My mum wants us all to move to devon...................

[MagicalMay]

Are there any parts to avoid? Any parts Lovely?
Anyone have anything to say about Deven in general....................

[ivelostmyboobsboohoo]

mostly lovely i would say but then i have lived here al;l my life (except uni). i am in exeter which is lush, topsham (small town/village) very nice but vastly overpriced and full of secondhomeowners- the scourge of devon, totnes is fab very hippychic. personally im not keen on plymouth but it is being done up in the city centre and by the waterside so it might improve. torquay a bit rough and ready, no longer the 'english riviera', lots of smackheads. uggh! i dont know north devon very well so couldnt comment. mid devon has beautiful country side but youre out on a limb out there as transport and roads not too hot, but it is reflected in price of property- ie cheap for what you gfet. east devon eg sidmouth, branscombe, budleigh, lovely but quite pricey and a bit grannified (esp budleigh)- i think you poss have to be in your 80s to be allowed to live there.

prob pisssed off loads of MNers now- sorry- just my personal opinion. hope that helps!

[WideWebWitch]

Think about:

Cost of living vs salaries. Salaries are low, housing costs can be high
otoh lots of lovely schools, clean air, low crime
monoculture

do a search on country in the title and there are lots of moving to the countryside threads with long lists of pros and cons.

I lived in Devon for 3 years and couldn't do it again although it's lovely for a holiday.

[nally]

We moved to Bideford in North Devon when I was 9, so I went through secondary schooling there. At 18 I moved to Plymouth (for uni).

There are loads of places to go and things to do and see, also in the summer the views can be breathtaking around the coast. The sea air is fresh and really uplifting and where I lived was really quite beautiful.

All I will say is, although a lovely place to go on holidays, I could never go back to live there. The reason being that between April and September everything is open and the place is buzzing with people (tourists mainly). Between September and April everything is closed and the place is like a ghosttown. So basically, if you're a local in the summer, you have to fight through the crowds to find somewhere to sit on the beach and there is nothing to do in the winter if you are a kid growing up there. Just my experience though. I don't know anyone who I went to school with who is still there.. we all moved away.

Sorry if I have upset anyone by saying this.

[BettySpaghetti]

Mt Ils live in Devon. I love visiting them out of season and could imagine living there then but during the summer months it drives me insane.

It takes forever to get anywhere ( a 10 min winter journey can take an hour in the height of the summer) and everywhere is swarming with people.

[BettySpaghetti]

Sorry that should read " My ILs..."

[MagicalMay]

Thank you i've just read this all to my mum. It has def given us abit more to think about.
ivelostmyboobsboohoo - Thanks for the Torquay advise Mum has been talking about there. Thats def off our list now (lol)
Going to do the 'countryside' search now

[Spidermama]

You may be hard pushed to find someone who's ever tasted an avocado, but if that doesn't bother you, go for it. Devon is beautiful. Especially Totnes, the hippy enclave.

[Marina]

I reckon Ilfracombe is on the up (N Devon coast a bit further up from Bideford). It has seen hard times but there were lots of old places being done up and new shops opening when we were there last summer. Friendly place too...but a long way from anywhere really big

[PeachyClair]

Oi about the avocado [annoyed emoticon] dontcha klnow Riverford is based in Devon AND sends avocadoes every week???? LOL

DH is from the border with Somerset (i'm a Somerset girl)

We've thought about Exeter (for the post grads), and Axminster (close to FIL). It IS expensive down there, that's for sure!. However even that varies- Crediton is cheaper than Torbay for example (or so I am told). Even if you don't fo Devon you could go closer- Somerset or Dorset perhaps? Smerset is relatively cheap compared to Devon (although not compared to Wales where we are now ha ha ha)

[NotanOtter]

very good schools torquay way though - VERY good

personally i would go near that really shit hot grammar school up near Beer ....what is called???????

