to have realised I have no life and want to move to cornwall after lockdown

[ruledbynine]

I’m thinking if I have no life then I might as well have no life somewhere beautiful? Has anyone made the move and made it work?

Where should someone move to that is nice?

Watching with interest...

Just adding to the cries of don’t do it.... Cornwall I’d FAR from everything else, no motorway (I think?) and 1 hospital I think. It takes AGES to get up to Bristol (best city IMO).

Sorry you're having a hard time at the moment.
There are definitely real benefits to living in a beautiful place. I live in Cornwall and have been profoundly grateful for my daily walks by the sea this year.
I moved here from London when my kids were very small, and have never felt unwelcome. Some people are very friendly, some people aren't, much like other places. (I may just be unobservant, because I never found London unfriendly either!) My DH grew up here though, and for him it was coming home, which may have made a difference, but I know plenty of people who have moved here from elsewhere and happily settled too.
House prices are expensive, compared to lots of places (though if you're moving from London/SE as we did, you'll still be pleasantly surprised). Employment, as people have said, is limited. You're a long way from everywhere else. It's not for everyone. But if you can afford it, it sounds as though you're in a good position to give it a go and see what you think.

I used to live in Penzance,it’s the only place that feels like home for me .
But no jobs ,moved away to uni and never went back to live.
I love the winters there ,but the summers jam packed ,local sains utterly jammed hate the ques ..tourists put me off moving back

Depending on whether you wanted country or coastline...what about the Wye Valley area (Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, a bit of Gloucestershire)? Stunning landscapes and walks on the doorstep, easy driving distance to Bristol, Gloucester or Newport for work (depending on what part of the Wye Valley you live in), locals are friendly, house prices aren't ridiculous, some pretty local towns too like Ross or Monmouth. Schools are good too if you have school age children OP.

We relocated here from a city. Everyone in our village is so welcoming, most of them made the move here from the local cities and a few Londoners here too.

@Sapho47

Its expensive and there's little but low paid work.

Locals fucking hate outsiders buying the houses and pricing out their children.

So if you want to have no life, no money and no friends worth a punt

What a load of crap.

A friend of mine was seriously considering relocating to Cornwall. She visited last Autumn to view some properties, she decided against it, as on balance she feared she would be lonely, as without tourists there weren’t many people around,lots of things closed up for winter, she found it a little depressing out of season to be honest.

Moving somewhere isolated when you feel lonely isn’t the answer. I grew up there so I do have some idea of what it’s like. There is a lot of deprivation in Cornwall, many town centres are run down and depressing, and I imagine it’s worse now with covid. If you want the beach, as pp’s have said, there’s plenty of other less isolated places you could go. Moving “up country” seems to be seen as some sort of betrayal, so even though I grew up there I am now an outsider too. That’s fine with me, I’d never want to live there again! It’s just too cut off from everywhere else.

Personally I’d suggest somewhere else - not West Cornwall where there are few jobs and you’re many hours drive from anywhere.

If you like beautiful coast & countryside look at South Wales, Pembrokeshire, Devon, Kent, Aberystwyth, or some places on the East Coast.

I moved from London to one of the above and I’m very happy here, good amount of jobs, affordable housing, people very accepting, and scenery that is stunning. Only 2 hours to London by train, not much more by car.

It is people that make places what they are. Cornwall will be very bleak in Winter and socially very empty.

If your life is empty and you need people then I second the poster who says Bristol. You can get to many places from there also.

I would suggest you do what you can to get yourself feeling a bit better before making any big decisions. Can you book a few short trips to places you are interested in for when lockdown ends? Maybe visit some lesser known places. Parts of Somerset are lovely and near Bristol / jobs.

We lived in Cornwall for a while to care for a relative who lived there. It’s beautiful, but best for a holiday really. Even though my partner is born and bred local, we were on the receiving end of some unfriendliness as perceived outsiders and a lot of the Cornish are resentful of those who take up property and push up prices for their kids. Poverty in some of the central areas especially is heartbreakingly high, as is unemployment. Health and social care also seemed incredibly stretched compared with where we live now, probably not relevant to you unless you have a chronic health condition but that was a bit of a nightmare to be honest.

Also for us it was far too far from useful services such as hospitals and airports. I would say that Somerset, Dorset, or even Devon would be still beautiful but more practical for jobs and accessing services. But it’s your life, if you do decide to go for it, PM me and I will help if I can with suggestions for areas to consider.

