If you live in Cornwall

[Flopseemsstoned]

What’s it really like to live there?

Parents and sister live there, thinking of maybe making the move (abroad at the moment)
What’s life like? Is it affordable to get a house on average wages? We have a toddler, is the lifestyle as great as it seems?

I have to disagree with you @OverandOut123 about the fact about being "Anti Outsider" and that "A lot of Cornwall is very racist". I really hate how this is trotted out. Having lived here for over 20 years, the crap that is posted on "CornwallLive" bears absolutely no relation to how real people that I know behave and think. You might as well say that Twitter speaks for the whole country.

Of course you will find some racist people living here as I believe you will in any other area of the country but this doesn't equate to "Alot of Cornwall is very racist". I find this pretty offensive actually. Would you say the same about others areas of the UK that have small ethnic populations. I live in Mid Cornwall too, and many of my friends and neighbours have come from other parts of the UK to make a life here whilst many are proper Cornish. We all rub along together perfectly well. Yes Cornwall is not very ethnically diverse and this is something that may change over time (and let's hope so). It was quite a shock when we first came as we moved from London.

Admittedly we don't have shopping malls, huge entertainment complexes etc. We do have cinemas, a soon to be newly refurbished theatre (plus the Minack and other smaller venues) and wonderful outdoor places to explore. I guess it depends what floats your boat and that of your family. If you want world class shopping and a bustling multi-cultural vibe then it probably isn't for you. That doesn't mean that people are racists. Most people are perfectly welcoming to others if they live here and contribute to their local community. I also think that there is diversity within Cornwall, in that some places are more traditional than others. And yes you still do meet an occasional older person who has never been over the Tamar!!

As to the tourists - they bring a lot of money and are needed even more than ever. We're pretty near to very popular coastal spots - you just need to know where to avoid and when to avoid (never use the A30 on a Saturday unless it's before 8 am or after 5 pm for example and don't agree to pick up your teenagers at Fistral Beach at 4 pm at the weekend how ever much they plead

The Simon Reeve programme was very interesting and it was great to have a balance instead of the countless "celebrity tours Cornwall, eats cream teas and pasties blah blah blah" (usually when the sun is shining but there are no crowds anywhere") type of programmes. Of course there is poverty and deprivation and sadly issues that come with that such as addiction and homelessness. I'm not sure how Brexit is going to play out here because so many projects were EU funded. It's going to be interesting ....

I am not pretending that it's perfect because I don't believe that anywhere is perfect. There is always a compromise. It is quite a long way from big cities and travelling abroad is a bit more costly. However, it was wonderful when my DC were little being able to pick them up from school and be at the beach in 5 minutes on a sunny day.

I have had my moments of wanting to leave (usually in the long, damp winter months) but over the years and particularly over the last year, I have really come to appreciate the peace and nature on my doorstep.

FWIW my DC had a lovely time at a wonderful primary school. Now they are teenagers they moan (show me a teenager that doesn't) and of course this year has been something else. We fully expect them to leave and seek pastures new for Higher education (interestingly at the moment one is desperate to leave, the other desperate to stay) and I'm not sure if we'll be here forever but overall I don't regret moving here at all. Good luck

My brother has just moved back up North after living in Newquay for the last 15 years. He was lucky in that he had a job at Cornwall Council, so his wage was relatively good. However, he is single, and so his wage only stretched to a really crummy flat, no central heating, full of mould, double glazed windows that had all failed etc. The landlord wasn’t interested in improving it as flats are like gold dust so he had my brother over a barrel really.

In summer, DB said he couldn’t get anywhere because of grid lock, and he always complained about the supermarket shelves being empty.

My DB has a son who has just started at Uni and won’t return to Cornwall afterwards because of the lack of job opportunities, so my brother took the opportunity to come back up North where he can live like a king for 50p

I would avoid Helston. It has a huge military base (RNAS Culdrose), when the helicopters go up it can look like a scene from Apocalypse Now....or it did when ExH was stationed there. That, along with Flambards meant it was very busy all the time.

I have relatives who moved to the Looe/ Fowey area five years ago — lovely house, sea view — but they've recently sold and moved back to East Sussex. They loved the quiet, they loved this time of year and the autumn before the tourists arrived in full force, but they hated the tourist season when the local lanes were jammed with camper vans and it was impossible to go anywhere without crowds. They'd lived in Lewes and wanted somewhere quieter. They ended up missing easy access to cultural activities, cinema, theatre, art classes, choirs, Pilates classes, evening events and so on. You have to have a car to do anything and it was a 30-minute drive to a decent supermarket rather than a crappy Co-Op. As others have pointed out, wages are low, there are a lot of people just surviving and there's quite a dark side to the county. After the first year or two, when the novelty of surfing and exploring began to wear off, they began to think they'd made a mistake.

