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Original poster

DEVON dilemma- should we relocate??

21 replies

noonar · 22/02/2010 16:51

I am all in a whirl. we just got back from a week in devon and dh and i have fallen in love with (parts of) this lovely county. we are seriously considering moving there(200 miles from current home).

ok.... deep breaths.... am going to make a list of reason for and against...

For:
.property prices are much cheaper there and we have to move anyway to escape our huge mortgage
.dh and i would love to live in a semi rural location and think it would be fab for the dds
.local schools and are v good and have places available
.dh and i have lived in our home town since birth and are bored to tears with the thought of moving house locally
. dh is self employed and has been hit by recession. he is feeling quite low and mid life crisis-ish. we feel that change that we are both passionate about would be v positve
. dds are sociable and adaptable types
. been on holiday before to many places in uk and never before felt the urge to move

Against:
. leaving elderly relatives
. leaving friends
. dd1 -nearly 8 is totally distraught at prospect of leaving friends
. being terrified of, and unused to change
. being afraid of getting swept along by notions of an idyllic rural... and regretting it
. have a fab job share (primary teaching) at present and i think p/t teaching jobs in devon may be v hard to come by
. dh's future career prospects uncertain so i could be pushed into full time work in the short term

i think that covers it.

MN, please tell me what to do

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:09

.

OP posts:
overmydeadbody · 22/02/2010 17:12

Devon's a big place, and it varies a lot depending on where you are. Do you have a particular area in mind?

probono · 22/02/2010 17:12

Sounds alright to me. You won't be able to manage without a car, that's the only thing. Can you do something temporary, a six month rent or something? Suss out employment and lifestyle? I'd be considering a move in your position.

Just think, you could grow your own and have chickens and actually burn real fuel.

Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:12

yes. villages around totnes

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:14

exactly, pronobono... but maybe i'm romanticising te whole thing!

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:15

'pronobono'?? wtf! sorry, must proofread.

we would rent for a while as viewing properties from a distance could be v tricky

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castlesintheair · 22/02/2010 17:17

I would go for it but if you are moving from a city to rural at least move to a decent sized village with several amenities or you might find it a huge shock.

castlesintheair · 22/02/2010 17:18

x posts - renting first very wise.

Go for it, I think the fact that you both want to means you must!

bibbitybobbityhat · 22/02/2010 17:19

Can only say we moved from London to Devon for two years and hated it and are very happy to be back in the smoke now. Lived not too far from Totnes, too.

Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear .

JollyPirate · 22/02/2010 17:23

Hello noonar, I have been in a similar situation to you in that 10 years ago I moved from Essex to Somerset. It was a great county to live in and I loved it but in the end it was just too far away from my family for me. Everyone is different though and it may be that you could cope with this seperation. It was a 3 hour trip to see my Mum and sister and in the end I wanted to come back much to DH's disgust and annoyance (we separated over the issue).

Now I look with longing at Somerset but just feel that going back there would be a retro step for me.

Incidentally the cottage I bought when we first moved down is now a holiday cottage.
here.
When I pulled it up on the interweb for my HV colleagues to see the comments largely consisted of "F*ck me - what the hell did you come back to Basildon for".

Okay - cottage was tiny, rain leaked under front door when wind was in the right (or wrong) direction, it was damp and had mice. (Disclaimer - am sure the new owners have sorted out all those issues as it looks lovely).

My advice would be to go back and take a closer look at it all. I don't regret the 10 years I spent down in that part of the country and have good friends there who I still see.

Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:24

castles, thanks.

bibbity, i want a range of views, so am v interested. did you think you would love devon? what did you hate about it ? what made you move there in the first place?

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:28

castles, that's very interesting. it would be 4-4.5 hours to get back 'home' to brighton. i am thinking i could drive home maybe every 4-5 weeks or so. dh would have to come back every 3 weeks of so to attend to business interests he has in brighton and would need to maintain.

OP posts:
Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:29

sorry, meant jollypirate- not castles. told you i was all in a whirl.

OP posts:
bibbitybobbityhat · 22/02/2010 17:29

Too far away from friends and family, met only a very few like-minded people, hated lack of choice over places to go out to eat, lack of public transport, low salaries balanced out lower house prices etc. We went for dh's job. I don't regret it because it got it out of my system iyswim and now I know I want to stay put where I am for the time being.

Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:35

ok bibbity, thanks. as i'm not in london, maybe i wouldnt find the change so drastic. also, teachers' salaries would be same in devon so my salary would go further... can i ask if you expected to love it there, or if you were relucatant to move?

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BecauseImWorthIt · 22/02/2010 17:38

It's not that far away! Anyone would think you were talking about Australia!

For me, the critical thing would be knowing the true impact of the move in terms of you/your DH being able to work.

Original poster
noonar · 22/02/2010 17:48

good point re australia. that's what i need, a bit of perspective.

i'm sure i would be able to get a job, but i may have to resort to supply or f/t work. dh has some income from investments, and we would have a very low mortgage. i dont doubt that we would be able to make ends meet financially, but i may have to work more than i'd like initially.

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TwentiethCenturyHeffa · 22/02/2010 17:56

I've lived in Devon all my life and love it to bits so rather biased. It is a different pace of life to some places, there's not always huge amounts of things to do (although the cities are better than they were IMO) but you do have the fab countryside, beaches etc. The area around Totnes is beautiful. Not sure about teaching jobs, but in general employment isn't as hard to come by down here as some people seem to think (all our friends in London seem convinced that there are no jobs in the South West).

OrmRenewed · 22/02/2010 17:56

Did DD like it too? Is it just the thought of leaving her friends that upsets her? If so she will probably get over that quite soon if there are other positives.

I shouldn't think that p/t jobs in teaching are that hard to come by anywhere TBH.

Hattsmum · 22/02/2010 18:04

Just a few thoughts - Have lived in mid Devon for 8 years and it is a lovely place to live/grow up. House prices may be cheaper, but nothing else is, so don't assume your salary will go further. Totnes area will be one of the pricier places to buy a house.
Also, visits 'home' to Brighton might be tricky as you will want to get settled and make friends in Devon and this may not be achieved by spending every few weekends away with a long drive to Brighton...

bibbitybobbityhat · 22/02/2010 19:30

Hi noonar - I did expect to love it and was disappointed that I didn't.

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