If you're from Cornwall, how do you personally feel about tourists and second home owners?

[Beerlovingwalker]

Genuinely curious really, as an outsider that loves Cornwall.

On the one hand, it must be nice to know that so many people love the beauty of your county and I'm sure it's nice to share it. However, it also must be difficult to adjust from living fairly quietly in the Autumn/winter months, to suddenly have to share your space with so many million tourists and second home owners in the summer.

One of the reasons young locals can be reluctant to leave Cornwall to find cheaper property or more lucrative work is because moving ‘upcountry’ feels like moving to a different country.

This may seem small minded if you live in England and visit Cornwall. Maybe you don’t see the difference. But culturally and lifestyle wise there is quite a gap.

Imagine telling Scots or Welsh they have to leave their country to move to England to find work or a place to live. And that’s what it’s like. It’s not the same as just moving from Oxfordshire to Northamptonshire, or zone 2 to zone 4, for example.

And incidentally, I know of five families that have moved from Cornwall to France when Cornwall became too overcrowded or expensive for them.

Because France felt more culturally akin to Cornwall than England...

I agree W a lot that’s been said but I do think there’s a very big difference between 2nd home owners who leave their property empty most of the year/just for themselves and those who let their property out as holiday lets. Lots of people saying tourists are fine as they bring money to the area but where would they stay if people didn’t let out their holiday cottages?

The holiday parks, campsites, hotels, small luxury barn/cottage complexes have plenty of accommodation.

The tourist market doesn’t actually need second homes.

I'm not a conservative and have never voted for them at all , but I recall people having second homes in the West Country years ago when Labour were in power and many politicians of all parties have more than one home either here or abroad and I bet many have second homes in Cornwall or Devon.
political will to do anything much about this simply won't happen whoever is in power as they will argue it's ' market forces' and they are taxed more as it is by owning these extra homes which is all they worry about at the end of the day!
Maybe local councillors might be able to do something more? Come voting time in four years time it'll be low on the list of priorities for people to worry about I'm sure.

No way would I be happy to rent for FIVE years before I was “allowed” to buy a home if I had the money for a mortgage. For one thing, it’s not like renting is stable - rents go up, landlords decide to sell, you might be forced to move several times with a poor choice of suitable accommodation for your family, disrupting school aged children’s education etc. And paying someone else’s mortgage to boot. No thanks. Yes, ok, fair enough to make it harder for second home owners but not to shaft non-locals who want to move into the village for good, to work nearby and integrate into the community.

@OrangeSamphire

The holiday parks, campsites, hotels, small luxury barn/cottage complexes have plenty of accommodation.

The tourist market doesn’t actually need second homes.

But there's a huge difference between need and want.

I don't think there's anything wrong with someone having what they want - a private cottage holiday rental as long as it's not impacting on the need of the wider community.

This thread is clear that it is impacting on the needs of the wider community.

How to find a balance is the challenge for the local, regional and national governments.

Which it's vital that everyone on here who has really strong opinions on this could work to get the best people, the brightest minds, and the most community-minded politicians elected to every level of government and then lobby those public officials for the kind of integrated approach which would help find the best solutions to these issues.

And that includes people who own second homes - you may or may not have voting power in the place you only spend a percentage of the year - but you don't have to treat it as a holiday location which is out of sight out of mind when you are not there. You can read all the local papers online - keep up to date with community issues - help to rally round when a local corner shop needs saving or the church needs a new roof, or a local bus route needs a campaign to prevent it closing.

That's got to be a better solution that telling people to simply give up and move to another area.

Imagine telling Scots or Welsh they have to leave their country to move to England to find work or a place to live.

This isn't an unusual thing to do at all, and nobody gets told to do it - they just look for a suitable job and work out if the extra money is worth the inconvenience of moving away. Leaving one part of the UK to study or work in another is a very normal thing to do, and not exactly tearing folk from their home counties. It's somewhere to live, that's all, and if it doesn't meet your needs you have to go elsewhere.

@Helspopje - I really wouldn't let threads like these put you off applying for jobs in Cornwall.

Contrary to what gets spouted on here, there are lots of people living here who have come from others parts of the UK, Europe, Ireland and as far flung as South Africa and Australia (and that's just in my social circle).

We have also have friends, neighbours and colleagues who are proper Cornish and we have never been made to feel unwelcome or "othered".

DH and I came to work in the NHS which has many people from all over, working happily alongside the Cornish.

I expect someone will be along shortly to tell me that the Cornish (including my friends) are all slagging me off behind my back and maybe they are .

However in my 20+ years here I have not been aware of this. I think if you get involved in the local community, work here and send your kids to school here you are treated with respect and are made welcome. Just don't go trying to change the place because the Cornish are proud, quite rightly of their landscape, history, culture and traditions.

Hopefully I am not completely deluded, but I shall be asking my Cornwallian neighbours exactly what they think of me tomorrow .

@LubaLuca I said ‘told’ because that is literally what some posters on this thread have done.

And yes of course some people do it. After all, people move all over the world for work. The point though, is that culturally and socially moving from Cornwall to somewhere in England is a pretty big leap, for a lot of people, and the unwillingness to do so is often to do with cultural and heritage roots.

