Bedford v Cambridge commute

[stephy]

Thinking about moving to Cambridge from Bedford.
Has anyone experienced both commutes? Job is York Way, King's Cross.
I know Bedford has ~35min trains to St P but in reality I get the 7.55 which is 45 min unless delayed, or eg the 7.30 which is ~50-55mins. Home is a 40min train unless I'm lucky to get out on time for the half-hour 5 or 5.30pm.
Would I notice much difference? Currently live 12-15min walk from Bedford Station and it is a grotty walk. House price differences aside please!

 

[Ianno87]

I live in Cambridge, and commute to a mix of Liverpool Street and King's Cross.

Honestly? I actually quite enjoy my commute. It's long enough to 'switch off' or get something done/read along the way. Plus it's resilient - if one route goes down the other route is there as a back up (storm Doris was the only day in the last few years where both routes were sinultaneously disrupted for a significant duration)

On the Kings X route, you get a good fast blast on the ECML, then enjoy the slightly rolling fields as you head through Royston.

King's Cross trains can be busy at times, and sometimes elbow-y/bargy to get on, particularly for the evening peak trains that have shorter turnround times. But there are 'good' trains as well, which you'll learn over time. Some trains are elbowy to get on (e.g. the 1814), but I've found that there's still plenty of seats anyway, so let everyone else have the petty fight first, then just get on behind when they've sorted themselves out.

Morning peak is generally fine - never not got a seat at Cambridge. Only difficult trains are the 0815, plus occasionally the 0745 on a particularly busy day if you turn up at the last minute. Homeward, the 1644 is always crazy busy - most other trains less extreme (although Fridays can be noticeably busier)

One thing you will notice is the difference in frequency from Cambridge compared to Bedford - you effectively only really have a train every half hour in the peak. Might take a bit of getting used to.

Also, it'll depend on where you plan to live in Cambridge and how you plan to reach the station. Driving and buses are not always recommended, particularly on the occasional evening when Hills Rd gets completely snarled up. Alternatively, walk or cycle - dead easy around Cambridge. Don't forget Cambridge North also opens next month, served by around one fast King's Cross train every hour for most of the day.

Hope this is useful.

 

[stephy]

very useful thanks. yes there are tons of trains from bedford. but many are stopping ones so only really consider the every half hour fast ones anyway, outside of my normal morning trains.

would be looking to live near the station, so closer than i live now. and i daresay nicer! no haters - dont hate bedford and grew up there but as a single 29 year old not sure it is the place for me right now (and dont want to live in london)

 

[Bletchleyite]

One thing to note - Cambridge is expensive. You may genuinely find London a cheaper place to live if you'll tolerate a less nice bit.

It is however very, very nice.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Not that I wish to bang the drum for Thameslink/EMT but you will be giving up the added convenience of a 24 hour a day train service (apart from Sat night/sun morn) and direct links with two major airport stations. As pointed out Cambridge is expensive and places near the station are very expensive. You could try somewhere closer in like Harpenden or St.Albans but, as with most of the nicer places, they too are expensive.

 

[stephy]

I did say prices aside!
I dislike Harpeneden and St Albans so that's why I am considering Cambridge. The 24-hour trains are dangerous for me - too many early morning rides home drunk! Lost my watch last time around 5am. It makes temptation to stay out in London too great.
Lived in London for 5 years, never again.
Parents still live in Bedford so would always be poppig back after work etc to see them!

 

[Mutant Lemming]

The 24-hour trains are dangerous for me - too many early morning rides home drunk! Lost my watch last time around 5am. It makes temptation to stay out in London too great.

Surely preferable to missing your last train home and having to be hang round outside Kings Cross till the first in the morning

Lived in London for 5 years, never again.

London is too big to totally dismiss it all - try areas like Highgate, Barnet, Mill Hill all pleasant enough

Parents still live in Bedford so would always be poppig back after work etc to see them!

Would the X5 be as convenient as the train?

The thing about places is we all have our personal outlooks with regard to what makes a good place. Only way to know if the place and commute suits you is to try it out.

 

[stephy]

i would just make sure i don't miss the last train!
i don't want to live somewhere like mill hill. i want a separate city, not an outer-ish london suburb that's a bit grim. i never want to live in london again - the transient nature/lack of community is just not for me.
and i mean, using Thameslink,EMT to travel to Bedford after work if I stay at my parents'! And the X5 is very convenient on a weekend to pop between the two places, and cheap too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Some options on the WCML may be cheaper than Cambridge? Berkhamsted, for example, is quite nice. Leighton Buzzard isn't terrible and is quite cheap.

 

[DarloRich]

Try MK for an alternative - good quick connections to London.

