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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To move to Plymouth?

207 replies

PaintingOwls · 09/02/2018 11:01

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?

OP posts:
QueenOfIce · 09/02/2018 18:55

Another who would live in the Tamar Valley or Tavi way much nicer! Tavistock has some really nice shops, a Costa, a Morrison's Tesco and Lidl. Nice high street with the usuals Boots, Superdrug, WH Smith. Takes around 30 mins to get to Derriford from there.

I would never move back to Plymouth.

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 18:56

@scaryteacher I have learning difficulties so my spelling is not good. You are a different generation and your experience is just unfortunately not relevant, it's not a dig, it's just true. You are not moving to start a new life in 2018 are you? You moved the year I was born (86). Sorry but you can personally attack me as much as you like but I have said the least worst things about the place on here compared to others and have explained a lot about my experiences.

I honestly think letterboxing is over now too. I just think your information is 20 years out of date that's all.

Good luck in your move, its the right time of life and the right pace for you.

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 18:58

@Ruffian that's fantastic news! Smile

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 18:59

@Ruffian one red area in a sea of blue has to be some good news for the South west

Ploppymoodypants · 09/02/2018 19:01

Oh Oblomov and Potterprincess! I remember Dance Acemdy and Plymouth Warehouse all through the nineties and v early naughties, then straight on to the moors in the back of a transit van driven by people off their head on drugs, to party all day at Spitchwick and jump into the river in our pants on a come down before off to a rave in some woods somewhere. Wow had some great great times, but not quite what I want for my DD.

Plymouth has some great parts but is rough and I am careful where I go on a night out there now I am old. I wouldn’t want to raise my children there. But towns like Tavistock are lovely and lots of nice commuter villages. Exeter is wonderful but is slowly being destroyed by the mass development of lego houses. It’s heart breaking. There is no new infrastructure in Exeter to accommodate these hundreds of thousands of new houses. No new roads, no news links to M5 and no new hospitals. So Exeter as we know it will be gone forever and become Milton Keynes in Devon within the next 5 years. I will be looking to move to north Devon to get away from the creeping sprawl of destruction in Exeter.

AaronPurrSir · 09/02/2018 19:01

I grew up in Plymouth and know it well. Yes, it has some rough schools and areas - someone please tell me a city that doesn’t.

Mannamead, stoke and peverell are lovely areas within spitting distance of the town centre - 30min walk at most. The hoe and Barbican is great in the summer, and royal William yard is fab. It’s very up and coming. And like many PP’s have said, you’re less than an hour’s drive from the moors and gorgeous Cornwall beaches if you want to “get away”. And I’ve always felt safe there, far safer than in some other UK cities.

Maddiemademe · 09/02/2018 19:01

Pottery - don't be so bloody ageist! How rude of you. And you have made your point now, I think everyone gets how you feel Hmm.

BrieAndChilli · 09/02/2018 19:02

There are children who live in the deprived areas Plymouth, who have never seen the sea, and had no idea that they lived in a sea port! That is shocking

My friend taught at a school in tower hamlets, they did a school trip to a museum, turned out a huge majority of kids had never been on the tube or even an escalator!!
I think you will find in every city there are kids from the poor areas who have never been outside the bounds of thier own area. That is more to do with lack of money and lack of parents ability to provide opportunities than the actual area being at fault.

On the other end of the spectrum my FIL knows old people in the Forest of Dean who have never been out of the forest!

peachypips · 09/02/2018 19:06

I'm near Exeter. Plymouth is known down here as being quite rough, and there are a lot of deprived areas. Is it Derriford hospital? Also quite a tricky hospital.

You could live outside of Plymouth. Otherwise Exeter is a beautiful city- I love it. And also Bristol is a great city too.

BrieAndChilli · 09/02/2018 19:07

ploppy

Hahaha you are delusional if you think North Devon is any better!!! DH is from there and most of SIL friends were pregnant at 16, drug use is rife and winter is just a depressing round of drinking in pubs as nothing else to do, everything shits down out of season. it’s got less resources and less to do, less shops etc than the Plymouth area.

