Moving to Cornwall...will everyone hate me??!

[KateD83]

Hi everyone, I'm thinking of buying a home in Cornwall and wondered if there are any Cornwellians (or anyone at all actually) who can ease my fears (or give me a reality check) about being an 'outsider'. I have found the house of my dreams, I've been looking for a long time and will live there all year round and contribute as much as I can to the community. But I am not a local, I'm a single female moving on my own and I won't know anyone. I hope my fears of being treated like an outsider and 'shunned' are unfounded, but if anyone has any views, I'd love to hear them! The location is in South East Cornwall. Thanks so much

I was told quite publicly to " go back to the city"...I was trying to argue for equal access to health services.

Also, I have not lived in a city for 50 years
Not sure where they wanted me to go!

Big fish in a tiny pond springs to mine!

@Beautiful3 If your brother is isolated and wants to make friends with other outsiders, drop me a message!

For everyone who's saying that being from Cornwall is no different from being from other areas with a strong identity like Yorkshire, I'd like to point out that the Cornish are a recognised national minority: www.cornwall.gov.uk/people-and-communities/equality-and-diversity/cornish-national-minority/

[quote Cornishmumofone]For everyone who's saying that being from Cornwall is no different from being from other areas with a strong identity like Yorkshire, I'd like to point out that the Cornish are a recognised national minority: www.cornwall.gov.uk/people-and-communities/equality-and-diversity/cornish-national-minority/[/quote]
Just because it’s been ‘officially recognised’ it doesn’t mean areas like Yorkshire aren’t just as distinctive - it just means Cornwall went on about it enough to get the little certificate.

My in laws are from Yorkshire, if I suggested they should preserve their cultural identity by making themselves a recognised minority they’d tell me to stop talking soft they’re proud Yorkshire and English men/women.

@Beautiful3

My brother moved there 7 years ago and hates it. He said some of his neighbours are rude to him. He thinks its because he's come from outside the area (the midlands). He's thinking of moving out of there. He loves the scenery but did say how isolated he now feels.

Don't know if it is like Devon but here if there are proposals for new housing developments the first things you here is the objectors saying, "It will be full of Brummies and Liverpudlians on the benefits."

I have no idea what people from birmingham and Liverpool have ever done to them but it seems to be the go to reason to block developments. I always think it is odd that people on benefits will be moving into 4 bed detached new builds with rents of nearly £2k per month. Are benefits that generous or maybe just that generous for people from Birmingham or Liverpool.

Don't know if your brother is from Birmingham but maybe the midlands is enough.

I’m in Devon too but originally from Wiltshire, same sentiment there in the next breath they’re complaining about lack of affordable housing 🙄

Living in Devon I do find it odd how many people have a fixation on Cornwall as The Place to move to. Not that it's not beautiful or anything, but there are so many other beautiful and better connected places one could go.

I think trying to move to a village, wherever you are, can sometimes result in not being accepted by the insular folk that live there. I moved 3 miles from my town to a village and was treated like an outsider and actually had someone say to me "you're not from round ere are you? Get out of my pub" so it's not just people who move miles and not just people who move to Cornwall who experience this.

You should definitely visit out of season, you should definitely have a long hard think about how far and how often you'd like to travel outside of Cornwall and decide if you could bare it.

@Glassofshloer you really don't like Cornwall or the the Cornish do you?

Hello, If you like the place you are entitled to do whatever you like! If you are friendly and willing to work on new relationships long term then where is the problem? Snobs or arrogant Cornish can be easily ignored and stick with the reasonable friendly type, I'm sure they exists.

Freedom of movement was only stoped from outside the UK!

[quote Ridiculousradish]@Glassofshloer you really don't like Cornwall or the the Cornish do you?[/quote]
Cornwall is gorgeous and I have made some very good friends there (and had a lovely boyfriend who I still think highly of). But I speak as I find. Like we all do.

