If you live in south devon please help me plan our move

[Devondreaming]

We are a family of 6 living in London. We plan to move to devon which is where my husband is from but he has not lived there in over 25 years. The kids are aged 6-12 and have only ever lived in London.

We have fallen in love with two houses. One in Totnes, one in Ivybridge. We need to choose.

I’d go for Totnes as I like the town and it’s location between moor and coast. But I’m worried about KEVICC as the secondary school. Our eldest is in year 8 at a selective private secondary in London and is doing well there, KEVICC didn’t seem that academically or sportingly inspiring. I’d love to hear I’m wrong. Any views on KEVICC or Totnes in general?

The house in ivybridge is a total dream. But I’m less sold on the town. I liked the secondary school more though. What is living in Ivybridge like?

My husband and I want a community that will welcome us and the kids and have lots of interesting stuff going on.

Any tips or views?

Totnes is jokingly twinned with Narnia for good reason. It is full of crazy people who complain about everything and anything. They refused a Costa cos they didn’t want a “chain” shop so now have a high street full of charity shops. They did a massive protest at a pub because they were doing a pig racing event - with wind up pigs! Oh there is also the bloke who broke into a police station, stole some pepper spray and batons and then left, then broke back in and is now going to prison.
KEVICC’s has a huge drug problem. Dartingtons nice if you can put up with risk of the police fishing a body out of the river as you walk around the estate. Admittedly that’s only happened to me once. Just join some of the Facebook groups- they’re good for a laugh.

Totnes is a lovely town (if you aren't irritated by the slightly smug alternative vibe) but I think you're right about KEVICC.

I don't know much about Ivybridge but have you looked at Ashburton? That is a really nice town and I think the school (South Dartmoor) is good.

Have you considered grammar schools in Torbay (Torquay Boys, Torquay Girls and Churston Ferrers (co-ed in Brixham)? They all run school buses from Totnes.

Look at the South Hams area, yes Totnes is just inside that area, but Dartmouth, Kingsbridge, Salcombe are all very nice. East of Plymouth - Wembury, Ermington,Modbury are all nice villages v small though. I don't know much about the secondary schools, there are grammar schools in Plymouth and secondary school in Kingsbridge and Dartmouth. When I moved down from Cambs I thought Ivybridge seemed like a satellite town. Good luck with your move, we have been here 6 years now and it is such a lovely part of the world. I am aiming to retire later on to the South Hams area, it is stunning.

@RobinHumphries you make it sound like a horror movie! Where do you recommend for a nice community feel?

@MonkeyGoneToHeaven - we like Ashburton but so far haven’t found a house we love there. We are hoping to move to a house we would never wish to leave.

@runoutofnamechanges - we were hoping to avoid a long commute to school which is why we aren’t massively keen on the grammar schools. They could end up with friends up to an hour away. But maybe we need to reconsider.

Totnes is such a strange place. No way I’d live there. I used to work there and was told in hushed tones, not to admit I owned a microwave. Terribly dangerous.

It’s full of wacky types who have moved out of London. Also in the summer the roads are jammed with tourists and takes ages to drive anywhere.

Some really lovely towns and villages around south Devon which are far nicer and more “normal”. Totnes is a unique place.

South Hams is lovely (although I much prefer East Devon) but Totnes depresses the hell out of me. Sorry, not much help!

Where do you recommend for a nice community feel?
Shaldon-ish is (maybe) worth a look.

I’m really surprised by the lack of love for Totnes. It always strikes me as an attractive town of a good size with quite an interesting mix of people doing interesting things and largely motivated by community spirit and the desire to make the world a bit better!

I don’t mind a bit of alternative thinking. Is it more than that putting people off? Can people be more precise about why they find it depressing etc? Is it a drug culture?

I know of someone who lives in Totnes with teens - there's nothing for them to do and they hang around the bus stop smoking.

