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.

We moved over a decade ago from the south east to cornwall.

It is true a lot of secondary schools are absolutely dire. Neither of mine attended secondary school in the county.

People - it’s a mixed bag. We have made wonderful true friends here. Almost none of them are ‘proper Cornish’ although those who are that we know in our village are mostly pleasant and kind. There are a few exceptions.

The roads are busy, falling apart, and many are closed randomly and have years long extensive roadworks. This is the thing that impacts my quality of life here the most at the moment because there is so much new housing development going on the roads are all being torn apart and reconfigured for that. And public transport is a distant myth I remember only from my London days 😂.

All these things said, the things we moved for - outdoor lifestyle, coast, moors, nature, village life etc have all lived up to what we expected and more. We won’t ever leave I would say.

We both run successful businesses so that has helped. Otherwise decent career type work would be limited unless you are in public sector, defence, agriculture…

I would add that north Devon has all the same problems Cornwall has. Particularly around drugs, healthcare and schools.

@MyGodMyThighs I think that's a very fair summary. Our friends are a mix of people who've moved and people who never have (though that's largely because we both grew up here and made the move back). Schools really do suffer from a lack of aspiration, and had we not made successes of our life educationally and financially, and foisted those expectations on our own children, I think they might have struggled in the state system. As it was though, they did well - and moved away for opportunities. I suspect one of them might return one day as we did, but we'll see.

There is a sense here that we are at the literal end of the line and that funding doesn't reach us. All the talk of northern powerhouses and HS2 is frustrating, when we have ropey rail links that take us 5 hours to reach London!

@accidentalmillionaire I don’t hog it! I let it out. To all the holiday makers you love. They spend money and use local services. As do I for maintenance. Often at rip off prices.

People move to Cornwall for the life away from it all. That’s what you get. You cannot have the same services as London and what use is HS2 to the Shire counties it passes through? Absolutely no use at all. Have the Cornish ever looked at the destruction this route has caused? Even in the designated AONB areas. You think Cornwall had road closures, you are out of touch with the awfulness of living near HS2. It’s a complete nightmare and you don’t know what major construction is in Cornwall.

Just in case anyone is jealous of HS2, take a look.

Well thank you for that further update.

to be honest I’m not really sure why you have a house here. You seem to hate the place and the people. And lack any understanding of it. In just the same way as you accused your friend initially of her character failings.

look, we’ve derailed the thread with this bickering. I hope OP can see that Cornwall is beautiful, that most of its people are worth getting to know but that it comes with baggage. I think that’s how I’d sum it up. Also I’d aim for somewhere like Falmouth for an easier entry point

@accidentalmillionaire No, neither am I! Dc quite like it. It’s been a terrible investment. I came on the thread to really say it doesn’t work for everyone. I cannot imagine ever living there. Not in 1 million years but I had not realised that earlier, unfortunately. Big mistake and I don’t think we could sell it easily. We’ve tried a couple of times and I think it’s worth what we paid for it 17 years ago. Dc want to keep it! I’d much rather not have it.

Well North Devon is more remote and less accessible to hospitals etc than Cornwall. South Devon, depending where is expensive.
That said Exeter is great, good work opportunities and close to both the moors and the coasts.

I moved to Cornwall. I love it and will never leave I don't think. I've been here nearly 8 years.

I would say choose the area wisely. Being walking distance to the things you've come here for is vital. I can walk to the beach, pubs, village harbour in 5 minutes but I am totally rural. If you have to get in the car you won't do it. I'm very glad I didn't buy my 'dream house' which was a 10 minute drive away.

For kids it's difficult. I see children in my village living their best life on the water, swimming after school. Some of the locals kids are being brought up to have no ambition though. There are people here who have never been out of Cornwall. I see the situation of a parent on minimum wage raising kids who have no option than a minimum wage job in hospitality.

I have 2 friends who moved here with children. The kids all found it pretty difficult in late teenage years. One went to University but has come back and doesn't want to leave so is now working in a pub. Another has left to live in a city 6 hours away. Another has gained no qualifications and says she feels 'stuck' as there are so few opportunities here.

I would advise to look at schools first. There are good schools here- I know kids who've gone to Oxford and Cambridge from the local comp.

The poverty in Cornwall is real, as people say. But there are pockets everywhere in the UK though, it's no different. Yes it rains in the winter but doesn't it rain most places in the UK?! Yes it's miles from everywhere. I can't spin that one, it is indeed miles from everywhere.

