11:09 AM on September 6, 2006

For intangibles, I'm interested primarily in travel. That's the major motivator for moving. :)

Then you're very close to Stansted Airport, from which you can go several places in Europe on very cheap flights.

Ryanair is the main airline, but there are many others...
posted by randomination at 12:40 PM on September 6, 2006

BTW I think your estimates are a bit on the high side - rent for an ok 2 bedroom house is probably thereabouts, but internet/gas/electricity is probably more like 150, at most, food perhaps 400 if you're really extravagant.
I'm a transplant, Canada - Oxford which is probably acomparable town to Cambridge. Living without a car is very easy - it's not something I miss at all - and yes the range and quality of food generally available here is better than N. America, also: the media are good, travel opportunities excellent, but living in the UK can feel like living in a lunatic asylum, and not in an eccentric Austin kind of way. This country is rife with angry, drunken psychopaths, but apart from that it's lovely.
posted by Flashman at 12:57 PM on September 6, 2006

Where did you get the taxation at 40% figure?

VAT (value added tax = sales tax for all intents) is 17.5%, but it is almost always part of the headline price.

Will you pay UK income tax? If so, 22% up to £33k; 40% above that.
posted by A189Nut at 1:10 PM on September 6, 2006

When you take council tax into effect (100-200 per month, depending on what kind of place you're living in and the area) 40% is probably close. It blew my mind when I got my first Council tax bill - I hadn't been expecting it at all.
Plus all sorts of other taxes - health, SS eg.
posted by Flashman at 1:15 PM on September 6, 2006

Council tax, UK income tax, the moronically stupid double taxation that the US does (the only nation in the world), tax on health insurance, etc, etc, etc.

I figured a flat 40% was good for calculations.

I'm heading back out there in a week or 2 with my wife. If figure she should see the place before I accept :).

When I'm there I'm planning on finding the grocery stores and the like near where I'm to be working (Hills Road and Brooklands, S/se of the station) and gathering up the specifics.

I didn't even think of using Stanstead for travel. It looks to be quite close..
posted by Lord_Pall at 1:28 PM on September 6, 2006

Not sure you'd be paying health tax? Does the NHS not apply to resident aliens any longer? Or do you want to go private?
posted by A189Nut at 2:34 PM on September 6, 2006

Cambridge is probably the ideal place to travel around Europe from, since Stansted is a low-cost hub. So if that is a big priority for you, this is the right place. Also train and driving travel around Great Britain is doable too.

moronically stupid double taxation that the US does (the only nation in the world)

Yeah, but unless you're making more than $80,000 it probably won't be an issue for you. And even then it still won't.
posted by grouse at 2:53 PM on September 6, 2006

I'd be paying NHS. Private insurance is a provided perk, but it's a taxable benefit as well. i'm not sure how much that will cost.
posted by Lord_Pall at 3:15 PM on September 6, 2006

I think you can overestimate the portion of the town that is dominated by the universities. For a start, students are only there for 24 weeks a year if you're talking about Cambridge University (Anglia's campus is more out of town and is more dominated by mature students in any case), and the university hub is only the absolute central part of town - which also coincides with the central shopping part of town. If you're thinking quality of life, then the answer is "good" - lots of green space, a cycle-friendly town, a huge amount of culture on offer. Yes, some of it is generated by the university - but don't underestimate free art galleries, free medieval/classical buildings, the choice of several plays to see every night for half the year for about £3, etc. And plus there is a huge amount that is not generated by students - classical concerts, poetry nights, book readings, you name it. In terms of food the big supermarkets are already mentioned but there are various ethnic food shops around Mill Road and Hills Road. I don't think you will have a problem tracking down obscure staples unless they are massively obscure. (And nobody has mentioned internet delivery for obscure things, or things like cat litter). Weather is chilly until about March/April but the summers are glorious. Don't knock the surrounding areas either - don't buy into the "web-footed fen dwellers" myth. Yes, there are some deprived areas, yes there are some areas with ethnic tensions (eg Peterborough) but there is a massive heritage around locally and some brilliant places, eg Ely Cathedral, Huntingdon, Grantchester to name but a few. All in all I would say if you are looking for a place where the pace of life isn't too busy, but there are lots of opportunities for both kids and adults to do interesting things, and in particular where raising a family in the early years might be an option, then you won't go far wrong.

