Considering a relocation to Devon - North vs South?

[SeaAirAndSand]

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are seriously considering moving to Devon from Sussex with our DS, who will be approaching secondary school age by the time we move.
We want to be close to the sea and having the beach in walking distance. Unfortunately where we are based in Sussex it feels we are being priced out the area. We enjoy sports, outdoors life and beginner surfers that would love to make that a regular hobby instead of a holiday activity and would love somewhere we can make the most of the coast as a family day to day, rather than just visiting on holiday.

Initially, we'd been looking more at Cornwall as we are more familiar with it, but the more we've looked into secondary schools and future opportunities for our son, the more we feel Devon would be a better fit.

There are a few things that are particularly important to us:

Good secondary schools. This is probably our biggest consideration, our son is sporty and thrives with an active lifestyle and sporting clubs.

A proper coastal lifestyle. We'd ideally like to live in a coastal town or village, with easy access to beaches, surfing, walks and the outdoors. Living somewhere where we have to drive a long way to reach the coast wouldn't really suit us as we wouldn't gain much from where we are now.

A nice place to raise a family. We're looking for somewhere that feels safe, welcoming and family-friendly, with a good community and things for children and teenagers to do. We'd also like to understand which areas have more significant deprivation, antisocial behaviour or other issues that might affect day-to-day life. I'm not naive and know that all areas have pros and cons but I'm looking for generalised advice from people who know the areas.

South Devon seems to offer more employment opportunities for myself as I currently work in speciality dentistry nursing, however my husbands job will be able to relocate to either South or North Devon. From what I've seen so far, there seem to be more opportunities around Exeter and South Devon, but I'd love to hear from anyone working in dentistry locally.

For those who know Devon well, or have moved there with children approaching secondary school age, I'd really appreciate your honest opinions.

North Devon: Is the Braunton area as good for family life as it looks? What are the surrounding villages and coastal towns like to live in all year round, rather than just visit? Are there enough opportunities for teenagers, and how do families find the secondary schools?

South Devon: Are there particular coastal towns or villages you'd recommend for family life, good secondary schools and easy beach access? Is it possible to enjoy that coastal lifestyle while still having reasonable access to Exeter and a wider range of jobs?

We're not expecting anywhere to be perfect, and we know every town has its pros and cons. We're just trying to get a realistic picture of what life would be like before making such a big move.

Thanks so much!

The first thing that the majority of DP's year group did in 6th form was start looking to get university places as far away as possible and in urban areas particularly, just as they do every year. Most only ever go back for funerals or the occasional Christmas visit.

My parents lived in Braunton for several years and loved it. But they were older, so no school/job issues. Also, they chose Braunton because they thought it was a proper town - not just a tourist hot spot. Since they sold (my dbro and I both live on the east coast, and they wanted to be nearer us), Braunton has become an Air B & B town.

If you end up looking in Braunton, buy a yearly parking permit for Saunton Sands, btw. Expensive, but worth it.

South Devon has everything you want apart from good surfing. If you’re ok with swimming/SUPping/sailing etc instead, then it’s a no brainer. But it is also a lot more expensive than north Devon. North Devon is super remote.
and i do have relevant experience - I grew up in inland Cornwall from 4-20yrs and loved it, no regrets about being a teenager in a rural area from me.

Bantham is the only place in South Devon which is any good for surf but if you are close to Exeter then it's reasonably quick to get to some of the north coast beaches for a day trip.

Bantham and much of the South Hams is lovely but a real faff to get anywhere as the roads are all quite small and get easily blocked.

We live in Exmouth, right on the beach. Great bus and rail links to Exeter.
There is a really vibrant community here with lots to do for all ages. Huge watersports community, great fitness communities and great for those with an active lifestyle. We have Woodbury Common on our doorstep which is wonderful as you have the coast and woodland to explore.

Grew up in north Cornwall and live in South Devon now. So much more here and Plymouth is a fab city, as is Exeter. Good travel links and Plymouth has great grammar and local schools. Villages by sea can be super pricey though.

I would also recommend Exmouth.

Absolutely loads to do, lots of watersports and loads and loads of community activities. The secondary is large but this means lots of options for gcse and sports etc. You also have Colyton if looking for grammar and some travel into Exeter for private or selective schools like St Peter's.

Regular trains to Exeter, really near the M5, easy drive to Woodbury and then Dartmoor not far away.

I have teens in Devon and don't recognise the 'nothing to do and need to get away' comments. Mine absolutely love their lives here and never have a minute spare!

