Relocating to Cornwall

[Vickivicster]

We’re seriously considering moving to Cornwall and I’d really love some honest opinions from anyone who has actually done it, particularly with children.
We’re a family of three currently living in Sussex where I grew up. We love where we live in a lot of ways, but we’re increasingly drawn to Cornwall for the lifestyle – being closer to the coast, beaches, walking etc and it reminds us of the lifestyle we had when my husband and ai lived in New Zealand. Additionally we feel we are being priced out the area here and property prices in our area are becoming unattainable.

We’re at the point where we’re actually looking at houses, rather than it just being a vague idea, so it’s starting to feel like a very real possibility.
The thing I’m most worried about is schools.
Our DS is 9 and will be heading towards secondary school age, which makes me slightly nervous about moving now. He would be going into a mainstream secondary school and is generally doing well, but obviously changing schools, leaving friends behind and starting somewhere completely new feels like quite a big thing at this age.
For those who have moved to Cornwall with children around this age, how did you find it? Did your DC settle in OK and make friends? How have you found the secondary schools generally?
And what about actually living there long term? Did you buy a house before moving, or rent first? Did you feel you knew enough about the area before buying? I’m conscious that looking at an area for a weekend is very different from actually living there year-round.
I’d particularly love to hear from people who moved from elsewhere in England rather than people who have always lived in Cornwall. Was it what you expected? Do you still love it? Anything you wish you’d known before making the move?
We’re not expecting it to be perfect and I’m definitely interested in the negatives as well as the positives. I think I’m just trying to work out whether we’re romanticising the idea of Cornwall or whether it really could be a better lifestyle for us.
Any experiences, particularly from families with school-age children, would be really appreciated.

What will your plans be for employment?

I know Cornwall well and have lived there on and off.

The schools are dire. You can usually find a nice primary in a good village, but secondaries are a completely different kettle of fish and have huge catchments with all sorts of impoverished areas incorporated. Unless you can afford private of course.

Young people don’t thrive there. They either leave or fall in with a ‘bad crowd’. There are a LOT of drugs, teenage pregnancy, violence and poverty, which you will not see as a visitor. It’s all there below the surface but invisible unless you live there.

That’s not to say don’t do it - but life as a ‘local’ is very very different to life as a tourist in ways that are hard to explain on here.

Honestly if I wanted a relaxed beach lifestyle but I didn’t want my kids to end up addicted to ketamine or a NEET, I would look at the Dorset coast.

honestly? Rural life for teens is boring, I think you'll regret it

Also bear in mind Cornwall is difficult to fully integrate into because they’re an isolated group who have a distinct culture from the rest of the South West. Unless you were born and raised there you’re an emmett and it’s not easy to feel 100% at home.

You're romanticising it. Can you both drive? Are you happy to be a permanent taxi service? Have you actually looked at the price of houses in the cutsie areas you would probably want to live in? Are you prepared to only have 1 acute hospital in the county & little chance of getting an NHS dentist? What are you planningvto do for work? etc etc etc

I know Cornwall reasonably well and I think the reality of living there can be VERY different from visiting.
Some communities are incredibly insular. You can live there for 20 years and still be an “incomer” (or emmet). What gets romantically described as “fierce Cornish identity” can sometimes feel more like old-fashioned parochialism and suspicion of anyone whose grandparents weren’t born within 5 miles 😬
Some of the resentment is understandable. Local wages are low, opportunities limited and people arriving with SE salaries/equity can afford houses many locals can’t. But that resentment doesn’t always come out attractively.
I’d also take the comments about secondaries seriously.

There are pockets of poverty, drugs and low aspirations that you simply don’t see on holiday.

It’s not a very welcoming place to ‘new’ people and that would be my concern. They just about tolerate holiday makers.

I live in Cornwall, born here - it's absolute hell in the summer months, everywhere is so busy, the traffic is a living nightmare.
We've no decent airports & have to fly from Exeter (limited routes) or Bristol, which adds a lot of extra travelling. There's one decent theatre for the whole county.

