Whats Plymouth like to live in?

[calsie]

Hi am relocating to the area and will be working at Derriford Hospital. I am moving with my young family from the north west near Manchester.
We are planning to move to Saltash (st germans) - if we can find a rental which is proving hard :(.

I have had lots of mixed reviews about Plymouth for instance some have said crime rates are very high an is generally quite poor. Others have said how lovely it is.

Although I won't be living in Plymouth I just wanted some info and what it is like in general. Bearing in mind i am from near manchester so crime rates can be very high here too.

Thank you :)

Hi calsie - you've probably got mixed reviews as Plymouth is a pretty mixed place! Some of it is pretty rough, some is more "middle class" I suppose. I don't live there but I do work there. Compared with London where I used to work, its pretty good in that on the whole people are friendlier and more laid back, but there is a lot of poverty.

On the other hand it is relatively small and very easy to get out of and be in the country. What they call rush hour here is literally under an hour!

You mention St Germans - that's well outside Plymouth, over the bridge in Cornwall. Lovely place, nice primary school, nearest secondary is Saltash. There's a toll bridge into Plymouth but you don't pay on the way out.

Lots of people commute to Derriford from villages or small towns outside Plymouth, but I have to warn you parking is a nightmare there for staff as they have a very limited amount of parking and most people have to use park and ride.

Hth - good luck!

What about Launceston? Not as far away s it looks, I have friends commute from there and it is less than 30 mins. Good choice of primary in Launceston and the secondary is fab. Saltash is ok but the advantage of going a bit further is better school options, more rental opps and a reasonable drive from the north coast. A wealth of fantastic beaches -- Bude, widemouth, Crackington.

A great place to live with small and growing children lots of different things to do and good access to good value rainy day activities which should be a consideration

PM me if you like I live in Cornwall and know Launceston,, callington and Plymouth pretty well and relocated back here from london 8 years ago.

Launceston to Plymouth in less than 30 mins? What route do they use or do they just drive exceptionally fast? I live 10 miles closer than Launceston and it takes 30 mins on a good day!

Kelly bray, callington, that route? Tho to be fair they work shifts so roads dead quiet and not travelling right into Plymouth? Is 45 mins more accurate?

OK, maybe going that way off peak, its quite a fast road! I was thinking of the Tavi - Yelverton way. I've got a friend who's just moved from Launceston to Plymouth and that was the way she was commuting I think, she kept complaining about how long it took her.

I've just put it into Google maps and it says it takes 49 minutes (46 without traffic) from Launceston to Plymouth. If that helps at all?

Newton Ferrers is lovely if you'd like to be by the water but not actually in Plymouth (22 minutes from Plymouth according to Google maps again) bit pricey though down there. [Smile]

If I may, I would say that the real problem is when you hit the Tamar Bridge and the Plymouth traffic. Travel times double at that point.
It takes as long to get to Derriford from where I live as it does to get to Newton Abbot - and it only takes 10 more minutes to get to Exeter
(although getting into Exeter is a different matter).

I think the roads from St Germans are winding and difficult. They are not fast roads and can be accident prone. You need to be nearer to the A388/390 and A 38 corridor.

I would say Callington is as far as you want to go out from Derriford. Launceston is a bit too far and a slower road drive wise. (I did it for six years when I worked at Camelford). Otherwise Tavistock is easier especially coming in to the North to Derriford. The moors road can be hard and dark (and is restricted on speed) in winter especially. Its a long drive. Coming across the A388 or 390 is easier.

However, the advantages of living out far outweigh the drive time.

In Plymouth, really Crownhill Hartley and part of Manadon and part of Derriford itself are now "decent" areas to live. I am Plymouthian and lived there all morelife and loved it, but even I had to get out. Plymouth schools ( aside of the Grammar schools) have never been good. They havent aged well since I was young either. You may hear differently but when you get here, after a while of settling, will be amazed at what the locals will accept as "good".

I spent a lot of time away and it opened my eyes about Plymouth and how poor it really was. Schools out are better but even they are dropping in standards. So no good news at all there. On the other hand, it is a privlege to live in such a beautiful area ( even if it does cost so much) and even along drive home is relaxing once you are out of town. Whilst its not good for kids education, its a good quality of life.

Dear Plymouth residents, is it too much to ask for a good list of suburbs to live in your city? What to avoid ?Would you advice anyone to live there?
Is it a good choice thinking of culture aspects? Where to think to buy a property apart from expensive areas?
Do you know anything about areas like Morice Town, Ford, East End?
Any advice would be great and appreciated, also I couldn't find a good map showing delimitation of the suburbs. Please help!

It tends (and this is a massive generalisation so apologies as if I offend anyone) that the further east you go across the city the more social issues there are. Plympton and ply stock are pleasant with good schools. The north/central parts of the city -Hartley/Compton are quite affluent. City centre areas such as mutely/greenbank/st.judes are very student dominated though there are some lovely Victorian houses with bags of potential (but don't have much garden). North Prospect/Whitleigh tend (again very sweeping judgement) a lot more social problems. Plymouth is a very mixed city but, it can feel very isolated from the rest of the U.K. But the opportunities for easy access to moors and coast is amazing.

Hello, does anyone know if the new school 'the red house' is any good? Any feedback locally? I'm looking for a slight alternative for my son and would appreciate any feedback? Thank you

Creative arts? My youngest son is in the secondary there - we love it and my son is doing well. The kids all seem to really enjoy the school as well (which is weird to see in secondary aged kids!)

It is quite a different approach though so worth having a look around on a school day before deciding anything. If you can get to watch this film (or read the book) it gives some idea of the sort of philosophy www.mltsfilm.org There are differences - but it helped me understand the ideas behind their approach.

I don't know much about the primary.

Thank you so much for your reply :) , he is 12 now so is currently in year 7 and is really not getting on with the normal type curriculum. We are looking to moving to the Plymouth area and this school really stands out, thank you I will watch the film.

It's quite hard to find the film - but you may find bits of it on YouTube.

We are really pleased with it. The relationship between the students and teachers is amazing. Very collaborative and positive. Because there are pretty much no doors on the place and teachers eat with students bullying seems well managed (my son is a bit quirky - , quite shy and was the only one who went from his primary - he has settled really well).

The work they do is usually really interesting - my son is quite motivated to work and has been really enthusiastic about some of the projects. They often get given projects for half the term to work through - so they have to be able to manage their workload.

Comparing to the grammar (another child at one of those) the children at creative arts are given more respect for their own views, they are encouraged more and they really work on explaining to the kids why they are doing the things the way they are.

I work at Derriford and live in Liskeard. Personally I love it here, and have lived in a few of the villages in east Cornwall. We chose to live in east Cornwall as the commute is similar to living in Plymouth (Due to city traffic) but we couldn't afford to rent anything in the nice areas with a garden (we have pets). Can get so much more across the tamar bridge :)
The commute in the mornings to derriford is fine (although everyone is struggling with the roadworks at the moment). I leave at 7:20 and takes 40 mins with traffic, 25ish on a weekend.
There is also a lot in Liskeard food/cafe wise which I like. Saltash is also nice, though with anywhere there's nice bits and not so nice! Tideford and landrake are pretty, but there's not so much there.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions etc :)