Funnily enough my hometown just got called grim and chav on another thread

Not offended at all, I can see why they would say that 🤷🏼‍♀️

My ex stepdad retired to penzance quite a few years ago with his wife and as far as i know they love it. Really involved in the local music scene. I guess it depends where you go but village mentality of some places is definitely not exclusive to cornwall as there are plenty of places all over that have this " how many generations have you lived here" attitude.
I think if youre relocating to a new area then a town would be a much safer bet than a village. More locally to get involved with

@Branleuse

My ex stepdad retired to penzance quite a few years ago with his wife and as far as i know they love it. Really involved in the local music scene. I guess it depends where you go but village mentality of some places is definitely not exclusive to cornwall as there are plenty of places all over that have this " how many generations have you lived here" attitude. I think if youre relocating to a new area then a town would be a much safer bet than a village. More locally to get involved with

I live in a town and it hasn't been great. As I said earlier racism might be the explanation for us as DH isn't white so a white family might be accepted more easily.

We visited a friend who moved there from London some years ago.

We couldn't go anywhere without her bumping into someone she knew and chatting for ages with them!

They were all in graduate careers or had dogs (she had a dog) from what I could tell.

She loves it, but has never met a partner there.

She's always been made to feel welcome because she actually lives and works there and is part of the community. She could get bookings at restaurants over the summer at no notice easily...

But.

She doesn't mix a huge amount with people who grew up there apart from through work.

And its clear there is two cultures along the lines of having been there forever and those who have moved in.

This isn't at all unique to Cornwall. It exists where I am in the NW though perhaps isn't as pronounced. Its a symptom of gentrification or second homes, where house prices have shot up, pushing out anyone on low wages.

You could move to a bunch of other places across the UK and face similar problems.

The big difference with Cornwall is that in Winter there are vastly less tourists and holiday makers which will make a difficult winter seem even bleaker only to be replaced by ridiculous traffic jams and annoying dickheads in summer.

Know the area before you move*. If you are asking dumb questions like this, you don't.

*This applies equally to any housemove

I’ve name changed for this because it’s very outing but am a long standing poster - Balonz, Penis Beaker etc.

I am Cornish and my family have lived here as far back as we can trace. I moved away for university and then for 7 years before coming back to raise my family at home. I am so dismayed by the Cornish-bashing on this thread and really don’t recognise the attitudes being described.

The Cornish are culturally and ethnically different from the English. This is indisputably true but doesn’t mean that other groups aren’t also different. We value our folk culture hugely and there is a resurgence in interest in the Cornish language.

I have chosen to settle where I am surrounded by family and friends that I have known all my life but that doesn’t make me unwelcoming to incomers. My best friend is from Northern Ireland and moved here in the 00s.

There is resentment about people buying up houses and then renting them out as holiday lets etc but, in my experience, people who move down with a willingness to integrate into our society are welcomed. You will need to make friends from scratch as you would anywhere else but would do this gradually through work, clubs, sport, church - whatever your interests are.

The people whom we find difficult to warm to, if I can speak for the Cornish more generally, are those who want the benefits of living here but then have a patronising attitude and look down on what they perceive as ‘backward’ facilities, attitudes etc.

I don’t recognise the view that Cornwall closes down in the winter. The things that close down are the beachside shops etc - unless you have a burning desire to buy a bucket and spade in November, you should find plenty to do…

Culturally, there’s so much going on. Falmouth, Truro, Penzance and St Ives are all hubs for art, theatre, music etc. I work in professional classical music and theatre and the standard is very high - there’s a lot going on and a close knit community.

I would recommend watching this video, ‘Behind the Postcard’ for an insight into Cornwall as perceived by the Cornish

cornwall.uk/behind-the-postcard/

And also Simon Reeve’s brilliant documentary which looked at rural poverty as well as cultural aspects.

The big difference with Cornwall is that in Winter there are vastly less tourists and holiday makers which will make a difficult winter seem even bleaker only to be replaced by ridiculous traffic jams and annoying dickheads in summer.

So

Lack of tourists = makes a difficult winter bleaker

Summer tourists = ridiculous traffic jams and dickheads

FGS how bad do you want it to be?

Shocked at the negativity on this thread.

But equally what a stupidly crass opening question.

"will everyone hate me? ..."

Do you mean will everyone hate me because they are Cornish?