Previous comments about schooling are spot on & most kids have long bus journeys for secondary. There's zero chance of getting an NHS dentist & job opportunities are limited. There's a lot of poverty.
There's a scarcity of rental properties.
Think very, very carefully....

Cornwall is,lovley but not a place to bring up teenagers, so much poverty there, its a nightmare in the summer. Have you thought about hospitals and dentists? Let alone getting a doctor appointment.
We relocated to Somerset once the kids left home its lovley but still an hour to our nearest major hospital, public transport is rubbish, but these are all things we factored in. My adult children love to vist but say they would never live here.

I love Cornwall but I think you have to be realistic if moving there.
For us, as we get older it would be medical care and the distances involved.

My FIL lived in mid-Cornwall and when he became ill it was the distance to the hospitals that were a real problem. Truro, Exeter & Plymouth (had to go to a different hospitals depending on the specialist, treatment etc) none were just down the road and it meant real issues getting to appointments and when he was ultimately hospitalised, awkward for family to visit, again because of the distances & transport links.

Don't get me wrong, absolutely love the county but as someone who attends hospital regularly, I just could not do it.

Thought I would offer my positive perspective. We moved 7 years ago from the south east when son was 7. He says he prefers our life here to the one we used to have. He is very happy in his small secondary school and I would have been equally happy with his second choice. Yes he gets on a bus but it isnt a huge deal, he has friendsnin our village too for weekends etc. He has NHS dentist, i pay. The local urgent care is excellent and my experience of the main hospital is also great. The hospital i lived near in the south east was shocking in comparison! Yes some things are far to travel to, but I didn't go to the theatre before so don't worry now either. There are some small local venues that have some great acts too. Decent shops are far away, but online shopping exists and it doesn't bother us.
My main negative is that cost of living is very high here compared to wages which can be hard. Weather can be very wet but as soon as the sun comes out you forget all about it!
I say if you have jobs, give it some serious thought - what do you actually want from life? It may well suit you - it does us. Good luck with what ever you decide.

I know someone who grew up there in a large family. All of them have left, and even now the parents. They didn’t want to stay and raise their own families there for many of the reasons mentioned on this thread

It’s a beautiful place, I grew up there and return multiple times a year. It’s also bleak. In ways you definitely can’t appreciate from visiting. Pps have covered it - poverty, desperate poverty, a kind of greyness that seeps across entire villages and towns, a real lack of quality education post 11 unless you can pay, and limited opportunities for young people. I loved Cornwall, love Cornwall now and couldn’t wait to leave at 18, and wouldn’t move back now - especially since having children as I would see it as taking a lot away from them. It’s easy to imagine an outdoorsy lifestyle and beach walks etc but I’d really try and factor in the reality of life in Cornwall away from the pretty spots, coffee shops and pretty harbours etc. Not trying to be patronising, or suggesting you’re being naive, in my weak moments I still do it myself but I can then quickly channel my 16 year old self who couldn’t wait to get away.

I moved to Cornwall in my 30s, on my own, with 2 small children. I honestly don’t recognise the Cornwall described above but perhaps I live in a bubble!

I don’t live rurally, I live in a lively town, a five minute walk from a fantastic beach in one direction and a ten minute walk to shops and restaurants etc in the other. I have a great life and know that I’m very lucky.

My children moved away for university and jobs but have now moved back to bring up their own children.

Winters can be bleak but I found them equally bleak in the South-East! As they say, ‘wherever you go, there you are’. Which is so true. If you’re a drain not a radiator you’ll find it difficult wherever you go.

With AI the job opportunities will not necessarily be any different in Cornwall to anywhere else, depending on the actual job of course.

I wish you lots of luck, OP, whatever you decide.

