Arriving to Cambridge (bikes, house and cell phones)

We arrived to London Heathrow (airport) the morning of January 28, 2012. We had hired a taxi service to drive us to Cambridge. Cambridge is 1.5hrs by car or 2 hrs by train, large suitcases favored the taxi option. The first three days we stayed at the Artist’s House (http://www.artisthousecambridge.co.uk/default.html) because it was affordable and it looked decent; it turned out to be very nice indeed. 

The first thing we needed to get by was bicycles, since viewing prospective apartments could get a bit too tiring when walking. The first night we tried in vain to get bicycles and went to visit Burcu, Ryan and Ayla. That night they provided us with a pre-paid cell phone we could use to call them and give as contact to leasing agencies. In addition they agreed to let us use their address when applying for a bank account.  You need an address to get the bank account and you need a bank account to get both, cell phones and a house to rent. The next day we got really nice bikes one of them was nearly-new and the other was new, both from the maker Giant.

The bikes provided us with a lot more freedom. On day four we moved in with Ryan and Burcu until Saturday when we finally moved to our own place. The process of getting a house/apartment was a bit difficult because we arrived at a time when very few places are available to rent. Cambridge is a college town and the leasing turnover is dictated by the university terms (in USA semesters). The University has three terms, Michelmas (Oct-Dec), Lent (Jan-March) and Easter (April- June), apartments become available in-between terms and we arrived in the middle of Michaelmas. 

Here, landlords prefer to use a leasing agency to show the house, make the deal, draft the contract and finalized it. It is a huge business, not only the landlord pays for the services provided but the tenants also pay a non-trivial fee to the agency. After viewing four to five possible apartments with various agencies we settle for one. Originally we aimed to pay 750-850 pounds (equivalent to 1140-1300 dollars) per month. We thought it was ok to pay a bit more than we used to as students (700 dollars) but cost of living here is significantly higher so we had to settle for 950 pounds a month (1435 dollars). We still think it is too much. In addition you are obliged to get a tenant’s insurance that cost around 200 pound a year. Once you signed the contract you pay the agency fee, the first and last month of rent and the security deposit (which is the same as a month’s rent). You do the math.  Last but not least you have to register with the Municipality Council and pay them a monthly fee for living here. As far as I know these money is used to pay for trash pickup and library maintenance.  For us the monthly fee is 128 pounds a month (~200 dollars).

One of the first cultural shocks aside from the food was realizing that the apartments were going to be small no matter what we could afford, especially if we wanted to live within a mile of our jobs. Compared to a USA or Puerto Rican apartment, these are tiny. They do not typically have full size refrigerators, the rooms are very small and they do not come with a wardrobe. WHAT? Yes I am still coping with that. Most come with a washing machine installed at the kitchen but no dryer or dish washing machine. Again, this is the reason we moved, to experience differences and learn to see things from a different angle. Remember some of the buildings here date to 800 years back when people planned infrastructure different, with that said, I would not change the charm of history for more space.  I have to mention that the positive of not having a huge refrigerator is that we tend to buy food either to be cooked that day or to be cooked within the same week, therefore we eat fresh produce,  you will never find our refrigerator full.

We really like our place; I think a selling point was the garden, somewhere in our minds we will always wish to have a garden just like in 4525 Gibson. We love the location; we live in Romsey Town arguably the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in Cambridge. It is a neighborhood busting with ethnical stores, cafes, restaurants and second hand stores. You can find pretty much everything on Mill Rd. Another important feature was that is located close to the train station, making it easy for us to travel within and outside UK. Last but not least, it has two bedrooms, a big bathroom, the attic and a shed for storage. Big bathrooms are difficult to come by around here.

Unfortunately the apartment was not furnished; furnished apartments are commonly found here in Cambridge, making it easy for transitional people that come to the University for a few months. We decided to get second hand furniture to make it more affordable. I have become a bit fascinated with refurbishing second hand furniture to fit our décor.

 For getting the phone you at least need a visa-debit (hence, checking) account with a British bank. The idea for phone plans are pretty much the same than in USA you can have a contract for two years or you can buy a prepaid phone. 

I hope this might help someone to get perspective of what entails to move to Cambridge.