We went there last year and apart from a weeny bit near the castle I didn't really rate it at all. Bloody steep hill to slog up as well. I don't agree the roads are jammed though - we went from a week in the South Hams (which I love) to Cornwall and the difference was astounding, traffic backed up all over the place in Cornwall.

I didn't mind the alternative culture in Totnes, found it quite interesting, but what would drive me nuts if I lived there is that the main parish church bells in the middle of town ring every quarter hour all through the night. Loudly. A new vicar arrived once and in response to some complaints, silenced the bells altogether as he said it was not possible to shut them off at night. Cue huge number of complaints by ppl claiming they couldn't sleep without the noise of the bells. Bell noise reinstated at night, new vicar run out of town.

I quite like Totnes high street for an hour or two (but you have to climb over the reclining locals), it is quite hippy dippy in a Glastonbury sort of way. I've never lived there though.

Ivybridge is a dead town of run down charity shops with nothing but an out of town tesco. I cannot in all honesty recommend it. I wouldn't live there. My friend has just moved her children from the dire comprehensive.

An hour or two?? What did you do for that long?

Totnes isn’t a place I’d want to return to live or work. It’s a crazy place as I said ^^.

I’m sure it looks great when viewed for a weekend or a weeks holiday, but live there and it’s a very different story. Also I don’t think I’d want my children growing up there. But....there are nicer places around that area.

Although all the locals who’ve lived there for generations are lovely folk and dislike the invasion of Londoners who have moved in. Second homes in the South Hams is a massive issue for the locals. I remember when I worked in Totnes a old lady was selling her home and refused to sell to outsiders for second homes. She would only sell to local people as their main home.

I have friends who teach at colyton grammar in east Devon which has lovely villages and towns. The problem with much of the coast is it's full of seasonal work thus low incomes and deprivation. Exeter itself may offer a better balance if school options and there's trains right into the city centre that kids use from the villages

Once you look past the bandana-wearing dogs and Peruvian-hat wearing digeridoo players, it's just a bit conservative, a bit scruffy, a bit Nimby-ish, a bit dull and a bit too remote. Topsham (East Devon) does quirky/community spirit etc much better imo.

Personally I’d recommend Bovey Tracey or Ashburton.

Lol @RiverTam I bought some quilting fabrics and a vegan curry.

Lovely - but 2 hours? I think we spent less than 2 hours there and that including walking up and down that hilly street and visiting the castle!

We watched a wedding party arrive at the church. I always like to see a bride arrive.
It turned out to behilarious. Very like Big Fat etc. Everyone smoking like mad outside so that they could manage through the ceremony. They all threw the fag ends down in the gate way at the very last minute.
The bride of about retirement age arrived , got out of the car with difficulty because her white flounced meringue dress was so gigantic , dropped her skirt in all the burning fag ends , swore dreadfully, and gathered her dress up AROUND HER WAIST so we all had a good view of her exotic lingerie. I thought DH might die laughing.
So that filled up a bit of time.

But does any small country town occupy visitors for more than two hours? If I went to Ashburton I wouldn’t expect the high street to occupy me for two hours. Maybe somewhere liked Dartmouth with the harbour and castle but not most places. And having lots to see isn’t what we want most from a town, it’s having a nice feel and lots of stuff going on for residents and open minded locals who don’t hate outsiders (although DH was bought up in that area).

What about Noss Mayo?

Another vote for Ashburton

I would imagine that your DC having only ever lived in London are going to have a massive change if you all move to Devon permanently. If I were to move so radically I’d want to be nearer the coast. Otherwise you are isolated without the benefit of the coastal life. Depends what you want, and I’m sure you’d find plenty of like minded folk in Totnes. Personally having lived and worked in the town, it’s not somewhere I’d choose to be. I found it really claustrophobic and I’m not a city person.

Plympton is nice ☺

Not Ivybridge. Very dull. The grammars are absolutely outstanding in Torquay if your kids are academic. Stoke gabriel?