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How hated will we be?

627 replies

SecondH · 10/06/2026 15:08

DH and I are looking at buying a second home by the coast. I would love to hear from other second home owners and people who live in areas where there are lots of second home owners. How hated by the locals would we be? Do neighbours ignore you etc?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
Daygloboo · 10/06/2026 17:57

Bulbsbulbsbulbs · 10/06/2026 17:56

Don't be ridiculous. Many jobs in Cornwall are low skill/ minimum wage because there is no infrastructure, nobody puts their Head Office there.

My cleaner earns £45k a year.

Oh do get a sense of humour. I know that.

caringcarer · 10/06/2026 17:58

I bought a small 2 bedroom holiday house right on the promenade overlooking the sea. It needs work before we can use it. I'm using local people to redecorat it throughout and install a new kitchen plus a bit of maintenance to back area pressure washing. I'm planning of going up for weekends in Autumn, Winter and Spring. I'll be eating at local restaurants because I'm definitely not cooking if away for a weekend. My family will be using it too. I'll probably let it out in the Summer through Sykes Cottages. The house next door is a holiday let too and I know it's busy most weeks of the year because the owner told me so.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 10/06/2026 17:59

MulberryBrandy · 10/06/2026 17:54

Not all of us, who are from Devon/Cornwall have always been here ourselves. We have lived and worked away and then returned - so we know what it is like to live where we have not grown up. It is the second home that is the thing.

Many of the areas that people would like to live in are losing the facilities they once had because no one can afford to live anywhere near to work in the pubs, cafes, do the cleaning, sell the gifts, etc.

Exactly. Most of my relatives who lived in Cornwall lived elsewhere before but moved down to Cornwall and settled there, no second homes at all. Grampound was one place someone lived, can’t recall the other. When one of them had a huge birthday party (80 or 90) the whole village was invited too and locals put us up very kindly, so they must’ve been accepted.

Craftycariad · 10/06/2026 17:59

IrisApril · 10/06/2026 16:08

I was going to say - you’ll be fine as long as it’s not Cornwall.

People in Cornwall hate holidaymakers and second home owners, and are very vocal about it.

I don’t know why you’d bother going there. There’s so many other lovely coastal places - Devon, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Wales. Literally anywhere else would be more welcoming.

We really don't want second home owners in Wales , please don't send hem here

Walkingonairdays · 10/06/2026 18:01

Troublein · 10/06/2026 16:29

Yes you will be hated a lot.

You will be killing the place you choose and when you do finally retire, there will not be kind or helpful neighbours because of what you have done.

It is their children, their friends who will have been unhoused for your dream, so if you have a fall nobody is going to care or help you.

There is a massive shortage of doctors and hospital beds in Cornwall all year round, and they are put under tremendous pressure every tourist season.
I hope you aren't expecting to get great medical care as an incomer who helped kill another village/town and added nothing to an area for everyone who really lives there.

I've seen so many people from upcountry move down to Cornwall, then endlessly bitch they don't get tourist treatment in areas they have impoverished by inflating prices.
If you want work done, you'll struggle to find anyone because you will have priced most of those people out of the area.

I have known nurses who have to sleep in cars and RVs illegally parked because of second home owners to do their job in Cornwall - that is nurses who you expect to treat you when you come in from your dream retirement home at an age when you are more likely to put high demand on medical services.

There are usually just under 50 ambulances to cover the entire county at peak times so hope you aren't going to rely on one of those as you could be waiting days.

I know what happens to old incomers when they get sick and start bed blocking locals, as there are only just about 1100 hospital beds in the whole county including mental health beds, acute care, the lot.
They are not loved.

Book yourself funeral plans before you move down, because your retirement plan is to die alone in an area where you have left a house empty for 6 years then turned up expecting locals to stand by you and be your community after you have harmed it.
You'll then get to enjoy the airB&B scum too, who will turn up and vomit all over your property while they have a screaming drunk fight in the street and you'll feel about them the way the locals feel about you

I know Cornish people who hate anyone from the next village over and are proud they've never been more than 30 miles from home in their life.
You'll be an emmet til the day you die and if your family live far enough away, they won't bother coming down to your funeral.
Cornish nursing homes are full of old wealthy incomers who get no visitors from one end of the year til the next unless someone is concerned they have been written out of the will.
Family stay in touch for the first bit when incomers move down, but then it's just too far away from their everyday lives and there are other places they want to go in the little time off they have while their kids don't really know their distant old relatives as they hardly ever see them, so they drift away after a few years.

