Axminster/Honiton/Ottery St Mary? Your thoughts.

[regretsihaveafew]

I'm thinking of moving to be near the Jurassic coast and wondered if anyone who has lived in, or lives in any of the above places can give me their opinions and experiences and tips.
I shall be retired, would like somewhere with good road and rail links to Exeter and the coast, and basic services [food shops, library, doctor surgery, bank, cafe, park, garage etc].

Hi I live in this area, movedf down two years ago. Axminster is a lovely quiet town and well priced, with good rail links to London and Exeter. Not that much shopping though- Trinity House department shop, a Mole Avon, Tesco and Co-op plus some independents. Though it probably has got all the essentials. Honiton is bigger, busier with more shops, quite a good high street really including lots of antique shops. Ottery is quite flood prone, has reasonable shops including a smallish Sainsburys Otter Nurseries Garden Centre and has the annual Tar barrels contest. I would also recommend you consider Colyton, Sidmouth and Bridport though for rail links its Axminster and Honiton as they have stations. Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know or if youd like me to check anywhere out for you! You wont regret moving here its amazing :)

Thanks Red that's really helpful. Trying to get down to the area for a few days soon to house hunt. Whenever it stops raining

It seems Sidmouth and Bridport property prices are a bit higher so having to rule coastal resorts out I think, but who knows.

I love East Devon.

Sidmouth and Bridport are pricey as is Lyme Regis. if you would like cheaper coastal then look at Seaton. Which people are sniffy about but its actually quite nice and friendly.
I would be happy living in Honiton or Axminster, as it is I am about 5 miles from Axminster and regularly shop there. Some nice places to eat including Route 66 American diner cafe and La Pisana Italian. Also has River Cottage restaurant a nice Indian and Chinese. It's handy as friends can catch the train down from Waterloo. Please PM me if you like I would be happy to help or you are welcome to call by for coffee and chat when you get down here. East Devon has everything including lots to do and a great community.

Thank you Red for really useful info and will PM as soon as I can get something sorted....I may use Chardstock as a base for a couple of days in the next week or two.
So kind of you to offer coffee/chat too...you don't know how much that was appreciated.

It would be a pleasure :)
I am a mile and a half from the coast, you can just about hear the sea when it's rough; the air is so clean and the quality of the light is remarkable. It almost has a mediterranean feel during a good Summer.
I am so happy here I just love talking about the area!
The Tytherleigh Arms in Chardstock has a good reputation but is expensive. The George has just re-opened and I have heard good reports, I also like the Cotley Inn just up the road in Wambrook.
Look forward to hearing from you! Good luck :)

My grown up son has suggested I move to Ottery St Mary- great school apparently for dd. Just the small matter of a job...

Not sure steeply shelving pebbles are my idea of a perfect beach either.

Ottery would be a reasonable drive to Exeter for jobs. The beaches nearby vary, many of them have both sand and pebbles. They are all lovely beaches, the Jurassic coast is beautiful.

have a look at OSM and the bonfire boys and you might want to live on the outskirts, all good fun as a visitor though

Hi - I am just about to buy a house in Axminster as my husband’s retired and we want to move to Devon. Did you move there in 2016 and if so, are you happy you did? I’ll be looking for part time work but am worried how we’ll get to know people and start our new life down there! I’ve lived in Southampton in the same house for 23 years so it’ll be strange moving to a new town. Thanks for any information and advice.

Hi, my husband and I are looking to move to east devon in the next couple of years. We have 4 kids (will be 14, 8 and 3 year old twins when we move) and was wondering if anyone could tell me if Axminster is a good place to live? We will move and rent for at least a year to make sure it's where we want to live but because of schools we need to make sure we're pretty certain on the area, because the last thing I want to do is have my children change schools just to uproot them all again a year later 😬
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

We moved from SE a few years ago to East Devon. No children. Not Axminster.

We love the reduction in traffic, cleaner air, slower pace, friendlier people.

We're less keen on the cultural reduction (fewer gigs) and the amount of dog mess (that was a surprise) and we're dog owners ourselves. We hadn't factored in the extra hassle factor to travel internationally via London.

I'd recommend either Honiton (closer to Exeter) or Sherborne (closer to Salisbury/London) if you are heading this way. Axminster is probably fine but the fact that we never go there may be an indication of how we rate it.