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!!

Have lived in the area all my life and would never move, so guess I am bias.

The reason DP and I have never moved is because we love the slow way of life and being in a rural environment. Sea and moors within 15 minutes' drive. More than 48 hours in a big city and we miss the westcountry. The employment and housing situation here is all we and our families have ever known, so not a problem. Doesnt bother us that supermarkets are a fair drive away, rarely open 24 hours, public transport isnt great, cockerels often wake you up, tractors often make you late for work and culture is, ehm, quite 'rural' (with a few exceptions). On the down side, the area isnt ethnically diverse and this can result in prejudice (especially within my parents' generation) but more recently things seem to have improved.

When newcomers arrive, they usually fall into two distinct groups. The first lot are those who think it will be bliss, but quickly miss the diversity and speed of life of more urban areas. Two colleagues who came here for uni and stayed to start careers here have recently returned to their home cities as they were basically getting bored of what initially attracted them here.

On the other hand, there are also those who embrace the slower pace and quickly play an active part in all aspects of the community. It's thanks to these people that some communities have survived. These tend to be the people who stay long term and are very much welcomed (unlike some second home owners who sometimes contribute little to the community and can therefore alienate themselves - in one particularly picturesque town a significant proportion of the homes are left empty for over half the year which upsets locals who say they have been priced out of the area; I suspect that this might make some locals initially sceptical of newcomers).

My partner's cousin recently came down to visit and 'test' the lifestyle with a view to moving her family from London. They quickly decided they loved it, but it wasnt for them long term; instead they opted to move to Bath which they felt was a good compromise.

I'm going to give pros and cons (we lived there for 2 years and moved back up north because it's definitely not the idyllic place people think it is)

Pro: It's like going back in time about 30 years, less crime, lower tolerance of crime, sense of community. Beautiful scenery. I never really minded the crowds in the summer. Very chilled out - d'reckly tells you all you need to know about the pace of life.

Con: It's like going back in time about 30 years, sense of humour is very basic (think 1970s sitcom), racism is rife (the final straw was standing behind a group of people in a supermarket whilst they tutted at a black family and complained that standards were dropping since the I won't use the word - moved in), there is a sense that you need to prove yourself worthy to live there. Two tier pricing system for tourists / locals. Locals complaining about tourists / incomers. If you like efficiency, d'reckly is not for you! Can't get a decent curry. I found it to be an unfriendly place in the main (although I did meet some really lovely people), property is expensive (although not in comparison to London).

I'm not aware of two tier pricing, what was that for?

Taxis (St Ives)

Sounds daft but there was a sign near our house which all winter read 'Logs £2.50 per bag' at Easter it was replaced with a sign which read 'Cornish Logs £4.50 per bag'

Food in small local shops went up in tourist season.

Local pub would add a bit on for non locals.

Two tier pricing , racism and bar staff serving locals First is not the Cornwall I know.

I moved to Cornwall six years ago. It's a big cultural / mindset shift. You have to want to live an isolated, make-do-and-mend, simple pleasures lifestyle.

If expect Shoreditch-on-Sea you will be sorely disappointed.

Seeing a non white person is a pretty rare occurance over winter, but despite that there was 1 black person in my year at secondary school. We just don't have ethnic diversity down here, the foreigners round here are the English :)

Cornwall is beautiful but actually if you want to escape London there are so many other places to live that don't have Cornwall's problems. Why not try looking further North to the countryside around places like Bristol or the Cheshire area around Manchester where jobs are easier to come by and the lifestyle is still slower, more countrysidey and less expensive. (Also better links to London for visiting family).

Cornwall is slap in the path of the prevailing southwesterlies with a hilly spine. Classic rain catching geography.

the western half of the UK has ALL been dry and sunny for the last week due to an unusual air flow. I pay attention to this - I was able to choose where to live so it was one of the factors - and no way would I move to Cornwall or to several other rain trap areas. Location of hills makes a big difference, let alone mountains.

I know it is very scenic and green!

I wouldn't live on the 'spine' either. If you look at rainfall on Bodmin moor and Dartmoor and compare it to Looe and Plymouth, the difference is enormous.

This thread is really making me quite sad - honestly, it's not the Cornish making vast sweeping judgements about a whole group of people based on the odd comment or some slow service. Some of you are depicting us as witless, racist slack jawed yokels devoid of any finesse or culture, slopping about in our fish-stained pinnies gawping at them new fangled samosas.

I think Acorn's account is very balanced. Of course there are some unpleasant people with unpleasant opinions, just like there are everywhere - it's a deprived county and like a lot of similar places there are things, including attitudes, that could be improved. The worst racist comments i have ever heard were from a couple of Irish girls - i don't judge the whole of Ireland on the basis of their ill-informed opinions.

Incidentally our nearby little town, the sort that some tourists would wrinkle their noses at, has two fabulous Indian restaurants. A good curry is not hard to find.

I've no idea what pulls people to Cornwall. Devon and Dorset are far more appealing to me, someone who would have to find a job to maintain the lifestyle I'd hope for with an escape to the coast.

Cornwall is a poor, deprived county. The lack of facilities that we take for granted in other British counties, such as complete healthcare provision, would put me off.

We had the dream when we stayed in Porth Leven but still in Greater London.

I think I agree with the sentiments on here and understand your sentiment.

Sorry your point of view

We have brilliant health facilities ask Sam Cam.

