Exeter
 

Hi I need some quick info about this area to help gauge whether it's worth my husband looking into a job there. Neither of us have ever visited it. Is it rather isolated?

Re: Exeter
 

Nope it is on the main railway line to London (Exeter St Davids) and just off the M5 motorway. Nice Campus University, Roman ruins too and a good Rugby Team those days. You would be isolated from Premiership soccer though.

Re: Exeter
 

Aha yes it would be at the university - excellent, thanks.

Re: Exeter
 

Got a reasonable local airport too, plus not a million miles from Bristol airport.

Re: Exeter
 

I know some people who moved from the University of Bangor to work there and they love the university and living in the area, but miss the mountains.

Re: Exeter
 

Not sounding too bad so far. Cheers.

Re: Exeter
 

Never been to Exeter, but have been to Exmoor and loved it. The West Country is beautiful!

Re: Exeter
 

As previous posters have said Exeter has good road, rail and air links. Its also close to some lovely moorland and the coastal areas of both Devon & Cornwall.

We live about 20 mins away (in Somerset) and love to browse the city shops.
Exeter itself is not at all isolated, however, if you are looking for a quiet country place to live you'll have lots of choice within a reasonable commuting distance.

HTH
B

Re: Exeter
 

lovely place Devon, Somerset and Dorset on your doorstep, very vibrant lovely city somewhere I would not say no to!

Re: Exeter
 

Architecturally Exeter is a bit boring, unless you like 1950s and 1960s. The city centre was virtually completely destroyed by enemy action in the second world war. It is a pleasant friendly city with a lot going on, music, theatre, etc. Walking and cycling is great; Dartmoor, the south Devon coast on your doorstep, and the Exe estuary is wonderful. Housing is midpriced; cheaper than London, but more expensive than comparable cities up north etc. Great hospitals (my daughter was born in the Royal Devon & Exeter :thumbup:) No problems with weather surprises, the Met Office is right there. All in all, a wonderful & friendly town, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

Pubs so-so, but the Double Locks is a stand out. Good beer, plus a walk along the river and canal to get there..

Re: Exeter
 

It sounds great now :thumbsup:

Obviously it depends on whether the job is suitable.

Re: Exeter
 

Was not familiar with Exeter so I went looking on rightmove and saw this new development in Pinhoe, Exeter and thought I would share. No idea where this is but the houses do look lovely
http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-ho...lside-Gardens/

Re: Exeter
 

Doesn't look too far out.

Re: Exeter
 

I was in college in Torquay for 3 years in 1990s. Exeter was nearest "big town/city". I remember it as nice. Dominated by the Uni. Right on M5/trains mainline, as mentioned before. Convenient for the countryside (Dartmoor) and beaches TQ/paignton south or Newquay north. Gateway to Cornwall. An hour drive to Bristol (less to the airport).
My most vivid memory though was seeing Sugar Cubes at the Uni!

Re: Exeter
 

Lots of info here.........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exeter,_Devon

Re: Exeter
 

We have formed a good opinion of Exeter city having chosen to stay over there a couple times on our travels in the past two years. Clean streets, pleasant people, upbeat, modern, nice river access to countryside.

Re: Exeter
 

Newquay is a bit of a way away down in the PRoK (Peoples Republic of Kernow) - imho easier "Northern" beaches to get to from Exeter include Westwood Ho!, Saunton Sands, Croyde Bay and Woolacombe Bay.

Surfers will know Croyde well.

Re: Exeter
 

Don't forget Putsborough!!

Re: Exeter
 

I spent my teenage years in Exeter and have fond memories. There is another thread on here somewhere where I wrote out some info/opinions about Exeter but not sure if it's on the main board or one of the sub boards.

It's a nice city, yes, it suffered with bombing in the city centre but there is still some nice architecture to be found, the Cathedral and surrounds are very pretty and residentially it has some nice property too. The uni is a very good one, although the students have a bit of a reputation as being posh but too stupid for Oxbridge. Before I get absolutely jumped on, I'm not saying that's the case at all, just what the stereotype is.

It has most of the shops you could want, has some good pubs (or it did have, I haven't been back for a few years). Surrounding countryside is just lovely and there are plenty of options for pottering around on day trips in the summer. Dart's Farm, just outside Topsham is a great place to visit and buy some foodie treats.