Know a former vicar who had parishes in Cornwall, he equated the poverty to worse than Romania. A friend moved there for the better life and couldn’t get a decent job so moved back. Yes the lifestyle seems very appealing on a sunny day but what about in the depths of winter with the wind and rain not so much.
Pockets of Cornwall are vastly expensive due to the second home influx.
Can’t comment on schooling and much will depend on your choice of location.
The other consideration is the infrastructure and how much out on a limb the county is.

The problem with living in Cornwall is quite simply the poverty. It is is the second poorest region in Northern Europe (2nd to West Wales) and in the poorest 50 regions throughout Europe.

So to get on in life you really have to get out. But if you get out then you are stuck with a life long feeling of hireth that eats away at you.

Its a toughie....

I live in Cornwall. I love it. I made lots of friends. I have a child and I took her to the dentist today. We are applying to secondary schools and have a choice of 2 we like both 10mins away. We manage to go on holidays. I have a job and a not cute but comfortable, ordinary 2 bed house.

There are downsides of course and if you want city life this isn’t it but tbh, it’s great for us.

Main downside is probably driving a lot.

If you are wanting that lifestyle and not fixated on the south west, you can get a wonderful surfy lifestyle in Tynemouth, and Whitley Bay has excellent secondary schools. Lovely beaches all up the Northumberland coast too, but I can't give much info on schools. Newcastle is the nearest city and an awesome place for young people. As for your son, 9 is an awful age to move a child and personally I wouldn't do it to pursue my own dreams if they were happy and settled.

Have you considered south Wales, somewhere like Mumbles? So much easier to access and much better beaches imo. I’m a Kiwi and it’s the closest thing to home over here, as far as the coast goes.
We’ve just had a telecoms engineer out and they were on loan from Manchester as they’re so short of engineers in Wales.

We are from Sussex and moved from the southeast to south Devon
when children were end of primary. So happy we did it. They went to a brilliant grammar school and have grown up loving the sea and nature. We chose somewhere they could walk to friends or get buses so not isolated. Very welcoming and friendly, cheaper property than southeast and much less materialistic and aggressive on the roads (personal opinion). DC both said they had happy childhood and loved growing up here.

Also know young couple who have moved to Falmouth with young children. Can walk to gorgeous beaches. Very expensive property for size of it but they say worth it for the quality of life. Basically live on the beach in summer, go camping at weekends, great restaurants and music locally, always a festival to go to. They have found it friendly and welcoming. Their dream is to stay there if jobs allow.

Good luck making a decision OP.

Think carefully - and although it’s hard, you need to leave the tourist viewpoint at the border. Living here is just so different.
we moved from East Sussex, pre children - who are now teens. If things weren’t so complicated with being linked into multiple services here - I’d move back in a shot.

We’ve been here 20 years and the Cornwall we moved to isn’t one I recognise anymore.

negatives / considerations:
Property prices are insane
second homes are sucking the local life out of traditional villages and whitewashing them with gentrified delis and gift shops
transport links are awful, we both drive and yet still feel so isolated
cultural experiences are limited and then so far away. I miss trips into a city (id never live in a city though), access to music, theatre, wider cultural experiences are very limited
teens miss out on a lot of life experiences - it is isolating and so expensive and time consuming if they’d like to access music gigs or theme park type places.
In amongst the wealth of medical staff and city weekly commuters - there is huge poverty. Locals cannot afford to eat and drink out if earning local wages.
Addiction and mental health issues are rising dangerously
Beaches become an absolute zoo from June - October. The roads just clog up and it’s stressful to go about daily business - and impossible to access the places we moved here for.
NHS resources are stretched and scarce.
Schools are ok, depends on the area.
if you are moving away from a family support network - over time, this stings - and when hard life events happen things get very hard with the added logistical stress of being no where near family.
we feel that recreational opportunities for teens are limited and narrow. Teens gang aren’t outdoorsy get a real rough ride with little to do.
we love the sea but are in it less, south west water are abysmal and sewage dumping is too real and too regular.

positives:
winter is quieter and beautiful
Cornish culture is fascinating
it is generally safer than a lot of places
if you don’t like cities and 24ht access to food and entertainment - then it’s perfect
some lovely people live here
the Atlantic Ocean is fierce and beautiful
if you manage to find, and become a part of a community- it can be wonderful BUT the influx of people and new builds is definitely causing a tangible resentment and over stretching everything
living here we can pretend that the worlds crazy problems don’t exist.

punctuation does exist here - but not in my world tonight, apologies!