You've already got Cornish people's backs up by that alone.
No they'll hate you if you act like a bloody idiot I suppose.

I live in south east Cornwall and am totally baffled by the negativity on this thread.

If you enjoy the great outdoors, like mild winters, don’t mind an Atlantic storm or two, and don’t expect to slot right in to communities that have long established ties without some effort then you will probably enjoy life here.

Everywhere has its pluses and minuses. And it’s horses for courses.

Do your research OP and by that I don’t mean on MN.

Come and spend time here. That’s the only way you can truly decide if it’s right for you.

Everywhere has its pluses and minuses. And it’s horses for courses.

too right

I don’t think anyone has an irrational dislike of Cornwall or Cornish people. It’s a bit like when people feel like they are being personally victimised by doctors or teachers etc, why on Earth would they bother?

However you can’t deny that on threads about Cornwall, there are always numerous posts from people who have lived there complaining about their treatment from some, not all locals. This cannot be a coincidence - I don’t see such responses when people ask what, for example, Edinburgh or Liverpool are like. It does seem to be a theme.

Equally I think the Cornish take this criticism more personally and are more sensitive because they see it as bashing ‘their people’. They’re very protective over what they see as ‘their’ culture and county.

Other places in the U.K. regularly get a bashing, London as a crime ridden shit hole where people would step over you if you’re on fire, the south in general as being pretty cold & aloof, Essex people as being ditzy etc. But they don’t seem to take it as badly as the Cornish, I suspect because they don’t feel they are a separate class of people and therefore inherently immune to criticism.

Equally I think they have a hard time understanding that while their culture is fascinating to them, it just isn’t that much of a big deal to other people.

Like I said it’s a beautiful county and I have some lovely friends there (who actually hold this view themselves!), but they really need to chill out a bit when it comes to their ‘national identity’.

Oh and as a side note I dislike this obsession with ethnicity and genetics because I don’t feel it can ever be a ‘harmless interest’ without an undertone of racism. That’s just my opinion - nationalism in any form can be very harmful and has few upsides. History etc should be preserved but the people themselves aren’t the history.

I grew up at the western end of Cornwall and now live in one of the eastern villages. I moved back here 25 years ago, and never expected to stay so long; it has good and bad points. On the plus side, I know most of the people in the village centre, except the new arrivals; negatively, I no longer live right in the middle of the village, so the new arrivals tend to assume I am a visitor.

Many of the more recent arrivals think they know better than anyone else... usually because they moved from a city and a professional world to pursue a dream life: these are somewhat inclined to tell us yokels, rather patronisingly, about whatever hobby horse shortcoming is exercising them that day. They also tend to be a mite precious about road safety, parking etc. But just in case you think I am all negative about incomers, they bring fresh ideas and can get enthused about problem topics we gave up trying to change years ago. We just don't need too many at one time, and the last 18 months seem to have brought a lot in suddenly.

This is my second post on this thread and I'd like to share with you something that happened during my first week living here in a little village in South East Cornwall. I bumped into one of the villagers who immediately asked "Have you seen that thing up the road yet?", to which I replied "what thing's that?"......."That THING, you know, that THING that's neither male or female?, keep an eye out and you'll see it, it lives in XXXX cottage". This villager was totally unaware that back in the South East lives my trans mtf daughter. This is what you're up against down here, small minded bigots, and these are usually the people who are extremely influential within villages, paragons of virtue, running the old folks luncheon club etc. Its the you slap my back and I'll slap yours sort of lifestyle. If you aren't "in" with them you are isolated and ignored. The Cornish have every right to be proud of their culture and county, but there are many who have a lot to learn about morals and integrity.

Like I said it’s a beautiful county and I have some lovely friends there (who actually hold this view themselves!), but they really need to chill out a bit when it comes to their ‘national identity’.

Not really keen on being told 'how to' feel about stuff myself.

Equally I think they have a hard time understanding that while their culture is fascinating to them, it just isn’t that much of a big deal to other people.

sorry, who are the 'they' you speak of? Cornish People ?

All of them?

Just a few?

Just the ones you know?

Do Fuck Off.