Grew up there and would never move back. Job opportunities are poor, real lack of culture, I found the locals cliquey and insulr even tjou my family lived there for generations but also the tourists who visit can be absolutely foul and disruptive during tourist season and dominate everything

I was really badly going through this in January. I live in a small house in an area where houses aren't cheap, 770 sq feet, terraced, two teenagers as well and we're so cooped up. I think I've thought my way around every permutation of where I could live now.

Hmm. You need to carefully examine why you feel you have ‘no life’ and be honest with yourself as to weather moving somewhere like Cornwall will in fact exacerbate the problem.

I moved out of London 20 years ago to a little cottage in the middle of the countryside. We were skint in London and decided to be skint with nice views instead! Every other area of our life was ok and our mental health was ok so it worked. The whole family settled into country life no probs. Kids made loads of friends at school. I got new friends from being involved in the school. Kids riding clubs, new job ect.

If however you are inclined to be very introverted, struggle with change or be inclined towards depression if not in familiar situations then I would be wary of moving to somewhere where the novelty will wear off pretty quick and you are even worse off than before.

Good luck though whatever you decide.

What about Pembrokeshire or the Scottish Highlands?

When you say you have no life what do you mean

Following

How about Perranporth type area?

Up to you OP. But some cornish are angry about being priced out. E. G fishermen who cannot afford to live anywhere near the harbour due to second homes... Resentment.
I'd hate the summer crowds but Cornwall is beautiful... But the roads are shit. Not sure about jobs. Also, you're usually first in line when hurricane season sweeps across the Atlantic from the U. S. A.
I like the look of the Northumberland coast. Open, big beaches, wild, quiet.... But that weather can be brutal.

Cornwall is lovely, and its not true that the locals (us now :)) hate incomers. They hate second home owners. We have found it surprisingly welcoming.

Its a much simpler way of life we have found but you will still have to make an effort to make friends. Join in the community, shop locally , do something useful.

Do you have any hobbies

What would your plan be for paid work?

It's beautiful in the summer, that's why lots of people take holidays in Cornwall. It can be fucking depressing in the winter though.

I grew up in Cornwall and a lot of my family are still dotted around there, from Truro, to St. Austell, to Helston, to the very north of Cornwall. Ito a great place to live but I would avoid the very touristy places like the plague though.

The people saying all Cornwall locals hate outsiders - total rubbish.

Do it! It's a lovely part of the world, and you might find some new friends there

It does make me chuckle a bit to read the perception that all the locals in Cornwall are unfriendly. What a generalisation! I moved here over 20 years ago and it is no different to anywhere else - some people are friendly and some are not. On the whole I have found it to be the most welcoming place that I have ever lived in.

A 10 minute walk through town, normally takes at least double the time as there is always someone to say hello to. I can't understand why anyone would think that Cornwall is 'socially empty' in the winter. It is true that a lot of locals do keep a low profile in the summer days when it can get very busy, but we are still very much here!

Whether living here would suit you or not very much depends on the sort of person you are and what is important to you. If you do not drive and have to rely on public transport then you might find that problematic. It is not always that easy to get a taxi unless you have planned in advance. If you need to access hospital services frequently, then we only have one main hospital in the county.

I have felt so fortunate to live where I do throughout the lockdowns. I can walk to woodland or to the coast. It has been such a blessing. It does rain a fair bit at times, and sometimes in the Summer, but the Spring and Autumn are normally amazing. It is also a bit warmer down here and at times can feel like a tropical paradise when we do get the sunniest days.

We have many fabulous restaurants to visit with extremely talented chefs and I hope they will all manage to survive the enforced closures during the last year. So much beautiful coast line to explore and I am still discovering new places 20 years on. It did take me about a year to settle, but ever since then I have never looked back. I would never live anywhere else.

There are many others who have had the same thoughts and houses are being snapped up around us - some are being purchased without being viewed by the buyers! There is a chronic shortage of rental properties and when something new comes available it is snapped up instantly.

We are preparing ourselves for possibly the busiest summer ever this year, and from what I have heard many places are fully booked beyond the summer into autumn and winter. This is a great thing for Cornwall (although I am sure there will be a few times when I sigh a bit because I am stuck in traffic!)

If you are thinking about moving to Cornwall then do lots of research into the areas as they can vary considerably. It is fair to say that jobs can be hard to find depending on what your area of experience is.

There are many reasons I wouldn't live in Cornwall (most already listed above!) Another one to consider is how radioactive it is. Radon levels are scary in Cornwall.