Another poster posted that Whitley bay offers the same but better for kids / schools etc. 100% agree

It’s a huge county - probably 3 hrs drive from one end to another. Choose your base wisely. A different perspective.. we moved here 20 years ago, I am Cornish and we live in the tamar valley.
Dc has access to outstanding grammar schools a 15 min train journey away in Plymouth and some Comps are fabulous.
There are plenty of activities for kids, sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking, rowing as well as the usual football, rugby and dance. I haven’t experienced drug culture though sure it exists. Summers and early autumn are spent on the beach or on Dartmoor. They are independent and had a wholesome childhood no

The downside, transport is terrible. Most kids are driving at 17. The music scene is not great unless you travel to Birmingham or Cardiff though local music is prevalent. Housing is expensive and wages are low. It takes along time to travel out of the county to an airport and can be insular.

Are you driving a tractor?

Trouble is , you can be behind one!

I always laugh because we talk about our 'local' friends who live in Cornwall too. Google maps shows them as 1 hour 48 minutes away!

This piqued my interest. So assuming no traffic then it's 2 hours from Sennen to Gunnislake. In summer daytime that could easily turn into 4 hours.

@Lordofmyflies How can most 17-18 year olds afford cars when it’s a deprived area? Who pays for the insurance ? Maybe you just know middle class families?

Yes, tractors in convoy are around in quite large numbers. They go quite fast and pull large trailers. The good news is, the A30 has had a lot of improvements done and there’s more dual carriageway.

Exactly! “it’s only 85 miles’ doesn’t work when the roads are often single lane and jammed with traffic. I think the quickest I’ve driven from Devon border to sennen is just over 2hrs .. it normally takes a lot longer.
From my observations, Cornwall is a county of 2 extreme halves. There are areas in land of huge deprivation, Redruth, St Austell, Camborne. Then there are the areas where people have better access to employment or have money from living or relocating outside of Cornwall. We are fortunate enough to live near a huge naval base which employees thousands of people at a relatively good salary for Cornwall. DC and friends were given a cheap under £1k car by parents or grandparents when they reached 17 and have part-time jobs in cafés or the like to pay for insurance and petrol as public transport is so limited.

Firstly in Cornwall if you are 18 years old and don't have a car then you will have no social life, no love life and no work.

So how do they afford a car and insurance? By buying the cheapest car possible (c£500) and then insuring it as an additional driver to their parents or failing that driving it without insurance.

I don’t think you live in a bubble, but you probably moved at least 20 years ago? When Cornwall was much more welcoming? House prices weren’t so high and recreational drug use wasn’t so prolific? There is a huge divide in wealth distribution, which has led to resentment and anger from many native Cornish. Work in Cornwall is pretty much government employment (NHS / teaching / police/ council etc) very limited private work mainly in care / tourism/ retail. There is very little industry in Cornwall, the fishing and farming industries have all suffered at the hands of successive incompetent governments, and poor road infrastructure (takes ages to get anyway and gridlocks in the summer months).
The coast line is beautiful, there are some very pretty little villages but places like padstow, porthleven , port Isaac, tintagel, bostcastle, Penzance st. Ives, Falmouth and Fowey have all been ruined by the crowds in summer and the smaller towns and villages become like ghost town in the winter. As a native born Kernow maid, I wouldn’t move there now. I still love to visit and have family and friends there, I love the open mic nights at my mates local pub, the dramatic cliffs and the beauty of the moors, but I don't miss the summer crowds, the nightmare roads and endless lanes reversing, or ridiculously expensive parking charges ditto water prices ditto commodity prices. Where I live now is so much cheaper as there is considerably more competition and choice, and generally greater potential to earn more, and free parking!!
surfing is great on the North Cornish / Devon coast, but the sea can be incredibly dangerous with strong rip tides, oh and filthy sewage regularly pumped out to sea…
a bit of trivia relating to the humble scone: its jam then cream if you are Cornish; cream then jam if you live in the next door county because traditionally Cornish cream was thinner than the Devonshire stuff! Try spreading very lightly whipped cream then jam on your scone and you’ll see it’s somewhat messy, now spread it on jam and it’s easier. In Devon they had this preposterous idea of making very thick (clotted) cream, which obviously wouldn’t sit on top of the jam so had to be put on the bread base first…at least that’s what my Cornish granny told me, but you never quite new if she was yanking the chain or telling the truth!.
Now if you want decent surfing and clean water, brilliant weather and spectacular scenery I’d be heading for Portugal!

It’s not a huge county (unless you include the sea between mainland and the Scilly isles)! It doesn’t take long to go from north to south coast, but it’s a longish county, and the roads are slow so Saltash to landsend feels like it takes FOREVER! but it’s only 80ish miles, and despite sat nav. Telling you it’s approx 90 mins, I’ve never done it in less than 2 and a half hours, normally closer to three!