There are a lot of people struggling to find decent work down there. A good joiner/ carpenter should find work easily, but maybe not the rates you're used to in the city.

A lot of the stuff being said here about Cornwall could be said about a lot of rural areas and small towns. A lot of city people move out and are shocked to encounter the same problems they thought they left behind, ie drugs, anti social behaviour etc, while not having the same facilities and opportunities.

Cornwall is pretty round the edges, grim in the middle. You needn't worry about 'the locals' because they are vastly outnumbered by incomers. Public sector jobs are the safest bet, but it's basically a lobster pot full of low wages, low aspirations, drugs and despair.

What do your parents and sister think of it?

Agree with most of the posts here. If you can find decent paying work (council or other bigger employer) and live somewhere in-land and not scenic, then you'll do ok. House prices are currently going bonkers. We're hoping to buy next year and praying for it to calm down. The tourist influx genuinely is an issue, but you learn to live with it and the off season is glorious. There is plenty of culture, no we don't get the big touring companies or concerts but local theatre is pretty good and there are so many art galleries and museums to visit Basically it is what you make it, same as anywhere. It's just a long, long way from anywhere else :)

Don't know why I always fall for these threads ..

@Accentor - yes, nothing but constant despair and low aspirations here. Must be why property prices are going through the roof. Plus my local farm shop has just started a special section for Class A drugs as we're all on them down here but want to support local business ...

Also sadly no cinemas, theatres, shops, pubs, restaurants, art classes, pilates, choirs, music, evening entertainment etc. . In fact we're lucky if our kids can string two words together having been educated in this cultural desert.

A few people in the village have clubbed together to buy an electric lightbulb but we have to take turns to use it. And we've just been hearing about this new fangled invention from upcountry called the "internet." Sounds like witchcraft to me!

Now where was I .... oh yes, in despair

There's some very serious problems here regarding housing, access to health and dental care. People I know are being turfed out of their homes for their landlords to change them to holiday homes.

There's almost nothing on the rental market and what does appear is almost London prices.

The job market isn't amazing. It depends what you want to do.

Saying that, there's lots of work in tourism and hospitality. Hopefully the space port will go forward creating some jobs, looks like the airports going to expand.

The roads are mental, all summer it gets clogged as population boomed a bit quicker than roads can be amended and expanded.

It's beautiful but frustrating living here

NursePye,

Also sadly no cinemas, theatres, shops, pubs, restaurants, art classes, pilates, choirs, music, evening entertainment etc. hmm. In fact we're lucky if our kids can string two words together having been educated in this cultural desert.

I didn't say there were no cinemas, art classes, Pilates classes as you know — but where my friends were based everything involved getting in the car and driving along the lanes. They hated being so dependent on the car for everything. Yes, this will be true of most rural areas, but this question was specifically about Cornwall.

Moved down here in 2001, largely to give our children a better lifestyle and grow up in the country. Son moved to London in early 20’s and is now looking at a house near Truro, daughter is going to move away with boyfriend. I personally haven’t found the true Cornish unfriendly and count a lot amongst my friends. However there is an increase in resentment about incomers pushing up prices and wanting to change Cornwall into London / South east-on-sea. DH and I are learning the Cornish language, are both involved in the church, and love walking and sailing. If you like theatres, club culture, 24/7 shops and that sort of lifestyle you probably won’t like it. I do disagree about the centre of Cornwall being grotty scenery wise, the moors have their own charm. The winters do seem to be getting wetter in my opinion and it can be pretty horrible in January/February.

What is the situation like with second homes and holiday properties? It would be depressing to move somewhere and find no proper householders.

@Shedbuilder Eek, what’s the dark side...?

@Crunchymum Parents are retired so love it as no need to think about houses, jobs etc.
Sister likes it but has struggled at times with jobs etc, but is currently doing much better, she likes it there too. None of them would want to return to the North now.

Fair enough @Shedbuilder - apologies for being facetious! It just gets a bit wearing on MN with stereotypes like these. Should have learned my lesson but it still rankles.
Maybe people should do live here for a month in high season and a month in the bleak mid winter before they move down here. It is different to many areas, specifically the SE, and admittedly it takes a bit of getting used to , particularly having to drive everywhere. It would be a culture shock for many I guess and it's different strokes isn't it. As a born and bred Londoner it was certainly a change for me, but now I feel more at home here than I do in London. As a pp said it's kind of what you make it. Hope your friends have found their happy place- my closest friend is from Sussex and it's got some beautiful towns and villages I seem to remember.

