As a place to live, Cambridge and the ecosystem offer something for everyone.
Explore Greater Cambridge
Greater Cambridge is a diverse geography, covering the globally renowned city of Cambridge and the surrounding district of South Cambridgeshire, which hosts many of our most important science and business parks, businesses and leisure opportunities. For businesses, the geography offers the space and environment needed to scale-up and grow. For people, it offers a range of opportunities to live, work and travel within a single well-connected economy. Over 30,000 people travel to work between Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire each day.
EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE
There are many high-performing schools in the area, including the 45 secondary schools and 112 primary schools within 10 miles of the city. As well as maintained and independent schools serving the broad community, the city has a number of international schools, and institutions offering specialist support.
HOUSING
Cambridge is building and growing. Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council have developed and adopted local plans which provide for 33,500 new homes from 2011-2031. Cambridgeshire County Council forecasts that 12,000 new homes will be built in Greater Cambridge between 2016 and 2021, increasing the total stock by 11%, to match a 10% increase in population. There are also exciting new towns being built within easy reach of the city centre.
HEALTH SERVICES
Our ecosystem benefits from a wide range of high quality health services, both National Health Service (NHS) and private. There are three excellent NHS hospitals: Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie) offers emergency, general and specialist plus maternity and neonatal care. Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the UK’s largest specialist cardiothoracic hospital and the country’s main heart and lung transplant centre. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust delivers physical, mental health, community and specialist services. Private hospitals include Nuffield Health and Spire Healthcare. The area is also served by a large number of GP practices.
SPORTS AND CULTURE ACTIVITIES
Cambridge has a long historical association with rowing, but with its small size and collaborative nature, Cambridge is also host to a huge variety of other sports clubs and events, all of which are inclusive and easy to join. Mainstream sports like football, cycling and tennis sit alongside the less conventional: Real Tennis, School Games (‘Rabble’) and paddleboarding.
We have a wealth of beautiful historic properties for you to visit (under the auspices of the National Trust) including Wimpole Hall and Anglesey Abbey.
There are a host of museums which span the exploration of the poles (Scott Polar Museum) to contemporary art (Kettle’s Yard). The Imperial War Museum at Duxford hosts an exceptional collection of aircraft and stages outstanding air shows each year. Excellent independent museums include the Centre for Computing History and the Museum of Technology.
Visit Cambridge& Beyond promotes the area and supports over 8 million tourists per year to navigate the wide range of cultural assets and activities we have to offer. These include open water swimming, wake-boarding, park runs and gliding.
FESTIVALS AND FAIRS
Cambridge residents never need to look far for entertainment. Each year, the calendar is saturated with public events including festivals dedicated to history, science, literature, classical music, jazz, folk, Shakespeare, film, comedy and ideas. The parks also play host to annual fairs, including the Midsummer fair which has visited the city for 800 years.
TRANSPORT LINKS
Cambridge is extremely well connected for a city of its size. It is served by two central railway stations (Cambridge and Cambridge North) with frequent and direct services to London King Cross and Liverpool Street, as well as Stansted and Gatwick Airports. There are a further six stations in South Cambridge, some of which serve key employment sites and are strategically important as locations for commuting into Cambridge city centre and London. The city itself benefits from an extensive bus network including a guided busway, park and ride services on all major access roads, and dedicated cycling lanes on major streets.
London Stansted Airport now serves 200 destinations across 40 countries, including more European cities than any other airport in the world. The airport plays a leading role in making London and the East of England more accessible, more productive and more competitive.
NIGHTLIFE
There is a wealth of Cambridge nightlife, some of which is associated with University events, classical music and pubs. These remain as vibrant and historic as ever, whilst the growth of the city has brought a new generation of independent bars and restaurants in both the traditional city centre and outlying neighbourhoods. Music, theatre (including open-air) and comedy are also well served by dedicated venues and annual festivals which bring international acts.
NATURE/WELL-BEING
Development of Cambridge has long been carefully managed, respecting the context of its history and its geography on a river. This has provided for numerous green spaces and parks throughout the city and the historic traffic-free centre (and student population) has made cycling a very common, and comfortable form of transport for many. Several country parks are within close proximity to the city for longer walks and trips with family and Greater Cambridge has an extensive rural geography with many attractive villages to explore on foot or by bike. Back in the city, several yoga studios and gyms offer indoor relaxation during the winter months.
WEATHER/CLIMATE
Located in one of the driest regions of Britain, Cambridge’s average rainfall is around 570mm (22.44 inches) per year, around half of the national average. Owing to its low lying, inland, and easterly position within the British Isles, summer temperatures tend to be higher than areas further west – with average July and August temperatures of 20-25 degrees Celsius (68-77F). Night-time December temperatures can fall to 2 degrees Celsius but snowfall that accumulates is unusual.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITIES
People come from all over the world to study and work in Cambridge, including representatives of more than 90 nationalities working as researchers at Cambridge University. The French, Spanish, German and Russian communities all run Saturday language classes for native speaking children, and the Cambridge Chinese Centre has a full programme of events for the local Chinese community
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
As a diverse, multi-cultural city, Cambridge is home to active communities from all major faiths.