To move to Cornwall?

[RockpoolPeriwinkle]

Background - I live in rented, but I have had a promotion, and can now wfh, so looking to buy my own place (mortgage arranged in principle). I’m just finishing a week’s holiday in St Ives, and found out the tiny, but cute as a button place I’ve been staying is for sale. It’s a long way from where I live now in the midlands, but I think it could work.

Do you live in St Ives or similar tourist destination? What’s it like to live there year-round?

I adore winter down here. It's dramatic. Also September and June are glorious when the tourists clear out but the weather is gorgeous.

I have liked living in Cornwall, for all my childhood, and the last 30 years since I returned, thinking it would be quite short term but now I fancy a change. I still love the landscapes, and the food and art, and most of the people, but I have grown to hate the travel in and out of the county. I have spent too much time on the A30 and M5 in traffic to want to waste any more time trying to catch up with family and friends.

If you are serious @RockpoolPeriwinkle then you need a trial run over the winter. Don't buy the cute as a button property, and don't instantly plunge into deepest darkest West Cornwall, which is peak tourist central. Step back, take a deep breath and look at the Devon Cornwall border. It's not fashionable, but it's 2 hours saved on the road out, property is cheaper, communications are better and it's still beautiful. Take your time, rent in Plymouth (which has a shocking reputation and more than its share of social problems TB fair) but which is also one of the most beautifully situated cities in the country, for access to sea and moor, with sensibly priced housing. Or consider Launceston, which is a small town on the border. Property isn't stupidly priced, and you are equidistant between the north and south coasts.

Yes, the ghastly yokels locals are utterly ghastly 🙄

I'd consider Hayle as it has better transport links than St Ives. Are you interested in outdoor activities like swimming, cycling, running etc? If so, there's plenty to do, but if you prefer shopping then you may quickly get bored.

I would go for it op. So long as the house has parking!

The ghastly local yokels are really quite favourably disposed towards the people who move to Cornwall who actually want to live there, and muck in. A bit jaundiced about the ones who buy a cottage to put on holiday AirBnB as soon as they have finished Instagramming the pictures.

I was going to say what about Devon. It's an hour and a half to two hours closer, depending on where you go in Cornwall. Lots of Brummies in the seaside towns around South Devon, cos of good rail/car links to the Midlands, they can be there in two or three hours.

Who said they were ghastly?
I was referring to a previous thread where Cornish people posted in strong terms their dissatisfaction with incomers. You will note my addendum: this is not necessarily typical and she may find them friendly and welcoming..

I grew up in St Ives, and my parents are still there, albeit on the outskirts.

I do love visiting, and we normally stay in downlong because the walking distance proximity to several beaches is perfect for the kids.

i think St Ives does still have a community but I don’t think there’s much of one in the old town now, so depending on where your holiday cottage is, it might not be a suitable home. Also in the old town parking is an issue.

on some level I actually prefer Cornwall when it’s rugged and stormy. I gather from my mum this summer has been pretty wild so you might find you’ve had your taste of winter. I really like spring and autumn when the streets are quieter.

one thing I will say about Cornwall though is the population is very much split into coast and land people. The land communities tend to be tighter knit and harder to penetrate and that’s because they are not so touristy. the coastal areas tend to be more welcoming. If you want to make friends then a bit of voluntary work goes a long way. In St Ives getting involved with the Edward Hain centre would be a good shout. Also, if you like crafts, art, or singing you’ll probably find a social life that way.

I don’t think I could drag our kids down there but if it weren’t so problematic I’d love a second home and I’d decamp to it for the whole of the time school’s out. I just need to be closer to work in term time.

@Maireas , if you live in Cornwall and you probably do, we all know the locals are not ghastly, but they do have reservations about people buying cute cheap (to them) properties and leaving them empty for eight months a year. It was a problem as long ago as the 1960s. Parents died, the house they left was not worth much, so the family kept it for use in the summer holiday. Well, now, those houses have quintupled (or more) in value, and the rest of the population is priced out.

I'd move to Falmouth. It's beautiful but less touristy than St Ives.

@EffortlessDesmond -
I never said that the locals were "ghastly".
That was another poster who seemed unable to understand my original post.

I love all of Cornwall, apart from the bit around Indian Queens, but I am quite looking forward to moving away. Closer to F&F, so north of the M4/5 interchange. Then all my chums will be about 90 minutes away!

Apologies, @Maireas . I didn't think I'd implied that.

I think you're doing the right thing, OP, considering location and other factors. It does sound as if it's a good idea if you love the area you've just stayed in.

Nowhere like Cornwall 😊. I love Winter when it’s wild. Yes, transport links could be better, as could education, health provision, job opportunities etc. But it’s gorgeous if you’re willing to commit with eyes wide open.
Check out Isles of Scilly too if you can full time WFH and can buy. That’s an experience.

Falmouth is lovely, if you have a harbour view. The house DM liked in 1975 last went on the market for about £800K!

Love Cornwall -am lucky to have a pretty good job with some really lovely colleagues. People tend to be genuine and it's not materialistic here. Nobody cares what you drive. Everything ends up scratched from country lanes!

We have a lot of house space for the money but are outside the main tourist hotspots. Miss family and friends and get heartily sick of the A30 and having to buy essentials online.

The kids love the beach after school - their childhoods have been very much outdoors - cycling everywhere, surfing and jumping off various harbour walls.

We have a small second place in a big city and that gives a balance. I do all my shopping and eating out there plus travel from the local airport. Very fortunate to have both.

Longer term I'm not sure we will stay. If we do, we'll switch to a much smaller place here

If you have grown up children, how often do you expect them to come down to stay with you?

I remember a thread from a poster whose parents had moved out to Cornwall and then moaned bitterly that she didn’t visit as often as they’d hoped. It got to the point where the OP hid it if she’d gone anywhere other than Cornwall (she had in-laws in France or Holland).

I love off-road running and wild swimming (and body boarding when I’m with the kids!). I’m involved with local wildlife/conservation charities atm, so I’d probably try to find something similar, and I’ll def check out the Edward Hain Centre or equivalent too, thank you Peeking.
I think pp’s who’ve advised slowing down a bit are right. I’m going to try to find somewhere to rent, maybe not so far west, and spend the winter exploring the area more thoroughly before I make a commitment. Very excited though, thank you everyone for your input

Good luck, what a great adventure

Op why wouldn’t you! Sounds like heaven. Plus if you don’t like it you can always move.

CruCru that is something that’s on my mind too. They’re still young adults, so they’re (quite rightly) off forging their own lives. I’m sort of expecting they won’t be around much for the next few years, but more so once (if) they settle down & have kids. Then I expect to travel to them really (although they’d obv always be welcome) - don’t know if any of this is realistic!

We moved to Cornwall 3 years ago from Essex after years of holidaying on the north coast. Initially I was adamant I wanted to live by the sea, somewhere like Bude, but budget, transport links among other things made us look inland and we ended up buying a cottage in a moorland village.
We love living here and I would never move back. Yes, it has its downsides: the constant rain, lack of shops and lack of hospitals but the benefits outweigh it.
I would personally find St Ives too busy, but then I'm in a different stage of my life with young teenage children.
I think we tend to regret the things we don't do more than those we do. Worse case scenario, you move back but you won't know unless you try.

It may be that this is the right moment for you to move here to Cornwall, and it is a lovely place to live. But it is an area where you need to slot in socially too.