Interesting thread. I'm moving to camborne in cornwall in 3 weeks 😂😂 but I'm moving from a really rough area in the Midlands and I orginally come from a popular seaside town , so I'm well versed in how the tourist season works. Are people friendly though? As I've found them most unfriendly here where I am in the midlands and we found it so so difficult to break into any kind of circle.

I needed to adjust...hours away from a large airport, really poor transport links, 40 mins from the only hospital, limited range of restaurants, limited range of shops, tiny cinemas, no theatre, ..sorry if I sound shallow but I missed all of these things. There are jobs but generally low paid and you need to move away for careers. I teach but it took a long time to get a full time post because people do not move. My son is going to uni next year to a city - he loves the beach and the sea but is wanting something bigger, more diverse and faster moving. However I am now very settled and glad we moved. I moved here in my early 40's not sure I would have adapted in my 20's.

It’s a beautiful place, good way of life. Peaceful during winter, manic during summer in busy areas - takes twice the time to get anywhere.

But most definitely not affordable. There are cheaper areas but generally very expensive. Rent is £££, getting a mortgage and earning enough to buy is hard.

I’ve lived in Cornwall my whole life. I love it and would never move but the job opportunities are low, low wages etc.

Depends on what you do for a living. I just seen that you do childminding, nannying etc. I really don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a job in those areas. My village really needs childminders - we now only have one. Nannying seems popular too. I have a friend who does it for well off families. You’ll be surprised how many rich families are here and look for nannies - usually in the areas most of us can’t afford to live in. Rock, polzeath etc.

Lack of public transport - you really need a car.

I moved from a big city, live in Plymouth and work in Cornwall. I would choose living down here over living back home any day of the week. There are issues down here but no where near the issues that there are back home.

[quote Flopseemsstoned]@Shedbuilder Eek, what’s the dark side...?

@Crunchymum Parents are retired so love it as no need to think about houses, jobs etc.
Sister likes it but has struggled at times with jobs etc, but is currently doing much better, she likes it there too. None of them would want to return to the North now.[/quote]
Overdoing it by calling it the dark side, perhaps, but I think they became increasingly aware of a two-tier system where wealthy incomers like themselves came in, bought up the best properties, let them out for holidays and employed local-born people on minimum wages to do their cleaning and gardening and so on. I think they became particularly uncomfortable when they found out that the lovely cheery woman who did their garden for them for half the price they'd paid in the SE was having to use a food bank and was sofa surfing. This kind of thing happens everywhere, but they seemed to feel that it was particularly prevalent in Cornwall.

Thanks all, some interesting feedback. Just to clarify, I could do teacher as am a qualified Early years/primary teacher or in a nursery etc or failing that..childminding/nannying. Basically most things in education & childcare

Plenty of childcare work. I'm retraining as an early years practitioner once my baby is born.

I'm Cornish born and bred. Left to go to Uni and get professional qualifications and job experience before moving back 15 years ago when we our children were babies. As has been said, the coast is expensive, more touristy with lots of holiday homes, inland is cheaper, poor and tend to be where most local can afford to live.
As with everywhere, life depends on your income. We are lucky that we have professional jobs which are comparable with nationwide salaries. Many are not so lucky and have low paid jobs or work away Mon-Fri and come home at weekends. I am well aware we live in a lovely bubble, nice house, beach on our doorstep, kids can travel to excellent schools. Many dont and rely on foodbanks. I think its a great place to bring up kids - they're are out dingy sailing at the moment with our local sailing club. £60 a year, they walk to the club, mess around on boats and walk home. Tomorrow they'll probably go surfing in the morning. Sunday we're going paddle boarding with friends and having a sausage sizzle on the beach after. You have to love the outdoors - even our local 'cinema' is a film projected on a screen in the park.

We try and go away for 3 weeks in the summer - its awful. My 10 min drive to the supermarket can take me an hour each way. From May-late August traffic, noise, litter and prices soar. Transport is non-existent. It can be feel isolated from the rest of the UK. I love Cornwall and would live no where else in the UK but if you dont earn a good wage, there is less help, less support and more costs than perhaps other areas.

If your doing well abroad, near the beach and making a good combined wages I wouldn't do it. Most places you would want to live would be expensive, there are very few jobs unless your partner can work remotely? I doubt you would get any nanny or babysitting sort of jobs. I'm sure there are plenty of people fighting for teaching jobs.

I used to live abroad and my parents brought me to the UK I am in no way grateful or happy, so consider your child's feelings too, there is very little to do in Cornwall for older/teens most young people leave.

I haven't lived there in ages though th job situation might have changed