Peterborough or Cambridge, for apartment and city life

OH man here we go typing this again cause after 3 paragraphs I hit the back button and it erased it .

Hello all I'm new, I look forward to learning from you all.

Just finalized the position I should be in UK by end of March.  My company will pay for 21 days of rental car and hotel/B&B/whatever for temp.

Have seen it takes several weeks to get in due to no credit in UK system and no references.  What can I do ahead of time to speed it up?

I'm trying to decide between Cambridge and Peterborough.  I am late twenty's guy, I'm 6'7'', doing OK with money.  I am looking for a luxury apartment in either city for myself 1 or 2 bedroom, no pet un-or-partially furnished apartment. 

Looking in the range of 1000-1800lbs per month,  though I have been around the block and world a few times I'd like to live in city and area where I can walk a date down the street and not worry.  Have heard something about Yob culture, and my size tends to draw people who wish to try and make a point.

So any advice on;

Smooth entering of UK rental apartments/flats?

Peterborough or Cambridge,  I have lived in Washington DC and Atlanta Georgia in states for reference points.

Where is best to stay in temp?  I see some rental company's have temp housing as well I would love to work it with a place I like that I'll used there temp and they charge my max allowed daily rate which should be well over asking, in order to cover deposits and such for move in.

Thank you ahead of time.

Lee

You are willing to spend 1,000-1800 per month just on rent?  You shouldn't have a problem finding a place in either city, but they aren't like living in DC or Atlanta. 

I would think Cambridge has less crime issues than P'boro, but there are plenty of obnoxious teenagers around.   

Even with the conversion rate it is less than what DC's rent is now.  I did not want to spend to much on a place till I knew I would like it.

Well, D.C. is an actual city with all the benefits, and negatives, that come with that.  Cambridge and P'boro are not, at all.

I've lived in D.C. if you expecting the same sort of lifestyle you will be sorely disappointed.   

£1000-1800 is a massive amount of money for anywhere outside London, and probably even in London as well! You'll have no problem finding somewhere extremely nice and probably huge as well. Personally I would lean towards Cambridge, because university towns are great.

I've lived in D.C. if you expecting the same sort of lifestyle you will be sorely disappointed.   

When I initially moved from Boston to Leeds I compared the populations of the two and it looked as if they were about the same size.  I assumed that meant they might be comparable otherwise.  Hmmm, not quite the way it worked out.  Nothing to compare to the Museum of Fine Arts, no world class symphony orchestra (although Opera North did arrive eventually -- yay!), no rapid transit system to name a few.  But there were compensations.  Swings and roundabouts 

Cambridge, no question.  Better bars, restaurants, club, a beautiful city with a very young population.  You will get something really nice for that price.


Vicky

I had heard from someone (not on here) that Peterborough had higher crime, and that it had more toward a metropolitan center.   

So is the "youngness" of the population in Cambridge different than the youth problem throughout Britain?  I would assume it would be because most are University student and have a goal in mind.

Having just been in both on the weekend, I'd say Cambridge NO QUESTION!!!!  Peterborough has a fantastic cathedral but that is about it. 

Cambridge is cosmopolitan, upper middle class, educated and you can definitely take a date to fantastic places within walking distance.  It  definitely has the possibility of the lifestyle you are describing.  Peterborough, not so much.

As an American who lived in Cambridge for several months, (I've also live in NYC and am from San Francisco) I personally would choose Cambridge.  I really think Cambridge is lovely and interesting, with plenty to keep you busy. 
I'll be in town visiting my boyfriend from April 2-12, if you'd like to grab a coffee, and hear a familiar accent.

There was an article recently in our student newspaper from a student studying for her LL.M. at Cambridge and she made it sound like the students were constantly being harassed by the townies and vice versa.  She also went on about "class" as evidenced by one's accent 
http://media.www.hlrecord.org/media/storage/paper609/news/2009/03/05/Etc/Cambridge2cambridge.Class.And.Circumstance-3661123.shtml

I'll add my vote for Cambridge! I've been to both and Cambridge wins hands down!

Hi!

I just moved to Cambridge a couple of weeks ago and I am loving it here.  So that is my vote...although I haven't been to Peterborough.  Your living allowance will be plenty.  However, flats turn around really fast here.  My company had a relocation agency (from London) helping me out, and they were surprised there wasn't many 1 or 2 bedroom furnished flats available.  I was lucky to find a really nice one, but it was unfurnished.  If you have any questions (since I just went through the process here in Cambridge), please let me know.  And if you do end up moving here, get in touch and we can grab a coffee or a pint!

Cambridge definitely.  Peterborough is a dump.

I'm going to throw my vote in for Cambridge. It's a wonderful place to live, I think.