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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To just say F it and move to Cornwall and homeschool my Dc

304 replies

Typingonkeyboard · 27/04/2026 20:15

Or find a lovely little village school and spend our days living a slow, traditional life

It’s my dream

Has anyone got this, am I being realistic?

OP posts:
Typingonkeyboard · 29/04/2026 20:08

HatStickBoots · 29/04/2026 19:32

OP wants to move to Newquay or Perranporth to be close to family. They are working on opening up the old rail link from Newquay to Fal, which will be great when that’s finished. As others have said, the public transport is pretty bad and takes much longer to get around than if you’ve got a car. I highly recommend having a car so you can explore the county as much as you can. I don’t blame you for wanting to move here at all. I’ve been forced to live elsewhere in the uk at times in my life; London and the south east and have never been so depressed in my life. I’m an artist, my family are artists, musicians or carpenters. Some people start their own businesses here if they’re chefs, artists/crafters, joiners, electricians, plumbers, gardeners etc. Personally I don’t mind the weather until it gets really bad. The worst weather recently was storm Garretti. That caused the county to be without electricity and in some parts water for weeks, not to mention the destruction of so many of our beautiful trees. I think one of the saddest aspects is that BT have done away with landlines which does cut you off now if you’ve got no wifi or broadband. Our phone signal is patchy, at the bottom of a hill and there’ll be no signal at all if I walk to the next beach. I like the winters here, all seasons in fact. I was in a beach cafe with my son having Christmas dinner sandwiches on a December morning watching the sun hovering over the sea and a few oyster catchers and curlews on the reefs. There’s a quiet beauty. There’s mizzle and torrential downpours and a good waterproof coat and hat are essential. Your kids can learn to surf and life guard. You will love the coast paths and the beautiful views, the flora and fauna, the beaches and wildlife, the wide open spaces, the fresh food cooked locally in restaurants and cafes. I don’t need shopping malls or beauty parlours but I go to Truro and Falmouth to shop because we’re on the south coast.
I agree with others points about second home owners pricing locals out of the housing market, rents are high. I suggest going through all your stuff and selling or donating all non essential or sentimental belongings because houses and rooms can be small.

If you’re drawn here and want to do it, do it, you’ve only got one life. Do some research, read some books, come and visit and stay with your family and decide. Good luck!

Such a positive post! Thank you!

OP posts:
Holdinguphalfthesky · 29/04/2026 20:47

Typingonkeyboard · 29/04/2026 20:08

Such a positive post! Thank you!

I agree with @Corvidsarethebest - do you have an aim to the thread, some advice or guidance you would like? It isn’t clear whether it’s the principle of your idea you want support for (which I would say go for, we only live once) or the nitty-gritty details of carrying it out (which realistically need thinking about more, including the down sides).

puppycuddles · 29/04/2026 21:43

You seem to have this fantasy about having a wonderful life in Cornwall. Many posters have pointed out the realities of living there. If you're serious about moving then you need to figure out if you can realistically afford to live there, how do you plan to pay the bills? Will your dc be truly happy? Depending on where you choose to live your dc could feel very isolated, especially if you choose to homeschool and/ or you live in a rural location.

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:08

puppycuddles · 29/04/2026 21:43

You seem to have this fantasy about having a wonderful life in Cornwall. Many posters have pointed out the realities of living there. If you're serious about moving then you need to figure out if you can realistically afford to live there, how do you plan to pay the bills? Will your dc be truly happy? Depending on where you choose to live your dc could feel very isolated, especially if you choose to homeschool and/ or you live in a rural location.

And yet many do live wonderful lives in cornwall....

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:11

WallaceinAnderland · 29/04/2026 15:00

They literally stand in groups on the pavement. You can be walking along the high street and suddenly, bam, they stop. They take up all the space as if they are totally oblivious to other pavement users 😂

You can't nip anywhere in the summer, everything takes so much longer. Seaside towns are always much nicer out of season.

