Is Cornwall considered to be more upmarket than other seaside/coastal areas?

[Loveella]

Not sure if this is a thing. Is Cornwall considered to be more upmarket than Devon and other seaside/coastal towns?

Or is that not the case and they are all much of a muchness with nice/not so nice parts?

I’ve never thought it to be upmarket in the way that Brighton is supposed to be (highest level of disposable income apparently), just popular due to the large coastline and the warmer pockets of weather, but I feel they all have less nice areas tbh.

Impossible to say.

Upmarket:
Padstow (Cornwall) Salcombe, ( Devon) Burnham Market ( Norfolk)

Less so: Newquay (Cornwall) Teignmouth (Devon) Great Yarmouth (Norfolk)

Loads of holiday places are considered ‘upmarket’. All around the country.

Brighton? Really?

Much of a muchness.
There's real poverty in both like every county in every town.

Cornwall is a right old mix - a few years ago we stayed in Penzance which I thought was a bit dumpy but st Ives was pretty nice - to be honest as I’ve said on other posts I don’t really get the appeal as it’s a fag to get to and I thought everywhere of any quality was really expensive from acccommodation to food- even from here in Bath it’s a fag, certainly to the st Ives area - if I want that vibe I found it not too dissimilar in Weymouth, Bridport, Lyme Regis or swanage or Croyde which are an awful lot closer.

I live in Cornwall on the south coast. Huge rich/poor divide throughout the County. The areas that have been gentrified don't seem like real Cornwall to me, more like someone's idea of how Cornwall should be.

I love visiting Devon. Feels more relaxed and old fashioned compared to Cornwall. Always found it cheaper too!

No. Brighton is considered the most up market. Not Cornwall.

Brighton... up market?! It's a shithole and awash with tacky hen/stag parties. With the exception of The Lanes, it's really scruffy, particularly around the station - you get a terrible first impression when you get off the train. The council should be ashamed.

I see your Cornwall and raise you Suffolk.

No I always perceive the West Country to be deprived and there lots of poverty and unemployment. I see Cornwall as probably more affected by this than Devon or Dorset. I dont know if that is an accurate perception or not.

On the other hand you get lots of posh types going down there, so who knows.

I thought it was Sandbanks at Poole.

I live here too and agree with PP. I'm near the North coast (but not right on it) and even our real Cornwall coastal villages are becoming ridiculously expensive.
It's been gentrified, but not in a nice way - in a rushed, shitty way so there are expensive renovations of nice granite cottages all painted the same tourist shade of grey blue, with fake driftwood, cheek by jowel with the earlier tourism rush bungalows of the 70s which are fucking ugly. And there is litter and expensive tat everywhere.
When I visit the Lakes or the Dales it makes me want to weep. They seem to have rules there about not despoiling the countryside with disgusting pebble dash estates or bungalows, bypasses and carparks but there are no rules here. Soon there will be no reason to come here because its getting uglier and uglier so maybe it will eventually regain some of its peace and loveliness.
There are some unspoiled, untacky places left in Cornwall but I'm not telling you about them!

There is quite a lot of poverty in Cornwall and there are lots of real people struggling to get by and unable to afford local rentals. Then there are second home owners and lots of posh people 'summer' down there.

It’s not the county, I think there are upmarket towns and down at heel places in all the main coastal areas.

As a visitor, I think it varies according to where in Cornwall you go! I love Cornwall, it's 400 miles from where we live but well worth the effort of going once a year.

Lots of counties have upmarket and less upmarket areas - it's not about the swathe of the county. See Abersoch - very upmarket - whereas Peblig in Caernarfon (same county) is considered impoverished.

Cornwall and Devon both have upmarket resorts and less "posh" resorts but it made me laugh to see Brighton described as up market. It's a filthy, noisy, run down place with lots of drug issues, attracting rowdy visitors.

It’s definitely more snooty. I’ll not be back.

Cornwall is a mixed bag, as is Devon. There certainly are upmarket places - especially those towns or villages that are small, coastal with a beach or quay - but equally we struggle with poverty in many inland towns and some of the larger coastal (like Newquay).

Depends where you pick

Agree that in some places there is a us and them attitude from some, which is a huge pity because we do need the tourist pound. Yes Cornwall will still be beautiful with no tourists but our economy would look very, very different without their spend.

I prefer Devon to Cornwall, feels more friendly and not so far away from anything and everything. Also the roads in Cornwall are awful and in summer they're rammed. There are shit holes in Devon too, I certainly wouldn't go back to Ilfracombe but also lots of beautiful non tacky parts. Cornwall is though more beautiful in parts IMO - the Minack theatre and around is just stunning. But the stress and hassle of getting there makes it not worth doing more than once IMO. Woolacombe, Noss Mayo, Bantham and with Dartmoor not far - all lovely.

I went to Brighton once, horrible vibe. Never again.

Brighton isn’t upmarket! Property prices are high due to proximity to London, but it isn’t a particularly posh place itself.

It's Hove actually

Rock definitely is. Redruth definitely isn't. Cornwall isn't one homogeneous lump.

Haha - good one 🤭 also, true.

Exactly. It was in receipt of ‘deprived area’ EU funds before Brexit, and alongside expensive tourist areas it has pockets of real deprivation, exacerbated by second homes and tourism pushing up house and rental prices, meaning locals in low-paid/seasonal jobs are priced out. I have friends who lived there for years, and some places were almost unrecognisable out of season.

Agreed. Brighton is so far from upmarket!

Up market in Cornwall would be St. Mawes and much of the Roseland Peninsula, Fowey, St. Ives, maybe some of Padstow and Rock.

Devon...Salcombe, Exmouth, Topsham.

Much of the Suffolk Coast.

Isle of Wight...Seaview, Bembridge. Some of the Yarmouth area.