I looked at a job at the uni but the role was withdrawn. We agonised over whether we would move back there as for us it would have felt like a backwards step. I wouldnt say it's isolated as such but the Westcountry does get forgotten a little bit at times (other than in summer, when the M5 is a car park), it probably depends in what respect you're asking - are you into music for example and hoping to see big acts? Or do you mean in terms of transport etc? Are you a foodie?

It's a nice city and I would have no qualms about recommending it to anyone. Personally, I wouldn't live in Pinhoe - nothing wrong with it but it's neither city nor countryside, although that development does seem to be on the countryside edge of Pinhoe, and Pinhoe does have a station, if that's important to you. I still wouldn't consider it but it might be just what you're looking for. I grew up in St Leonards which is fantastically located but can be very pricey in pockets.

Happy to answer any specific questions.

Edited to add that when I lived there, and whenever I've visited since, I've felt very safe there. That's not to say there aren't problems, it's a city like any other, but I was always happy to walk around late at night, and although I wouldn't recommend you do it in any city, I happily used to walk home in the early (and not so early) hours of the morning. Used to go past the bakery on Magdalen Rd and depending on the night of the week and the time sometimes the bakers would already be in getting ready for the morning. The smell used to drive me wild, what smells better than baking bread at 3am after some light refreshment?!

Re: Exeter
 

Thanks so much for all the thoughts and especially Almo for taking the time to give so much information.

By 'isolated' I meant geographically but also had in mind the image of the uni as being for toff kids and the demographics on wikipedia which suggested there are very few minorities. I'm white myself but don't want to be surrounded by people muttering about immigrants, if that makes sense.

This thread has helped me to be quite keen, but it seems like my husband is less sure how good a fit the job is so we'll see.

Thanks again.

Re: Exeter
 

It's true, living in the south-west (we lived on Dartmoor for a couple of years then West Somerset for nine years) you do get used to seeing just white people all the time, with a certain minority of south Asian professionals and business-owners etc.

Re: Exeter
 

It is overwhelmingly white, yes, and was a shock to me when I first moved there! I could count on one hand the number of people I knew from ethnic minorities but I can't say that those people ever had any problems to my knowledge. There is, historically, a Polish connection to the Westcountry and this has increased, recently, according to my parents. There is also evidently a sufficient population to support a number of asian supermarkets, so I'd hazard a guess that times have moved on a bit since I lived there.

One of my best friends stayed in Exeter for uni and she had no issues with the students. I don't know if unis publish demographics or not but it might be that the stereotype isn't based on anything other than history.

Re: Exeter
 

This thread has reminded me that I want to go to the Apple Store in Exeter's Princesshay, quite a decent shopping precinct in the centre of the city.

Re: Exeter
 

Was including that in Woolacombe bay - it is the other end of the same beach :D

Re: Exeter
 

I find the whole Princesshay history fascinating. We lived in Devon and Somerset between 1981 and 1991, so although we never lived in Exeter we frequently went there for shopping trips. Exeter was our nearest big city. Our daughter was born in Exeter.

A large area of central Exeter was completely cleared as a result of wartime bombing - sixty acres or more, I seem to remember. A large part of this was redeveloped as Princesshay, named after Princess Elizabeth, the present Queen, who opened the new shopping precinct in 1950 or thereabouts.

Then a few years ago, the whole Princesshay development was swept away and replaced by more ambitious and less mediocre new buildings, mixed retail, restaurants, social housing and more expensive apartments too. It's ok if you like shopping centers but, having read about what the area was like before 23 April, 1942 (central Exeter contained some of the most perfect medieval and Georgian streets in England, including Bedford Circus). I not only miss the pre war Exeter that I never saw, but also Princesshay as it existed in the second half of the twentieth century, and which I have absolutely no recollection of, although I must have been there countless times.. Maybe I tend to expunge shopping trips from memory..

http://demolition-exeter.blogspot.co...ircus.html?m=1

Re: Exeter
 

OK, I must be really hormonal right now because I was actually welling up at that story! LOL

Re: Exeter
 

:cool:....... missed the 'Bay'!

Re: Exeter
 

i lived in Exeter from 1994-2008. Its a safe city with plenty to do and is close to the moors and beaches..it has great road rail and air links to anywhere in the country. Its an ambitious city compared to other towns and cities near by and is often voted as one of the best places to live in the UK. Only problem it does suffer from low wages in comparison to places like Bristol.

