Bought a house in Devon
 

So perhaps our wanderings are over. We meant to settle on the south Devon coast, but when we came back from Canada we were tempted by the lovely north and rented in Whitby. Lovely place but too cold and harsh for us.

So we rented down here in Dawlish, and a house just turned up nearby. :thumbsup: Lovely sea view, stuck in the late '70s so it needs work, but priced accordingly. And as we're renting we don't have to live in the middle of the unheaval!

We don't think property is a growth investment any more, and reckon prices could well go down, but this will be our home for quite a while, we hope.

Bev :)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

How exciting. Congratulations. :thumbsup:
How long does it all take seeing you are renting and ready to move in?

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Great news Congratulations hope you will be happy there.
I agree with the north being too harsh born and bred in Yorkshire,but when we get home it will be the south coast for us, can't wait.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congratulations

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congratulations Bev!!

I'm new to this forum and have been reading the posts with great interest. You sound very happy to be home; that's wonderful. We are planning to return to the UK this year, after 30 years in Canada, and will also be looking for property in Devon.

We have to sell ours here first of course, but have already started looking on Rightmove in the area from Looe to the Dorset border. We're considering all of the coastal towns (I really really want a sea view) including Torquay, Teignmouth, Brixham, Dawlish etc. etc.

Have you found it easy to fit in and be accepted? I know when we've been back on holiday, everyone thinks we're Canadian or American (!) even though our Canadian friends think we sound very very english.

We do want to become part of the community wherever we settle and I believe that in some smaller towns, it can take a while to be accepted.

I imagine you must be very busy with a new house to work on, if you have the time, I would love to hear your opinions of the places you looked at in the area.

Thanks. Denise

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Hi Denis.

We searched the same range, but in one way we were spoiled for choice, in another not finding precisely what we wanted. We do have family in Dawlish, so that helped in the end, but it wasn't key.

One factor was communication. I think Looe has a train line, but east Exmouth the coast isn't on the train line. We find being able to hop onto a train to London, Bristol, et al very convenient. The main line that passes through Dawlish leaves the coast at Paignton, I think, but goes down to Penzance.

They've almost got rid of the direct trains just recently, so we mostly have to change in Exeter, but it's still a good service.

We like Exeter, and it's not far away. Another factor.

Not far to the motorway for driving north or east.

A lot of people like Torquay, but we just didn't take to it when we looked. There's a lot going on there, though, if that matters. Dawlish is definitely sleepy, but the people do seem very friendly. One thing about these small coastal towns is that a lot of people are incomers -- and also of retirement age. They're quite welcoming.

More later. We're off to Spain soon. Another advantage of returning to teh UK!

Bev

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congratulations, here's to a smooth move.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Good Morning Bev,

Thanks so much for the info, very helpful. We did find a few nice properties in our price range in Torquay, but were a bit put off by how busy it will be in summer. I guess this applies to most of the coastal towns. Dawlish is such a lovely place with fabulous walks. Perhaps the secret is to live within walking distance of the daily necessities and driving distance of somewhere bigger to shop. We plan on going somewhere warm for a month or two in the winter, so will probably be there all summer. You must be so excited; I bet you can't believe it? Looking forward to more reports:). Denise

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

That's great news, Bev! I can imagine that Whitby, lovely though it is, is a bit parky for much of the time LOL! Dawlish sounds great!

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congratulations !

I am quite envious lol :)

It sounds like a lovely spot you have chosen :)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

It's a bit bloody foggy!!

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Well done Bev, I hope you will both be very happy!! :thumbsup:

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Wow, so happy and jealous for you Bev!!!!!!!! have a wonderful life.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congrats! Dawlish is lovely, nice golf course there too!:thumbsup:

We spent a couple of weeks in last June scouting out Devon and Cornwall for our planned return later this month. We flew from Toronto straight into Exeter on Air Transat which was a real bonus, headed to Looe and worked our way westward along the south coast to Truro, north to coast and all the way along to Somerset and then south to the east Devon coast. We did 1500 miles in the two weeks - a lot of driving considering much of it was on A & B roads.

We thought where Cornwall edged it in terms of tranquility and its picturesque beauty - Fowey, St Mawes and Boscastle in particular and Truro is a perfect sized city, very nice feel about it and some beautiful architecture, Devon had more livable year-round communities and better access to transport links. We liked the Jurassic coastal area from Budleigh to Lyme Regis, though the lack of a direct train line might have us favouring Honiton or Axminster.

