To leave London (burbs) to live in Exeter

[Tinywavesandripples]

I have worked in admin at various universities in London for the last ten years and am increasingly fed up with living in the great big smoke. I have only been to exeter once and loved it. Am I bu to consider selling up, taking dc out of her very good infant school and starting over in Exeter? It appeals to me as it's a university town and close to the Sea. Would it be a culture shock?

Go on, tell me the good, the bad and the ugly!

There are nicer places than Exeter.

Have you visited anywhere else?

I can't imagine wanting to move somewhere I'd visited once

Do it! I relocated from bucks to devon and haven't looked back! X

A culture shock - because it is in Devon? We are not that isolated. Would say that Secondary schools in the Exeter area really do vary greatly!

Exeter isn't that nice. Weird road layouts and roundabouts. Shopping centre is meh. University is good. Not that close to the sea. Find a place you really like.

What about outside Exeter. Some nice smaller towns.
Bath is lovely. There are better places out there.

Ah now you see I am getting a bit defensive - weird road lay out? Really?

Ok, thanks. I really like Bath as well. Any other suggestions would be welcome. Ideally near the seaside. I like places like Bishops Stodford , St. Albans etc. but would like to move away from SE as everything is just so overcrowded.

Anywhere in Norfolk maybe?

Before you up sticks think of the opportunities for your children in the future
My dh is from Devon
He had to leave because they're are no job opportunities in the bit he was
It was full of the elderly -, Torbay area

Bristol/Somerset?

Portsmouth/IoW?

Well I find it weird. The one way complicated system around the city centre. I used to like Exeter, until the new (yes I still call it new but I'm old) junction from the m5 was built.

Parts of the city are lovely. The cathedral is beautiful. (My great great Grandmother was married there)

I love Exeter, I lived there nearly four years. It is hard to access the city centre by car as mostly it is buses only but the bus and train links are excellent and most places are walking distance/good transport links. It has the perfect mix of city and country with sea being a few minutes up the road in Starcross, well tidal estuary but there are beaches! I'd move back in a heartbeat.

Lovely new shops in Exeter now - what a lovely Debenhams. I do know that there are plenty of job opportunities in Devon (no need to leave Devon if you want a good job).

Agree about lack of jobs in Torbaydos area. Torquay, whilst beautiful, has a particularly dodgy side due to social deprivation and unemployment.

We are going from East Berks to Dorset next month. I am very excited. We have lived all our adult lives in the Thames Valley but definitely think the time is right for the West Country!

We are going to Sherborne. Not a university town or that close to the sea, but it is gorgeous!

How about Poole?

Canterbury?

Brighton?

John Lewis and Waitrose too.

Agree Glitter
A lot of seaside towns are deprived

Most places have a JL & Waitrose !

It might be wise to consider places within striking distance of more than one Uni, if that is the sector you intend to stay in. Jobs are thin on the ground and fought over in Devon.

The (very limited) one way system is not complicated! Certainly not compared to London roads. Some of the drivers are nuts though!

Bath is very nice, but way more expensive, and further from the sea.

Exeter is full of Londoners. Practically everyone I know is originally from London.

Well obviously Devon DC don't have to stay in Devon forever. They can grow up in Devon, by the sea, if mum has a job at the uni, go to a good school and then go to uni. And then work elsewhere. Until they realise they want their kids to grow up out of the smoke and the rat race which is London schooling and so they move back. Or elsewhere. Life these days is fairly mobile..................

Too true Lila. Shame really.

I live near exeter! Sidmouth actually :) I dont think exeter has a weird road system, yes yiu bybass the main high street but plenty of car patks, bus station or central train station to use for town!

We are looking to buy on tge outskirts do more like pinhoe/Cranbrook as that's where appeals to us. Ehy dont you come down with dc for a longer visit and try ir out?

Excuse spellings! New HUGE phone!

at Exeter being full of Londoners. Every friend, bar two, that I made while living in Devon was from London area!

Maybe I meant limited one way system rather than complicated. I know where I'm going, but feel I'm going round the houses to get there.