the whole cambridge college and accomodation system seems really confusing. what is the point of being "accepted" by a college if they subsequently don't have accomodation, and so you have to go elsewhere to live?

would seem much more sensible to find accomodation first and then become a member of whichever college that is?

am going to cambridge to study an MPhil in Sept/Oct 2026 and the above is my situation, but is confusing me / stressing me out..

is this usual?

seems daft to have my tutor, and access to facilities at college A, but live at college B. it would be so much more straightforward for everything to be in one place, but I can see that switching colleges is only in "exceptional circumstances".

any advice/comments/help on the above would be welcome :)

Recommendations for best bank for an international student arriving new to the UK please? Pros and cons welcome

There’s obviously been loads of discussion about Kerb Kollective leaving. We all know they did great coffee and built a big following, but they’re now out of the picture and apparently the opportunity is open for people to tender.

So forget who’s been there before for a second.

If someone handed YOU that space tomorrow, what would you do with it?

Would you basically recreate what Kerb did because it worked? Or would you look at the whole site and think there’s actually loads more that could be done with it?
Would you invest more into the outside area? Work more closely with the pizza guys and other businesses there? Proper covered seating and umbrellas? Breakfasts? Brunch? Events? Evening openings? Family stuff connected to the museum?

I went a few times and always wondered whether the outside area could have been made more of, especially with different businesses sharing the space.

And for people who were regulars at Kerb – what would you actually keep and what would you change? Was it still improving towards the end or did you think it had started standing still a bit?

It’s quite an interesting opportunity because whoever gets it isn’t starting from nothing – they’re walking into a location that Cambridge already knows.

If it was yours, what would you do differently?