There are huge changes a foot also..i was there over Xmas..they are building a brand new town just to the east of the city..a huge science park and another huge business park near the airport..they are building a new terminal at the airport with a view to tripling its size...i think along with Bristol Exeter will be the place to be in the south west over the next 20 years.

Re: Exeter
 

Sally, I went to boarding school near Totnes and saw Elton John perform in Exeter in 1971! Exeter is on our short list as somewhere to retire. I am from London originally but we can't afford to move back there. Please let us know what more you find out, and if you plan on moving there. Good luck!

PS: Don't know how outdoorsy you are but the moors are spectacular!

Re: Exeter
 

I was having a coffee this morning with some expat wives whose spouses all work at the same office as my husband. One woman recently moved here (Switzerland) from Exeter. You will be pleased to know that she was telling me how thrilled she was when John Lewis recently opened in Exeter! There is also a Waitrose supermarket too :)

She says that no-one there is particularly fashion conscious - apparently no-one there would have heard of the 'North Face', 'Hollister', Abercrombie etc. compared to the larger UK cities so she saved a bunch of money lol!

Re: Exeter
 

The pluses just keep piling up :lol:

Re: Exeter
 

We were in Exeter for a couple of weeks last July.. the new John Lewis was under construction. If we moved to Exeter we could get our son to visit us, since John Lewis is the ONLY place he'll shop!

And yes, that is a very nice Waitrose in Exeter.

Re: Exeter
 

I was in Exeter this afternoon shopping in Princesshay. The stores are modern and smart, but I wouldn't say the precinct oozes warmth, it is too sharp-edged and lacks character. A closed-in environment would be better, especially during cold, wet and windy weather.

I didn't go to John Lewis to-day, but on previous visits have been underwhelmed. However shopping in Exeter is a huge step up from Torquay which could do with a lot of demolition and rebuilding.

Re: Exeter
 

We stayed in Torquay a couple of years ago for a fortnight, we were quite seriously thinking of buying a place there. Shopping there is phenomenally bad for a town of that size! The out-of-town M&S and Sainsburys is OK. But the actual shopping centre in the town is very poor. Full marks to the Specsavers though, I lost a rivet out of my glasses and they fixed them for me for free! :thumbup:

Lots of nice very reasonably priced houses and flats in Torquay and Paignton, I could definitely live there but the town is seriously tatty (I quite like quirky tatty places though..) problem is my wife is a lot more choosy than me..

Re: Exeter
 

Agreed that a lot of Torquay (and worse in Paignton) looks tatty, but there are some nice areas to live. The scenery is beautiful, but Torquay's title "Queen of the English Riviera" has become tarnished by the run-down town centre. Hence Exeter or Plymouth are preferred for shopping.

Re: Exeter
 

I've only just seen this! I hope you can make this work:fingerscrossed:. Even if the job is not perfect, could it be made to work?

I don't know Exeter - only went there once on business, but it seemed to be a very civilized typical English town/small city. And the surrounding countryside is absolutely gorgeous - enough to tempt even a died-in-the-wool citygirl like me :)

Now do your magic on 'hubs' - hope it all works out :thumbup:

Re: Exeter
 

Just chiming in to say that Exeter is a pleasant city. It's the nearest one to us. I find Princesshay cold and angular, as someone said, but there are all kinds of shops in and around the centre, plus the Cathedral right in the middle along with some remnants of medival and later buildings.

If you want coast, it's a fairly easy commute in by road or train from Exmouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth and such.
Bev

Re: Exeter
 

Actually the John Lewis store although huge (one of the biggest i have seen anywhere) is pretty much a jack of all trades and master of none..bit of a let down..the big Next store across the road is better for clothes and Debenhams in Princesshay is just better for all round shopping.

If nobody in Exeter is fashion conscious why do they have all the fashion named shops you only see in the big cities??..and im not talking about your bog standard Next, River Island or Top shop

Re: Exeter
 

Sally, did your DH take the job? Curious as Exeter has moved up to #1 on our list.

Re: Exeter
 

No, despite all the great info on here he decided the job itself was not right for his specialism. He is looking at a couple of options in other places so I may trouble you lot again :fingerscrossed:

Good luck with your own plans.