My family moved to the South Hams in 1987. My younger sister went to KCC - Kingsbridge Community College - to complete her GCSEs and A levels. Fast forward 30+ years to 2019 and my youngest son completed his A Levels at KCC.

There are some lovely coastal villages around the Kingsbridge area. Yes, some like Salcombe are very expensive if you want a huge pad with an estuary view, although interestingly prices have dropped there since owning a second-home became much more expensive!! . My Mum lives in Salcombe but with a rural view, and the estate she lives on is ok price wise compared to Sussex, and the beach is 10 mins walk down a track.
(I now live in West Sussex by the beach).

Other family live in Chillington. I lived there too for a while, and my kids (when older teens) walked to the beach at Torcross just over 2 miles away. They also had part-time summer jobs in hospitality within a few miles walking distance. There is good surfing and a surf life saving club at Bantham that my niece attends, and every other sport you can think of in the area.

Yes, lots of the young people leave for uni and don't come back ..... or at least don't come back until they start their own families. My younger sister and several of her friends did exactly that. And lets be honest, wherever you live, young people go off to uni, and then choose to start their career somewhere other than where they grew up, irrespective of where you live.

I love the South Hams and only moved away because I took a promotion to a national role with my employer.

Best of luck with wherever you choose to move to.

I would say South Devon has way more to offer. It has links to Exeter and Plymouth, exmouth is a busy town, lots to offer especially in the way of clubs and activities for teens.

We live in north Devon.

1. public transport isn’t great, trains are overcrowded, people have been left without transport. Buses are few and far between and it takes a long time to travel on the bus. Our eldest will need to travel over an hour each way and get up very early to catch the first us into Exeter for college.
2. its important to look at the colleges, especially due to the travel issues, as I said our child is going to Exeter.
3. there’s not many schools to chose from, none are exceptional but avoid d-mat.
4. roadworks! There’s always roadworks, they often take months before they are removed, this causes more delays.
5. Villages and towns aren’t as well maintained, infrastructure here is an issue, more houses are being built, populations are increasing so there’s pressure on gp surgeries, there’s no dentist for nhs patients.
6. Theres one hospital, wait times for ambulances and in a&e are very long.
7. its stunning, a very beautiful place to live, amazing beaches for surfing and water based sports but rural, there’s not much for teens to do.
8. driving is essential!
9. Please also consider that a lot of properties do rely on heating fuel, and that’s incredibly expensive right now.
10. unless you live in a larger town, supermarkets and shopping centres are far, we have to travel 30 - 45 minutes to go shopping otherwise we order online. Same goes for cinemas or takeaway! My family live in Essex and London, they complain endlessly that everything is so far away.
11. banks are few as well so make sure you know where you need to travel to if you need to do anything in person. Again we have to travel an hour to get to our nearest branch.

1. I know that seems like a lot of negatives, we love living here and wouldn’t change it but I’m just being realistic with the challenges we face. We love that we have Dartmoor and Exmoor on our doorsteps, we have stunning beaches, reservoirs and amazing forests. I would always recommend signing up for national trust or English heritage as there’s so many locations to visit

Cornwall is full of incomers and is dead in the winter because of all the holiday homes, so I'd discount that straight away. Same with a lot of the South Hams in south Devon. Anywhere around Torquay is absolutely dire. I would be looking at Exeter or Plymouth so your kids actually have something to do as they get older. They can get on a bus and have some independence. When I lived rurally, we had one bus a week to the local town!

Just be aware, there are few well paid jobs in this part of the SW. Depending on your situation, this may not be such an issue. But it most likely will be when your kids start work.

I live in South Devon, don't really know North Devon as it is such a faff to get to!

We moved to North Devon 16 years ago from the midlands. We are pretty close to the sea. Friend lives in Saunton so has to get through braunton to get anywhere. Traffic is generally shocking.

public transport is patchy so we made the decision to live in a town with schools and doctors and supermarkets etc so we don’t have to drive all the time.

we are very happy here but jobs are a challenge for the kids. Son is ok because he’s a tradie but my daughters are still finding their way.

For walking to Sea /surfing potential and good school access Wembury is a good option. It’s near Plymouth for jobs / activities as well. If you can drop the need for a walk and just happy to hop in the car there are loads of options around the South Hams. You will need to be a taxi for the kids in any of the village as the bus service is dreadful, but towns like Ivybridge or Kingsbridge would work.

There are loads of holiday lets around the area probably best to do a trip around to work out what feels right for you?

