To move to Cornwall?

[Ansumpasty]

Name change as this is very outing for me!

I have the opportunity to move to Cornwall. My parents moved there a year ago and love it and I've fallen in love with the place. I understand that summer in Cornwall differs very much from winter there but have taken this onboard and looking at the bigger picture.
DH works away most of the time and so I'm largely alone in a distant part of the UK from Cornwall. His job is based in Holland so it's irrelevant to him where we live. It is slightly more difficult for him to get flights into Cornwall but not a massive issue. I have 2 DC, one who is 6 and going into year 2 soon and one who is 3.

Having both my parents close by again will be amazing for both me and my DC and part of me feels like this is an opportunity that cannot be missed. However, AIBU to take oldest DC out of an amazing school (best in the area) where he is very settled and happy and put him in a school that might not be very good, uprooting and unsettling him incase it all comes crashing down? I am a SAHM so my job isn't an issue.

I also worry that I won't be able to get youngest DS in the same school. He will be starting reception in a year and so I will have to be applying for his place soon, which complicates things even further.

We currently live in a large city, with plenty of jobs and prospects. There is the risk that if we settle there permanently, DC will struggle getting work as adults as I'm aware work is hard to find. I'm taking giant leaps here, though! Housing is also a hell of a lot cheaper here. We will be able to afford to buy there, albeit a smaller house.

Has anyone been in this position or is from Cornwall and can offer any advice? How is it to raise children there and settle in as an outsider? How welcoming are other school parents to outsiders, especially if in a smaller village?

We are looking at the Truro/Falmouth area...is there a particular village/school that you would recommend or avoid? Forums online seem to slate Redruth but I personally don't see anything wrong with it and the houses are much more affordable.

So basically, AIBU to uproot DC's entire lives and good education at the 'chance' of a better life and grandparents around?

I think you should move to Cornwall. I'm on a Scottish island with a husband who works away & id live to be near my family.

Yes it's a worry about the kids, but I know 3 families who have moved away and there kids are happily settled in their new schools.

Having family close by would be amazing.

You mention Falmouth/Truro. As a place to live I would choose Falmouth. However you will have more choice of schools in Truro - both Independent and State. Many of the state schools are 'Ofsted Outstanding' both Primary and Secondary - also Truro College for A level.

Thanks everyone.

In regards to my marriage, it's not ideal being apart. DH was made redundant here and he's had to go where the work is. He works very long hours and so we'd barely see him if we moved there (he works weekends when there as well as week days) and so it would be even more isolating.
We make it work; the time we get together, we treat it as a little holiday, with lots of family time and outings and meals out, etc. We speak every day and don't argue because we cherish the time we spend together.

Does anyone know anything about the village of Constantine? The location seems good and the school looks lovely

Constantine is lovely. House prices not too extreme, close to Falmouth and Helston. A little longer to get to than some villages but I see that as a plus.

Oh and the cream teas at The Waymarker are worth the relocation alone ;)

I would go in a minute. What's keeping you where you are apart from the school? Sounds like not a lot else. You have family there and can buy a house. The longer you leave it the harder it will become to uproot the children, whereas if you go now they will soon settle. Also with house prices always going up the sooner you buy the better. I'd love to move down there, hate the rat race and school fees but DD is too old to settle there now, plus our family is in London.

Thanks :)

Peaface What's the healthcare like? Easy to get a dr appointment and good hospital?

Oh yes Constantine is lovely, we lived nearby a few years ago. Theres only one hospital in Cornwall (Treliske - or it's real name Royal Cornwall Hospital).
We're in Camborne now, got a cracking house for an absolute steal on the outskirts of Camborne and it's brilliant, 5 minutes to get to the A30 and it's so central you can get anywhere fast. We've lived all over Cornwall and I think I like it here the most just for value for money how close it is to everywhere.

If you do move down, buy a camper van and a dog so that you can get out and enjoy Cornwall whatever the weather.

We are currently parked up with our van at Maenporth beach. The sun is shining, hardly a breath of wind. I'm MNing with a coffee in my hand smelling the sea air. Bliss.