[NotanOtter]

Colyton thats it - sheesh worth the house prices!

[Spidermama]

Sorry Peachy. I get a Riverford box every week but I didn't know they were actually delivered to Devonians as well as us city folk.

[PeachyClair]

They have a restaurant dont you know LOL- love to take the kids actually, you can pick things then go eat- very lentil weavery!

[MagicalMay]

Ok we have been looking at the map ........ Any comments on the follow welcome.................

Sidmouth
Seaton
Teignmouth
Exmouth

Mum can transfer her work to Exeter and we are looking for a nice town near the coast thats not to far so mum can travel to work.

[ivelostmyboobsboohoo]

teignmouth very def on the up. lovely new water park thing (free) on seafront for little ones, they are doing up alot of the old houses. funny gritty sand on beach, very very tacky pier (my kids love it i hate it). house prices still quite cheap (for devon). not much in way of shops but very close to A38 which links to M5. rail links to exeter and plymouth

exmouth getting more pricey. very very popular in summer. lovely long beach and prom. bit more in way of shops. rail links to exeter and plymouth. sandy beach and good rockpools!

sidmouth- lovely, quite posh, pebbly beach, annual folk festival held in town centre every summer, nice town centre. lots of old peoples homes .very very nice but very very expensive too unfortunately. no rail links. bus service. at least 30 mins from exeter

seaton even further than sidmouth. i went there for first time last summer and didnt think much of it. beach was ok, pebbly like sidmouth. town centre looked a bit rundown, nothing pretty about it, but then cheaper than sidmouth...

[nally]

Sidmouth is nice

[MagicalMay]

Thanks ivelostmyboobsboohoo i think we are going to have to have a long weekend down there, have a good look around.
So theres no sandy beach at teignmouth? Is it a ghosttown out of season?
God if we do go im not looking forward to clearing out 2 houses - (why do women hord so much lol)
Then at the new houses we have to try and fit it all back in lol (think that might be worse lol)
oh no, Mum will be giving me extra stuff that she find from the loft - you have your own loft, you can have your bits

[choosyfloosy]

I drove through Crediton last week, on way to Lapford. So now I'm an expert, obviously.

I thought Crediton looked lovely - nice shops, good size etc.

If you are into villages, I also thought Lapford was gorgeous, and a good size, enough to be active, have shops etc.

[ivelostmyboobsboohoo]

i dont think so (ghost town). no i dont think teignmouth has its own sandy beach but across the road (and even accessible with a little ferry in high season) is the village of Shaldon- very very pretty, very yacht (sp?!) set, but that has sandy beach and even a little beach only accessible by walking down a tunnel, nice there too but quite busy in summer for obvious reasons.

[MagicalMay]

Oh i cant wait to have a look about
We're getting all excited, Mum seems to be leaning towards Exmouth

[PeachyClair]

Know Seaton quite well- its OK, wouldn't say its up to the pictorial Devon standard myself but its not a bad place to live. Teignmouth- XP's family live there, love it to bits if that helps?

[MagicalMay]

Thank you PeachyClair,
It looks like Teignmouth is going to be our starting point

Any suggestions on somewhere nice but cheap to stay a few nights (Must also be good for a 2yr old)

[PeachyClair]

You might consider one of the Dawlish caravan parks- there's a few really big ones, and after Easter they would have some activities running for the baby, but are relatively cheap, and dawlish is very close to teignmouth.

[sassy]

Coast View caravan park in Shaldon (can't do links but it is easy to google).

We stayed there a few years ago in a chalet. Chalet was small and a bit scruffy but IMMACULATELY clean. Was pretty cheap too. Pool etc on site. And stunning views!

Shaldon is lovely, quite posh (and exp!)pretty small. Teignmouth (pronounced TInmouth, BTW) is pretty nice - bit scruffy but very pleasant; lots for kids to do. Beach is ok actually though not white, fine sand; great park area on prom, soft play cafe etc.