[Closed] People of Devon and Somerset, advice please

WSM is a toilet .Peasant watching near the pound shop is fun its full of grey washed out people.It was certainly an eye opener to my girlfriend who is used to the more gentile surroundings of Bath

Cheddar? Right on the Mendips, but possibly too small for you.

Cheddar is ok ,only about 15 mins to the M5 at Burnham

I grew up in Taunton. It's perfect. I'd happily move back there anytime.

I didn't know you'd grown up Richie, when did this happen? 😯

WSM is a toilet .Peasant watching near the pound shop is fun its full of grey washed out people.It was certainly an eye opener to my girlfriend who is used to the more gentile surroundings of Bath

the more gentile surroundings of Bath

Oh no! It's another religious thread!

But avoid the Devon Villages cos you will always be an outsider large towns are ok

exeter BTW. ace place.

Git xxx

....nobody has mentioned Tiverton yet.....

i grew up in yeovil and if i moved back i would live i taunton but i did enjoy yeovil

I'm loving the hate post about Weston.

I have been here for over 30 years and Weston certainly has it's less 'attractive' areas, but given all the newer housing in Worle, Locking, Wick St Lawrence, you could quite happily live here as long as I have, and never even see those areas.

As for the town centre... never go there myself, nor the sea front in the middle of the summer. Yes the town fills up with visitors in the summer, it is bound to happen as Weston is a sea side town!

I like Weston, as much as I 'like' any town. It is very convenient for the M5, there is an active club or two, riding in Worlebury and Hutton is on the doorstep and Bristol, or the Mendips are within half an hour, with the Blackdown Hills, Quantocks and Exmoor just a little further. The FoD is within striking distance too.

....nobody has mentioned Tiverton yet.....

As someone who grew up in Bridgwater I'm interested what people dislike about 'Bridgy' so much?

WSM is a bit of a Mecca for drug addicts, being home to quite a few rehab facilities.
Many drop out of rehab, relapse and stick around.

I went out on the lash down there a while back and got chatting to some locals. When they found out we were from Bristol, they looked astonished and asked "what are you doing here?". They had a point.

Taunton is nice, clevedon is ok too. Seaside without crowding.
Perhaps look around blagdon or chew magna?
Exeter is too south for me to live, but I do love dartmoor so not all bad, bit of kayaking/canoeing on the dart would be nice too. Bit studenty, CTCRM is around the corner so a few military around. Looked a little run down last time I was there though?

Exeter? Run down? We're getting a John Lewis don't you know!

moonsaballoon - i grew up in yeovil and if i moved back i would live i taunton but i did enjoy yeovil

Good on you for escaping, I moved here 10 years ago & still here! 🙁

Wrecker - you sure you don't mean exmouth?

I don't think W-s-M is any more a mecca for drug addicts than anywhere else. Go to the wrong part of anywhere and you will find drunks and druggies.

But avoid the Devon Villages cos you will always be an outsider

unless you are a narrow minded, surrey born, privately educated, middle class asshat of the first water - in which case i know a certain devon village where you'll fit right in.

the more gentile surroundings of Bath

Oh no! It's another religious thread!

I must remember to spell correctly when posting in haste(hangs head in shame)

I must remember to spell correctly when posting in haste(hangs head in shame)

....nobody has mentioned Tiverton yet.....

Tiverton makes Bridgwater look like a nice place to live 😆

I live just outside Taunton about 5 mins from the M5 which is handy as i work in Exeter. I'm spoilt for choice as i've got the Quantocks on my doorstep, if i chuck my bike in the car i can do Haldon after work, and Exmoor & Dartmoor are close too 8)

I live in cannington quantocks are 10 mins from my door and the m5 is only about 15 mins away. I don't get all the hate for bridgy. Its not great but not really any worse than anywhere else, plus it's got a very good bike shop who've dug me out of the shit on numerous occasions

Bridgewater gets most of it's grief because of the smell no..?
Traditionally, blind people driving along the M5 have used Bridgewater to navigate.. although I understand that the pong situation has improved slightly in recent years..

FWIW, I've an old friend who has at various times been a Junkie, a pikey's skivvy, resident at Wormwood Scrubs (amongst many other infamous jails), and has lived in a succession of public toilets in and around London..
he still rates living in Bridgewater as a low point in his life..

Good carnival though, the UKs answer to Rio de Janeiro IIRC..

The Cellophane factory responsible for the Bridgwater smell has been closed for the best part of 10 years now.

Edit: The factory closed in 2005.

Another vote for Clevedon here... lived there for 3 years and moved away about 18 months ago for work.

Wish I could go back 🙁

p.s. My address had 'Somerset' in it.

Good carnival though, the UKs answer to Rio de Janeiro IIRC..

From what I have seen Rio has prettier girls than the Somerset carnival circuit

Been looking for what seems like forever, would recommend not using staggs lettings!

Oh and hold off looking till I've found somewhere please! 🙂

Finally! Feel free toresume your search! Ifyou end up anywhere near Tiverton /south Molton area give me a shout!

Thanks for the help, now i'm pretty confused, i'll be working all over somerset, cornwall and devon so need easy access so being near the M5 seems a good idea. From what you guys have said it seems like Taunton or clevedon

I think the carnivals are an awesome spectacle and yet a virtual secret outside the county. My family visit especially for them now they know the secret and are really surprised they are not more widely appreciated. I suppose it being regional culture is considered uncouth or somat.

Clevedon pier is rather lovely:
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I was rather taken with the town, quite quiet, close to the motorway, and none of the brashness that W-S-M has.
Or the hordes of Emmets, either.
If I was going to live anywhere down there, then I'd choose Burnham or Berrow, purely because the beach is so great to walk along, and you don't get the hordes there, either:

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[edit] Those pics were taken last Wednesday, the only decent day all week for weather!

Thanks for the help, now i'm pretty confused, i'll be working all over somerset, cornwall and devon so need easy access so being near the M5 seems a good idea. From what you guys have said it seems like Taunton or clevedon

That's a huge area to be fair - any idea how much travel is involved? And what the split is across the different areas?

If you're covering Cornwall and Devon a lot then Clevedon is probably a too far North to be honest.

Taunton area would probably be a better bet. Or you could consider extending the search to locations along the A30 if you're going to be heading further west a lot. I live in a village within the Dartmoor National Park with the moor itself on my doorstep and can do Exeter and the M5 in 25 mins, most of North Cornwall and South Devon in under an hour. Taunton in an hour, Bristol in 90 mins.

Contrary to what others have posted about Devon villages, we've found ours to be really friendly and welcoming with a great community spirit and already know more people here after a year than we did living in a similar sized village in Kent for 9 years. Yes there are places where you're not considered local if you can't trace your lineage back to Domesday, but they're fairly rare and with the right attitude at worst you're going to get a bit of occasional ribbing in the local pub.