Moving to Cornwall (possibly)

[cupcakesgalore]

It could be North Devon or Cornwall. Could anyone tell me what Truro and Launceston are like? I love the idea of Cornwall but am slightly worried that it is so far from everywhere and a nightmare to get around in the summer. DH has the poss. of a job in either North Devon or East or West Cornwall. Any recommendations on where to live in Cornwall - on a house buying budget of max. £240000.

I love Cornwall - go twice a year as dp's parents have a holiday house there (St Agnes)

Truro is lovely, lots of shops and good places to eat. Never been to Devon. I am so jealous. If it was possible for us we would move to Cornwall in a flash.....have learned to body board and its great. Fab place for kids. My eldest dd loves it....in fact would rather holiday in Cornwall than anywhere else!

I have spend quite alot of time in Cornwall since childhood. It can be quite bleak in winter - especially in the middle of the moors with no bus service into town.

I am very jealous! We go each year. Launceston is the nearest big town to where we stay. It is unpretentious and seems to have good facilities. Very near some beautiful coastline (isn't everywhere in cornwall!) so I'd say it seemed a good compromise between not too touristy (and therefore pricey and crowded) but loads of lovely places to visit on your doorstep. I know there are some Mnetters who live in that area - hope they can help.

I love Cornwall too, spent many hols there as a child. my parents eventually moved from Wales, down here to Devon.

I f I was in a happy relationship, and dp/dh was happy, then I would go for it.

it is remote, it depends what is important to you. I personally wouldn't go further West than I am.

One thing to consider, is, if dh's job doesnt pan out, what are his work prospects goingto be like? i know many people who end up commuting to the city, and end up spending most of their time on the road.

Cornwall is nowhere near as 'cut off' as it was 30 years ago (when I was growing up there). Road and rail links are better now, and you can also fly from Newquay to other UK airports. Truro is a beautiful city. (Don't know Launceston ... bit far 'north' for me!) In the summer, yes, there is a lot of traffic, but you can avoid the worst of it if you know the back roads (invest in an OS map and learn the alternative routes). Houses in Cornwall are relatively expensive, because people buying second homes do push the prices up, but I guess it depends what you're comparing it to...

North Devon is also touristy, so I imagine that a lot of what I've said about Cornwall also applies to Devon (though I've never lived there).

House in Truro for £240k

Thanks. Starting to feel excited at the prospect again! You know how it is - start of all excited then go through a phase of 'are we doing the right thing'. Fortunately DH is in the NHS so job security is ok. they are being v. vague though about locations and he'd be county wide so lots of travelling. We live in a v. unpretentious town in the E. Midlands so maybe Launceston would suit us. I'm not looking for anything flashy! Just somewhere with good schools, friendly people and a hill or two - v.v.v. flat here!My only concern is that it isn't somewhere I wouldn't fit in, not being Cornish. Hopefully that's a non-issue.

Hi cupcakes

There are more non-Cornish people than Cornish people in Cornwall these days, and in my experience the idea that Cornish people are unfriendly toward 'incomers' is completely wrong, especially if you make the effort to get involved in local activities (which you'll do, inevitably, if you have kids). If your dh is going to have to travel a lot, I'd consider somewhere more central than Launceston. My parents live near St Ives and it's a good hour, if not more, to Launceston. Depends how far your dh would have to travel, I suppose. If covering all NHS hospitals in the county he might end up having to go as far as Penzance. I presume that you and your dh both drive? It's quite hard to be dependent on public transport in Cornwall (especially West Cornwall). Good luck!

Hi, I grew up in N.Cornwall and most of my family still there. I don't really know Truro but have heard good things about it.
Launceston is a good location for commuting to Exeter and Devon in gen, but if you're going to need to commute "down" Cornwall there will be a lot more travelling involved from there.
Property in Launceston is still pretty reasonable compared to a lot of Cornwall and there is a lovely community there.
As someone who is Cornish, I can safely say that if you're planning to live, work and be involved in the area you move to you will be welcomed with open arms, most hostility comes from people buying second homes and only using them for two weeks of the year and them sitting empty the rest which then prevents local people and people who want to permanently live there being unable to.

It would depend on exactly where in West Cornwall the job is. Although I actually prefer North Cornwall, we live in West Cornwall.
As for the places you mentioned, there's not much in or around Launceston - depends on what you're looking for, although it is quite a nice place and it is touristy - especially in the summer. Truro is probably a better 'bet', still attracts the tourists, but more things around and you should be able to get a reasonable house for £240,000 (nothing amazing though). The people down here are friendly and very welcoming.

OK, I live 10 miles from Launceston. Go there pretty often. What exactly do you want to know about it??? There is a good sports centre with excellent baby swimming lessons, a good choice of schools, a minor injuries unit (very useful if you have little ones) and even an Argos (wow!!!) We don't get many chain stores down this way - the nearest macdonalds etc would be about 25 miles I think - poss more. There are loads of family friendly attractions on your doorstep and the beach at Bude is about 30 mins drive (so you can get there before the emmets tourists)

There are certain places where the locals ARE unfriendly to incomers (only being honest, this is from my own experience - sorry). There are ways round it though. I don't think you'd have much a problem in Truro as it's full of 'incomers' these days. Launceston doesn't seem that bad either, yet in a village a few miles away from it, is can be a very different story.

Are you thinking of living in Launceston itself or just outside?

Have you been to launceston???? It Blo**y hilly . You are right next to the A30 and people living there commute on a daily basis to Plymouth etc. It is considered a very good base for travelling around devon and cornwall. Whereever you live in the counties you will be likely to be doing more longer journeys than you are maybe used to so an economical car is useful

Don't let what I said about the 'unfriendliness' put you off. I would not live anywhere else - my children love it here. As soon as we leave Devon everything seems so industrial! The traffic down here is nothing compared to when we leave the area - even in the high tourist season because the locals know the back roads .

If you want any more info let me know

btw - you will get a pretty nice house in or around Launceston for that budget - what number of bedrooms do you need? My place has 3 beds plus 330' long garden, several good size outhouses and a shippon and is worth less than that.

cornwall is lovely-i live here!were in north cornwall.
love both truro and launceston.schools in launceston are supposed to be brilliant but when we looked full!

North Devon is beautiful,locals are friendly. Jobwise,it is best to work for a national company,like the NHS,police etc as you get national wages which tend to be higher than the average there.
We found that getting work done was a small problem,there was a whiff of manyana,but once you have found good trades men,builders etc,keep their phone numbers!
Getting the cars serviced etc was cheaper than in the city.
However when we visited London,it did seem a long old hike back up the North Devon link road.

I know this post is old - but OP - did you make the move?

I'll have another go...any updates? Also choosing Truro or Launceston.

Load up the Area360 add-in for RM to super-charge your search. It'll help you identify crime hotspots, flood risk areas and noise issues, as well as quality of schools nearby. It can save falling in love with a property only to later find out potential issues.

Good luck OP.

That's really helpful to me, thanks! I'd also like to know how OP got on

Thanks. You may also like this tool. It allows you to enter very specific search criteria. It's a little clunky but does the job after using it a few times. I think that you get a few free searches each month, but you can save the criteria and just rerun.

https://www.geoglider.com/?

Brilliant, thanks so much!