Moving to Devon

[MoominBear]

Hi, almost our entire family are considering a move to Devon, so there are lots of people to cater for and lots of boxes to tick. I’m not sure if there is a location to suit us all, but I’m hoping you may be able to help.

Ideally, we’d like to live close to each other, perhaps on a farm or land with multiple cottages. However, it’s more likely that we will live separately, as long as everyone is within a 15-minute drive of the Grand parents. If they do live separately, we need a location where they can be independent, ie easy access to shops, the beach, and a bus for trips to the doctor etc.

We would like a property with either a very large garden or a few acres of land. We need space for animals and to relocate our business. We have a budget up to £1.5

DD is currently at university, so we need access to an area with good job opportunities—perhaps Exeter? Are there any other towns that might be suitable? She’s studying science but may end up doing something completely different.

The older members of our family would love to live either on or within a short, easy walk to the beach or sea (a river might be an acceptable compromise). They’re looking for gentle walks with scenic views, coffee shops, and places to eat out—ideally somewhere welcoming.

We want to live somewhere pretty in semi-rural setting but still want access to nice towns with good shops and restaurants. We love nature and are very outdoorsy and would like to regularly paddleboard, kayak, and swim although don’t mind a 15-20 minute drive to the sea.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Many thanks 😊

Devon is a large place and you aren’t going to tick all the boxes for all your family… based on what you have said though…. North Devon would be ideal and Exeter is only an hour away from the main station at Barnstaple or you can drive 30 mins down the road to Tiverton Parkway and it’s 15 mins into Exeter Central from there…..

How many homes and how many people in each?

Does your DD want to live at home and study or have the full university experience?

How many animals and what type of animals?

Have you considered Somerset? Or the Somerset Devon border? Bristol has plenty of job opportunities and property is affordable. M5 gives good access to the rest of the UK and it's very welcoming. A few here in Somerset

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86845266?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=buying&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148911065?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=buying&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86012388?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=buying&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I agree , Somerset might be more appropriate .
Everyone laughs at me but I loved Watchet .

Good96 Thank you, any towns and villages you’d recommend besides Barnstable?

I grew up in Devon, and absolutely loved it. But I am SO GLAD my parents moved away in early retirement, and relocated to be somewhere well connected.

If there are older people in the equation, I would want to be close to decent medical provision - a GP within easy reach, and a hospital within 30 mins. My dad has to have weekly blood tests, and a fortnightly hospital visit (for several months at a time, and then these stop for a while).
If they were still living in Devon, their GP would be 30 mins away (by car), so that's a round trip of 90 mins, which they'd both have to do as he couldn't drive after having blood taken, then the hospital was well over an hour away - again by car. Both of them would have to go, as he couldn't drive home after treatment.
There were no buses anywhere. In their village there was a small shop, for basics, but the nearest supermarket was over 20 mins away (driving).

Where they live now, they can walk to the GP and get the bus to the nearest city to the hospital (dad gets the bus there and then mum drives over to collect him when his treatment is done).

They had a lovely house, in a lovely village, with a lovely community, access to all the countryside, rivers and beaches you could want... but their quality of life would have been severely impacted by the logistics of managing old age.

So definitely think VERY carefully about where you go, and the infrastructure available. The grandparents may be in good health now, but don't underestimate the potential time needed to manage conditions which may arise, and future-proof yourselves.

I'd stay within easy reach of Exeter, personally. Whilst N Devon is lovely, what looks like a short distance on a map can take ages, and it's very tourist-heavy.

It's a truly lovely county, and I'd love to live there again, but ease of 'living' would be high on my list of factors to consider.

Potentially 3 or 4 homes to begin with until the adult children get places of their own. DD is already at Uni but would like to move with us after. Animal wise - dogs, cats, chickens, horse and donkey!

I would rule out north Devon for the same reasons as PP and consider somewhere in easy reach of Exeter or Plymouth.

I only know East Devon really but with your budget you might consider somewhere along the Exe (trains and buses to Exeter) such as Topsham or Lympstone. Sidmouth is probably better in terms of local amenities - the town centre is very nice and obviously has a beach but you'd be restricted a bit more on public transport to Exeter. You might consider Exmouth too as the train line ends there. The beach is much nicer than Sidmouth but the town centre is less appealing. You would get more for you money around there however.