Could you walk around them, much like people do in cities? Share the space

MissDixieVoom · 29/04/2026 22:36

@Typingonkeyboard when you go to a small school you HAVE to get on with people. There were six children in my year. We played with each other, went to school, birthday parties, youth clubs, brownies, etc ALWAYS with those six people. You couldn't afford to fall out with each other, and that is really hard. I think that shapes your personality, and you learn to always keep a lid on resentment, anger, irritation, and never express it. And that's with six people. Home schooling can limit your social interactions even further. Cornwall is already an area that has high levels of second homes, and not many young people growing up in the villages there because young families are priced out of accommodation.

I moved to a larger town with my children, and have not regretted it. They have a really wide social circle, and loads of opportunities for clubs.

MissDixieVoom · 29/04/2026 22:39

To add to my last message, village life sounds idyllic when you have primary school children. It's bloody awful as a teenager when the rural bus services have been pared to the bone. I spent a lot of time feeling like I had been buried alive.

PigletJohn · 29/04/2026 22:46

MissDixieVoom · 29/04/2026 22:36

@Typingonkeyboard when you go to a small school you HAVE to get on with people. There were six children in my year. We played with each other, went to school, birthday parties, youth clubs, brownies, etc ALWAYS with those six people. You couldn't afford to fall out with each other, and that is really hard. I think that shapes your personality, and you learn to always keep a lid on resentment, anger, irritation, and never express it. And that's with six people. Home schooling can limit your social interactions even further. Cornwall is already an area that has high levels of second homes, and not many young people growing up in the villages there because young families are priced out of accommodation.

I moved to a larger town with my children, and have not regretted it. They have a really wide social circle, and loads of opportunities for clubs.

And also the opportunity to break away and form new relationships. I knew several youngsters who grew up better from joining scouts, cadets, sports and drama groups, holiday jobs, with an empty page and no preset expectations.

puppycuddles · 29/04/2026 22:53

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:08

And yet many do live wonderful lives in cornwall....

I'm sure they do. I grew up in and still live near to a very similar sort of place. So much of what has been described here, good and bad, could be describing the place I grew up in.

Which is why I, and other posters, are telling the OP to do her research carefully before moving. It's not going to be the idyllic life she's hoping for if her family are struggling to pay bills because of a lack of work. She (and her partner?) have to figure out if they can find suitable work that will give them the life they're dreaming of. The lovely life she's envisioning for her dc might not play out that way either, depending on location and finances, so it's helpful that posters are describing what life is like for children and teenagers, both the good and bad points.

marmitemonkey · 29/04/2026 23:04

Late to the thread. I have lived in perranporth for 14 years. I love it (and have come from a big city - met a cornishman and stayed). Perranporth is a beautiful town with lots of lovely people, very family orientated and the school is brilliant (but often full). My kids (pre teen and teen) love the community here and have lots of clubs and activities they do.

In the summer it is a buzzing place, lots of small businesses, pubs, restaurants. One time, just after covid, perran got too full and the police stopped people, this is not a regular thing. Yes, it gets busy on summer days however being local you go to other spots locally where tourists do not. Yes sometimes the summer holidays brings problems however we get the beautiful place for the rest of the year, and a lot of local livelihoods rely on it.

If you like the bustle of a city, probably not for you. If you like nature, outdoors and a strong community then it is a great place to live. The winter weather can be hard, but we don't mind this.

There is a strong home schooling community in cornwall and I know a few people who do this and have really good networks.

It's about researching whether it is the place for you and your family, and whether you can secure housing and jobs.

WhereTheHellAreMyGlasses · 30/04/2026 09:46

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:11

Could you walk around them, much like people do in cities? Share the space

Cities have broad pavements! Tiny little historic fishing villages and medieval towns have very narrow pavements, and the roads they border are barely wide enough for modern cars. You can literally get stuck behind pedestrians as surely as if you were in a traffic jam on the roads. Fine if you’re on holiday and have all the time in the world, but not so good if your trying to pick up your repeat prescription before the chemist shuts.

WallaceinAnderland · 30/04/2026 11:21

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:11

Could you walk around them, much like people do in cities? Share the space

No! That's what I'm saying. The pavement is busy, crammed with tourists walking along and suddenly they stop en masse. They don't move to one side or stand in a line, they just stop in a group so suddenly you're likely to literally walk into them.

