AIBU to move from Bristol to Barnstaple with young children?

[ditsyrose]

My DH and I are considering selling our house in Bristol and buying somewhere in Barnstaple, North Devon. My mum already lives there and I love the countryside around there. We have two DC - 4 and 6.

We've found a property with potential for 3 Airbnb rentals onsite which might mean I could give up work. I work in an industry where I could probably find another job in the area if this didn't work out. My DH can continue to work remotely.

My question is are we mad to consider this? Will we be bored out of our minds? Or will we have a better quality of life and happier kids? I'd love to hear from anyone who's made a similar move. What did you wish you'd known beforehand? What (if anything) would you do differently? Many thanks in advance

Barnstaple is a lovely place to bring up kids - i had my oldest two there then moved further down to cornwall. Lots of outdoor space and activity type things, less on the sofa play and cinema type experiences and shopping is pretty lacking but then im an online shopper so never bothered me. Manic in the summer though - traffic snarls to a snails pace.

Barnstaple is lovely. My dsis lives there. There is plenty to do as long as you are an outdoorsy kind of family. I'd jump at the chance. Do you have employment lined up?

Is there much of an Airbnb market there? Not somewhere I have considered for holidays myself.

I personally wouldn’t want to live in Barnstaple (sorry! 😬). I do live in Devon, but it’s quite an awkward far from things spot. If you know it well and you like it though, sure. I assume you’ve been there in winter when it’s a bit miserable and in the summer holidays when it’s busy and you are okay with both. The only consideration I’d have is that it’s the sort of place young people want to move away from and probably not come back until late in life, like you are. Your dc will probably fly the nest and move away, and you’ll need to travel to see them, which at least would be doable with some property management help.

You will be very close to Devon's best surfing beaches, and not all that far away from Exeter which has really good shopping.

I wouldn’t bother with the Air BnB shenanigans. Do you want to be at the beck and call of the general public, cleaning toilets, changing beds, dealing with repairs, complaints, neighbours etc.

Wonder why they are selling it? Have you seen the last few years accounts? Could you rent them as long term rentals for people working locally - might be less of a headache than twice weekly change overs - maybe similar profit over the year when all is costed out.

Oh god. I don't even know where to begin with trying to explain deprivation of seaside towns in the Winter. (All year tbh!)

If you move, just spend as much time as you can going to Exeter. And doing things

There are families with children in Barnstaple you know 😂. It's a lovely part of the world and quite quick to connect to the M5.

Don't assume it's a rural idyll though. Loads of SW towns still have problems with drugs and other antisocial behaviour.

Is Barnstaple a seaside town now?

Barnstaple is lovely 👍

Bude is nice as well but obviously a bit further away from your family if you chose there instead.

Going against the grain here but I hate Barnstaple. I’m not sure I could think of a more boring place to live. Anyone who thinks it’s handy for the m5 has obviously never tried to to drive along the a361 in summer. There’s no guarantee anyone will be into surfing just because it’s near the north Devon coast, and it’s not really just a stones throw from Exeter.

I’ve worked in Barnstaple a lot and was always glad to get back out of there. Especially dull in winter.

Bristol is much better when the children are a little older. So much going on and good bus service.

Your small kids will love it. But when they become teenagers they might well resent not being in Bristol. And they will inevitably move away

I cannot imagine being a teen in Barnstable. Probably my least favourite place in Devon and I truly adore Devon. Personally would stay in Bristol.

I moved to bideford 16 years ago with 4 children aged 2, 4, 6 and 8. Still there and loving it! Day to day it’s great. Only downside is that I love live music so to see anyone big we have to travel but saying that there is a thriving music scene here with some amazing emerging artists.

But apart from bars and restaurants, the city centre is dieing on its arse because of the councils hatred of cars. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to navigate around. Lots of broadmead shopping area is closed or shitty charity shops. And lots of rough sleepers.

All that's being put in the centre of the city is student accommodation

There is an arena coming but will events actually take place there, given Cardiff is only 40 minutes away?

The nearest sea side is weston super mare...druggie central

I live in a town 12 miles from the centre of Bristol and never visit . The fact that we have one bus an hour for the 30k people who live here.

The nearest seaside to Bristol isn't Weston Super Mare it's Portishead or Clevedon.