We've a Colyford holiday rental booked for 4 weeks in late January while we seek out an unfurnished place for a 12 month rental:fingerscrossed:

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Lovely reading stories of people returning "home." I would love to go back myself. I have been here 5 years. Out of interest does anyone know what % of Brits return from Canada???

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Good luck with your trip this month sounds wonderful. I think we'll be following in your footsteps hopefully later this year. BYW what made you decide to go for an unfurnished rental, are you shipping your furniture?

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

We'll want the longer term rental in a specific area, far more likely to be an unfurnished rental, particularly with us needing pet space. We had no heirlooms nor assisted relocation! so all furniture was sold in Toronto, shipped 24 largish boxes with personal stuff such as clothes and the like which I guess is somewhere between mid-Atlantic and Liverpool.

Had the most fab expat 20 years: Germany/Munich, Canada/Toronto, US/San Fran and Canada/Toronto. We got the pull to return for something longer than a visit during a trip to the Lakes in 2009 and prior to that point had not much thought about going back. Our trip to the south west last summer just reinforced that urge:)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

That Lake District will do it every time!! :thumbsup: I was lucky enough to live there for 6 months in 2009, what a place, we may have passed each other. :)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Hi Workhouse, That's very helpful info...thanks. We are planning on selling all our furniture too. First, though, we have to sell property. We've been in Canada for 30 years, lots of good times, but now we've both taken early retirement, we're looking for a new adventure with a touch of home thrown in!

Our plan is to research towns to live (Devon, Cornwall or Dorset) online plus input from the lovely people on this forum. Then narrow it down to 3 or 4 places. Once we've sold, move over there, rent for a month or so, and hope to buy asap. Sooo, we'll see how it goes.

Good luck with your move.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Cheers, you too!:)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Do those of you moving to Devon have friends or family there?

That would be my chosen spot if I had absolute freedom, but all our friends and family are in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Scotland, so it just doesn't seem to make sense. I still toy with it though and am very envious.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

None in Devon. I've some in north Cornwall, the immediate being up in Manchester. The missus lot are in Wiltshire.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

We are almost neighbours. My partner and I have just relocated to Devon from Canada after 37 years there. Presently in Teignmouth but are in the process of buying a house in Brixham. Looked at a property in Dawlish also where I have quite a few relatives. Good luck with the house. :)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Yes, my sister lives in Devon, and I have a few cousins, although am not really in touch them them. I woud still move there even without the family connection though. Growing up in Somerset, I spent many childhood holidays in Devon visiting my Grandma and other family. Also when my husband and I were first "going out" we used to go camping in Devon and Cornwall and always loved it. Of course, we couldn't live there then as we needed jobs:).

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Denise, that works for us. Dawlish and Teignmouth have plenty for day to day shopping, and we can walk into Dawlish. It's pretty easy to find a house there in walking distance. In fact, if you're a walker, everywhere is!

Then Exeter and Newton Abbot for bigger things.

Bev

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Congrats David on finding a property. Spent several holidays in Brixham when I was a child. My dad loved to go down and watch the catch come in! I can remember watching the fisherman throwing the fish in different containers, and all the seagulls screaming around waiting for scraps!

Also, congrats to Bev on the house in Dawlish. I've spent loads of summers all along the south coast, and the train used to go through all of those places. Teignmouth, Paignton, Dawlish, etc.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

My dad used to own a hotel in Paignton near Torquay and we spent many a vacation there. We often visited Brixham for the day and found it charming. We also spent many days on Dartmoor exploring the villages and hamlets up there, places like Widecomb and Badgers Holt where you can get the best Devon Cream Tea in the world. My dad is now retired and lives near Babbacombe. My brother has lived in several different towns in Devon but has finally put down roots in Tavistock. I haven't visited him there yet, but from his photo's it looks lovely.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Anxiously waiting for the surveyor's report now of which we should receive the verbal report this evening followed by a more in depth written report in a couple of days. Hoping it is good so we can move along with the process and exchange contracts. Really want to get settled again.

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Yes, we are definitely walkers. That's one of the things we are sooo looking forward to...all those lovely lovely walks along the sea and cliffs. You sound very happy.