It is lovely in the summer but there is literally nothing to do if it’s raining!

BrieAndChilli · 09/02/2018 19:08

And the north Devon link road is a death trap, getting on to the motorway takes ages and trains are not much better.

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 19:13

@Ploppymoodypants

straight on to the moors in the back of a transit van driven by people off their head on drugs, to party all day at Spitchwick and jump into the river in our pants on a come down before off to a rave in some woods somewhere. Wow had some great great times, but not quite what I want for my DD

I take it back from the other poster...Can I be your spirit animal Smile

Absolute gold Glitterball but never tell the children Wink

Waterjungle · 09/02/2018 19:13

Potteryprincess30
I agree the council have a lot to answer for and the last thing anyone in Plymouth would want is to feel condescended to or “rescued” by so called middle class Londoners. However I would never want to put anyone off who wanted to come down, pitch in and get involved in making the place better for everyone. Frankly if it helps the place and the local government aren’t then crack on!

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 19:15

@Ploppymoodypants and sounds like you absolutely know your stuff about Exeter. Everywhere is slowly going to pot!

Crispbutty · 09/02/2018 19:16

pottery, you are so bloody rude and patronising towards anyone you assume is older than you. FYI I may be in my 40s but my partner was born in 82 so not quite the generation gap you seem to think.

Potteryprincess30 · 09/02/2018 19:17

@Waterjungle I see that, we are on the same page honest Smile

inkandstone · 09/02/2018 19:27

I loved Plymouth when I lived there (although it was 30 years ago and I was serving in the WRNS at the time!). I now live in North Devon, but I'd happily move back there if I had to for work reasons.

Oblomov18 · 09/02/2018 19:38

I think I may have been at the Ritzy aswell!! Grin
Dancing the night away. And then driving everyone home, across Dartmoor to Tavi.

Flamencoflamingo · 09/02/2018 19:39

Another one originally from Devon here, now living in London.

As others have said, Plymouth has a reputation for being a bit of a sinkhole. In my opinion, the areas of regeneration around the Barbican don’t make up for it as a whole, and I wouldn’t live there. Exeter is gorgeous, and Bristol is also gorgeous (although the more deprived areas have something of a drugs epidemic going on).

The other point is whether more affordable property and the option to live on one wage is worth trading in at the expense of facilities. If you think so, Devon would be absolutely fine for you. But bear in mind that you may miss the range of options and entertainment on offer in London, much of which is free, as well as the excellent transport links (believe me, you have to drive if you live in the south west). Good luck with your decision.

Oblomov18 · 09/02/2018 19:39

Ploppy you have 😁lived mate!!

waterjungle · 09/02/2018 19:43

@Ploppymoodypants
Warleigh Woods ring any bells ? - I vaguely remember raves in the woods and at some derelict manor house that is now a posh B&B! If those walls could talk....

secretselkie · 09/02/2018 19:47

I moved to Plymouth 8 years ago, having never even visited before (DH got a job here when we were living in the North West).

I have to be honest that at the beginning I wondered how on earth I was going to cope here - the seemingly constant rain & the fact that everyone & everything seemed to move at half speed drove me insane 😞

But, I now completely love it here 👌🏼 I found it easy to make friends & have come to appreciate the laid back atmosphere and way of doing things.. and really, what’s not to like about living in the part of the country everyone else wants to visit.

As long as you are careful about where you buy a house and are open to the slower pace you will do great 👍🏻

Yukbuck · 09/02/2018 19:49

mydogmymate I last lived there 1.5 years ago..still visit regularly!

Oblomov18 · 09/02/2018 19:51

I never went to Warleigh Woods!! Angry

wineoclockthanks · 09/02/2018 19:57

Crispbutty I read your post as that you were in your 40s and your partner was 82!!! Grin