Thinking of moving to Huntingdon, Cambs?

mike gunnz

mike gunnz

mike gunnz

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I have a job offer in Hungtingdon, Cambridgeshire. I know little about the area or its surrounds so can anyone fill me in on where is good to rent and, just as importantly, any areas to avoid.

I've been spoilt by the dirt cheap property rents available in Hull over the last ten years so I would like to keep the rent as low as poss.

Initially I'll be taking a massive salary cut to take this job, but it offers the career pathway I want. However I'm under no illusions that things will be tight for the first year.

Max £500 pcm. Hopefully lower ;)

Also considering a house share.

Cheers. :)
 
Stay off the Oxmoor. It's a bit hard to define, but look on Google Maps and it's the stuff centred on, and north of, California Road. The stuff out to the east and close to Hartford road is better - but pricey. The stuff to the west is pretty new and OK. The Oxmoor isn't South Central, but it's a bit run down. Mind you, there are probably bits of Hull that are a lot worse. The town centre is dull, but safe and ugly. Dead at night. There's a Tesco on the north edge, and a Sainsbury's in town, but no big-name department stores. There's a Brighthouse, which tells you most of what you want to know. If it's a sensible commute, St Ives, just up the road, is a much better place. Rents are pretty high - £500 will get you a two bed in several areas, but not the best ones. Peter Lane are reliable if you are looking for letting agents (they're estate agents as well). I'm selling up in Huntingdon and moving north, so if you want to buy rather than rent... If you have more specific enquires about Huntingdon contact me through Trust.
 
Meridian said:
Stay off the Oxmoor. It's a bit hard to define, but look on Google Maps and it's the stuff centred on, and north of, California Road. The stuff out to the east and close to Hartford road is better - but pricey. The stuff to the west is pretty new and OK. The Oxmoor isn't South Central, but it's a bit run down. Mind you, there are probably bits of Hull that are a lot worse. The town centre is dull, but safe and ugly. Dead at night. There's a Tesco on the north edge, and a Sainsbury's in town, but no big-name department stores. There's a Brighthouse, which tells you most of what you want to know. If it's a sensible commute, St Ives, just up the road, is a much better place. Rents are pretty high - £500 will get you a two bed in several areas, but not the best ones. Peter Lane are reliable if you are looking for letting agents (they're estate agents as well). I'm selling up in Huntingdon and moving north, so if you want to buy rather than rent... If you have more specific enquires about Huntingdon contact me through Trust.
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Thanks. I'm looking to rent initially, until I find my feet at least. St Ives seems feasible as I would prefer to live just outside Huntingdon and I don't mind a short commute. I'll have a look...

yhack said:
I would avoid Huntingdon, it's pretty crap.
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Care to suggest an alternative then? :p

Mr_White said:
He's from Hull. Although I agree it's a dive, it'll seem bloody brilliant to him :p
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I'm from south London. ;)
 
I used the guided bus for the first time this month, with already a massive amount of prejudice and cynicism. In turns out it's bloody excellent and if I still worked inside of it's boundaries I would be using it every day.

Try to avoid a commute on the A14 unless it's going away from cambridge in the rush hour, you don't want to be using the A14 southbound in the mornings or northbound in the evenings.
 
If you can't live in Cambridge then StIves is your next best ulternaive. It realy depends on what lifestyle you lead outside work. StIves is nice but it's not what you'd call lively.
 
I doubt you can afford Cambridge: £500 a month will rent you a broom cupboard. And the guided bus takes 85 minutes to get to Huntingdon. It's a lot quicker to drive, almost no matter how bad the traffic is. But the worst of the traffic on the A14 is going towards Cambridge, which helps a lot. If you want to live in St Ives and work in Huntingdon, then pick a place in St Ives that's easy to get to the A14 from - the direct road through Wyton and Houghton is painfully slow. The other holdup is the point where the guided bus crosses the main road at the eastern end of the High Street in St Ives - try to live south of that. The river cuts St Ives in half, with the only crossing the A1096. But most of the affordable accommodation is north of the river.
 
neil3k said:
I work in Huntingdon.

Beer?
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You buying? ;)

Meridian said:
I doubt you can afford Cambridge: £500 a month will rent you a broom cupboard. And the guided bus takes 85 minutes to get to Huntingdon. It's a lot quicker to drive, almost no matter how bad the traffic is. But the worst of the traffic on the A14 is going towards Cambridge, which helps a lot. If you want to live in St Ives and work in Huntingdon, then pick a place in St Ives that's easy to get to the A14 from - the direct road through Wyton and Houghton is painfully slow. The other holdup is the point where the guided bus crosses the main road at the eastern end of the High Street in St Ives - try to live south of that. The river cuts St Ives in half, with the only crossing the A1096. But most of the affordable accommodation is north of the river.
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Cambridge is wishful thinking on a social worker's salary. I had a good look at properties today but it gave me a headache. I'll try again tomorrow.
 
I live in Huntingdon.

Steer clear of the oxmoor.

Stukeley, Hartford or close to the town are your best bets. Very hit and miss though. If you have anywhere in mind specifically then let me know and I'll tell you if its a ****hole or not :)
 
I used to live in Brampton many years ago. I agree that Huntingdon is dull but, hell, it's not Hull so that's a massive plus.

Rush hour traffic can be a pain so keep this in mind when looking for a home. I can't see the benefit of living in Cambridge only to work in Huntingdon so I don't know why that's being suggested.
 
I must admit I was surprised to see this thread, lol.

I thought I was the only OCUKer in Huntingdon! :D
 
Depends...


Straight up the A1 is OK if you live and work reasonably close to it. Flooding very occasionally cuts off access at the St Neots end. The hard bit is getting into Huntingdon past the railway station as the road backs up for the best part of a mile at rush hour. Alternatively, there's a cross country route through the Offords, where you pass the wrecks of barry-boys' cars in fields where their skill ran out. It can be slow, because it's a winding B road. There's also the train: the two are next stops on the East Coast Main Line. I did the commute for a year many years ago, and it used to take about 20-25 minutes by car - but I went early to avoid the rush. If you are thinking of living in St Neots, most of it is worse than Huntingdon. Eynesbury, tot he south of St Neots, is a bit better. Although it's basically a big suburbia with a Tesco.
 
Another option; you could try Peterborough. A lot of people don't rate Peterborough, but I lived in Cambridge before here and found it utterly boring. Pretty, but boring.

It may just be that I know more people in Peterborough, but I prefer living here *shrugs*. It's about 25 minute commute to Huntington.
 
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