Help me move away from Cornwall

[upthem5]

I’m Cornish, but lived away in a nice city during my university years.

I then moved back to Cornwall about 10 years ago, we got married and had DC.

ever since the pandemic, I’ve been feeling this lack of “something” in my life and I’m beginning to realise that I prefer being up country, well connected with more job opportunities. I miss that “buzz” of things going on.

DC and DH have also said that they’re tired of Cornwall. DH and I grew up here in the 80s and 90s & the bleakness keeps coming back to us. I’m struggling to find employment here and I’m sick of the sexism in my industry (IT). Salaries here are still at £18k - £22k.

Anyway, DH has a great job and it’s fully remote. We need to be 2.5 hours from London via train or car.

Apart from that, we’re entirely flexible. Our house budget is about £350k.

I think living in a City Centre would be a huge culture shock so am thinking suburbs or a town near a City? A bit of both?

Can anyone recommend anywhere? ☺️
(sorry this is the first time I’ve ever collated all my thoughts so apologies if it’s bitty!)

Exeter! Not too far from Cornwall but it’s a designated “Science City”, has a thriving University so has the buzz of youth about it and is growing fast.

Exmouth on the doorstep, Dartmoor not far, good motorway connections & some nice rural villages all around.

How about somewhere like Chichester? Decent city center, theaters, close to other big cities and within reach of London. But not too big itself.

No idea if house prices there, just trying to work out what sort of place you're aiming for.

I absolutely love Exeter! Do you know of any affordable family friendly areas? I’d rather live on the City side of the M5 but all I could find was houses in Cranbrook. I’d move to Exeter in a heartbeat and I didn’t even know it was a Science City (I am a science / IT person!!) 😱 Perfect!!

I’ll have a look into Chichester, it’s one of those places I’ve heard of but never been! thank you x

Southampton area - Salisbury or Winchester perhaps? Lots of IT jobs around those parts and London is doable (if the trains behave).

Wakefield

Big town, stuff happening
15 mins to Leeds for big city buzz on the train in one direction. 2 hours on the nose to King's Cross in the other.

But a really long way from Cornwall!

Winchester is very ££££

Oooh I have family around the Southampton area. I assumed it would be out of my budget but I’ll have a look!

love the “if trains behave” 🤣

I’m not tied to the beach either. Happy to be inland.

I love coastal footpaths and beaches but I can live without them too. I love forests, the moors and rolling hills more.

Pinhoe just outside of exeter? Direct train to London. The primary school is meant to be good. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124844765

@upthem5
I'm in Exeter - recommend St Thomas as an area to look at. It's west side of the city but great transport links. About 20 walk into the city centre, own train station. Easy access to St David's for mainline/London trains.
Plenty of primary options, big secondary school.
We've lived here for about a decade now and love it.
Good luck with your search!

This is bang next to the secondary school and near a supermarket in St Thomas
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122886179

If your remit is 2.5 hours from London by train you have a lot of scope, right up to South Yorkshire and slightly beyond. 350k would get you a decent house close to the east coast rail line.

@Magic0Magic oooh interesting!! I honestly thought exeter would be too expensive!

I’ve had a look at jobs and they’re in abundance for what I do. The salary is higher than Cornwall.

Is there much for children to do on cold rainy days? Just about to have a Google as well.

It would be quite an easy move! 95 miles up the road 🤣

I’m from Cornwall OP and I loved living Exeter! We lived in St Thomas for a few years, it’s walking distance to everything. Would love to live there again but we’re settled in plymouth for the time being!

@Maximoose I can’t believe the answer was so close to home! Feel a little silly but also feel excited. I know exeter really well.

but I didn’t know that St Thomas was a family area! I don’t know what I thought it was. I had looked at houses on the other side! So glad I started this thread x

Near Bristol. Bristol utterly rocks, you've got Bath nearby too, couple hours to London, and can go the other way to either South Wales, Devon or Cornwall. Centre of the universe. No contest.

@heldinadream we’re going to Bristol soon for this exact reason!! But I don’t think we can afford any houses there. Do you know anywhere near Bristol that we could possibly afford? I don’t mind a large village as long as public transport to Bristol is frequent and reliable :)

I love all the surrounding countryside and my sister lives in Brizzol so it would suit us really well. Just the money that’s holding us back and she keeps recommending tiny apartments / non family friendly areas 😂

Liverpool, great house on that budget, good transport links. Near to the Lake District and North Wales.

@upthem5 I live a bit south of Bristol in a village on the A37 - there's a very (think most days every half an hour) frequent and usually very reliable bus - the 376 - that obvs has suffered in its reliability from covid absences but is still pretty reliably useful. So look at places along its route? I'm not well up on prices, I haven't bought for ages.

How old are your children?

I think somewhere like Eastleigh near Southampton would suit you.

Google shows me some very nice family homes there within your budget.

You're within reach of London but without being too built up.

There's this in Pensford - though I think Whitley Batts is Pensford area rather than in Pensford. Pensford have got a primary school. It's about 7-8 miles south of Bristol, decent large village, quite pretty. You prob wouldn't want to be bang on the A37 (not sure where this one is exactly).

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/124914977#/?channel=RES_BUY

St Thomas Exeter, is a good place to search as it’s slightly cheaper than “the other side of the river.” Look also for Alphington addresses on the same side of the Exe.
Buy an Exeter street map to help too.
Looking further afield, think about
Cullompton which is an easy commute to Exeter & a dormitory for Exeter or Taunton.

Honiton is very nice and buzzy with a lovely friendly feel to it. Sidmouth & Budleigh Salterton are within easy reach.

Work wise look up Exeter’s Science Park & the Met Office for scientific roles.

Here’s some Science Park info:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter_Science_Park

@upthem5
Relatives used to live in Yate, I think about 10 miles outside of Bristol. They had a train station to go to Bristol or Gloucester, and direct bus service to Bristol centre. It was a small market town when they moved there, but it has had a lot of building going on, which was why they moved. They liked being close to Wiltshire, Cotswolds, Oxfordshire and Somerset.

Plenty around your budget in Eastleigh/Southampton and nice areas of Southampton too. And no shortage of well paying IT jobs, husband is in IT and they can’t fill vacancies.