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

[Typingonkeyboard]

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?

I grew up in South East Cornwall. If I had a decent well paid job there I would move back in a heart beat. But I am definitely not a party animal and like just wandering outdoors.
Walking distance of a beach - necessary so you don't have to worry about finding parking! Actually SE Cornwall is good as everyone drives right past it and goes further down county on holiday but the beaches there are great and accessed down cliff paths so that puts people off too.
I moved away for uni and work and never went back. Was good for seasonal work in the summers though.
Personally I would recommend going and staying in Cornwall for a week or two in the winter and then decide if you would like to live there. It is very different in the winter, and no it isn't the same as other places in the UK in the winter. Lots of stuff is shut. In fact I knew someone who was the only person who lived in her seaside village in the winter EVERY other house was a holiday house and so it was a ghost town in the winter (this was north cornwall).

I don't mean in Cornwall, I mean in the rest of the country. Cornwall is so far from anywhere, you can be really cut off. It means family don't see each other that often. Look at OP for example, barely knows Cornwall even though her parents live there.

Not 100% sure yet, but is likely i’d need to work. If we sold our house, we are looking at potentially a fairly healthy profit…hopefully! We would hope to have only a small mortgage

We really like it. It's very safe and not rough in terms of people. The town does have some less attractive buildings shall we say but most of them are slowly being redeveloped now. See the new Nici Hotels development of the Hotel Victoria, it's going to be very swish. I think some people at least must think we're up and coming! The stag dos we're perhaps known for have all but gone now, I hardly see any in town any more, I think they must go abroad now.

It is certainly busy in the summer but that mostly affects the roads and carparks as long as you live actually in Newquay then you can walk to everything. You just need to a allow a bit more time for commuting or travelling to anything further afield in Cornwall. In practice though i find thta often the holiday makers are coming in on the roads when I am going out and vice versa when I am coming back so it's not so bad and you get used to it.

As there are so many beaches there is quite a lot of room for everyone so it's easier to get a spot without being on top of the next lot. Perranporth beach really does get absolutely packed in the main part, but even there if you walk to the East side (check the tide) then it's practically deserted. Plus if you live down here you will eventually get to know the lesser known spots in Cornwall where you can get away from everyone. What I like about Newquay too is that it is large enough that there is still a community and events and things going on all year which is nice.

It is 100% better to buy. Renting is near impossible regardless of how much money you have, the demand ids just too great. I hear of people with 6 months or more rent upfront to offer who can't find anything because it's just not there. Buy if you can. You can see I linked above there are some cheap houses available here, of course if you have money then there are dear ones too!

We bought our house 15 years ago when they were half the price they are now and have paid it off (we're in our late thirties/early forties) so we are much luckier than most but our friends have just bought on our street and they make it work on two average incomes. I'm self employed (lots of people down here are) and my OH does delivery driving so we're not minted or anything but we're frugal and we find the lifestyle and leisure type stuff in Cornwall very affordable because it's mainly based on the natural beauty and enjoying that. It must be all the shops I can't go in that's saving me money I suppose.

I don't have children (I know, why am I here, blah, blah, blah? The answer is penis beaker) but I have nieces and nephews. I think it's better to be in a larger town like Newquay if you're going to move down here with kids as then when they're a bit older they can easily walk out to see their friends or take the bus/train and there is a bit more going on for them.

Far from anywhere is such a nonsense phrase. Wheres anywhere? Its not far from whats nearby. Its near lots of stuff

I don't live in the south west, I live in the suburb of a major city...

However if I was looking for the kind of dreamy lifestyle you were I'd choose somewhere like
Glossop- easy access to peak District and easy access to Manchester
Formby- beautiful beaches, easy access to Liverpool

Then you are living somewhere somewhat upmarket, access to flexible and skilled employment, places for teenagers to go to, whilst also being able to make the most of a beautiful area and a smaller local community

I appreciate your family live in Cornwall but I just don't think the life you are envisioning exists there... It sounds a bit enid blyton!

Oof, that might be tricky. Just about the world and his wife wants to come to Cornwall and teach Primary in a charming little town or village. If you need to rely on your income then I would secure the job before I moved if I wanted to carry on teaching Primary down here.

What exactly do you mean when you say Cornwall is more traditional than Manchester?

Maybe it is a "tight-knit, safe community", but it is one that you are not currently a part of, and may not be welcomed into with open arms. Why should they welcome you and not the rich poshos from London who are pricing their kids out of a home?

