Beccarose

Does anyone have any input on Torquay? Good, bad, otherwise? It looks to be either a little run down or maybe even a little old fogyish- are either of those correct assumptions? I could be very very wrong, so if anyone knows anything about it I'd be most grateful.

cheeky_monkey

yes lots of old fogies esp in Paignton..Torquay is a lot more lively during the summer due to the tourist crowd coming to town so has decent selection of clubs and bars..if you like shopping etc then you will have to go to Exeter or Plymouth for that.

Pulaski

Retirement capital of the UK, I believe.

cheeky_monkey

no thats Eastbourne

Pistolpete2

Have been looking at Torbay (the local council area that includes Torquay) area myself as we are looking at a specific college for our kid near Paignton (South Devon College) which is one of the highest rated in the West Country, soon to have a particular emphasis on technical studies due to major cash injections.

However, I've been put off relocating actually into the Torquay/Paignton area per se because it is apparently among the sickliest council areas in England and includes some areas of extreme deprivation. As a result, I may consider Brixham and Stoke Gabriel but I'm looking more to Totnes, South Hams and up near Teignmouth/Shaldon and our kid may be bussing or training it in.

Pistolpete2

Apparently it's the Isle of Wight!

followed by Bexhill* etc. near Eastbourne, followed by Christchurch near Bournemouth, in terms of the percentage of folks at pension age.

*I recall Bexhill as being notable for having the highest death rate in the country

Pulaski

I saw that, but it seems to have muddled up areas where many of the people of working age have left with areas where many retirees have arrived. The two are completely different phenomena. The places on the south coast are, I believe retiree magnets, whereas I suspect that north Norfolk, for example has suffered a loss of people of working age.

Beccarose

Hi, thanks for the reply. Can I ask what you mean by "sickliest council"? Does that mean health of the inhabitants is not great? And would that have anything to do with it being an elderly population?
Another question, how did you find out these facts? I'd love to look at some place that shows status and facts like that.

Pistolpete2

Statistical information on a national basis was last compiled in the 2011 National Census. Regional and local authority information has been disseminated via the media and can be googled in some instances. See also this, which also covers areas of very bad health:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...race-education

Sickliest means highest prevalence of long term limiting illness.

In my searching, I managed to find information in several areas:

This will help you look to other areas with issues:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...overty-at-risk

Speaks to Long Term Limiting Illness as compared regionally and nationally:

http://www.torbay.gov.uk/appendix-b-...torbay_apr.pdf

Current in depth look at Torbay health issues - this type of information should be available for all search areas in the UK

http://www.torbaycaretrust.nhs.uk/ab...erstanding.pdf

General caveats for Torbay, in detail and summary:

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/im...0residents.pdf

See this for statistics for your search area:

http://www.neighbourhood.statistics....dissemination/

cheeky_monkey

Have you ever been to Torbay?

Pistolpete2

Only as a kid. Why?

Those of us that have an open-ended search area due to circumstances will have to whittle things down based upon information we can gain mostly from the internet unless there is somebody who will cover all of our particular bases for us which is not, in my experience, the way posts are laid out on BE as they are usually very/too subjective, coloured by the perspective of somebody we clearly don't know in terms of background and for obvious reasons, lacking in great detail. There are happily some wonderful exceptions to this.

There are recent posts ref Torquay on here but they are not particularly glowing in their enthusiasm. BE posts of an advisory nature are very helpful as pointers to our own further research which may or may not debunk them for our own particular needs.

That said, I will be visiting Torbay next year because I have to see things for myself, again. I am very familiar with the West Country west of Exeter and a lot of what ails Torbay is applicable to other spots in the region if only due to the same lack of resources/stable employment and distance from the centre of things. Cornwall has benefited from particular assistance from the EU due to its predicament, as has Margate in Thanet to some small degree, while Torbay has not.

When given a choice, and there is statistical and commentary information to hand, particularly from seemingly some Devon-loyal providers, one would have to allow these alone to assist one's view in the absence of current first-hand knowledge.

Isn't this like buying property off-plan, sight unseen?

cheeky_monkey

Banding about stats on a place doesn't give a true reflection of what that place is like..i find that people will always look for the negative in a place where ever it can be found.

Pistolpete2

Absolutely, but the narrative sections in the reports I produced talk to some of the issues that come up time and time again on here as concerns, such as crime and teenage aberrations/anti-social behaviour often linked to deprivation and clearly to some of us these matter a lot in the decision-making process, probably because we see ourselves as more-likely victims or we've already been through bad experiences we don't choose to have any chance of repeating. If we have kids we worry they can get caught up in this "currently alien" - even in the third world - stuff when we are not always there to protect them.

So, if we do have a choice, we might look elsewhere to somewhere that makes a bit more sense, hopefully without having to pay too much of a premium for that "luxury".

Some folks have been able to find places that look positively idyllic and I would guess we all aspire to finding that "holy grail", but which also meets our prerequisites.

I have particular interest in Canterbury and have many positive things to say about the place that I have spent many great times in but it too has issues, mainly related to youth, that put me off somewhat and that helps to sway me away from living there for the time-being in spite of all the great and numerous positives, because I have choice.

Pistolpete2

Trying to be a help rather than a hindrance, if you are seriously considering the West Country as a place to move to, you might want to consider Totnes, which is very popular as a place to settle in the region and is known for having a very pro-active community.

The only caveat is that you might be a bit put off by the rainfall level as it is close to Dartmoor. However, the South-West is milder than much of the rest of England. Secondary school (mixed) seems fine.

In Cornwall, Truro is also well worth a look and it has good state and private schools and colleges. A thriving municipal centre.

cheeky_monkey

There is nothing in Totnes Truro is in Cornwall so the less said about that the better