Moving to Cornwall from Yorkshire

So it’s January and I’m planning the year ahead and as I work as a bus mechanic there have been jobs advertised in Cornwall namely Camborne and Truro for a little while now so I’m tempted, I do a lot of sea swimming and I’ve been down to Cornwall and love the place, I’m not a big drinker and 28 years old; however being a tourist is one thing, living another, housing wise I was thinking Redruth? due to it being inexpensive and close to Camborne, I currently live in North Leeds..

One thing bothers me though, from where I live now I can drive to both coasts inside 2 hours and also the lakes, Scotland is also reasonable as is North Wales,I have cities like Manchester for culture and events (music gigs and raves).

On my doorstep there isn’t a lot, but the shear variety of drivable places counts, now sure it’s beautiful in Cornwall but I’m concerned that after a year I’ll want more to life than ‘going down to the beach’

Also my work ethic is a bit full on, unsure how Yorkshire culture compares to Cornish, not sure how I’ll get on with doing it ‘dreckly’

Just want to say, you lucky bugger!

At 28 give it a year and see what you think.

from where I live now I can drive to both coasts inside 2 hours

You can do that in Cornwall. Just about…

And if anywhere in Cornwall still has housing you could describe as “inexpensive” it’ll be for a good reason. There are some pretty grim parts of the county you’ll likely never have seen as a tourist.

Learn to surf. That’ll soon sort out your work ethic.

I know a chap who moved from Manchester to Cornwall at 30, he worked for BT on the actual lines if that makes any difference.

He’s never regretted it and is 72 now. In fact I’ve just had an invite from him to go riding this summer

I know a chap who moved from Manchester to Cornwall at 30, he worked for BT on the actual lines if that makes any difference.

He’s never regretted it and is 72 now.

I reckon 42 years ago is a great time to move to Cornwall, do that if you can. You’ll have a few years of dodgy fashion and Thatcher but you’ll be able to get somewhere nice to live that’s not been priced up by 2nd homes and retirees.

Naysaying aside though, like poopscoop says, you’re 28 – give it a crack for a year and see how you get on. Plenty of time for another change of direction if it’s not for you.

You’ll be plenty busy, Cornwall is where buses go to die based on the school buses of my youth 😄

There’s stuff going on, but Exeter and a motorway is 2 hours away. Fort William about 12 from when I used to work the World Cup.

Camborne and Redruth are cheap as ex mining industry area and some property is unmortgagable due to shafts.

Great place to be and if you’re employer would support relocation, not too risky to try.

It’ll be warmer for sure.
But to leave godsowncountry™ for Cornwall? Tough choice.

If you’ve no ties then give it a go. It might be great. And if it’s not, you can always move somewhere else.

What you have access to in Leeds in terms of city amenities, other cities fairly close by, and rapid access to countryside will be replaced by countryside, beach, and a long trip to anywhere close to a city. Once you’re used to it it might not matter.

It’ll be warmer for sure.

It might be slightly warmer but it rains for the whole of autumn and winter.

My brother moved to Cornwall from North Yorkshire and toughed it out for a couple of years before coming back. The attitude of other residents towards him (and his family) were constantly horrible – at the minimum they weren’t welcomed, at worst they were told they were stealing jobs from locals, driving house prices up etc etc. He only went in the first place as the company he works for begged for people to relocate there because they couldn’t find anyone skilled enough (or interested in learning the skills) already living there.

My stepdaughter & her bloke moved to Bude from Doncaster last August. He’s retired, she’s an online English teacher. They’d only been there 5 minutes before they were complaining about the tourists.
She’s still raving about it but compared to where she moved from I can see why, even Hartlepool’s better than Donny!
Cornwall, IMO, is well overrated. There’s lots of nicer places in the UK which are less crowded. Plus you’re at one end of the country, at least Doncaster was more central. Imagine if you wanted a holiday in the Outer Hebrides, or the Lakes.
She keeps trying to tempt us down, free holiday etc, but it’s North Wales or Norfolk for us.

I’ve just turned 30 and my fiancee and I relocated to Cornwall (Falmouth) back in august from Sussex, as we had an opportunity to get on the housing ladder and to be closer to her family who are all down this way. Its been great so far (other than the weather!), friendly people, good selection of pubs/restaurants to visit, great scenery for dog walking and an endless number of beaches and coves to explore with her young nephews. Even got into paddleboarding, surfing probably still a while off though.

Truro not far away for ‘big town’ shopping, etc. Exeter a few hours away for gigs/comedy and is a convenient half way point to meet friends for a day.

Downsides so far:
– Public transport is a bit hit and miss and taxis to/from the pub arnt cheap.
– When I have to travel back across country for work, it takes a bit more forward planning as the drive is pretty long.
– Bit of a mixed bag for decent off-road riding, but I’m still exploring and finding stuff (and it’s been very wet).

So far so good, but we moved to be closer to family not going it alone so to speak.

Redruth and Camborne are very far from the picture postcard version of Cornwall. See the relatively recent documentary by Simon Reeves and in particular the bit about the food bank.
I grew up there and very much love Cornwall. I hope to return to live at some point. But it won’t be in Redruth or Camborne. Truro is a bit better… but still wouldn’t be my choice.

Do it. Cornwall has problems like anywhere but it’s nice and wild and has brilliant outdoor opportunities. Redruth has the track, an awesome dirt jump spot with progressive lines, mont hawk skatepark just down the road, one of the best in the country. Unit 23 beats it but otherwise top of line imo. Loads of official and unofficial riding near by with fun trails. Surf obviously.

