Moving to Devon

[1983Louise]

My Sister and BIL are taking early retirement and looking to move to Devon. They're looking at Westwood Ho or Bideford as the properties seem to be cheaper in those areas. They have visited both areas a couple of times but it would be good to hear from people in the area. Any advise would be gladly received, it's going to be a big life style change for them so they need to get it right.

I wouldn't live in Bideford.

Westward Ho! is pretty much a ghost town in the winter, and then over run with tourists in the school holidays.

@aperolspritzbasicbitch Hi thanks for your reply, any areas you would recommend in North Devon, thanks

What are their requirements?

What are their motivations for being in the area? To be near the sea? Near family? In the middle of nowhere? To pursue a particular interest? Or something else...?

Westward Ho! (full name includes !, don't annoy the locals by missing that out) is overrun with tourists in the summer. In the winter it can be a nice place to be for the sheer wide open expanse of space and access to walking on the beach, if you like that kind of thing. It's close enough to Bideford and Barnstaple not to feel cut off.

Bideford is less touristy, but isn't what it was a few years ago (20+ years I guess!).

Someone I know retired to Braunton and has struggled to settle/find friends etc. When you move somewhere without a job, that can be hard. She's a sociable kind of person with lots of hobbies, but has still found it a challenge.

There are lots of market towns which may have stuff going on, and won't be as expensive as the coastal hot spots (but still easy access to the coast).

Where are they moving from, and what kind of life/lifestyle are they looking for? You say 'early retirement' which implies young enough to have 20 years ahead of them, and a likelihood of wanting to fill their days with something other than just being at home!

It depends what part of Bideford, there are some nice areas but equally some really rough bits. Westward Ho is nice, but very very touristy in the summer and like anywhere has its rough bits. Braunton is quite a sought after area, Croyde and Woolacombe are nice coastal bits but again any of the beachy places are nuts in the summer and a nightmare for traffic in peak tourist season. There are lots of nice villages surrounding Bideford, it depends if they are desperate to be coastal and budget obviously plays a big part. I live and have grown up very locally so if there's any questions they have I'd be happy to help x

Lifestyle wise they don't particularly like to socialise, happy to be walking and visiting local areas together rather than joining clubs etc. It's more to get the feel of an area, any rough areas etc. They'll be moving from a busy Midlands town so I think they're after peace and quiet. I take you point re Westward Ho! just incase they move there.

Braunton is nice, there are pubs, restaurants, little shops and a supermarket. The tarka trail is right there too, so nice for walks/cycling.
Croyde is very expensive, but again most things close throughout the winter. Lots of holiday lets.
That's pretty much the case with Woolacombe too.
Town wise, other than Bideford there is Barnstaple, high street has turned in to an absolute shit hole though, but there are some nice places to live.
Smaller village feel there is Landkey, which is close to the link road. Or bickington, Fremington, yelland, instow - they are all between Barnstaple and Bideford.
There's also South Molton, although I don't have any real knowledge of there - I've only ever driven through/past it.

If they want peace and quiet then Westward Ho! is not for them!

I would get them to think very carefully about where they go. My parents lived in that area for many years - but rurally (2 miles from a village). It was fine when they were working/newly retired (in their 60s) as they could go where they wanted, had access to what they needed. But they wisely moved away in their late 60s to be in a town in Herefordshire where they could walk to shops, where there is a bus service, and where they can access healthcare.

In Devon, there aren't many hospitals, so if you need access to any kind of specialist treatment you could be in for a lot of travelling (on busy/small roads). Many villages won't have GPs (or any other services) so you have to travel for everything.

I think there's quite a difference in living somewhere for a long time, where you may have family/a wide social network/community who you can call on, or do mutual favours for. If you don't have support, it may not take much for life to become quite challenging.

Maybe they're taking early retirement in their 50s, and this is a stepping stone to something else, but if they're looking at a long term retirement plan, I'd be thinking hard about what kind of access they might want to shops/services/healthcare in the future, and plan accordingly.

We investigated the area too. Bideford gave us uncertain vibes - a bit edgy. Westward Ho! didn't appeal because of poor access to the beach for dogs. Appledore - lovely and quaint - but probably too dead and expensive. Braunton looked nice driving thru but no other data.

The place that gave me the best vibes was Torrington, but I haven't explored living there further.

My grandparents lived outside Torrington, in a village called Beaford, for many years. Torrington itself was a nice little town, but it's probably 25 years since I was there! It used to rely pretty heavily on the milk factory at the bottom of the hill for employment - no idea if that's still there though, or what the make up of the town is now.

Bideford is less touristy, but isn't what it was a few years ago (20+ years I guess!)

I was in Bideford earlier in the year. Load of boarded up shops in the old part of town (not helped by there being big supermarkets on the outskirts), ad despite it being a lovely warm spring day when I was there, hardly anyone in the town shopping. Ditto for the centre of Barnstaple. Both towns are run down and tatty and look abandoned - which is a huge shame.

And the bus services are every half an hour if you're lucky, otherwise once an hour and IIRC to Rosemoor every 2 hours. A consideration if they have to stop driving.

When we visited, I loved sitting on the hill at the car park looking across the valley and then walking down to the stream. Nice little local shops and a Lidl for practicality.

If they are young retirees and can both drive it sounds like somewhere like North Molton would suit them, lovely village on the edge of Exmoor with nice a pub, sadly the village shop has recently closed so they would have to travel to South Molton which is a nice very small market town which has a small Sainsburys, but if they like walking, peace and quiet and nature NM could fit the bill. It’s also the right side of the link road so easy access for Exeter. What’s their budget and requirements?

I would suggest South Molton. It has a GP surgery, dentists, supermarket, twice weekly decent market, deli, several opticians , chiropractor, nice dog walking area in walking distance from town, mot garages, Spar with a post office, independent shops.

The bottom of Barnstaple high street does have a few boarded up shops I agree, however the main high street is not tatty and abandoned at all, the historic Pannier Market has just had a refurbishment and has a really good market from Tuesday to Saturday plus other events, Butchers Row where the pannier market is now has eateries and local produce shops. Green Lanes shopping centre has the main chains, there are a couple of empty shops but they have been put to good use and the old BHS is a veterans furniture and home wares charity shop and the others have been used for pop up shops. There are some pretty side streets, Gammon Walk and Holland Walk again with eateries and independent shops. The out of town shops are really developing now and the ongoing Anchor Wood development has a Next, Asda, DFS etc. The newly completed Leisure Centre and Tara Tennis Centre are excellent and the Queen’s theatre is good as well.

@Devonisheaven yes I think Barnstaple is quite decent for a town, Marks and Spencer, Jewellers, several supermarkets, market and delis and specialist foodie shops. Not to mention the Cupcake place I have to stay away from!

North Devon is cheap for a lot of reasons.

Schools.
Hospitals.
Transport links.
Shopping.

Etc are not great if they have them at all.

Parts are beautiful. Amazing beaches. Endless hidden villages. Shit connections and facilities.

I’ve lived here for 5 years and really happy with it, but I’ve got young kids & a job etc so quite a different lifestyle.

it depends if they are keen on being near the sea? If they are, I think Northam is probably better than Westward Ho! - I’ve got a colleague who is in her early 60s who moved there from Combe Martin & really likes it. Westward Ho! has a more vulgar edge than Braunton/Croyde but it’s also quite serviceable. Bideford is fine, I would probably chose Ilfracombe over it though personally.

South Molton is a good shout, depends on the coast element though.

the factory in Torrington is long gone.