Tell me about moving to Cornwall?

[Seasider6]

My DH’s family is from Cornwall and we spend a lot of our school holidays there. DH is now talking about moving (working from home is now standard in his company) and how good it would be for the kids.

There’s no doubt the kids would love that lifestyle, but I don’t know what it’s really like to live there! although his family is from there, he didn’t grow up there either (they moved around a little and then back when he was growing up).

Did anyone relocate from London to Cornwall?

What is it like for kids? Teens especially? Which areas would you go for? I’m drawn to places like St Ives, but perhaps that’s because they’re lovely to visit?

I don’t know how it’d feel going from London to Cornwall, although we do have a lot of family there. Anyone got any experience with that?

And I’m concerned that as an “outsider”, I’d never properly belong...

Sadly in Folkestone the racecourse has closed. No horses there anymore! Just a wasteland. I’d take somewhere in Suffolk such as Woodbridge over Folkstone any time.

@PresentingPercy wages in Cornwall are substantially lower and the job market outside of hospitality/tourism/NHS/teachers is very limited.

My DPs exW and her DP are teachers and can't afford a house locally.

I'm qualified (have an MSc, fluent in several languages and have many years of experience) and yet the best salary I've ever found is £25k/£35k at a push. My previous role was £60k.

My company pays around £25k depending on your area/expertise. Everybody knows it's low paying but they accept it because it's Cornwall.

The same goes for the University. My exH had a pay cut but a promotion in title when we moved here.

I live in the home counties and wages for teachers are exactly the same in the north of my county. Schools are funded in exactly the same way. They get a bit more in the south of the county as it is nearer to London. House prices are very similar in the north of my county to Cornwall too. There is plenty of choice for houses in Cornwall at say, £200,000 if you are prepared to move away fronm the coast. Earning £30,000 plus as teachers (and most do - I am a school governor) then £60,000 pa x 3 makes a house perfectly doable. It would not be in many places nearer to London. It is difficult (ish) in the North of my county. Impossible in the south. Like just about everywhere, you simply cannot be choosy. However it is not true to say that earning £35,000 in Cornwall cannot equate to a house if you have a professional partner. The same applies more or less anywhere where wages are lower. In fact management in schools earn a lot more. Nearer £60,000.

Unfortunately your languages will not be valued in Cornwall. I am not remotely surprised about that. DD is a MFL grad and is a barrister. There are always choices to be made whatever degree you have and wherever you choose to live. However owning a house is no more diffcult in Cornwall than lots of other average places as long as you keep away from the hot spots.

Yes, but of that's where you happen to work/go to school it's a nightmare. We could.afford to buy in Cambourne but work in Truro/ The Roseland, which would have made it very very hard. We were able to afford in Truro, so I'm not saying it's impossible, but salaries are definitely substantially lower here than most other regions

When we bought our house, dh was an RN Officer and I worked in Local Government. When I switched to teaching, my salary was better, and as dh got promoted, that helped too.

It's certainly about £20k cheaper at least where we are than where my Mum lives in Devon, about 15 minutes away.

Moving to Cornwall because you want to give your children an ideal playground is a lovely idea, and Cornwall is a beautiful place be young. Primary education is generally good to outstanding. I think the problems come with the teenage years. You probably know already that most of pretty Cornwall is on the coasts, so north coast for surfers and south coast for sailors. All those areas are also prime holiday cottage country. The village I grew up in was 75% holiday homes and largely uninhabited in winter, 15 years ago. And all this is okay if you bring your work and have money.

Which leaves the ugly bits inland, where you will see the reality of rural poverty. Boredom for teenagers, and drug abuse. While I don't want to get controversial, I think rural poverty is actually worse than urban poverty, because you cant easily see anything better that you might aspire to. If you can, it's hard to get to work, because public transport is appalling to non existent. There is a reason that all car dealers send their oldest cheapest cars to Cornwall to be sold. Work is picking veg or flowers in all weathers, or food processing, or hospitality, and not work that engages the mind. And it's all paid at NMW.

My advice is to come to Cornwall, because it is wonderful, but leave the rose tinted glasses at home.

My advice is to come to Cornwall, because it is wonderful

@XingMing villages that are 75% holiday homes, drugs and significant rural poverty? Sorry but it doesn’t sound wonderful to me

Xing is right, it is wonderful, but be aware of the realities. I've spent most of the past 14 years living abroad, but wanting to come home to Cornwall.

My village isn't 75% holiday homes, and is mainly owner occupied. People tend to work in Plymouth, as that's where the Civil service, Local Authority, NHS and MOD jobs are for this end of the county.

@buttery81... a bit of a selective quotation there... I also said leave the rose-tinted glasses at home.

Watch the two-part Simon Reeve documentary if you can find it on iPlayer/catch-up-TV. it captures both the beauty of the county and the grinding poverty that the tourists and the relatively well-to-do don't see.

The school question is interesting. We are Plymouth. I'm from Penzance. Kids sit the 11+ from quite far down into cornwall to get into the Plymouth grammars. That kind of says something about the Cornish schools.

I went to cape Cornwall secondary. I loved it but that was in the 90's. My primary experiences in penzance were dire though.