I haven’t considered Somerset as I don’t know much about it, I will have to check out the beaches. Are there any particular towns/villages you would recommend? I love some of those houses.

Ilfracombe? Town, beaches, beauty, small town so out of town houses with large gardens will still be really near?

Devon is lovely but the A38 is a total pain - it splits the county in two.

Make sure that your elderly parents live on the same side of the A38 or they will finish up (as my elderly parents did) having to get onto it, get off at the next junction, go over a bridge, then rejoin on the other side in order to get to family/shops or indeed just about anything else. Then they had to do it all over again to get home. They found that harder as time went by and the road got busier - they had a few near-misses.

Also please remember that in the tourist season, getting to the lovely places your parents want to go for walks (seaside, riverside etc.) is very very slow indeed and often on very narrow lanes.

So you need 3-4 homes, stabling / pasture land and accessibility for elderly people (future proofing)? For £1.5m? Ouch.

You certainly get more bang for your buck in Somerset!

Agree with PP that prompt access to decent GP, dentist, hospital facilities are essential when aging. We were doing daily 4hr round trips with DM for cancer treatment a few months back, it's not easy.

Personally I wouldn't do much of Devon unless it's in proximity to Exeter but Exeter is very expensive. There is also Plymouth, with areas like Kingsbridge fitting well into your parameters. Agree with the PP about being on the same side of the A38! And remember back lanes are slippery AF in winter and busy as heck in summer if you're not accustomed to driving them

The jobs market becomes complex for your young adults if you are too rural.

I'd look near Exmouth. It has a train station and a sandy RNLI beach. The town centre is a bit crap, although it does have a large tesco, lidl and a retail park. And you can always get the bus or train to Exeter.

Also, I wouldn't base your search on the jobs market for your kids. They might want to go somewhere else entirely! Or they might end up in fields where jobs simply don't exist in Devon. Make yourselves easy for them to access for visiting (and you having easy access to trains/roads to see them), but I wouldn't tie them down at this point.

Like this?

https://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/a-charming-farmhouse-with-3-delightful-cottages-for-sale.aspx

I think something similar where you can walk to the beach would be at least double the price.

Is 1.5mil the combined budget?

the only realistic location jobs wise would be near Exeter, but of course the prices are more expensive around Exeter & south Devon for a reason. I live in North Devon & love it but there’s a reason you can buy a massive Victorian villa in Ilfracombe & jobs, services, facilities etc is the reason.

The older members of our family would love to live either on or within a short, easy walk to the beach or sea (a river might be an acceptable compromise). They’re looking for gentle walks with scenic views, coffee shops, and places to eat out—ideally somewhere welcoming.

I think Totnes would meet this requirement for the grandparents with more rural areas nearby for rest of family. Lovely area. Don't know if your budget is going to be enough though.

this one is Berrynarbour - right next to Ilfracombe. Walk to the beach tick

oh and this one https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150598805#/?channel=RES_BUY

Hi OP, I live in Exeter and Exeter is the only place in Devon with STEM job opportunities, (met office, university, etc) that I know of (I work in STEM).

Exmouth and Dawlish are the closest seaside towns, both about half an hour away from Exeter. Budleigh is also close, a beautiful stoney beach which is a little nicer in my opinion. The River Exe flows through Exeter as well if they’d be happy with a river location. Topsham is also a lovely little village on the river in between Exmouth and Exeter but it’s pretty pricey.

It’s also about 45 mins drive from Dartmoor and an hour from exmoor for lots of hiking adventures.

There are lots of semi-rural villages around Exeter - I know a few to the East which are just lovely. Have a look at Venn Ottery, Talaton, Broadclyst and West Hill. All beautiful and relatively unknown villages, about 20 minutes away from both Exeter and Exmouth. There’s also Whimple, Rockbeare and, Aylesbeare but I don’t think these are quite as nice as the others.

Thank you for the advice about healthcare and sorry you are having a difficult time with your family members cancer treatment. I should have made myself clearer about the budget. 1.5 is for my house which will need to be a 4 bed with the land, the elders have their own budgets

Hi, no the 1.5 is for our house with the land, the elders have their own budgets

Those properties are lovely but Berrynabor and Combe Martin would be crap for graduate jobs in science, terrible for commuting to Exeter, and not great for independent elders catching buses to anywhere…

I love Totnes

What is driving the move? A general desire for space and nicer places or something specific? Why Devon in particular? (Just to understand your constraints)