To want to move to Cornwall so badly

[Musicinthe00ssucks]

It's an impossible dream though. DH and I both live and work in London we have DDs 2 and 4 and grandparents around the corner. We have an average income in London (probably good everywhere else) and our own home. I just can't get the idea out of my head and I feel like we would have such a fantastic standard of living down there. Only problem is lack of jobs, too far from family etc.

Someone please tell me I am being totally unreasonable and that Cornwall is actually a crap place to live - please!!

I agree with the Dorset comments. I lived in Bournemouth for 2 years and I never had a problem finding a job (I had three in 2 years) moved back south east to be nearer to family but boy do I miss it. Love move back there one day...that's the dream but then I miss my family so cannot win :(

I am very much loving the West Briton's take on the new Truro Waitrose 'even the toilets are posh'.

Some of the cinemas now stream arts stuff from London. Lots of it is opera which isn't my thing but We went to see midsummer night's dream from the Globe and it was amazing- like having a front row seat but for about £10. Various other plays pop up a well. Odd bits and pieces turn up at Hall for Cornwall - saw Gansta Granny with the kids this year and the slightly alarming Peter Pan on ice.

That should be a normal non-capital we, I wasn't with the queen or anything

Our Sainsburys has samosas but only open 7am-10pm

Quite a few gigs at eden

I spent a lot of my childhood in the West Country out of season as a child and I live in the south.
It was freeeezing out of season/winter from memory and a lot of things were closed and often quite boring.
My parents spent all of my childhood trying to move down there (family) but never found the right job or the right time and basically it never happened. I used to end up hating hearing about it and the older I got the more I did not want to give up my whole life on 'their dream' it wasn't my dream. I do love it there but also I have found a nice compromise with moving out of a town in the south east to a village. Ok it's not Cornwall but it has many appealing aspects. Perhaps just moving out of London into Essex/Herts/Bucks/Surrey would be a good option?

We moved from London to Devon in January this year. We were homeless due to landlord not renewing tenancy, I was on ESA due to severe stress caused by local presence of abusive ex h who ignored restraining order so moving away was our only good option.

I have family down here so we packed our stuff into a car, (bigger few bits into storage) booked into local travelodge on January 2 and started looking for jobs and a house to rent. Both had been sorted out by end of the month and it's the best decision we have ever made.

Yes pay is lower but cost of living and quality of life far outweighs that.

The people down here are helpful and friendly. Walking on the moors or the stunning coastline is free. The air isn't polluted. The crime rate is very low. House prices are amazingly cheap.

We would never move back to London.

Plenty of other UK escapes with much better weather!

Really pleased to see that it worked out so brilliantly for you crispbutty

I love the weather down here. Watching winter grow into spring and now summer has been amazing. The landscape is so beautiful and unspoilt.

I love Cornwall, just back from a lovely half term. But I did begin to get a bit pissed off with always being passed over at the bar for the locals. ( How I wish for the days when I was bosomy and attractive. Now I am merely chubby). There was a definite 'you're not from round here and therefore I will ignore you for 15 minutes while I serve my mates' vibe.

Thanks bibbity. For us a quiet life is perfect. We love occasional visits to local real pubs rather than a busy nightlife. Farm shops here are good value and we try to support local business as much as we can.

It's lovely seeing all the children around here playing out on their bikes and having what to me is more of a proper childhood because it's safer.

There's definitely much more community spirit in Devon than I ever saw in London, and days out are free or much cheaper too.

If I want a fix of retail therapy I can go into Exeter, but in all honesty since moving here I'm happiest in jeans, wellies and a waterproof jacket unless it's sunny. Nobody judges you on your handbag or shoes, and there's no pressure to glam up if you just want to go for dinner or a drink. It's just relaxed and friendly.

We love our life here and my partners sister has visited us from London and she would move here too given the chance as she would love to bring her kids up in this environment rather than south London.

Crisp, sounds brilliant.

Oh, my asthma has cleared up in the clean air now too! Obviously London pollution doing my lungs no good at all.

And the weather....it's been wall to wall sunshine for the past 10 days or so. Whereas in the south east (from whence we came) has been grey, dull and cold.

If you don't want bright lights and big city, and can just go with the flow of a laid back life, it's perfect.

Near us, taken last week...

#devontouristboard

Come and live on thye Isle of Wight (especialy West Wight) beautiful like Cornwall, and not so far away .. you can (long but doable) daily commute to London Red Jet out of Cowes quickest route.,.

My Dh works away in a town just outside london and back every weekend..

Oh, and we have a Waitrose also !!

Me too we are saving it up as our retirement destination!

We had our first trip to Cornwall a few weeks ago (its a very long way). We stayed in Mullion Cove. Lovely area (Penzance was a bit shit though), but don't think I'd want to live there though.

We are one of the poorest areas in Europe, we are so deprived in Cornwall that we get EU funding. It rains a lot and jobs aren't easy to come by. DH works in IT and has been job hunting for a couple of years but all the jobs are either programming or suitable for school leavers. Plenty of care work though as so many people retire down here.

It does rain a lot and is a nightmare getting around when the tourists are down. You need to drive as public transport is expensive and infrequent.

It is very frustrating being priced out of home areas and having to live in less desirable villages as that is all you can afford. Most of the people I know from growing up have had to move away because they can't afford to buy anywhere.

I lived there for a year when I was 18.

Even though I was in Truro, there's a distinct lack of shops and amenities in my opinion. Everything is very far apart. Public transport is crap. There was nothing really to do when I was that age - I think Truro had a couple of pubs and a nightclub or 2 and that was it.

I think the house prices are very expensive and the wages are low. As noted by PP, employment is harder to find which isn't really a problem if you have transferrable skills and could start your own business at home but if not there's not much about.

The coastline is stunning in places but it is quite impoverished. There is a stark contrast between the super rich London weekend types and the locals who live and work there full time.

I found at times locals could be wary of outsiders. Plenty of anti-outsider graffiti ('English out!' 'Locals only beach' etc).

Personally I am from Norfolk and so I am biased but I much prefer it here. Despite there being a lower than average spread of different nationalities in places (same as Cornwall), there is much more culture here. Definitely more things to do too. It is rural here but doesn't feel as isolated as Cornwall.

I have been to Devon too and would be inclined to agree with PP and say if you were moving down that way that Devon is far prettier. Cornwall on a cloudy day is very grey as the houses are pretty much all painted white and this fades to a grey and matches the sky. I personally didn't like it there but I hope I haven't offended any Kernow folk with my views.

My partner is a mechanic by trade, but took a job working in a pet supplies packing factory (agency work). There is work available but not necessarily exactly what you want. He did this for three months while applying for the jobs he really wanted and is now back to his trade.

Tourism brings income to the area, I would never begrudge that.

I grew up partly in Devon, partly in Blackpool and I would much rather be here in Devon.

I am genuinely baffled by the quantity of comments saying the weather is bad in Cornwall.

Aside from Sussex and Suffolk, Cornwall gets more sunshine than anywhere else in the UK. We don't get freezing winters or snow and we don't broil in the heat of summer like I remember from living in inner London.

It is s gentle temperate climate. It is still the UK though so there will be rain sometimes... Although not for the last ten days. It has been absolutely glorious. Perfect sunny early summer days. Beach weather every day.