Truro and Falmouth are nice I'm really keen on Falmouth now.

I'm not moving home because the kids have so much infrastructure up here. I have a van down the lizard though it's best of both worlds.

@nevernotstruggling can I ask what it was like growing up in Penzance and what your thoughts are on the place? My DH and I are considering a move down there with our young DC but I’m not sure it’s a good idea...

@buttery81... a bit of a selective quotation there... I also said leave the rose-tinted glasses at home.

Sorry, you’re right. I think I’m just a bit miserable because I had a dream about living in Cornwall once upon a time, but having watched the Simon Reeve documentary it has completely put me off the place and I’m struggling to see many positives!

@nevernotstruggling also what do you particularly like about Falmouth - again if you don’t mind me asking? We’re also considering moving there but think it’s probably out of our budget - it’s a lot pricier than Penzance!

Having lived in Cornwall for 17 years, Devon for 20, I can honestly say there is plenty for both children & adults to do depending on what matters to you in life. I grew up on the beach, on the moors & in the woods. I am now raising my children & feel so lucky to be able to jump in the car & have so many beautiful places to go to, the pandemic really brought that home for us. I would take rockpooling, a packed lunch & a flask on the beach watching the sunset over the hustle & bustle of city life any day. Added both my husband and I have a well paid jobs & a good standard of living, a Westcountry education hasn't done any of us any harm ;)

Kids sit the 11+ from quite far down into Cornwall to get into the Plymouth grammars. That kind of says something about the Cornish schools.

I don't think it does..any more then kids sitting the 11+ in Plymouth says anything about Plymouth schools. If the nearest grammar is Plymouth (and afaik there aren't any in Cornwall), and the parents can't afford/don't agree with private, the DSHB, DHSG and PHSG would be the options for day.

It says to me that many parents think the Cornish schools are OK, or that they don't think their kids are very academic.

@confused232, Falmouth and Truro are very different to most of Cornwall. Both are small towns, of similar size to Cambourne and Redruth and Par or St Austell, but Truro is the administrative centre of Cornwall. It has the county hospital and the law courts and the county council offices, so it has many more professional jobs than do smaller towns. Falmouth has a well established art school, part of the (RG) University of Exeter, and has a fantastic location with several beaches and a beautiful estuary. Other towns in Cornwall are places where the main employer is a supermarket or the high school.

There are a lot of people moving into Cornwall right now who are moving from the Southeast because they no longer have to be in their office everyday and can work online moving ideas rather than boxes, in real time, with clients around the world, from wherever they choose. I did it in 1990, but travelled a lot (often twice a week to London or Glasgow). They are bringing work with them, not looking for jobs locally. If they are leaving London or the SE, and selling one home to buy another, and they see a house that suits, their buying power is much larger than most locals.

I think, long term, that it will be very good news for Cornwall, but there's a massive mind-shift ahead.

Those people are driving up property prices in the most accessible areas. Penzance is cheaper than Truro and Falmouth because it takes 40 minutes to drive between Penzance and Truro in winter and probably 70 minutes in summer.

@confused232 penzance in the 80's was lovely. It was more prosperous then. I recall clearly plenty of ballet classes and gymnastics and such. We played out a lot even in the posh areas down by the prom. I don't recall any crime except an arson attack on the church when I was very little.

Pz has always been hippy and golowan festival in the summer is great we go every year it's like Narnia! The whole town is closed to traffic and it's full of parades and stalls and music it's amazing and unique. Lafrowda out st just is the same.

I have school friends from pz who are very successful and have returned to pz area now they have children which is great for the area. From sm posts they seem to find plenty to do with their dc. One is a photographer - editorials etc and one is a v high end clothing designer. I was astonished the latter came home.

Falmouth is a bit more lively and had a great live music scene pre covid. It also has a uni so a student community too.

There are a lot of people moving into Cornwall right now who are moving from the Southeast because they no longer have to be in their office everyday and can work online moving ideas rather than boxes, in real time, with clients around the world, from wherever they choose.

It’s a bit of an aside, but I’m not convinced about this. These people selling up and permanently relocating hundreds of miles away from London could be in for a rude awakening when Covid fizzles out and it’s back to the office!

Lovely memories, thanks @nevernotstruggling! Would you recommend it as a place to live now?

Property prices in Cornwall are way past affordable for most people. Where I live, which is a pretty riverside village, well off the beaten track to Port Isaac or Poldark country, two houses (just garden but not estates) have sold recently for around £1.75m. As a guide, the top price until this summer was about £850k according to Land Registry.

AlmostAutumn, it worked for me 30 years ago, before the Internet. But I knew every rail and air timetable by heart, and between travelling and meetings I quite often did 18-20 hour days. I had a lot more stamina then, and no DC.

It's not an option, unless you are well established in a profession.

We made the move 13 years ago. DC were very late primary about to enter secondary.
What shocked me most about schools were two things: lack of diversity (DD even asked me where all the brown faces were - did they go to a different school?); also lack of aspiration.

Re housing - it's damp. Get a lift air exchange pump. It's changed our lives!