Areas in Devon

[Reloc]

Looking for insights on the Devon area. I was just looking on rightmove at Bideford, it is so cheap there!
Is there a reason it's so cheap?

Are there any pretty areas of Devon you'd recommend?

It’s cheap because it’s crap. Deprived, dull, depressing.

North Devon is amazing for a sunny holiday but I’d never live there.

Look at East Devon, it’s lovely. In and around Exmouth, Honiton, the Blackdown, border with Somerset.

I thought there must be a catch!
Thank you, I will take a look at those areas.

West Devon, around Tavistock, just north of Plymouth is lovely, and quite naice. South Hams is beautiful, but ££££.

Plymouth is an acquired taste, but was the fastest rising UK property market in 2025. It is still cheapish, for its wonderful coastal location, with good and poor/decent housing stock, but the city is gritty. It has some of the most deprived wards in England, and is currently being used for migrant dispersal accommodation. Plus it is home to the Marines.

The road traffic network is modern, and being improved; the hospital is over-stretched but very well run. Schools vary, but the grammar schools remain selective, just not super-selective.

I actually like Plymouth and its people, but I live about 6 miles north of it in rural charm. The theatre gets West End pre-shows, and the restaurants are as varied as you'd expect in a merchant port. There's everything from Japanese (four good Japanese restaurants) to Indian, Korean to haute cuisine. Great ingredients are landed in the fish market every day and there is a massive artisan horticulture hinterland in the city's perimeter. And almost half of Britain's naval history started here. The Museum is good, there's a very lively art scene, and it's three hours to London by train.

If the authorities would find the money to reopen the airport and fund the avionics needed to land a plane in low cloud, the place would be Boomtown.

@Reloc, Plymouth is much more attractive than Bideford. More work and better study opportunities for your kids, several beautiful NT properties close by, but I am not going to tell you it's paradise. North Prospect and Barne Barton are seriously rough areas but Peverall, Mannamead and Stoke are up and coming areas where a three bed Victorian terrace or semi will still cost less than £300k if you are prepared to buy a house that needs some work.

It depends what you're looking for. My friend moved to Ilfracombe several years ago and loves it. It probably fits the previous description of 'depressed' but she loves it there. Fabulous community, beautiful coast and country, great architecture and cheap.

The cheap aspect means many people move there for a more peaceful, easier, outdoorsy way of life and so there are lots of creative, interesting people there. My friend has made a good circle of friends and is loving life there. Not for everyone but don't dismiss the cheaper places out of hand.

I quite like Bideford, fairly wide variety of shops (compared to my village 😂), art gallery, good park with a paddling pool, close to Barnstaple for city stuff and trains etc, close to coastal areas. As pp have said, it’s no bustling metropolis so really it depends what you are looking for.

North Devon is very remote. Beautiful if you like that sort of thing (I do tbh)z

I like Plymouth more than Exeter. Amazing location - moors and beaches on your doorstep & housing far more affordable. Bizarrely last time I was out in Exeter at night I found it rougher than Plymouth! Which was a surprise.

As already mentioned Tavistock rather lovely. Okehampton has a surprising amount of poverty in the town

Ivybridge affordable and popular with families. Right on the edge of the moor but quite a lot going on.

South Hams generally lovely but with a second home problem in the villages. Ashburton more affordable than Totnes and arguably a better place to live now. Eco without so much hippy.

Bideford and north Devon are quite cute off and traffic is a huge issue throughout the summer.

Anywhere on the a38 corridor is better because then you have fast access to Exeter or Plymouth, Dartmoor and the coast. The South Hams will be the most expensive and also the deeper you get the more inaccessible it gets.

Topsham is lovely, but horribly expensive.
Agree with pp about Tavistock, but prefer Exeter to Plymouth.

What is important to you? Do you work, have kids who need schools/uni? Do you drive? Are you planning to travel out of the county often?
Do you want to live on the coast? In a city/town/village more remote?

If you aspire to posh around here, you will prefer Exeter. Topsham is gorgeous in the winter, dreadful from March to October. I don't really like Exeter, much prefer Plymouth. Exeter has better shopping though. And a fantastic rugby club, currently #3 nationally.

Plymouth city centre is currently, but slowly, being revamped. With Devon in general, think about transport links for work especially for your young people as it's very hard to work outside of the city radius if you don't drive.

RaininSummer has a point; the first thing you consider for your 17yo is the ability to drive; it is the most important thing in this area. The public transport is dreadful so a 17yo needs a licence and a cheap reliable car, not shared.

Tavistock area would be my personal pick. One of the surrounding villages like Mary tavy or somewhere.
Okehampton is a bit grungy. (Or as a pp said, less wealthy)
I quite like crediton.
Close to Exeter, pretty close to the moors. Has enough industry going on there it feels like a living town rather than a ghost community to me.
Newtons st cyres/tedburn St Mary areas have some gorgeous countryside around.

Bit of a commute to London ?

We moved to Bideford from Birmingham 16 years ago with our 4 children. I love it. Very friendly town with stuff going on plus walking distance to the sea 😊 lots of beautiful places within a short drive too.

Had to go to visit my mom today took 3.5 hours to go from Bideford to junction 9 of the m6 so not hideously cut off.

town centre is a bit run down but that’s the same everywhere due to the downturn in retail. There are nice independent shops cafes and pubs. Brilliant live music venue and pubs with bands on every weekend. In the summer we go to westward ho where there is even more choice of entertainment.

absolutely wouldn’t live anywhere else tbh.

Mary Tavy would not be my choice. Yelverton perhaps. Okehampton is not pretty and it's bleak, but it's a better town than most.. If you are minted, Chagford is lovely.

From me, in SE Cornwall, it's an hour to Exeter by car on fastish roads, then two or 2.5 hours on the train. I used to "commute" twice weekly back in the 1990s.

I am an enthusiast for the whole area. I've lived here since 1990 and almost everywhere is lovely, even unloved Okehampton has nice parts! And actually in the days I went to Okey every morning and evening to meet a school bus, I reckoned the food shopping was even better than Tavistock, apart from the cheese shop. Locals will know that Tavistock has a cheese shop that rivals Fortnums and the one in Bath.

Add Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton and Beer on to your list.

It does depend on your budget tho. You’ll probably get more for your money in Bideford than you would in Beer for example. I would have liked to live in Westward Ho! but we couldn’t afford a house big enough for us there and actually living in Bideford gave the children more independence as they could walk to school and clubs etc and easily socialise with their friends without relying on moms taxi. Buses run more frequently between Bideford and Barnstaple which allows easier access to college and a bigger town and a railway station.

on a practical level we chose very well. It is also a fairly easy trip up to the motorway which opens up a huge amount of possibilities. Yes it’s a long journey to get anywhere but it’s pretty straightforward and it’s the price you pay for living in an absolutely stunning area.