Cambridge residents had plenty of positive and negatives to say about life in the city
Cambridge was recently named one of the best places to live in Britain by the Sunday Times alongside areas like Skipton, Richmond and Norwich, which came in first place. While it is loved by many people for its green spaces and rich history, other residents point out some of the city’s negative sides such as public transport and potholes.
When asked what they think about Cambridge being named one of the best places to live, a few residents were not surprised. Polina Poganovska, a photographer working in Cambridge, said: “It is not surprising. Cambridge has a good pace to it and living here allows you to appreciate life in the slow moments and the busy ones. It might seem that the city is too small to be a city, but I like the cosiness of it.”
Emily, a resident who has lived here her whole life, also mentioned liking how small the city is. She said: “You can get from one side of Cambridge to the other by bike quite quickly. I cycled here and it took me less than 20 minutes and to get to the other side of Cambridge from here, it would also take less than 20 minutes.”
She continued by mentioning a few of the services you can find in the city such as the “good state schools” and Addenbrooke’s Hospital. She added: “The city has lots of nice cafés. I like a good little café. Lots of cute little restaurants as well. The university is very pretty. I think it’s a very nice place to live. It’s quite pretty and it’s usually quite clean. I’ve lived here my whole life so I don’t really have anything to compare it to but I do quite like it.”
Faith Disch, who works at Homerton College, loves how different Cambridge is throughout the seasons and enjoys the “many local pubs” in the city. She added: “Spring is especially beautiful and provides an opportunity to see the curated gardens of the different Cambridge colleges. In and around Cambridge, there are beautiful walking paths which display rolling meadows, weeping willow trees, and sometimes cows. The pubs and restaurants here are fantastic, and offer delicious seasonal dishes.”
The range of green spaces were also brought up by John, who is originally from America. He said: “There are lots of things I love about Cambridge. There’s a lot of green space and it’s a good walkable city. I like the river and there’s lots of places to take walks outside. If you live within the city, you don’t need a car. I love how there are a lot of things in a very short distance so you can get from place to place quickly.”
He went on to mention that he has a lot of frustrations when it comes to living in Cambridge such as how expensive it is to live there and the public transport. He said: “The transportation inside Cambridge is terrible. I feel like this would be a great place to have a tram, for example. The centre of the town is so congested with cars. People wait for 40 minutes for a bus so I think public transportation needs to be improved. It’s frustrating because it could be such a great city. There are so many things that need to be improved that could be done.”
Emily has had her bus service into the city centre cut from every 10 minutes to now every 15 minutes but said it comes “more like once every 20 minutes, which is such a pain”. Faith would also make some changes to the public transport in the city.
She said: “Many people I know also do not enjoy spending time in the infamous Cambridge traffic. It is quite a compact city, so double decker buses here are not always the most practical. I think that a tram of some kind could be a more efficient way of transporting people in and around Cambridge. The Netherlands makes effective use of trams, and Amsterdam and Utrecht are cities that share similarities with Cambridge with narrow streets, historical buildings, and waterways.”
Faith also acknowledge how expensive it is to live in Cambridge, which has pushed many people to live in villages around the city causing commutes to be “crowded”. She added: “Cambridge is rapidly expanding, and space is truly at a premium here. The price of living in central Cambridge is high, which means that people are living further away from Cambridge to find affordable housing.”
Whether or not you love living in Cambridge, it is definitely a popular place to be for both tourists and those looking for a quieter city to live in. But the city does have a few issues that many residents agree on.
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