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?

If you’re moving here, it’s what you make of it surely?
You can largely choose where to live (ie not born and bought up in Camborne etc).
You have family here already to help you meet new people.

I love it here in mid cornwall, I’ve lived here pretty much all my life. My family are here, I’m still friends with people I’ve known a long time. I like to be outdoors, I’m happy to drive and I don’t like big crowds of people.

Of my closest circle of friends, I am the only one who relies on tourism for their job.

I don't think Cornwall will be slammed by the loss of EU funds. Set back a bit, yes, but there is so much quality of life here, to enjoy, and there are big opportunities if we can develop decent tidal power generation systems and technology. There are 630 miles of coastline around Cornwall and Devon where the tides rise and fall predictably and the energy could be captured, and generated via heat transfer systems. In fact the UK coastline is about 7000 miles, and it's all tidal.

@Grimbelina

shallIswim do tell about the food van boys!?

Trustafarians?

@NursePye, you're not wrong but do we really want a tonne more people here? We do want new people here, who can develop the skills our young people need for the jobs of the future, not just scooping ice creams. There has to be a balance.

Food van boys??

I was considering a move to Cornwall once I finish my social work degree. Jobs with a house, car and relocation fees are advertised regularly. I know I would be happy there, but my children aren't exactly the outdoorsy type and I'm worried they would be miserable there.

@XingMing - I agree we do need a balance which is sadly lacking on threads like these.
Thankfully in my experience there are young people who have aspirations and display qualities that have not been mentioned here ie kindness, tolerance and a respect for the environment. My DC have undertaken many beach cleans for example, cleaning away all sorts that has been left by tourists.

It’s a difficult topic. I’m sad to see NursePye so upset. There are absolutely pros and cons to Cornwall, like anywhere. My view has been somewhat tainted by my upbringing. My dad was Cornish through and through and when I hit 16 he told me to get myself to the local factory to get a job. I couldn’t think of anything worse. But he couldn’t even read or write so in his mind that is what you did. Honestly I do resent that I was brought up with no aspirations, as were many of my friends. But I can’t completely blame my parents. I moved away and got an education but truthfully, I don’t have one relative there now (and I still have many relatives there) who earns over minimum wage.

I think it’s a totally different experience for the middle classes with good jobs who move down there, when compared to being born and raised there in a “traditional” Cornish family. I think it is sad that locals can’t afford to buy a house. The minimum wage issue wouldn’t matter so much if house prices hadn’t gone sky high. My own sister has to spend 75% of her wages on rent. I was shocked when she told me how much her rental was, it wasn’t far off London prices, and she doesn’t live in a tourist area.

Honestly, I can understand Cornish people’s feelings towards outsiders. They have a right to be pissed off. People think about the north and mining, but it was big in Cornwall too. My dad was a miner for years until they started closing them all down. That’s when things started to get tough. I don’t have an issue with people who decide to move there completely but yeah, I think second home owners are assholes. Sorry but that’s how I feel. Nobody needs two homes. If you want to support the local community then rent a place when you visit. That would be more productive/helpful.

@Lansonmaid

"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."

As another poster said it is what you make of it. You have clearly made the effort, accepted Kernow for what it is rather than want to change it and done your best to integrate - which is probably why you enjoy your lifestyle there and have been deservedly welcomed by the Cornish.

Love the people here - genuine, friendly and helpful. Once you manage to get a tradesperson they're generally lovely. It's safe here and crime is unusual.

Jobs are there if you're willing to look and work hard - we totally landed on our feet with that and earn professional salaries comparable with the rest of the uk with plenty of flexibility.

My house is massive for the money. I pay my annual mortgage through sticking our spare room on Airbnb over the summer only. Very fortunate to own as the rental market is horrific.

Dcs are at a fab state school. They are at the beach after school, can sail and surf. It is a lovely place to bring up children.

However - old friends and family are a bloody long way away. Travel is a ball ache. Cornish roads are a pain. It can be insular and I'd love more diversity.

We have enjoyed living here but will likely move away once the dcs are older. I'd really like to live somewhere better connected to explore the uk once we have time to do it.

