steviee

I was hoping to get some opinions on the South West - Either Cornwall or Devon.

Originally from Surrey, but I'm looking to relocate to either Devon or Cornwall with my Wife and 1 year old. We're both a lover of beaches as we love surfing and generally relaxing when we get time. BUT, we were also looking to be near a fairly decent town with good pubs and restaurants close by.

We have a budget of £350 for a house, apartment or bungalow and ideally be close by to what I mentioned... are we dreaming to think we can have a great town and beach within 1 mile of our doorstep?

AllyS

No I don't think you are dreaming.

BUT, might not be a bad idea to do a recce trip and travel around the two counties to get to know the areas better. Talk to some local estate agents re: your budget and to keep you informed of potential suitable properties.

fulwood

One place I liked was Carbis Bay which is outside of St. Ives. You might to check it out. Lovely walks, beach, etc.

MrMuffin

I'm in Falmouth, Cornwall and with that budget you'd be able to get a fairly decent fixer upper within a 10-minute walk of at least one beach. Schools are all amazingly good. Only downer might be work depending on what your plans are there. My wife works for a London based firm and works from home then travels to London every couple of weeks for a few days. It works for us. I am looking around slowly and have a goal of something full-time by September when the kids are both back at school.

I'm also from Surrey originally (Epsom) and the range of pubs and restaurants is really good and is a very high standard. Also Falmouth is a University town so there's a ton going on all the time, great public transport, easy train access to the rest of Cornwall, and an amazingly gorgeous place to be. I am ready for the busy summer from all the extra holiday makers, and am also looking forward to being here year round and through the Winter especially when the beaches are almost deserted yet the climate is still really mild.

So all in all, wherever you decide upon, just make sure the work side of things is taken into account otherwise your Cornish dream might not last too long. Take care and good luck.

Garbatellamike

I grew up near Croyde in North Devon, which would fit your bill in terms of surfing, pubs and good restaurants. I think renting in that area might be difficult on your budget though.

Other place good for surfers: Westward Ho!, Saunton, Woolacombe, Newquay (Fistral).

You will definitely need to be on Atlantic coast for surfing with Croyde and Fistral having the best waves.

I think the long pole in the tent is your budget. I think it will be too tight in all cases if it was 450-500 you might be in with a better chance.

Good luck and hope you can work it out

MrMuffin

Sorry did the OP mean 350K for a house purchase? That's what I assumed.

Garbatellamike

Oh you might be right I was assuming 350/month renting.

If you are right it is much more likely to be doable.

maddie1959

Hi Falmouth sounds great, I have posted before as moving back home after 37 years in Canada, I'm scared dont know what to expect after been gone so long.will I fit in ,how long can I survive without a job etc etc .
I am originally from Hull, but want to move south , loved Cornwall 40 years ago .
I am a behavior specialist usually working for schools or social services , so of course I need to be in a place with job prospects .
any thought on that and how much rent I would have to pay for a large one bed-roomed apartment or small house ?
I am looking into house sitting right now hopefully that will give me ideas on were I would like to settle and cost .
any insight ??

aratan

Rightmove is always a good place to start when wanting to think about accommodation costs

Here is a search I did for furnished one bedroom places in Cornwall -

Cornwall furnished properties. Find 1 bedroom furnished property to rent in Cornwall

of course this does not take into consideration where you would work. It's often very hard to decide which to settle on first - place to live (and then find work), or find a job (then look for a place to live).

maddie1959

Thank you so for that , although I dont want furnished, I will be shipping my stuff home once find a place . Your right about what comes first ,I would love to just move to that area but of course afraid I wont find a job.
I really want to be close to the sea , in a place not to remote, with good travel links as wont have a car ,and with pubs of course eheh.
Can you recommend some places I can take a look at .My PROBLEM IS, I've been gone so long I dont have a clue were to start . I'm going to look at Falmouth that looks lovely and supposed to be a good place to live ?
Even applying on line for jobs I dont know were most of the good places to live are so looking at a map does not help much .
thanks again any info you ALL can give would be much appreciated

aratan

As far as jobs are concerned, it is relatively easily to search for those online, to at least get an idea of how much is available and in what areas.

I would attack the job search in two ways -

- look at the websites for countrywide recruiters. In my line of work (may be different for you) this means UK Jobs and Recruitment | Hays and Jobs and Recruitment on reed.co.uk, the UK's #1 job site.

- do web searches for recruitment agencies that are more local - in your case, look for recruiters that are focusing on the south-west.

Other places to start the job hunt are with any national organizations' websites for your area of expertise, and any discussion boards that are used by your profession.

aratan

I know next to nothing about Cornwall either, but looking at the map, I would imagine that Falmouth, Truro and Plymouth (yes, I know, in Devon) are the places to look.

You can always look at Wikipedia to get an idea of some of the basic facts about many places, and then do a bit more digging on the web to find websites about specific locations.

maddie1959

ah I just saw reed .co today great to know will register with that as well thanks .

what I have found so fare is the pay is soooooooooooo bad in my field compared to here , Im shocked !!
and very surprised to know its all agencies now , not been able to present myself face to face is a negative but it is what it is .

MrMuffin

Unfortunately pay rates and the job market in most fields is pretty p*** poor down here. My wife works for a London based firm and travels up by plane/train a couple of times a month. So she's not affected. But in general pay down here is low so definitely make that part of your overall plan and it might turn off most.

christmasoompa

Cornwall salaries won't compare to other areas of the UK though. I'm a private PA, and £60k is a typical London salary. In Cornwall, I'd be on a third of that!

But the cost of housing will be much cheaper than if you lived in the South East, so hopefully that will help.

Falmouth's lovely, I only know the area of Cornwall on the Devon border really well, but that could be worth a look - within easy reach of Plymouth for jobs, but beautiful countryside around.

Good luck.