Moving to south Devon - area advice needed

[picklemonkey]

Hi!
I’m a Cornish girl but currently live on the outskirts of London with my 7 & nearly 2 year old. My OH & I have been thinking of returning to the SW for some time now & finally settled on South Devon. We have family in Tavistock & Newton Ferrers but neither area feels quite right for us. We love Dartmouth and liked Kingsbridge & Totnes (but had concerns about both) but are after advice on any areas we’re missing, or insight into any of those areas out of season? We definitely want a garden so I know we may need to look on the outskirts of towns for the size of house we’d like. I’m 38 & a SAHM so want to be able to meet up with mums my age whilst my littlest is still too young for school, and my OH may need the car so extra points for walkability. (Kingsbridge concerns were that you don’t seem to be able to walk out of the town either side (to schools/houses etc) as the lanes don’t have pavements). Newton Ferrers is beautiful but perhaps a bit too small without a car to get to places? Exeter is maybe a bit too big…? & Tavistock is a bit too far into Dartmoor in terms of trying to drive anywhere from it. Any help would be massively appreciated as it’s obviously very hard to visit from London with a toddler in tow and limited to school holidays!

Depends on budget. The east Devon coast isn't as chi-chi as Dartmouth, but still lovely, and more affordable. Exmouth is a nice enough town (and is definitely on the up) with beautiful coast surrounding it. It has a train into Exeter (or a 25 minute drive) if you want city and better connectivity.

Dartmouth is very pretty but completely dead in the winter. The secondary school is awful too. Kingsbridge has a much better secondary school but not as pretty.

Both towns have drug issues; weed and coke. I would say all little towns do.

But for young children it's very safe; everyone knows everyone. Kids play out. Lots of things to do in the summer; sailing, paddle boarding, walking on the moors, horse riding, beach etc.

Both have a good community spirit, and people look out for one another.

You find it tricky to walk out of any of the towns as both roads turn into lanes with no pavements. There plenty of coastal walks though.

Totnes is pretty and very hippy if that's your bag. Good secondary school and nearer to larger towns then the other too but not right on the coast. And it has a train station.

If you want walkability then I’d go for Totnes. Newton Ferrers with small children and without a car would not be for me.

I do like Tavistock though.

I would also say that Exeter will probably make you feel a bit less cut off from up country.

Thanks so much for the replies. Great local knowledge! I feared a lot of the areas might be dead during the winter - would it put you off living in them? It sounds like Dartmouth might be out. Kingsbridge might be a bit better (schools & community feel), but the mums I saw all seemed very young and I guess I’m on the older end!

By east coast, do you mean Paignton, Dawlish etc? I hadn’t considered Exmouth as I presumed it would be too far from family but actually journey time looks okay. Is it worth looking around there? & the outskirts of Exeter? I haven’t been to Exmouth and not to Exeter since being a kid. I’d always thought of a smaller village but maybe that’s not feasible for community feel and a few activities with a smaller child?

I should say my 2 year old is very easily entertained being a lockdown baby - very happy with a nice cafe and a toddler group

Teignmouth might be worth a look. Good travel links, nice independent arty quarter. Buckfastleigh has great community activities for kids.

Plymouth is a lovely city to live in, lots of decent schools, plenty to do, great for young kids and teens too. I live around 20 mins walk from the city centre and have a garden and a great view over the Plym estuary.

Exmouth is nice but I've only visited not lived there, kingsbridge a bit limited i think especially for older kids.

Yes, Kingsbridge is that much further south so harder to get to bigger towns/cities for teenagers. I went to secondary school in Plymouth so know it well. We ideally wanted to live somewhere smaller but I don’t mind commuting there for secondary if needs be. I think I’m probably wanting something that doesn’t exist - preferably walking to a playground, nice cafe, good schools & a bit of a community feel with my age group for a bit of a social life… but in a smaller village/town life as opposed to a bigger city

Have you considered Dartington, visited friends there recently and was surprised by how much I liked it. It has regular bus into Totnes and is a nice walk into Totnes. It's also easy to get to the A38.
There is a lovely outdoor pool next to the park and it's close to the river for lazy afternoons and splashing around.
I wouldn't recommend living anywhere that you have to drive through Totnes to get to as during the summer it can easily add 30 minutes to your journey.

I think you are describing Totnes!

If I was moving to Devon, I'd live in Teignmouth or Exmouth, I love both, but Totnes does seem like a good fit for you.

Closer to Exeter, then I'd consider Exmouth, Exminster, Kenton, Starcross or Teignmouth. All are nice towns / villages that are fairly quiet and are close to the sea but have good road, rail and bus links to Exeter (and then onto wherever).
For South Devon, then Ivybridge sounds like it could be suitable for what you've described.

I ruled out Totnes after doing a placement at a GP there, massive issues with drugs in young people and the lowest vaccination rates (pre-Covid) in the country.

Modbury maybe?

Modbury is nice and then you would still have the kingsbridge school option

I would think about Ashburton or Buckfastleigh, more mid-Devon but both really nice towns with good community and good road links.

However, how long are you planning to stay put? The amount of new housing planned for south Devon is off the scale. Traffic congestion is already pretty bad and pressure on schools and hospitals over the next 5 -10 years is going to get pretty bad.

Lots of places to look into - thanks! Although I’m not too sold on Totnes now… 😬

This would probably be our forever-home as we’ve been planning it for a while - just annoying that since the pandemic the whole country wants to move to the countryside/seaside & that will therefore impact on where we’ll likely move. We should’ve moved 5 years ago but hindsight is a wonderful thing… 🤦🏻‍♀️

I don't know much about SD schools but remember Plymouth has grammar schools. If that's likely to be on interest when they get to secondary school age then maybe look to live in an area where access to them would be possible.

I'm Devonian living in Cornwall! We've swapped!

I found Kingsbridge a pain to get to when I was going there regularly from Cornwall - Tavistock is much more straightforward. I don't know about schools but Tavistock is a lovely little town and it's easy access to A38/A30. Worth looking just outside Plymouth too - Plymstock maybe?

How about Sidmouth?

Chudleigh or Bovey Tracey? Both got good access to A38. Several shops - Bovey is due to get a Lidl in the next year or so, but has a small tesco and coop in town as well as a good butcher, pharmacy and post office. Nice walking around both but particularly from Bovey.

I second East Devon (South Devon depresses the pants off me, sorry!) - Budleigh (great walking country, easy access to Exeter), Otterton, Topsham, Ottery, West Hill, all lovely

I grew up in ivybridge. Edge of Dartmoor so great for walks but also right by the A38 so easy access to plymouth as well as back up towards Exeter.
School was always good and I believe it still is. It’s not a ‘pretty’ town as mostly made up of housing that has sprung up over the years but has all the usual leisure centre, several primaries, health centre etc.