There's no way around them. You have to squeeze your way through them, trying to get them to move over a bit. It gets very trying when you're just trying to run your errands.

PigletJohn · 30/04/2026 11:56

Flamingojune · 29/04/2026 22:11

Could you walk around them, much like people do in cities? Share the space

If you travel on the underground in summer, you will see frequent visitors standing on the wrong side of the escalator, and sometimes the much more dangerous rube who steps off at the bottom, and stands there, gazing around and blocking the hundreds of others trying to pour off and dissipate.

When a backpacker is in the way, I grab the pack and move it.

patate10 · 01/05/2026 14:49

We're not even really fully rural but I now am a taxi driver for my kids trying to fit in my full time job. I fantasise about living in London so they could get tube/buses!!

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:11

MissDixieVoom · 29/04/2026 22:39

To add to my last message, village life sounds idyllic when you have primary school children. It's bloody awful as a teenager when the rural bus services have been pared to the bone. I spent a lot of time feeling like I had been buried alive.

Do you speak for all teenagers in cornwall?

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:14

PigletJohn · 30/04/2026 11:56

If you travel on the underground in summer, you will see frequent visitors standing on the wrong side of the escalator, and sometimes the much more dangerous rube who steps off at the bottom, and stands there, gazing around and blocking the hundreds of others trying to pour off and dissipate.

When a backpacker is in the way, I grab the pack and move it.

4 million use the tube per day in london. Very few reported escalator accidents? Perhaps people manage

YourWinter · 01/05/2026 15:15

There are small village schools all over the UK and most of them feed into big secondary schools taking pupils from a wide area.

I love the coast but I definitely wouldn’t want to live anywhere that attracted tourists.

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:16

WallaceinAnderland · 30/04/2026 11:21

No! That's what I'm saying. The pavement is busy, crammed with tourists walking along and suddenly they stop en masse. They don't move to one side or stand in a line, they just stop in a group so suddenly you're likely to literally walk into them.

There's no way around them. You have to squeeze your way through them, trying to get them to move over a bit. It gets very trying when you're just trying to run your errands.

It must be tough living in a place so beautiful that others pay to visit.

WallaceinAnderland · 01/05/2026 18:32

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:16

It must be tough living in a place so beautiful that others pay to visit.

I don't live in those places any more, for the reasons many have given on this thread.

MissDixieVoom · 01/05/2026 19:43

@Flamingojune I spoke for myself and my own experiences. As you can deduce from the words "I spent a lot of time feeling like I had been buried alive." I'm not pretending to speak for anyone else.

Lidlisthebusiness · 01/05/2026 19:50

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:11

Do you speak for all teenagers in cornwall?

This poster may not be, but it's a well known thing that teens, both schooled and home ed, choose to leave the county quite sharpish, unless they're particularly drawn to watersports or seasonal work. Teen pregnancy is also a local issue down here. On her first visit to me after having one of my children, the HV told me that early parenthood is one of the choices a lot of young girls make as there's nothing much else for them to do.

Lidlisthebusiness · 01/05/2026 19:52

Flamingojune · 01/05/2026 15:16

It must be tough living in a place so beautiful that others pay to visit.

Living here, and visiting because it's pretty are two totally different things.

PigletJohn · 01/05/2026 20:54

Lidlisthebusiness · 01/05/2026 19:50

This poster may not be, but it's a well known thing that teens, both schooled and home ed, choose to leave the county quite sharpish, unless they're particularly drawn to watersports or seasonal work. Teen pregnancy is also a local issue down here. On her first visit to me after having one of my children, the HV told me that early parenthood is one of the choices a lot of young girls make as there's nothing much else for them to do.

The Telegraph will be on to them.

NotMeNorI · 02/05/2026 19:03

Move to Shropshire! Tiny village schools, affordable housing and lots of lovely villages. As long as you don't regularly need an ambulance, it's great 😂

ForCosyLion · 02/05/2026 21:18

NotMeNorI · 02/05/2026 19:03

Move to Shropshire! Tiny village schools, affordable housing and lots of lovely villages. As long as you don't regularly need an ambulance, it's great 😂

Sounds great! Whereabouts do you recommend?