You need to spend locally as well. If there is anything I need doing on the house, I try to find a local to do it. The guy who is doing the patio and the drive is local; not cheap, and I could probably have got a cheaper quote from a bigger firm, but I'd like to keep him in business.

@shallswim of course there is cultural stuff going on. I didn't say there wasn't. But the choice/price is of course different from major urban centres. That's fine, you don't move to Cornwall for that (I've done a lot of family friendly promenade theatre in Cardinham woods/heligan/etc. It's fun!). You have free countryside instead. But it IS different.

I do think it's worth being aware of the distances to stuff and the challenges of a long wet winter for people who think they're going to be in a Boden catalogue on a sort of year round holiday.

@Meruem your childhood sounds a lot like mine (only we were fishing not mining). I think the experience of growing up working class in Cornwall is so wildly different to what most people think when they contemplate moving there I feel duty bound to warn them.

I'd recommend the writing of Natasha Carthew to understand better the working class Cornish experience. The women she writes about are 100% the women I grew up with and around.

I have family in Cornwall, and one of the main problems is the lack of infrastructure now. Just one hospital, the railway line that gets cut off in winter storms. The trains were unreliable pre-covid anyway, the narrow Cornish lanes, and it's a long way from anywhere else. She says the Simon Reeve programme was a pretty good summing up of Cornwall.

The issues with more wealthy incomers who can work from home and price locals out of the housing market is massive. It reminds me of the problems the Welsh had with holiday home owners back in the 1980s - they set fire to them.

It's sooo far away and cut off. It's a good 2 hours drive from east to west. Devon is better

I agree. I know Cornwall well, particularly the west of the county because some close friends of mine live in Penzance. Devon has everything Cornwall has, but it’s much less isolated from the rest of the country. Living within an hour’s drive of Bristol and its airport makes a massive difference.

I'm finding this thread quite fascinating, getting peoples insights into Cornwall warts & all.
All I can really say is that having been here on and off for twenty years, I truly can't imagine leaving here to live anywhere else.

Dream on, do you really think the shrieking enviroMENTALists will ever tolerate tidal barrages all around Cornwall's coast?

@NewLynHill you're close! And @Grimbelina lets just say its quite a feat for Exeter uni engineering grads who after one summer operating a food van manage to get the cash together for a permanent outlet in Exeter...
DC have young entrepreneurial friends down here who will take years to reach that level of stability. It's not possible without independent means! That strand of the programme was pretty lazy tbh and I don't quite know how they made the cut to represent the grafting youth of Cornwall.

I grew up in Cornwall, my family still live there. It was a wonderful childhood but I was desperate to leave when I was a teenager. I may have felt more of a pull to stay if I'd grown up in a Cornish town with more going on but we lived in an isolated village with no transport. My sister and parents love living there and I love to visit but wouldn't move back. I think there's more for my children where we live, a small town with big cities in easy reach.

I live in Cornwall.

I live within a 10 minute drive of a fabulous independent cinema.

I have recently been told to "go back to the city" ( which shows what they know, as I haven't lived in a city since I was 20)

A local lady in her 90s recently told me she had never spoken to a person of colour. Ever.

My broadband speed is brilliant.

Public transport is almost non existent. Four buses a week. I was asked why I didn't travel to a hospital appointment by public transport...because I would have had to start off 5 days ago!

The coastline is spectacular. I love being in the sea and need waves.

Lots of the work is seasonal and most in the hospitality industry. It is not a beach lifestyle for most. When you're not working, it's usually raining or the height of tourist season so you don't want to be stuck on a busy beach.
The public transport system is poor. In my village we have one bus to take you to the nearest town in the morning and back again in the afternoon. Stupidly the times don't fit with 9-5 working.
I know people that don't really leave their home in the summer as they live in a touristy area and traffic is awful.
BUT the schools are smaller, most villages have a strong community and most people know their neighbours. We live near(ish) the Devon border, in land, in a small village. We are involved in local groups/activities and the children love the primary school that is practically on our doorstep. We don't go the beach that often - still have to drive there, but we can walk to Bodmin moor.

My main experience of cornwall is yearly childhood holidays to penzance/newlyn so id romanticised it a bit, but my friend from there moved here to essex cos he said that its beautiful but theres only money 3 months of the year.

