To say please don't go to your second home

[Beesisabuzzin]

With talk of London going into lockdown tomorrow can I remind second home owners that Cornwall has one hospital. Devon has four hospitals. Where I live in Devon there is no food in any of the supermarkets. Please, please stay away, our communities cannot deal with an influx.

NannyOgg - who the hell are the nine percent?

Second home own

I think anyone travelling anywhere - whether second home or to look after vulnerable relatives etc should isolate on arrival. And should also bring food and meds to last as long as possible.

I may need to relocate to look after disabled and over 70. If so I will isolate in any event on arrival even in the absence of any symptom - we know we may have it and be ‘contagious’ before we realise.

Norfolk and Suffolk are only 90mins away from London, so the area has always been a mecca for holiday home owners. Many of the villages are usually deserted during the winter and locals can't afford to buy or rent.
All the pubs and restaurants will stay open to feed and water them all, as long as there is no total lockdown, so increasing the risk for everyone.

Just been out to my local Lidl, there is fresh fruit and veg, a little bread, milk, butter and Easter Eggs. I did stop to ask neighbour if she needed anything and she didn't and said neighbour the other side had also offered but she wouldn't ask anyone even if she needed it. I said that was silly, what is she has something I need and I have something she needs or can get it, shouldn't we all help each other. She thought about it and said yes she will ask. Not sure if she will, she is very independent but I hope she will.

In Lidl there was no thick white sliced bread which DH likes for his toast, a lady with a little one in the trolley realised there was no tea and I sypathised and said I'd come for a white thick sliced but had to settle for thin sliced brown, her little one grabbed their loaf out of the trolley and showed me they had one and his mum said she'd swap with me. I declined and thanked her and said DH would survive but I thought how lovely with all the selfish talk that there are random acts of kindness.

I also got some of GC's favourite bread rolls so dropping them round to their doorstep later.

Hope everyone keeps well and helps each other.

I live in Devon and agree completely!
If anyone is considering coming to the south west please DON’T!
We have limited resources, no food and A LOT of VULNERABLE and ELDERLY.
Please stay where you are!
Our NHS resources are so limited and will not cope!
DO NOT BE SELFISH!

@SarahInAccounts exactly who are those of us who are “glad enough of the city dwellers’ money when it suits them”?

Glad that you’ve pushed property prices so high that our children can’t afford to live here? Glad that your demand for artisanal wankery means there are no jobs beyond minimum wage retail? Glad that you think because you have a second home in a rural area that you suddenly know everything about the realities of rural living even though you’re insulated from it by your 6 figure London income? Yeah, don’t make me laugh.

Absolutely agree. Selfish in the extreme if they do this but I bet they will if they can. Lockdown needs to happen now.

I’m not sure it would be so bad if ID was asked for at shops.

Although you probably couldn’t get away with it. Can understand the desire.

My DD works in London ,( working from home now in a tiny shared flat ) I would prefer her to come and live with us for a while in the countryside where she can get some decent fresh air , and we can look after each other

I totally agree!! Cornwall will not cope!!

This was another reason to keep schools open. I can see if you live in London the thought of fleeing to the country appeals but you will spread this virus if you do. You will not get the health cars you would if you stayed in London as small local hospitals just won't cope with an influx of people. On top of that the shops wont cope. But people are selfish and only do what they think is best for their family

I agree
Bumping

Also Lake District. I would like a ventilator if I need one so don’t come if you don’t live here.

Ironically we came to our weekend place (town where grown up kids/grandchildren live) last week to do some DIY as our last trip before our baby arrives in 8 weeks. Whilst here the advice for pregnant women to socially withdraw was issued, now we hear London may go into lockdown in the coming days. Despite our grocery shops in London being hard hit by idiot hoarders, I don’t want to miss antenatal appointment or have the baby here!!!! Nightmare- will be heading back to a London in Monday and hoping we make it! There is one good hospital close by but this town has an enormous aged population and the writing is pretty much on the wall....

I don’t agree with this one I’m afraid. If I lived in London where the risk of getting CV is highest and people are behaving like feral dimwits and I had a second home somewhere peaceful and less densely populated I’d bloody well go to it if I wanted to. I’ve been self isolating and social distancing for a week already anyway, like a good citizen. I don’t see what difference it would make to anyone where I chose to do it, if I was in the privacy of my own home.

The issue is not where people go, it’s how they behave once they get there.

@SarahInAccounts exactly who are those of us who are “glad enough of the city dwellers’ money when it suits them”?

Glad that you’ve pushed property prices so high that our children can’t afford to live here? Glad that your demand for artisanal wankery means there are no jobs beyond minimum wage retail? Glad that you think because you have a second home in a rural area that you suddenly know everything about the realities of rural living even though you’re insulated from it by your 6 figure London income? Yeah, don’t make me laugh.

Sarah doesn’t know the difference between second home owners and tourism, so she won’t have a clue about those issues, ginger.

Second home owners already badly impact the economy of many rural and seaside settlements, as you say. We don’t need them here overwhelming our creaking health systems in a time of crisis.

The issue is not where people go, it’s how they behave once they get there.

True, for the healthy ones.
What about those who are already infected? Some may not even know it yet.

I have been very worried about how it's going to hit Cornwall, as they have a higher population of elderly as it's a popular place to retire to.
My grandad is one of those who moved to Cornwall to retire and he absolutely would not survive CV, so all I can do is encourage him to stay inside.

Second home owners should think about the local hospitals, but I think that it's likely that they will go to their second home anyway.

I'm in a similar situation to midlifebaby. I'm staying with my parents in a rural area but need to get back to the city before any potential lockdown. These are going to be plenty of tourists and second home owners turning up here any minute now though, again, overwhelming the local facilities.

@PieceOfMaria I get what you're saying, but a) people are behaving like feral idiots here too and b) it's not just about covid, other health issues will still be happening and the people who provide those services are already stretched and becoming more stretched. Great if you come here and don't bring the virus but what if you god forbid get ill with something else? And to be honest it's getting so you'd be just as likely to catch it in a rural area. You can't stay in forever!

pieceofmaria the problem is if these people get ill when there they will be sent back to London. No one can guarantee they will remain fit and healthy and most services are now shut indefinitely. Spreading the virus is a huge concern but so is no services for locals never mind second home owners.

@PieceOfMaria Your hypothetical situation is assuming you don’t have the virus. Say you do - you get to your ‘peaceful’ second home, then become ill, potentially overwhelming limited local services and spreading the virus to others.

Even if you remain well, you’re still impacting local services like food availability (hint - it won’t be the local people at the bottom of the list for food),

More generally, staying in your local area allows the virus to be more easily controlled - and surely that’s what we all want? The damn thing controlled and ‘killed’ as quickly as possible.

If I lived in London where the risk of getting CV is highest and people are behaving like feral dimwits and I had a second home somewhere peaceful and less densely populated I’d bloody well go to it if I wanted to

It doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but this is exactly what people will do. A thread on MN to appeal to second homers isn't going to change a thing.

As the hideous saying goes: I have no skin in this game, but these are unprecedented times. People are panicking and not behaving well, but I struggle to judge people for doing what they think is best to protect their families.

They'll probably end up realizing it was a mistake.

The comments about deliberately 'ostracizing' people and so on is unpleasant to read though. That's the last thing the world needs right now.