Cambridge is home to the world famous Cambridge University. In 1209, Cambridge University is said to have been founded by students escaping from the hostile inhabitants of Oxford.
One of the busiest tourist spots in the country with over three million visitors a year, Cambridge is also famous for being home to one of the most prestigious universities in the world, which is itself a source of much of that tourism. With some colleges, such as Peterhouse, dating back to the 11th century.
Thirteenth-century monks chose the then-peaceful country town as a more peaceful environment in which to study than busier (and often hostile) Oxford. This was the beginning of the University of Cambridge.
Throughout the centuries, the University has seen some of the greatest minds in science study within its walls, such luminaries as: Sir Isaac Newton, Darwin, Crick and Watson, and Stephen Hawking. The University of Cambridge has more Nobel laureates than any other university on the planet.
Cambridge has become an internationally recognized center of technological innovation, with many of the world’s cutting-edge high-tech companies (Microsoft, Philips and ARM, to name a few) represented at Science Park on the outskirts of the city. Many of the microchips we use in everyday items like mobile phones and MP3 players are designed in Cambridge.
Cambridge is a magnet for anyone interested in British history. This, along with the traditional views of punts, maypole balls and cyclists, helps create a romanticized image of Cambridge that is known the world over.
The Cambridge property market has boomed in the last year with house prices in some of the city’s areas doubling in the last year: houses in the Barrow Road area sold for £1 in the summer, 7 million when only a similar year before the properties cost 900,000 pounds sterling; the large detached houses that were selling for £1 million a year ago are now selling for £2 million.
What is causing this extraordinary trend when the rest of the country is in a recession? Much of the increase is attributed to factors such as Cambridge private schools such as Perse, The Leys, Kings, St Faiths and St Johns at a time when there is so much uncertainty in the state system. This is especially so when you take into account Cambridge’s proximity to London (44 miles, less than an hour’s drive). As home buyers flee to Cambridge to escape London house prices, they cause Cambridge property prices to rise by an average of 26% in the last year. This ‘ripple effect’ makes buying a home in Cambridge one of the safest real estate investments you can make in today’s economic market.