Like I said, it’s not the same as moving from zone 2 to zone 4, for example.

[quote NursePye]@Helspopje - I really wouldn't let threads like these put you off applying for jobs in Cornwall.

Contrary to what gets spouted on here, there are lots of people living here who have come from others parts of the UK, Europe, Ireland and as far flung as South Africa and Australia (and that's just in my social circle).

We have also have friends, neighbours and colleagues who are proper Cornish and we have never been made to feel unwelcome or "othered".

DH and I came to work in the NHS which has many people from all over, working happily alongside the Cornish.

I expect someone will be along shortly to tell me that the Cornish (including my friends) are all slagging me off behind my back and maybe they are .

However in my 20+ years here I have not been aware of this. I think if you get involved in the local community, work here and send your kids to school here you are treated with respect and are made welcome. Just don't go trying to change the place because the Cornish are proud, quite rightly of their landscape, history, culture and traditions.

Hopefully I am not completely deluded, but I shall be asking my Cornwallian neighbours exactly what they think of me tomorrow .[/quote]
‘Cornwallian’ is catching on!

Yay!

Cornwallian reminds me of Cornwalum, The Last Kingdom, from the Bernard Cornwall books.

I wonder if it’s something us long-standing incomer could appropriate, since we’re not Cornish!

[quote OrangeSamphire]@LubaLuca I said ‘told’ because that is literally what some posters on this thread have done.

And yes of course some people do it. After all, people move all over the world for work. The point though, is that culturally and socially moving from Cornwall to somewhere in England is a pretty big leap, for a lot of people, and the unwillingness to do so is often to do with cultural and heritage roots.

Like I said, it’s not the same as moving from zone 2 to zone 4, for example.[/quote]
So people other parts of England don’t have cultural or heritage ties to the areas they were born and raised in? Seriously?

Most people would probably like to stay living where they grew up, all other things being equal.

Why is Cornwall different to Norfolk? Or Shropshire? Why is it ok to expect their young adults to move away, but not the Cornish?

@OrangeSamphire

Cornwallian reminds me of Cornwalum, The Last Kingdom, from the Bernard Cornwall books.

I wonder if it’s something us long-standing incomer could appropriate, since we’re not Cornish!

Excellent idea!

@Mmn654123 - don't count your chickens- I'm going to ask my 70 yr old neighbour tomorrow what he reckons!!

The point though, is that culturally and socially moving from Cornwall to somewhere in England is a pretty big leap, for a lot of people, and the unwillingness to do so is often to do with cultural and heritage roots.

Now I really don't understand this. I left Wales to study and live, and my husband left Cornwall. Neither of us has any concept of this 'otherliness' of these places and the people. We're British, we have been at home in every part of the country we've lived in. It sounds like sentimental nonsense to me.

Why just Cornwall? We have a fair few tourists here in London too you know. Our summer economy, just like Cornwalls, depends on it.

I understand the issues around second home ownership. But then everyone seems to love the tourists. But surely a lot of them are renting someone else's second home? And if you really hate second home owners does that mean you never rent a house/apartment when you go on holiday?

[quote NursePye]@Mmn654123 - don't count your chickens- I'm going to ask my 70 yr old neighbour tomorrow what he reckons!! [/quote]
Report back when you do! I reckon he might prefer it......

Because France felt more culturally akin to Cornwall than England...

France - a country 5 times the size of England with 8 different languages, yet you've decided to lump it all together as "culturally akin to Cornwall"?

[quote OrangeSamphire]@LubaLuca I said ‘told’ because that is literally what some posters on this thread have done.

And yes of course some people do it. After all, people move all over the world for work. The point though, is that culturally and socially moving from Cornwall to somewhere in England is a pretty big leap, for a lot of people, and the unwillingness to do so is often to do with cultural and heritage roots.

Like I said, it’s not the same as moving from zone 2 to zone 4, for example.[/quote]
Trust me, zone 2 to zone 4 is a cultural leap.

@Ifailed

Because France felt more culturally akin to Cornwall than England...

France - a country 5 times the size of England with 8 different languages, yet you've decided to lump it all together as "culturally akin to Cornwall"?

PMSL! I’m loving this thread......

@meganorks

I understand the issues around second home ownership. But then everyone seems to love the tourists. But surely a lot of them are renting someone else's second home? And if you really hate second home owners does that mean you never rent a house/apartment when you go on holiday?

Nope. You'd be amazed how many second homes are used for only a handful of weeks a year by the families who own them. Helford on The Lizard is a good example of a place like that.

Surely house prices are a problem all over the country though? I can’t afford to live in the area I grew up in and it’s nowhere near a touristy area. Even a tiny two up two down is out of our budget. I can’t blame second home owners or tourists. The fact is, desirable areas are expensive and unless you earn big money you are priced out.
My parents who bought the house there in the 70s had very ordinary jobs and were not rich. I have a similar career to them and can’t afford the area. Times have changed.

@meganorks

I understand the issues around second home ownership. But then everyone seems to love the tourists. But surely a lot of them are renting someone else's second home? And if you really hate second home owners does that mean you never rent a house/apartment when you go on holiday?

I can’t speak for everyone but I don’t have a problem with professionally run holiday lets with year round occupancy. They contribute positively to the local economy.