Some options on the WCML may be cheaper than Cambridge? Berkhamsted, for example, is quite nice. Leighton Buzzard isn't terrible and is quite cheap.

subjective Bletchley is cheap ( shudder: compared to Darlo MK is like Sandbanks price wise LOL)

 

[Bletchleyite]

I was going to suggest MK but had a feeling that the OP perhaps preferred smaller towns.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Some options on the WCML may be cheaper than Cambridge? Berkhamsted, for example, is quite nice.

Berko's probably no cheaper than Cambridge these days. And yes, I did look before realising a flat by the canal in Hemel Hempstead was more my budget.

Hemel's probably not a bad shout, actually. It had a nice community feel, good pubs, a proper town centre, but it was 20 minutes from London.

Disclaimer: I really liked living in Hemel and miss it.

 

[DarloRich]

Berko's probably no cheaper than Cambridge these days. And yes, I did look before realising a flat by the canal in Hemel Hempstead was more my budget.

Hemel's probably not a bad shout, actually. It had a nice community feel, good pubs, a proper town centre, but it was 20 minutes from London.

Disclaimer: I really liked living in Hemel and miss it.

Both are nice if v pricey these days ( as is anywhere south of Coventry to my mind!) . I like my little village. Canal, decent pub, station, massive LGBT night club - what more could you want?

 

[gordonthemoron]

Anything south of Leighton Buzzard on WCML is going to be pricey and not necessarily that nice, Berko excepted

 

[stephy]

i don't drive so MK is an absolute no-go.
have family near Hemel and it is SO not as nice/pretty as Bedford.
i'm set on cambridge, just wanted opinions on the comparable commute.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Both are nice if v pricey these days ( as is anywhere south of Coventry to my mind!) . I like my little village. Canal, decent pub, station, massive LGBT night club - what more could you want?

Used to be more pubs there, too, at least two have closed (the one that was the Aqua showhome, and the one opposite that I think is now a sewing shop).

Pink's is such an interesting venue - nominally LGBT, but also about the only decent club in MK full stop so plenty of straight people go there as well, and it's owned by a straight couple.

 

[Bletchleyite]

i don't drive so MK is an absolute no-go.

The core bus routes are very long-established and very rarely change, and you could live near one of the 6 (technically) stations, so MK without a car (particularly if you cycle, which is very well provided for) is just about doable. Taxis are also very cheap and largely trustworthy. I might be wrong but I half recall DarloRich doesn't drive either.

I do drive but I'd be more lost without my bike than my car.

have family near Hemel and it is SO not as nice/pretty as Bedford.

Hemel is a bit of a town of two halves. The old bit is nice, the "new" bit is about as run-down 1960s dross as you can get. Mind you, Bletchley is just about the same.

i'm set on cambridge

I can see how you could be, provided money isn't too tight, as it really is a nice place.

 

[DarloRich]

Used to be more pubs there, too, at least two have closed (the one that was the Aqua showhome, and the one opposite that I think is now a sewing shop).

there are 4 ( not sure if the 5th is still open)

Pink's is such an interesting venue - nominally LGBT, but also about the only decent club in MK full stop so plenty of straight people go there as well, and it's owned by a straight couple.

I know it well far to many drunken nights out there as it is, as you say, a decent night club

The core bus routes are very long-established and very rarely change, and you could live near one of the 6 (technically) stations, so MK without a car (particularly if you cycle, which is very well provided for) is just about doable. Taxis are also very cheap and largely trustworthy. I might be wrong but I half recall DarloRich doesn't drive either.

I do drive but I'd be more lost without my bike than my car.

I have a license but no car. It works for me as i have a station on my door step and a cab to MK is cheap.

Bedford is a PITA without a car mind - if the Vale isnt running you have the option of the X5 or shanks pony

 

[stephy]

The core bus routes are very long-established and very rarely change, and you could live near one of the 6 (technically) stations, so MK without a car (particularly if you cycle, which is very well provided for) is just about doable. Taxis are also very cheap and largely trustworthy. I might be wrong but I half recall DarloRich doesn't drive either.

It's the fact it has no walkable city centre that puts me off. I don't like to rely on buses and don't fancy cycling all those roads. It is a bland place with no central hub!

 

[Tetchytyke]

Hemel is a bit of a town of two halves. The old bit is nice, the "new" bit is about as run-down 1960s dross as you can get. Mind you, Bletchley is just about the same.

I lived in Apsley, in a canal front flat, and then up the top of Boxmoor, which probably helps my opinion of the place

None of this is Cambridge though.

If you're set on Cambridge, then the commute will be worth it. It tends to be reliable. If the route out of Kings Cross falls over then it's rare that the route from Liverpool Street/Tottenham Hale will also fall over. You have backup options that you don't have now. But the traffic in Cambridge can be awful, so factor that in to your commute time. The Cambridge Flyer is fast, but it could easily take you twice as long to get home from Cambridge station.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's the fact it has no walkable city centre that puts me off. I don't like to rely on buses and don't fancy cycling all those roads. It is a bland place with no central hub!