Healthcare is fine. My friend had an accident on a Friday night, was seen immediately, would have been an all night wait in London. I have friends who work in healthcare down there and they say they are far less busy.

Ooh was fancying a swim at Maenporth today!

My Dr practice nr Helston - I've never had to wait long for an appointment - can always get one within a few days if non-urgent.

Hospitals are as good as anywhere else in England. Midwifery-led resources are undergoing lots of positive changes. There are small community hospitals, one big NHS hospital and also private care.

Spindry - we also managed to buy a house in a village a few miles from Camborne - £235K for a 4 bed semi in a naice quiet close with far reaching countryside views :)

Apples I'm impressed that you can maintain a marriage on only seeing each other for a few days every few weeks How do you think the Forces manage?

Well, you are all selling it to me!!!

How old our your dc? Falmouth has some great primary schools, St Mary's and Marlborough school are both outstanding.

I'm not too sure about Falmouth school but I think some of the local kids also go to penryn and Truro high schools.

You can't beat Falmouth though it's such a friendly town, lots of lovely little shops and restaurants, beaches. It has a great vibe due to the student population so unlike some seaside towns which can be quite dead in the winter Falmouth isn't.

They're 6 and 3. I've called St Mary's and it's full, unfortunately.

Depending on how long your move took and whether you could delay until next summer your son may well get into your chosen school for year 3 as the fixed 30 children per class doesn't apply!

The issue with that though is when does your youngest child start school? As that would need to be done in time to be successful if it's a highly over subscribed school.

I was swimming in the sea off praa sands beach today...after a nightmare train journey home ...6 hours..I'm wishing I was back there...if you do move op,can you fit me in yr suitcase??

Eezer, the more the merrier!

Stinkyclean, that's the tricky thing, I need to apply for youngest's primary place by January. I will definitely be going in October to look at schools and potential properties...just all a little scary!

I grew up on the Cornish side of the D/C border... now live on the Devon side, just. I Love it here and couldn't really live anywhere that would be considered a big city now!

Shout out to all the locals!
Just remember to put your jam on the scone first, then the cream on top. Drink Rattler. A pasty is considered a light snack. Pasta is viewed as foreign food i.e. Suspicious. You can buy everything you never wanted at Trago. You will rarely see snow but the gales and rain make up for that.

Alpaca I miss Trago, haven't found an equivalent in Belgium. There is a bloke who imports pasties though.

A 'Cornish pasty' where I live now is minced meat, carrots and peas. Not good. I ate my body weight in pasties while down there recently and now having to do the 'hair band through the button hole' trick to fasten my jeans
The lamb and mint pasty in Oggy Oggy is a dream. I've also been dreaming of ice cream with the clotted cream. I'm going to have to do a lot of rainy walks to keep the weight off if/when I move there! Worth it ;)

Yet another Truro School "boy" here, as I was there before it became fully co-ed. Truro doesn't have John Lewis, but you can click & collect from the Waitrose up the road. I can't think of any other shops I miss.

Treliske hospital has issues and I worry whenever any of my family go in. However, GP services are good. I'm convinced my parents have named seats in their surgery, as they never seem to have problems getting appointments.

You will immediately loath second home owners as soon as you move, as they clog up the roads with their Chelsea tractors, buy all the pretty cottages and contribute nothing to the local economy. You will have to buy wetsuits if you haven't already got them. I was horrified when I went to the beach up country this weekend to discover that people were going into the sea in bathers and without body boards strapped to their wrists. You also need to practice the "Cornish finger" which is raised from the steeri g wheel as you pass cars on a single track road.

Not Cornwall but we moved to north Devon on a whim 7 years ago. Kids were year 3 year 1 about to go into reception and a toddler.

We moved to a small town so we have shops and schools and activities within walking distance. The sea is a couple of miles away- a lovely walk 🙂

I have made loads of friends since moving here x I have taken up running and have an amazing social life because of that! I have never regretted moving here but I do anticipate the kids moving away to get work 🙁 However that may well have been the case if we had stayed in the midlands - who knows?

Good luck x