To move to Plymouth?

[PaintingOwls]

I'm sick and tired of my job in London. Someone said getting up every day was like a cheese grater to the soul, and that's exactly how I feel. I don't have time to do things like I like (without sacrificing sleep) and I live in a mouldy flat with DP. Every stereotype you can think of.

DP was looking at jobs (NHS) and saw a hospital in Plymouth was advertising and is thinking of applying for it. I'm not sure how serious he was, he said it in a kind of, fuck it, let's pack it in and live by the sea kind of way.

I've been looking at houses and they are SO AFFORDABLE! In theory we could survive on his salary alone, which is very exciting. Obviously I will want a job, but the idea is still incredible, given that we can only afford a tiny shared ownership flat in London if we were to buy.

Only trouble is, I've only ever passed through Plymouth in the train and coach to Cornwall, so I have no idea what it's really like. I don't know where to look, which areas are nice, good for schools, etc etc. No DC yet, but definitely in the pipeline for the next 5 years.

Can any MNtters (especially if you relocated to Plymouth) shed some light on what it's like to live there and which areas to avoid, etc?

Cornwall is a place to retire full stop but for anybody else unless your an artist or a ukipper stay away from that part of the country entirely

There is always some bitter remoaner that will bring Brexit into every thread, no matter what it's about. I love it..........

Pottery I was breathing there very nicely in December thanks; you find junkies everywhere, and I think they shoot up more round at Devil's Point than they do on the Hoe.

The air is fresher than in Brussels, especially if you're towards the sea, and the traffic sdisn't a nightmare in comparison to other places (try the Ring getting out of Brussels on a Friday night, and then talk to me about a nightmare).

Inappropriate Dingles was there in December.

@TeaMeBasil i know i know, I'm terrible when it comes to people wanting to move to the South west though. They are often soo misguided and spend a lot of money doing the move only to find its nothing like they thought.

Exeter to Plymouth by car is ages though. Over an hours drive, and the train is really expensive, more then a much longer journey (this is for people with teenagers ect)

I can get from Bristol to Totnes by train in nearly the same time. No where can really be compared to London though. Price wise and transport wise its on another level. Anywhere will look better when contrasted with that (pace of life wise).

I have met a lot of people when I return 'home' who have hugely regretted their move to the south west, or often wish they had just chosen a different town/village. Serious research needs to be done I think before moving anywhere, but especially these kind of places where they are more marmite so to speak

hay! @bridgetoc I included Artists too!

Exeter is much nicer than Plymouth, but the traffic is absolutely terrible. I wouldn’t want to have to commute every day from Exeter to Plymouth, although I know people who do. There are also plans for a huge amount of development and thousands of new houses planned for Exeter and East Devon, which may or may not be something you want.

There are some nice areas of Plymouth, and you can find some real bargains, and it has everything you need, including some good schools. Parts of it are pretty grotty, but there is quite a lot of investment and improvements going on.

I live in scaryteacher territory, Tamar Valley/south east Cornwall, which is lovely and an easy commute, but it is fully rural, with all that that entails.

As PPs have said, commuting in from Tavistock and the South Hams can be a nightmare, as the roads are just not up the the levels of traffic.

Exeter is a fabulous city though. We often go there for the night, book a hotel and go down to the quays for a few drinks and dinner then go shopping on the Sunday. And it’s only a quick drive home after 😁

Pottery You drive slowly, I can get to Exeter from the Tamar Valley in 45 minutes, and that includes getting to the A30. It can take my dh over an hour to get home from work on a weeknight, and that is far less distance than from Exeter to Plymouth.

TonTon Fully rural - we have Callington!!!!!!

Plymouth's a shithole. It's cheap for a reason.

I live in a small village just S. of Exeter and love it. I grew up in this area. You're on the right lines but besides the annual firework competition, Plymouth has nothing going for it.

@Crispyturtle

Are you in Topsham? I am!

It really depends on what you want.
If you want fancy restaurants, museums and art galleries, big star concerts and events then you need to stay closer to London or Bristol (and the big rents/house prices)
If you want to settle down, have kids and have a normal life of work, trips to the beach, walks on the moors, playing with friends, cinema, swimming etc then south Devon can be a lovely place. I grew up in ivybridge, not a whole lot of history and character but was a lovely place to grow up and the schools are good.