You'll get people coming onto your thread telling you people will love you, it's all fine etc...

I've seen your type countless times over the past fifty years, first their friends who come to visit die off or get too sick to travel so they stop visiting, then their family get caught up in their own lives, then they find they are surrounded by strangers they have nothing in common with.

It's the same story 90% of the time unless it's people who have family already in the area who are moving back.

It won't be so bad when there are still two of you, but there will be nobody to share the strain with when the first gets sick, then after they die you will be alone in a place where nobody cares about you just when you get super needy.

Don't imagine you'll have friendly neighbours who pop in to make sure you are okay when you are alone.
People who can afford to work as carers have been long since priced out by people like you, so you'll struggle to get any home help if you need it.

They might not be rude to your face, but you will have zero goodwill when you really need it as you get older.
You are not of any benefit to the place you want to turn up when you are at your least productive and most expensive stage of your life to a community.

You are the reason a teacher has to live in a bedsit, the doctor can't treat the local guy because you took the appointment, the local primary school has to close because young families have been pushed out of the area by you.

But hey, I bet it's a pretty looking house in the pictures on a sunny day, so what could possibly go wrong?
Enjoy being old, alone and vulnerable with a great view though.

Despite being brought up with fond memories of family holidays in Cornwall, reading threads like this sadly convinces me to have second thoughts about returning. I fear I would be met with hostility towards anyone who is not an indigenous warrior defending the land.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 10/06/2026 18:03

Just do what makes you happy @SecondH we only get one life.

I come from a tourist hotspot and would love to buy a second home there (not living there anymore sadly). We've talked about retiring there.

At the end of the day, if it's your dream, just go for it, if you don't buy the house, wouldn't you be annoyed if some other second home owner & out of towner did?

You're planning on moving there full time in only 6 years - go for it!!

Don't let the miserable old swines spoil it for you!

moodbored · 10/06/2026 18:03

Walkingonairdays · 10/06/2026 16:26

There appears to be a lot of NIMBYs on this thread. Personally if I wanted to buy a retiral home before I actually retired, I wasn't letting it out unless to well vetted mature occupants, & I stayed there ocassionaly until ready to move permanently, I wouldn't give a hoot what perochial locals thought. Ultimately I wouldn't wish to mix with people with that unwelcoming mindset anyway & I certainly wouldn't allow them to dictate my life choices.

Edited

'Perochial locals' - an attitude like that is why people like you aren't welcome.

5MinuteArgument · 10/06/2026 18:04

Pleasering · 10/06/2026 16:17

Yes! I remember the ‘not the 9 o’clock news’ takeoff of the advert :- “Come home to a real fire, buy a holiday cottage in wales”

Sons of Glydwr, yes I remember them from the 1970s. I wonder why they no longer exist since the issues are still very much happening (not advocating that kind of direct action, though).

MrsSchadenfreude · 10/06/2026 18:05

DH wanted to do this. I don’t agree with second homes, so we’ll probably buy somewhere for the DDs instead.

KittyCorncrake · 10/06/2026 18:05

abracadabra1980 · 10/06/2026 16:49

If my kids were being pushed out of the local area because of second home owners then I would really hate them. I don't like there hate but seeing kids struggle to buy homes in certain areas makes me extremely angry.

Ridiculous.
My DC can’t afford stay in n London where they were born and grew up because of pressure on house prices from incomers from overseas -is the same everywhere.

Craftycariad · 10/06/2026 18:06

Whoopiedooo · 10/06/2026 16:09

Did Wales give up on burning holiday cottages?
I know I'm showing my age.

I haven't heard of one being burnt out for quite a few years, not something the nationalists do these days petrol is too expensive.. 😀

5MinuteArgument · 10/06/2026 18:06

moodbored · 10/06/2026 18:03

'Perochial locals' - an attitude like that is why people like you aren't welcome.