To pick up on a couple of other comments: yes, there is a big homelessness problem, but it won't impact on you directly unless you are the kind of person who gets incensed at being hassled at a cash machine once every few months. To find out about university events, again very easy - look at the student papers (Apex, Varsity and the Cambridge Student, all of which should have listings) or look at the University Reporter. But there is a lot more going on than just the universities.

Finally, you might find the county council website useful in terms of what government-funded services are on offer.
posted by greycap at 4:10 PM on September 6, 2006

Lovely city. Sainsbury's and Tesco do delivery if you've only got a bike. The market in the (duh) Market Square is pretty good for fruit and vegetables.
posted by TrashyRambo at 5:38 PM on September 6, 2006

I agree with Greycap and trashyrambo- don't worry about the town/gown tensions, they're a thing of the past (1800s), yes there is a chav element to the city, as there is in any UK city/town. A lot of youngish graduates move to the town, meaning there are a lot of people there who are interested in the arts/food/etc, and not just tractor racing. In terms of living, Mill road has some smaller/cheaper houses and is near Hills road, virtually anywhere in the city is commutable by bike though. With a bit of exploring you will find shops selling food from around the world, and the market has a good range of varied stalls. Not sure if I'd bother about private insurance if you're young, as the NHS (despite what the newspapers say) is pretty good, and the local hospital has good staff.
For travel to Europe, Stanstead and Luton are pretty close- Luton is a pig to get to, but that seems to be the case wherever you live. You can (if it still runs) also get direct trains to Harwich which then connect with the ferry to Amsterdam or the Hook of Holland for alternate weekends away. The main downside as someone said is the surrounding countryside, if you're into walking or outdoor activities it's a bit flat. Still London is easy to get to and trains are good.
posted by MrC at 10:52 PM on September 6, 2006

there's no separate taxation for the NHS - it all comes out of general taxation.

And yes, tesco.com (and many others) will take care of cat litter for you (for a price, but it's many many times less than you'd pay to run a car).

I live in Britain without a car and it's totally feasible if you're in a reasonable-sized city and fairly close to a rail station.
posted by altolinguistic at 2:19 AM on September 7, 2006

Hi: long-time Cambridge resident here, though I moved away about eight years ago, so some of my advice may be out of date.

It can be tricky finding affordable accommodation in Cambridge, as it's quite a small city and there's a lot of demand, not just from people in the university but also from workers in the hi-tech industries that have sprung up around it. (Also from people who work in London but prefer to live in Cambridge.) Maybe that won't be a problem for you, if your job is well paid -- but be aware that you get less for your money in Cambridge than elsewhere.

Shops are good, though as in most UK towns, the city centre is dominated by the big supermarkets (Sainsbury's, M & S), which have driven many of the smaller shops out of business. Cambridge is good for luxury delicatessen items (cheese, for example), perhaps slightly less good for more basic things like organic fruit and vegetables. If you want to shop locally, then you should aim to live somewhere near Mill Road, which still has a lot of small independent shops.

The quality of life is excellent. (Speaking for myself, I'd gladly move back to Cambridge, if only I could afford to -- but the house prices are prohibitive.) The cultural life, in terms of libraries, museums, concerts, etc., is as good as you'll find anywhere in England, outside the capital. Downsides? Well, it can get very crowded (most days in summer the place is heaving with tourists) and the traffic is a nuisance. The wealth and privilege of the university can be intimidating. And living in Cambridge can sometimes feel like being trapped inside a tiny bubble -- symbolised, for me, by this famous piece of graffiti.

For any and all specific questions on living and working in Cambridge, go to the cam.* newsgroups, or ask at cam.misc.
posted by verstegan at 2:35 AM on September 7, 2006

Wonderful information..
Posting to usenet. How 1995 :)
posted by Lord_Pall at 5:46 AM on September 7, 2006