We currently live in Monmouthshire and I do miss the sea. But we are close to Bristol and Cardiff and there are much much more job opportunities here. House prices are rapidly increasing though removing any hop of us buying a house.

Any city centre to be honest is going to be a crap place to live. Every city has cheap horrible parts and expensive exclusive parts and not much inbetween!!!

scary Callington Honey Fair is a big day out for me .

No feedback about Plymouth specifically, but I will say it's hard to adjust when you move from London to somewhere that feels quite isolated. People's attitudes and politics can be very different to your own, and once you get past your late 20s it is really hard to make a new social circle.

Luckily, if your DP is an NHS worker I'm sure there are job vacancies all over the place. Bristol is a good option for ex-Londoners. You get a taste of the south west, it's still a city, but there's a nice community vibe. It's not cheap cheap, but more affordable than London, plus easy to get between the two. Plus you'll have more job options.

Well you can tell from my user name that I am relatively local to Plymouth. My husband left the Navy and now works in Derriford hospital and says it is like any other hospital....depends on the staff, you are working with.
I will second excellent education, both Primary and Secondary and I say that as a supply teacher who has worked in many schools in the city. As long as you choose wisely there are areas of the city where I would choose to live over others. As it is, we live over the Tamar Bridge near Saltash in the Tamar valley. Once again excellent education and reasonable house prices. I can be on a beach in 20 minutes and on Dartmoor in 25 mins. Gosh we even have a Waitrose and a Lidl
Having grown up in London and Reading there is no way we would go back to either, fun for a couple of days but I can't stand the rudeness of commuters etc. The Theatre Royal is excellent, there are plenty of restaurants, nightlife etc around the Royal William Yard/Barbican and my children have always been safe on a night out.
I agree with a previous comment that it would be worth renting for a while so that you can see which areas of the city you like and those that you may choose to avoid. Good Luck

@scaryteacher also I do understand all this historical stuff, I was born and bred in Devon after all. But non of it seems relevant to the OP at all. It's only relevant for you, your history, your passions, your beliefs ect. It's not subjective at all what your saying. You will obviously be really happy there because of your experience and history, But a Londoner, preparing to have a family? I do not think so.

There is one thing you don't get a lot of in Cornwall though? Multiculturalism and ethnic minorities. Even where my mum lives in Cornwall which is considered more 'mixed', the two gay couples who lived there just couldn't take it any more. They literally were the only 'gay's in the village'

From the 'brief' of the op, Plymouth and Cornwall just wouldn't suit her I don;t think. For your personal circumstances @scaryteacher they do. But yours are very specific and you have a connection to the area.

The Moors are much better heading up to Ashburton in South Devon anyway then near Plymouth or Cornwall

I live in Plymouth and really like it.

I moved here in 2010 and frankly couldn't have found it on a map before then. I was offered a job in my area which is highly competitive and took it, because, well, a job's a job. I remember walking down Western Approach and Union St on my first day and just cringing.

Today, I really like it. We live in Plymstock and have a 3 bed semi with kitchen utility extension plus decent sized back garden for £185k. Our neighbourhood is safe, unpretentious, friendly, and convenient. Decent primary schools and I understand the secondary school is reasonable too. If not, there are 2 girls' grammars and one for boys.

It's nonsense to say there are no beaches. Bovisand, Wembury for a start, Bigbury a little further away, etc. Beaches and moors in easy reach plus country park style places with paths (Plymbridge Woods, Saltram).

It is also a great place for community and to raise DC. When DD was small, I went to lovely baby groups, a breastfeeding group run by volunteers, etc. We live within a few hundred yards of a big playing field, a really lovely little playground, and a park with wooded areas. It's also just super friendly and laid back.

It's also one of the greenest places I've lived. There is some stat saying it is the or one of the greenest cities in the UK in terms of actual green space. It has a thriving eco scene with council sponsored reusable nappy library and great recycling.

And finally, sport. It's a great place to get out and cycle. It has the Life Centre with a lovely 50m pool, diving facility and great pool for tots and older children. There are a number of local running clubs.