Yes, not a good attitude. When you live somewhere, neighbours really matter, especially when you're elderly.

MsGreying · 10/06/2026 18:08

Schools close. Shops close.
Areas decline.
It's shite for people who still live there.
It's even more shite for people who want to work there but can't rent because there is nowhere.

MulberryBrandy · 10/06/2026 18:12

5MinuteArgument · 10/06/2026 18:04

Sons of Glydwr, yes I remember them from the 1970s. I wonder why they no longer exist since the issues are still very much happening (not advocating that kind of direct action, though).

We have Mebyon Kernow. They are not militant but want their own parliament.

Allisnotlost1 · 10/06/2026 18:14

whatonearthdoidoz · 10/06/2026 16:03

it's very well known that in many places which have been overrun by second home owners there is a huge sense of anger where homes are being left empty for 11 months of the year and local families can't buy. Fair enough if that's not the case where you are, but in many places there is.

True, I’d assumed the OP wasn’t buying in an area that’s known to be (understandably) hostile to second homers and that’s why she was asking, but you could be right of course.

SpottyPyjama · 10/06/2026 18:17

Why do people from Cornwall think that they’re the only people in the country affected by rising housing costs and a lack of affordable housing?

I live in a not especially desirable market town in England, young people who have grown up here can’t afford to buy in this area either. It is not a problem exclusive to Cornwall. Nor is it a valid reason to be racist and rude.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 10/06/2026 18:17

Sardaukar · 10/06/2026 15:59

Overthinking taken to the 1000,000,000th degree...

Clearly not based on the responses

5MinuteArgument · 10/06/2026 18:17

MulberryBrandy · 10/06/2026 18:12

We have Mebyon Kernow. They are not militant but want their own parliament.

Interesting. Yes, I totally get where they're coming from. I do think of this whenever I stay in an air b&b. If it was just down to me I'd rather stay in a hotel.

Rufus27 · 10/06/2026 18:20

Not a great fan of second home owners in our (touristy Westcountry) village simply because the owners are only there for a small amount of time and don’t get involved in community events, support local clubs, make use of local facilities enough to make them worth staying open. It’s also elevated house prices to the extent many younger locals can no longer afford to live here.

Walkingonairdays · 10/06/2026 18:21

moodbored · 10/06/2026 18:03

'Perochial locals' - an attitude like that is why people like you aren't welcome.

This thread is filled with parochial attitudes. It's not exactly shouting welcome, hence my post. I can understand disdain towards people who disrupt a neighbourhood with unsocial behaviour but not towards people like the OP.

NewGoldFox · 10/06/2026 18:24

You can put some money towards my mortgage if you like, to ease your conscience.

ChurchYardFromMyWindow · 10/06/2026 18:24

@SecondH I really urge you to read Homesick by Catrina Davies before you make a move. It is the utterly depressing and painful reality of the thing.

Clontash · 10/06/2026 18:25

Sorry to be the one to say it, but it’s ‘parochial’!

PyongyangKipperbang · 10/06/2026 18:25

Walkingonairdays · 10/06/2026 18:21

This thread is filled with parochial attitudes. It's not exactly shouting welcome, hence my post. I can understand disdain towards people who disrupt a neighbourhood with unsocial behaviour but not towards people like the OP.

Edited

Because the weekenders take from a community without giving back. They take property and services out but dont put money and engagement back in. The majority of their money and time goes into their full time area and not the weekend village. They contribute to the killing of villages as young families can't afford to live there so schools close. They increase the need for medical services but price out NHS workers from living there, making the issue worse. They tie up whole villages and towns meaning that businesses are not profitable enough to survive the out of season months.

Buying a house to live in full time is one thing, but holiday homes are a death knell to most places.

TeaPot496 · 10/06/2026 18:28

Bulbsbulbsbulbs · 10/06/2026 17:56

Don't be ridiculous. Many jobs in Cornwall are low skill/ minimum wage because there is no infrastructure, nobody puts their Head Office there.

My cleaner earns £45k a year.

You are probably being sarcastic? But we do have the internet, you know.. as well as plenty of head offices, NHS, local government, MOD, further and higher education providers, big retail, care sector..

We're not all running icecream vans, cleaning or braiding hair! 😂

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