Thanks everyone for all the replies and different perspectives — it’s really helpful to hear from people who have actually made the move.
I think the comments about teenage life and secondary schools are particularly useful for us, as ultimately our son is the biggest consideration in all of this. We absolutely love the idea of the Cornish lifestyle, but we wouldn’t want to make the move if it meant compromising his teenage years, so the school and social side of things is a huge factor for us.
We also love surfing and beach life, which is a big part of why we’re so drawn to Cornwall and why being close to a proper beach is important to us. We’re looking for that outdoor, coastal lifestyle but somewhere that also works really well for a family as he gets older.
We’re also looking at Devon as an alternative, so if anyone has experience of moving to Devon with children, particularly around the north/east coast, I’d love to hear your thoughts on secondary schools, teenage life and what it’s actually like living there year-round.
Thanks again — lots to think about!

As per @toastycoldas the parent of a teen brought up in Cornwall, she had the best childhood. She is sporty and outdoorsy, loathes big cities and is choosing a university based on replicating her seaside lifestyle here.

The schools are no better or worse than average, but you don’t have choice as there’s typically only one or possibly two in your catchment.

Yes, kids often move away once they are adults but that’s the norm all over the country.

I think Devon is a good compromise. It’s less isolated than Cornwall, but still has lovely coast, moors, and countryside. If jobs weren’t a thing, Devon would be my county of choice to live in.

However, assuming you want to live near the coast, in a pretty town/village, is it any more affordable than Sussex?

Has your DD looked at Swansea? I drew an arc up to 5 hours away and Swansea just sneaked in. It was very similar to being at home.

Where in Cornwall are you drawn to?
A lot of the things mentioned (schools, isolation, no prospects etc) depend on the area.

You can easily live an outdoorsy, surfing, walking life in any county with a sea coast. I'd look closer to where you are.

The alternative Cornish lifestyle is not all it's cracked up to be, you're definitely idealising it.

Rental properties are almost impossible to come by, with 70-100 applications to each one in my area.

No NHS dentist anywhere in the county without joining a 10 year waiting list.

Public transport has been decimated so is a huge problem, including school commutes.

Access to jobs... What jobs? Part time minimum wage exists, but career options are difficult and well paid local work is few and far between.

Colleges have closed many campuses so you'll need to be able travel to centralised locations for that. See again the public transport issue.

Kids will likely leave the county for university and be unable to afford to come back. We are considering a move out of Cornwall for our work but this almost certainly rules us out of ever being able to afford to return.

Housing might be expensive in Sussex but education and employment is more accessible. Housing here is also expensive though and is disproportionately expensive to the low incomes down here.

Yes, it’s her no.1 choice!

Also Cornwall is lovely at the moment, had the beach to ourselves yesterday. But the holidays are so busy and the holiday season seems to be getting longer. Once you’re used to being here out of season, in season is painful!

This!

There are things that can be frustrating - more difficult to fly anywhere decent as have to travel to Bristol or London. Lack of food delivery options 😂 No proper shopping centre. Only one proper hospital for the entire county (which does a LOT however for a DGH).

However in my experience this is more than made up for the kinder people, easy access to multiple beaches after work and on weekends, stunning scenery, sense of community (there are tonnes of ‘outsiders’ where I live and I’ve never once been made to feel I’m not wanted).

I would do it again in a a heartbeat. I do however live centrally and wouldn’t cope with somewhere much more rural as we need the train station and hospital.

Dorset also very underrated. It’s a better kept secret than Devon - coastline just as beautiful and schools much better. Dorchester is gorgeous, that would be my pick if I was looking for relocation.

We have done this. Love it so far. We have always lived rural so no shocks there for us. What kind of lifestyle do you have currently op?
We have actually found everyone very welcoming and friendly! We have found ourselves immediately part of a community and invited to lots of things!
My children are very outdoorsy so it's been wonderful. My eldest really loves his secondary school. I do agree you have to be picky with those. My younger two have settled in really well touches wood that even includes additional needs. We are likely all audhd so we don't cope with change easily 😂 but the outdoors life for us is so calming. My children have described it like living on holiday!

By all means ask me in 3 years time who knows but certainly for us so far it's been a great move.

The Dorset coast is my dream location but when we were there recently we were told Dorchester has gone very downhill which is such a shame. Weymouth on the other hand was much nicer than I remembered.