We lived in a small village in France for quite a few years and there are definitely pluses and minuses. We spoke near-perfect French and people were completely civil, but it was clear (although never stated in so many words) that there were areas of village life that were off-limits to us. An example: we lived next door to the mayor. After 6 months we got new neighbours, a French couple from the other end of France. One evening we and a few other neighbours were having drinks in our garden. The woman mentioned one evening within earshot of the mayor that she was thinking of standing for the council at the next election. It was made abundantly clear to her - again, not in so many words - that this was Not Going To Happen, and indeed it didn't. The point is, in a village, you have to get on with people even if you don't want to. In a city you have a much bigger choice of people to make friends with.

Also, it may be a tight-knit community, but it isn't necessarily safe. In our French village there was a local family who were basically feral. Everybody avoided them whenever possible. And there was the man across the road from us with severe learning difficulties who was often hanging around our gate when DD13 was coming home from school. He only moved away when his parents died - we didn't find where to exactly.

It’s a lot slower in Cornwall compared to Manchester. My sister for example has lived and worked in both. There is far far less traffic, traffic jams, people everywhere and the pace of life is gentler. Yes people still obviously work and have busy lives, but, for example, my sister sits in barely any traffic after work, heads to the beach to unwind with the dogs and kids and maybe a picnic…

My partner's parents uprooted him and his sister to move to Cornwall and it turns out the locals were incredibly racist to the emmets 🤔 he had a miserable fucking time but enjoyed the beaches, now lives in London. Ironically we still visit for holidays!

I know it, but obviously you can’t know it from visiting in the same way as living there

Thank you, that’s so helpful!

Sorry, quoted the wrong post - this was supposed to be in response to

See, living down here, I disagree entirely. If you're going to live down here then you want to live within walking distance of the coast so that you can easily visit it in the summer and actually benefit from living so close to the natural beauty and being able to enjoy it easily. The worst thing about living in Cornwall is trying to travel to the beach on the roads in the summer and then get parked.

I love Glossop! I grew up not massively far from there and if all the family were still up North, I’d definitely consider it…but also, no sea 🌊

Sounds boring af

Honestly, life is what you make it...
As above, I live in a surburb of Manchester
DH and I both work part time
Our kids spent years going to forest school
They are at a lovely church primary and even though not religious I feel part of the community
We can commute easily to Manchester city centre
Kids love the museums and we regularly go to the theatre
However after school on Friday it was warm so we went out boating
We go to a farm for ice cream every sunday

It depends what lifestyle you want
We don't go abroad for holidays, have one car, and our house is on the ramshackle side but we spend lots of time with our children enjoying culture and the outdoors
Obviously we do t homeschool but a friend does, there are homeschool communities, museums run home education days

So sorry to add, I'm not saying move to Manchester but maybe think creatively about how you can improve things?

My point is that you don't visit very often. So when your DD grows up and moves away, is she going to visit you often? It's a long way from anywhere else in the country.

I do want the Enid Blyton life yes 🤣

What was supposed to be in response to my comment?

😂

Follow your dream.
I don’t live there, but I’m seriously thinking about it, I just wish I had done it years ago when DCs were young, and could have really benefited from water sports and the beautiful environment.

There’s good and bad wherever you live.

Maybe…but I am these days..so

I have lived in Cornwall, and I hated it. Partly because I was so far from family, but also from EVERYTHING. But. I brought up children who spent every Sunday walking the dog on beaches, and they have fond memories of their childhood. Long story, but we relocated in their teens, and they don't look back. Their friends have all moved 'up country'.

There isn't really much special about Cornwall unless you feel you belong there - you can find rural elsewhere. Maybe somewhere drier. I left Cornwall over ten years ago, but when I left there, getting a teaching job was difficult. I moved and walked into a job. Have not struggled since. My friend's daughter has moved to Devon and cannot get a primary job, and she isn't even UPS.

It rains. A lot. My grown up kids laugh when people moan about a few days rain. In Cornwall, the winters were never as cold as the rest of the UK, but rain, rain and rain. In the summer, traffic everywhere. Bit of wasteland next to the beach where we parked for free was suddenly a fiver for the day. A lot more than that now.

I would suggest renting out your house and living in Newquay for a year. If you get a job and it still looks good, maybe. I know people in Newquay, and it is not a good place for teenagers. I also know people who moved to Cornwall and rate it as the best thing they ever did. I try not to have regrets, but Cornwall is one of mine. I have made my peace with it because of my children's childhoods, but there were better options for me, and I wish I had thought about them.