As for cornwall live, its no worse than any other local rag comments section.

@Meruem - your post was really interesting and I completely understand where you're coming from. I appreciate that I am coming at this from a place of privilege in having grown up in a middle class family and being able to access higher education and therefore a decent public sector job.

What upset me was the pps who made sweeping generalisations about a whole county - particularly the idea that we're all insular racists. This is actually offensive.

There are undoubtedly many challenges faced by people for whom poverty and low aspirations is the norm and that is very sad. However I don't believe that this is unique to Cornwall although admittedly it often gets overlooked by the glossy image of a sunny paradise when on TV. I think that the Simon Reeve doc did well in trying to highlight this discrepancy (and yes those Polzeath boys were a little creative with their truth!!).

I think it's important to get these issues out there, but I don't think calling somewhere a "lobster pot of despair " is particularly helpful. Wonder if the residents of other deprived areas of the UK would be happy with that description? We do need investment in industries and innovations that can bring opportunities for young people who want to stay here, rather than relying on minimum wage jobs. I really hope that all this talk about Cornwall being developed as a centre for green energy comes to something.

I also agree with you about second homes they are a scourge and I wish the Council would do more to limit them as I can see no evidence of any tangible benefit to the local economy or community.

Of course, as others have alluded to, there are not the range of activities or infrastructure on offer that you would find in a big city. I think though, that this adds to the appeal for many looking for a slower, less hectic or competitive way of life. We can't get takeaway deliveries where we are, for example, but we can be at a number of different and beautiful beaches within 5 minutes.

[quote NursePye]@Meruem - your post was really interesting and I completely understand where you're coming from. I appreciate that I am coming at this from a place of privilege in having grown up in a middle class family and being able to access higher education and therefore a decent public sector job.

What upset me was the pps who made sweeping generalisations about a whole county - particularly the idea that we're all insular racists. This is actually offensive.

There are undoubtedly many challenges faced by people for whom poverty and low aspirations is the norm and that is very sad. However I don't believe that this is unique to Cornwall although admittedly it often gets overlooked by the glossy image of a sunny paradise when on TV. I think that the Simon Reeve doc did well in trying to highlight this discrepancy (and yes those Polzeath boys were a little creative with their truth!!).

I think it's important to get these issues out there, but I don't think calling somewhere a "lobster pot of despair " is particularly helpful. Wonder if the residents of other deprived areas of the UK would be happy with that description? We do need investment in industries and innovations that can bring opportunities for young people who want to stay here, rather than relying on minimum wage jobs. I really hope that all this talk about Cornwall being developed as a centre for green energy comes to something.

I also agree with you about second homes they are a scourge and I wish the Council would do more to limit them as I can see no evidence of any tangible benefit to the local economy or community.

Of course, as others have alluded to, there are not the range of activities or infrastructure on offer that you would find in a big city. I think though, that this adds to the appeal for many looking for a slower, less hectic or competitive way of life. We can't get takeaway deliveries where we are, for example, but we can be at a number of different and beautiful beaches within 5 minutes.[/quote]
I’m aware that I used the terms ‘insular’ and ‘racist’ in my post, @NursePye. I did not, however, say that applied to everyone and everywhere in Cornwall but it cannot be denied that rural areas with low diversity, like Cornwall, do have issues with this.

As for health inequalities and issues with public services, again, this is a proven fact in rural areas. Look at the reams and reams of accessible academic research on the subject.

I don't think Cornwall/Cornish people are inherently racist. There was one black girl at my high school and as an adult now, I can see that must have been quite isolating for her. However, she was never badly treated by anyone. She was actually very popular and there was never any racist language used towards her or about her (not at school anyway). Yes there are obviously going to be some racist people in Cornwall, as there are anywhere. But I have lived in many different parts of the country and actually I find the more diverse an area, the more racism there is. Because people then "other" whole communities. It's not about the individual anymore.

I would sum up the Cornish as being honest to the point of sometimes being blunt! No they won't welcome anyone and everyone just to be polite, and why should they? I've seen people move there and make a real effort to be part of the community, who've not seen themselves as "better" than those around them, and they've fitted in. No, they're never going to be long standing members of the community, not for a few generations! But they've got on fine. But it takes time and effort.