(Delivered by a discredited gynecologist )

I'd like a holiday home there .. :-)

A slightly different angle, and apologies for being negative... Please don't ever retire to Cornwall if you have family in London or elsewhere who you want to continue to see regularly. My parents retired to Cornwall, after enjoying annual holidays down here over the years. I knew it would cause issues a few years later and I was right. It was ok to start with as they were pretty healthy and could reciprocate on visits, travel around enjoying the area and keep a beautiful garden with chickens etc. The rural idyll. They now aren't fit enough to do the schlep up to London and we spend our very limited down time time doing 6-8hr drives back and forth 5-6 or more times a year so I can do welfare checks and the kids can have some kind of relationship with their grandparents. And I spend much of each visit hacking back a jungle garden. My sister does similar. It is bloody hard going and getting to be even more of a drain as my parents' health declines.

Most people think it must be great to have these 'free holidays'. But visiting relatives is not the same thing in my experience. I know my DH (and DC) wishes we could spend the school holidays just chilling out at home or going somewhere else in the UK (or, heaven forbid, somewhere sunny abroad). I'm ashamed to say I agree - I thoroughly resent the hours of my life lost to the A30/A303. They could just as easily have moved to a lovely village outside London and been within an hours drive of family, with better public transport and (rather importantly in the circumstances) hospitals within decent striking distance.

Yes the coast is beautiful but many areas off the tourist track are pretty bleak and deprived. Where my parents moved to is very picturesque but in the last 15 years their village has emptied of locals who just can't afford the inflated property prices. I feel so sorry for the young kids and families here who have no choice but to leave villages their families have been in for years. Loads of lovely communities have been over developed with posh holiday homes and changed a lot in terms of space and vibe. The older locals my parents befriended when they first moved down there have pretty much all now died or moved away to be with younger family, so they are pretty socially isolated too.

Come here out of season and more than half the houses are in darkness while their owners stay in London or wherever.
It IS beautiful and the people are, in my experience, lovely. But it's a fucking long way to expect your kids to visit for the twenty or more years you plan on pottering in your garden until your knees give out and your heart is dodgy and you need to go to the hospital an hour away for regular appointments but can't drive. Etc etc etc etc.
Ps I do love my folks. A lot. I just dislike the fact that they made what feels to me a very selfish move despite the foreseeable (and flagged) consequences for their DC/DGC. I could quite happily never set foot in Cornwall ever again despite its obvious charms.

I am in exile from Cornwall due to Dh's jobs in Brussels, and I cannot wait to move back. I love it. Good local food delivered to your door, mail order easy, shopping within easy reach by either public transport or car, healthcare good, hospital 20 minutes away, cinema and theatres nearby in Cornwall or Devon. Choice of supermarkets in the local town, and Waitrose not far away either. Local library, and there's a mobile library van as well.

We keep an eye out for one another, and help each other out. I miss it loads. Only another 3 .5 years to go!!!!

Tricorne My Mum moved down from Hants when she retired, and as db and myself are both Cornwall based it was great. My dh and db then both got posted abroad, but we schlep back regularly. It is worth it. However, we are used to it, as my gps lived in East Anglia, and we were anywhere from Scotland to Dartmouth as Dad was RN as well.

People make the decisions that suit them, not their kids, and you just live with it. We did with my Nan until she died. She loved where she lived and didn't want to move to be nearer us. Her choice, and we worked around it.

I would think the log price inflation is to do with supply and demand. Less call for logs in the summer.
I must admit I love Cornwall and would love to move there one day. My brother relocated with his work and is less than 10 miles from the cost and attends the Hall for Cornwall regularly. So plenty of culture if you want it.
Plus if Easy-to-use I'd coming he will have 3 supermarkets within 3 miles.

OK party to do with supply and demand.

O and plenty of villages are wary of outsiders. I lived in an East of England village for. She and it was just the same. Moved to a small Town and it was more welcoming.

We moved from the South East to Cornwall for my husbands job 28 years ago and never regretted it. However we were lucky that my OH had a good job as an electronic engineer and his company had a vacancy in the South West covering Devon and Cornwall. Luckily I found work in Plymouth and our two daughters grew up in Cornwall. One is married and still lives down here but the other moved away for career. The pace of life is slower than the London area but we like that. We still have to go up and down to London several times a year to visit family though. Not sure why people are claiming it is racist as that is not my experience and everyone was very friendly when we first moved down here. I would not move back even if we could.

Scaryteacher - you're right, it was their choice. We work around it too - we don't really HAVE a choice if we want to see them and check they are ok, rewire their plugs, sort out the damp problems, do a run to the tip, clear the gutters, accompany them to hospital appointments so we actually get the full story etc. All the things you want to be able to do for your parents (and which on many levels they expect) as they need more help, but with a very long journey in the way just to make things that bit more difficult.

I do think I'm allowed to resent what will probably be upwards of thirty years of this stuff. I don't enjoy it and I certainly haven't enjoyed subjecting my kids to very long, boring stints in the car for pretty much every school holiday or long weekend over the last 20 years or so.

I appreciate others may feel very differently about it though. My posts tonight are probably coloured by yet another half term visit with a few tense family moments, and another traffic-ridden slog of a journey home, so apologies if I'm being too doom and gloom!

Maybe I'm just bitter that I won't have the luxury of retiring aged 60 with a decent pension so probably won't have the same opportunities!