I grew up in North Devon and lived in Exeter for my gap year. @PrincessSakura has summed up North Devon very accurately. It's a beautiful destination for a holiday, and if you have transport, bear in mind in the north you will generally be an hour+ from the motorway, and you've still got to get to Bristol before you can leave the southwest if you're wanting to go and visit friends, family, etc and if people are heading to Cornwall on holiday, unless you're right on the A30, they'll keep going because they want to get to their destination, so you still don't see them. And the M5 is so bad you won't want to leave on any Fridays/weekends in the summer.

I don't think the challenge of almost non-existent public transport so needing to be a car driver (although you will still have massive traffic jams, especially through the summer) and a lack of employment opportunities, especially for DS as he gets a bit older - yes there will be summer jobs but very little all year should be underestimated.

We only ever visited the beaches in the winter when it was quieter, and we could take the dogs. The same with going up onto the moors. I was on Dartmoor in August last year, making a weekend of going down for a funeral, and the traffic was horrendous; we ended up abandoning most of our plans because of it.

My advice, if you're seriously considering it, would be to go down as much as you can through this winter and see what it's really like out of season (so not Christmas/New Year week), but when nobody is around, and its cold, wet, and windy, and decide then whether or not you would still enjoy it. It's an amazing area. I don't regret my childhood, but I certainly wouldn't be moving back now.

I live in Torquay and it has everything that you are looking for other than surfing on the doorstep, you’d probably need to drive about an hour to get decent surfing. Here most people are into SUPs and Kayaking as it’s quite sheltered.

If you want decent surfing on the doorstep you’d be better off in North Devon or Cornwall.

Torquay does have pockets of antisocial behaviour but if you choose a decent part of town you should be fine. If you prefer more of a village feel you could look at one of the surrounding villages but remember you might end up spending a lot of time in the car getting to and from things.

If you’d like to know more you could join the facebook group ‘Love Torquay’ for more detailed recommendations as to areas.

I personally think North Devon and Cornwall are more beautiful than a lot of South Devon but we have more to do in the winter and it’s better connected here so although we go to both fairly often on holidays we are really happy to have the balance we have here, especially as our children grow into teens.

I have lived in North Devon for 30 years. I love it BUT it can be very wet and windy, secondary schools are pretty limited (don’t expect a choice!), very little in the way of entertainment for teens unless they’re into surfing (be prepared to drive them around to places), very little in the way of shopping/theatre, etc if you’re used to a big town vibe. You have to be prepared for this. If you are, it’s a wonderful place to live!

As someone who has lived very happily in Torquay for 10years I think you’re completely off (and a bit rude) calling it ‘absolutely dire’. My friends are all very happy to live here and we’ve got some great secondary schools.

I’d hate for the poster to rule out the area based on your statement. For the posters benefit could you share what your specific concerns about Torquay are? Which part of South Devon do you live in?

For the original posters benefit I would agree that the bigger cities like Plymouth and Exeter do have more employment opportunities. Many do commute from Torquay area to Exeter area but it’s an awkward commute from Torquay to Plymouth.

South Devon or East Cornwall all the way - great schools and Plymouth is undertaking a huge transformation with so much investment. Housing is affordable, good transport system, hospitals, fantastic schools; the coast is on your doorstep and beautiful Dartmoor is a stone’s throw away. HMNB Devonport is screaming out for employees, including apprentices and grads, in all skill sets as it’s set to grow hugely over the next decade and beyond. The only compromise might be lack of surfing, so paddle boarding might be your mid-week evening activity with a trip to the north coast of Devon and Cornwall at weekends. You won’t regret it!

Have you ever visited Devon for a holiday or to see friends or family?
I'm in South Devon.
@TheKitchenLadyim possibly where you were.
Lots of great advice on this thread.
As for your job, you're in a great position really.
We only have a few private dentists but I often see them advertising in my town.
We have one NHS practice.

Id definitely think about your ds tho, my offspring was brought up here. Went to uni, came home and cannot find a job. Yet enjoys the peace so that's a bonus and is used to the life.
Do you think your ds is happy to move from the environment he knows now to such a different one.

Plymouth is my happy place. You have the sea on one side and Dartmoor on the other so the best of both worlds. My husband was born and bred there and we always wanted to go back. We don't have children but I would have been happy to raise them there.

What about work? What do you do?

Sorry, specialist dental nursing ? Presumably you need to be near a major hospital? I can’t imagine there are vast amounts of opportunities for you unless you work in private practice