If you want grand architecture and chi-chi shopping, no, it's not for you. But for everyday quality of life, I really like it.

I think Plymouth is, for the most part, an absolute dive, and very depressing. My family moved to Cornwall when I was almost in my teens. Plymouth was always the place to go for the bigger shops but everyone always breathed a sigh of relief to get over the bridge back into Cornwall again. Can’t say much has changed. My DH is from Plymouth and when we moved in together we moved to north Cornwall to be able to fairly to commute to both of our work places. We are now buying a house in mid-Cornwall as he’s moved jobs. He used to defend Plymouth because of his nostalgia but even he admits Cornwall is a much nicer pace of life: cleaner air, beaches, countryside. Sure, it’s expensive as heck and a nightmare on public transport (should be changing this year with the works on the trains!) but it is beautiful and generally very safe.

For me, I can sum up Plymouth with an anecdote from the first time I went on a date there with my DH: he met me off the train and we walked into the town. As we were deciding where we wanted to go (and I admit, the hoe and Barbican areas are lovely), our conversation was interrupted by a shout. We looked up to see a bloke being chased out of Smith’s by a security guard. Bloke was caught right in front of us and forced to empty his pockets. He’s pilfered a chocolate orange. :D I turned to my DH, tongue-in-cheek, and said “can tell we’re in Plymouth!”

Oh yes, and cultural life: it is a provincial city and this is more limited. But Plymouth's Theatre Royal knocks spots off Exeter's Northcott. It's one of the biggest regional producing theatres in the country.

One thing I do miss is dining out a lot. There are good places but you do find yourself returning to the same old familiar haunts.

Bigbury and Bantham are miles away from Plymouth??

I mostly found dining out a bit crap in Plymouth too - a lot is geared towards students. There’s a lovely little Japanese though. And Choccacino does amazing cakes!

and I know, my dad has a parking pass for Bantham every year and surfs all round the coast for the last 20 years down there. The op is expecting these things to be a quick drive/walking distance so anyone saying Plymouth is 'near' the beach is misleading her. Remember what she has asked is not whether 'your' personal circumstances make you like it

I grew up near Plymouth. As a teenager we went there all the time and loved it but I think the culture shock from London might be too much. It’s very, very ‘local’ and I know I would never move back there, despite a huge hankering for the SW (we are now about 300 miles away and a very long way from any sea). There’s a lot of pasties, horrible accents (sorry, but the Plymouth accent is horrible) & wolf fleeces. However the villages surrounding Plymouth are lovely & the moors & beaches are brilliant - but you need to want to be really rural to enjoy that & I would think you might feel isolated. Exeter, like a lot of people have said, would be a great compromise as not as far, easier to get back to London, and doesn’t feel as cut off. Also not so many wolf fleeces

Well obviously Bigbury isn't IN Plymouth but it's an easy drive.

No offence, Pottery, but you say you were a student here? I'm guessing you didn't drive or do much outside the city and didn't raise a family here. Which is fine, but my experience as a 30-something professional - and the OP's - is not going to be the same.

Yeah, you need to drive places. Like pretty much any other rural area in the country.

I have to say where we are the crime rate is very low. Occasional stolen tractors or sheep. But there is a great community spirit too. We have the carnival, Edwardian evening at xmas, lots of summer fetes and plenty of charity events. Kids play out safely and there is very little bullying as the teens just don’t have that materialistic greed that we found so prevalent in London. It’s like going back in time to 40 years ago when I was a kid growing up around here and it really is great.

In the part of London we lived in for 20 years, a murder didn’t even warrant the front page of the local papers.

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff

It's also one of the greenest places I've lived

oh my god did you live in a concrete jungle before or something. OP please this is absolutely not true. This persons personal experience is clouding their judgement and influencing how they see the city. It is the LEAST GREEN PLACE IN THE SOUTH WEST

I bet Plymouth is bloody brilliant for students though. Cheap, small, loads to do at weekends if you don’t have a hangover and can be bothered. Not that this helps you, of course, but just thinking out loud

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff I am a 30 something professional, pregnant with and 8 year old.. Grew up in Totnes, born in Torbay. Studied at leach potter in Cornwall and did my degree in plymouth, commuted by train and drove.