What do you mean it has no walkable city centre? That is completely false. And you don't have to cycle on roads at all (except the odd residential one), there is an extensive and complete network of segregated cycle paths almost on the Dutch model. And if you chose to live near one of the six stations you wouldn't need to use buses!

I know you want to move to Cambridge, which is fine - but I really do recommend you take a trip to MK at some point and have a decent explore, you have all the classic misconceptions of it - you might even like it!

I lived in Apsley, in a canal front flat, and then up the top of Boxmoor, which probably helps my opinion of the place

Yeah, I wouldn't quite call Apsley Hemel. I suppose it's a bit separate, a bit like Woburn Sands to MK or something.

 

[stephy]

i grew up in bedford - i know MK very well. the centre is a shopping centre! it is awful compared to something like cambridge or oxford city centres! it is spread out and anonymous - i would NEVER live there. can't exactly pop to a local cafe or pub in the same way as somewhere like cambridge!

 

[Bletchleyite]

i grew up in bedford - i know MK very well. the centre is a shopping centre! it is awful compared to something like cambridge or oxford city centres! it is spread out and anonymous - i would NEVER live there. can't exactly pop to a local cafe or pub in the same way as somewhere like cambridge!

Er, yes you can. Take a trip to one of MK's hidden gems, maybe, such as the old villages, which are unspoilt because the traffic avoids them?

I can accept that you have decided MK is not for you (it indeed isn't like other places). And I'd love to live in Cambridge, so I can see its attraction. But the blind prejudice is just a sign of a closed mind, and I do get a little bored of it because most of it is just patently false and based on people who have just been to CMK once or twice (or more) to shop or on business and have not explored the reality of living in MK.

 

[stephy]

i don't want to live in a village! I want to live in a city proper, in which the whole centre is accessible by foot or bike. i hate MK, I have been MANY, many times in my life, all over!

 

[DarloRich]

i grew up in bedford - i know MK very well. the centre is a shopping centre! it is awful compared to something like cambridge or oxford city centres! it is spread out and anonymous - i would NEVER live there. can't exactly pop to a local cafe or pub in the same way as somewhere like cambridge!

yes you can! in fact I think i might pop for a quiet pint by the canal tonight.

it is different to Cambridge and Oxford having being built in 1978 rather than 1578!

i don't want to live in a village! I want to live in a city proper, in which the whole centre is accessible by foot or bike. i hate MK, I have been MANY, many times in my life, all over!

give it a few years and you wont be able to move out of the city soon enough LOL

 

[Bletchleyite]

i don't want to live in a village! I want to live in a city proper, in which the whole centre is accessible by foot or bike.

As I've told you, the entirety of MK is far more accessible by foot and bike than any of any traditional UK town or city.

I accept you don't like MK, but the reasons you are giving are the kind of blind prejudice those of us who live here are rather bored of.

 

[stephy]

why are you so defensive about it? it's SO different to places like cambridge city centre. how can you compare?! and i prefer the latter! living in MK without a car or even with a car is my idea of hell!

 

[Bletchleyite]

why are you so defensive about it?

Because the arguments you are using are simply false.

I can accept that you don't like it. You can not like something without really having a reason, as you're human, sometimes that's what humans do (for instance, there are few practical or logical reasons to own a classic car, but people like doing so, and why shouldn't they?). But you should accept that that's all it is!

it's SO different to places like cambridge city centre.

Of course it is.

how can you compare?!

Because it's a town/city like Cambridge is!

and i prefer the latter! living in MK without a car or even with a car is my idea of hell!

Then don't live in MK, nobody is going to make you! But please don't quote total falsehoods as reasons not to.

 

[gordonthemoron]

why are you so defensive about it? it's SO different to places like cambridge city centre. how can you compare?! and i prefer the latter! living in MK without a car or even with a car is my idea of hell!

It's best not to get into an argument with an MK zeolot

and you can see where I live

 

[DarloRich]

It's best not to get into an argument with an MK zeolot

and you can see where I live

I am not a zealot but I am relasitic. MK is a good place to live. It is actually an easy place to live without a car despite the reputation as a car town. it is a safe town in which i have never felt threatened and doesn't really have any scummy areas, despite what the locals think. They haven't lived in Middlesbrough.

Is it as nice, aesthetically speaking, as Cambridge or Oxford? No, for the obvious age reasons. However it is a very different place.

MK has a very poor and undeserved reputation but it is horses for course I guess. For example I would never think about living in Bedford as I think it is a dump and full of very isolated individual communities (by ethnic or cultural groupings) without any sort of mixing. It is most odd. But not as bad as Luton

To drag it back on topic i think commute wise I would look at the price differential between each option but can quite see how Cambridge ( despite what i assume is a price premium housing wise) would be a nice place to live. Apart from the students.