To move to Cornwall?

[AngryGinger]

Just that really. I really fancy it and so does my bf. Neither of really love our jobs and are paid at market rate so could get the same elsewhere.

The cost of living where we are is very high, we are in driving distance from Cambridge as we were both born there and grew up there but had to move away a bit to afford the rent on a flat rather than a room in a shared house.

We will both be 30 next year and I am conscious that life is going on past me. We rent and have no children. Our family are here but they could come and visit or we could visit them, it's only really my mum I can imagine being the sticking point.

Could anyone suggest nice places, with good transport links in Cornwall? What are jobs like etc?

Help!

[MGKROCKS]

My dream is to do that,funny enough I used to live in a flat next to the grafton center in Cambridge,worked in kings hedges...anyway...penzance is lovely you could buy a 2 bed terrace for £130 thousand..trains are good down there ,we go for holidays by train,and get about by train down there,you don't even need a car.once you have kids settled at schools and you put roots down it's harder to make the break...I used to live there as a child,so it's fab in the winter as it's so quiet and peaceful.but every fucker seems to arrive for the summer..penzance has the famous Archie browns vegi cafe,delish...however I remember that that of young people ,myself included,do move away as there is not much in the way of jobs outside of seasonal ones.just a thought to bear in mind

[2014newme]

As loss you know the job market in corn can be tough

[MGKROCKS]

Also ,life is for living ,and if yr life isn't delivering the nesessary oumhp ,change it.move away...start again,find yr happy place x

[Msqueen33]

We're within driving distance of cambridge. Think small market town south of Cambridge. I think jobs are probably the issue. There was a post on here recently about Cornwall. It's a beautiful place but you might find jobs hard to come by depending on what you do.

[2014newme]

House prices high in desirable areas due to second homes. Cheap on undesirable areas like Redruth

[OlennasWimple]

Have you been in Cornwall at the height of the tourist season when it takes three times as long to drive everywhere and you can't find a parking space for love nor money?

Have you been in Cornwall in February when it is cold, dark and wet?

[LastNightMyWifeHooveredMyHead]

The reason that houses are relatively cheap is because of a general lack of (well paid in particular) jobs: I'd make sure you have employment lined up first. It's also (by EU metrics) the most impoverished region of the UK - so make sure you thoroughly check it out, especially what services are available off season.

[AngryGinger]

Thanks MGKROCKS! We live in Newmarket now, i would like to live in the city but it's just not affordable, even with both of us working full time.

[NorthernLurker]

Health services are under heavy pressure in Cornwall.

[ThursdayLastWeek]

There are no good transport links in Cornwall. At all!
I don’t mind because I grew up here and am used to it...but a lot of people who come here on holiday complain about it.

I would do some Cornwall specific research with regards to your jobs - the only easy to come by work down here is seasonal, and not well paid. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but be really aware.

I’m bringing up my kids here, grew up here myself and I love it. But I've never been accustomed to living a Home Counties kind of lifestyle.

[AngryGinger]

Olennaswimple (great name btw!) I haven't but I've taken 1.5 hours to drive 14 miles to Cambridge. Is the timing similar to that?

On another note.. if not Cornwall, can anyone suggest somewhere preferably in that direction that has jobs and is more affordable than the south east?

[ThursdayLastWeek]

Also, the cost of living here is quite high.
Water rates and council tax are out of proportion to average earnings.
House prices are even further out of proportion IMO.

Just go into it with your eyes open!

[FiloPasty]

I'm from Cornwall and now live in London, one thing from your op, unfortunately there is nowhere in Cornwall with good transport links!
Wages are generally low, it's actually classed as one of the most deprived areas in the EU. There seems to be a huge influx of people moving to Cornwall at the moment from what I see on local FB pages, there isn't the infrastructure to support it (not enough schools, doctors, dentists etc) the main hospital is in special measures.
Yes it's beautiful in the Summer but I personally think you'll get a better life standard elsewhere.

[TriGirl007]

Cornwall can be lovely but like others have said it can be grim if you have sea fog for 3wks in dark January and jobs are really seasonal and min wage, whilst rentals in summer are very thin on the ground due to massive influx of holiday makers. Do your research and it can be an amazing place to live.

[AngryGinger]

You have all been really helpful, thank you! We will continue to look at Cornwall but will broaden the range.

Will take into consideration the jobs as well, as though we don't get paid a large amount each it is at least all year round.

[Iwillorderthefood]

There is a lot of poverty in Cornwall. It’s a beautiful place, I come from there, my family all still live there. I moved for work. You need to be flexible with work consider starting your own business, for example, a classmate of mine runs a successful law firm there. You are more likely to succeed if you are your own employer and you are not dependent on tourism. Health services are stretched to the max down there and getting an NHS dentist can be a trial.

Cheap hpusing as a previous poster said indicates poor earning power.

[Hunkle]

What sort of work were you thinking? Is it something you can transfer skills to & find easily?

[NameChange30]

Cornwall is lovely... as a holiday destination or maybe a place to retire. I wouldn't fancy trying to find work there and living there over the winter. It's also a bloody long journey for you to go back to Cambridge to visit family and vice versa.
Do you want children at some point? Do you want your parents to be able to see them regularly - or even babysit sometimes? If so don't move too far away.
If you want to live somewhere more affordable you could go further east (Suffolk/Norfolk) or towards the Midlands, or even up North, but the further you go the more important transport links are, so you can still see family without a long car journey or train journey with lots of changes.

[OlennasWimple]

If you want to be in the West Country but with better transport and job prospects, I would look into Avon, Somerset and Dorset

[AngryGinger]

Hunkle... I work in customer service role at an exams board. Experience prior to that has been mostly admin based and not really specialising in any one particular thing. My boyfriend works in the civil service but at quite a low level, both with quite transferable skills (I think).

[Iwillorderthefood]

And I would like to reiterate, public transport is seriously rubbish. On another point my mum needs an urgent medical procedure, lives in St Austell and thr only available appointment is in Penzance, currently she can’t drive, she has to rely on hospital transport (we shall see how that goes). I can’t help I’m 4-6 hours away with 3 kids. It was a serious headache when my dad was ill earlier this year. I visited on a number of occasions and it’s was almost 500 miles. A crazy distance if things go wrong with your family.

Why not try Dorset, closer to Cambridge?

[numbmum83]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3016422-To-move-to-Cornwall
This was the post that was interesting about Cornwall, a couple of months ago .

[Kokapetl]

How about Devon instead? It has a motorway at least and Exeter is growing and doing quite well. Some of the coast is as nice as Cornwall but less busy.

[Ansumpasty]

That was my thread! ^
I don't think I'd move there with no family. When (or if) you have children, a support network will priceless.
We are still deciding...going down in 2 weeks and then making our decision! Good luck

[scaryteacher]

The M5 ends at Exeter Kokapetl, but the A30 which runs into Cornwall is far better and one can drive faster.

It depends where in Cornwall you go. If you live within a 30 minute radius of Plymouth, so Saltash and the Tamar Valley, the public transport is fine. Jobs and housing are easier to come by at that end as well.

Prices in the Tamar Valley are about £40k cheaper than Tavistock, and Plymouth itself isn't bad for reasonably priced housing - try Peverell or Lipson. There is a new town being built just outside Plymouth called Sherford, so worth looking there as well.

I love that area and will be returning there in 2019 when the stint abroad is over. I lived there (til I had to move abroad kicking and screaming) for 20 years, and can't wait to get back to my house.