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Gosh, all this Devon talk is making me really homesick. David, you must be on the edge of your seat waiting for the reports. Fingers crossed!

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Hi david, I know you have probably posted over on 50s thread but it moves so fast wont be able to find it after two days away! I am so glad to hear it is all going ahead now.........just remind me though, do you have to go back to Canada to get your stuff shipped and tie up any lose ends or are your friends shipping it for you? Best of luck!

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Hi charleygirl.....yes I have to go back once the house is finalized . I wish I did not have to but the shipping has to be organized and must sell the car and tie up some lose ends. Wish I could just stay here now. My partner will stay and do all the renos while I'm gone.:rofl: I wish !!

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Well no phone call yet and it's now 9:50 pm. Will be patient and wait till the morning.:unsure:
Really starting to feel at home again here in Devon. It really is a lovely part of the world. The one thing that hasn't changed here are the wonderful coastal and country walks......just brilliant.:)

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Dawlish sounds great! Our daughter may be going to uni at Exeter and we might be looking for property in the area in 2012.

Hopefully the budget will be quite good if the exchange rate doesn't change too much!

What other areas would you recommend around Exeter and how would Dawlish compare to other alternatives?

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

It really depends what you want. Exmouth is bigger than Dawlish with a few more amenities and still close to Exeter with easy transport. We don't so much like the layout though, because there isn't much property facing the sea. Lovely places down the river, though.

Going east from there you have Buddleigh Salterton, Sidmouth, Seaton, Lyme Regis, but you're off the train line, which does make a difference.

Teignmouth's a bit further down the coast than Dawlish and again, has a bit more, but not that much and it's an easy bus ride from Dawlish so I think of them as almost one thing.

Dawlish is quiet and even a bit run down, but they're working hard at it. It has the potential to be an upscale seaside spot. There's green area and the stream down to the sea, plus some nice old buildings. The people are friendly. Heavy proportion of retired people, but that's true of most coastal towns in Devon. We have to keep reminding ourselves not to complain about that, being over 60s ourselves!

We like it. It's easy to walk into town from almost anywhere, though mostly down and up hills. There are some horribly steep streets on the east side. Lots of houses there with fabulous views but we decided the steepness was too much of a problem for people like us who prefer to walk into town for shopping, library, doctor, etc etc. A bit of ice and those streets would be lethal, leaving us having to get out the car and drive aways, plus Dawlish isn't a great place for parking!

A bit further and you're into Torquay and Paignton, which is getting toward city size. Lots more there, of course, but we didn't care for it. There are some nice small places along the coast between Teignmouth and Torbay, but they don't have much there because they seem to be more like suburbs. See above about us liking to walk to most things.

We've been up and down the Devon and Dorset coast and in the end we decided Dawlish suited us. Dead easy to pop into Exeter for a bit of city, plus pretty easy to take a train to a number of places, including London. It's an easy bus or drive to Newton Abbot (about 10 miles, I think) where there are a lot of big box stores. But for day to day we shop on the high street in Dawlish.

Bev

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Does anyone know the answer the this question. I really dont know. Might be a good idea to pop over to the Canadian forum.:)

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So I totally love South Devon - My mum lives there and we would love to relocate there from sunny, hot hot hot Perth - however, I do worry where we would find work?
I do hear of a few BE moving to the South West but do you struggle to find work?
My husband is a jeweller and I have an office based job.

Be interested to hear what the job market is like in Devonia.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

conrats Bev, it must be really exciting. I think I may have a look down that way myself next week. If there are good networks to Exeter etc that would be perfect as my OH is an electrican and would be able to commute. My 18 year old would be able to access Exeter too to do his thing so it sound perfect. I'm going to check out Kent too as I know they have great weather down there and I have a friend who can show me around.
Anyway really happy for you and that you have really found you place to settle. :thumbsup:

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Hi Bevm,
have been watching your posts,so pleased that you have found your dream place. Dawlish is beautiful, spent a week there 5 years ago and loved it Also Dawilsh Warren,and it's so close to Exeter. all the very best in your new home.
cheers I.G.

Re: Bought a house in Devon
 

Few pics of the amazing Jurassic Coast taken at the weekend during spring low tide on a walk from Sidmouth to Ladram Bay.