No matter where you live you in will be far away from something, but Cornwall you will be close to lots of things. The Odd gig, get a cheap hotel. Trips to Scotland? It’s long drive so what, make road trip, the UK is pretty small anyway. I live in Dorset and have done weekends to the central belt. It may lack big city but that breeds a different dynamic.

Also +1 to the your 28 do it. If you don’t go in year you will be in the same position you are now which is clearly not where you want to be if you are looking around. If you go and like it brilliant, if you go and don’t like it you will have broken the seal so to speak and have less worries about trying somewhere else or coming back but with a new perspective.

Its piss wet and windy… even compared to Leeds and you cant drive/park anywhere from May to September.

However on a good day its marvellous Falmouth, Helford River and all that, Trebah beach etc.

Could not live there due to logistics rather than the climate

For me it would come down to whether I could relocate back easily if it didn’t work out. In line with JohnDoh’s post, people tend to either last <3 years, or they’re here for good.

There are lots of great things about living here, but there are a lot of negatives – and it depends on how you prioritise things…

As Timber said, it’s a long way from anywhere:

If you’re into your biking then yes, we have The Track, and Woody’s (and Cardinham, if that’s your thing), but the latter 2 of those are an hour away from large parts of Cornwall. I’m guessing that there’s a shed-load more good riding within that travelling time from where you are now. Natural trails are there to be found, but we just don’t have the space that you do in Yorkshire so they’re much more constricted.

To put Cornwall’s location into perspective, central Spain is nearer to me than northern Scotland! I’ve just been to see my dad today, who only lives in south Herefordshire. That was a 500 mile round trip for the day. Where are your family?

The “beach” is great – but generally too full to be pleasant when you’d want to be there. And don’t be hoodwinked by the “Visit Cornwall” blurb – the weather in July and August is unutterably shit. Cool, misty and wet. April, May, September and October are often amazing, and we definitely get more sunshine in a year than most of the country, but don’t come thinking of hot sunny days. 23 degrees really is unusually hot round here. On the bright(?) side – we don’t do snow.

If you like city life, don’t do it. Truro – the county town – wouldn’t qualify as a large village in the south east. Plymouth (not exactly Leeds) is a couple of hours by train from Redruth.

This might all sound like I’m trying to put you off. I’m really not. [Full disclaimer – I work in tourism in the far west of Cornwall, so it’s in my interest to attract as many people as I can to the place].

I moved here 22 years ago to marry a Cornish lass, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. But what attracts me is what puts lots of people off (no, not the missus). If you stay away from your Falmouth / St Mawes / Padstow type places I’ve never been anywhere less pretentious. People just aren’t into acquiring “Stuff”. Muck in, don’t come the “incomer”, be ‘who you are’ and not ‘what you’ve got’, and you’ll fit in just fine. Yeah, there are more than your average “localists”, but most folk are just fine.

My advice at your age? Set up an escape plan and then do it/

tl:dr What oldmanmtb2 said ^

ETA DusterBunny (and OP) – let me know if you want to explore some riding “out west”

The “beach” is great – but generally too full to be pleasant when you’d want to be there.

before 9 and after 6 is just about fine in silly season for the main beaches.

even in peak season it doesn’t take much of a walk to get away from the crowds.

getting around can be a pain but once you know the spots/times avoid it’s not too bad.

Learn to surf. That’ll soon sort out your work ethic.

Guaranteed worst careers advice ever!

(On the other hand he’s 28 and even old guys are learning to surf, it being the source swear to god etc etc.)

people tend to either last <3 years, or they’re here for good

Interesting comment.

My parents in law owned a second home in Padstow, they bought it before prices went nuclear there. They had it for about 15 years and would visit every four weeks or so, probably spending about 6 – 8 weeks a year there in total. They always intended to move there upon retirement. For various reasons they had to sell the place about 8 years ago.

Retirement came, they couldn’t afford Padstow so bought a place in Par. Still happy and retired there as planned. Spent a year telling everyone how amazing it is, photos in the sun, dog walking on the beach, living the dream. 18 months after moving they sold up and have moved back to Bicester (which is one of the most soul destroying places in the UK).

Their biggest issue was being too far away from anything that wasn’t Cornwall. Family, cities, airports, all so far away. But then you would have thought they would know that already!

How about Devon? A friend of mine lives in Budleigh so not far from Exeter for the “city” things and close to Cornwall and all that offers.

The south Devon coast is stunning and if was looking to move that would be one area I would consider.

(On the other hand he’s 28 and even old guys are learning to surf, it being the source swear to god etc etc.)

Change his life? He’ll be able to tell his boss when he catches his first tube (this morning, Sir).

What’s good?
Road riding
Surf
The far west
Most of the coastline
Really underrated ale

What’s bad ?
The interior
Job prospects
Low wages
MTB access
Tourism
House prices
Accessibility to the rest of the country
Urban depravation
Endless grey, wet weather

I’d think really carefully about this

So an update, thank you to everyone who replied your advice was very useful. I’m moving to Cornwall, I’ve got myself a job in Camborne (yeah it’s a rough area, but lovely compared to Castleford), I’ll be honest I’m one of those stw people that doesn’t actually ride anymore, instead I’m all about swimming and want to learn to surf, having so much beauty on your door step is really something, I don’t really have that in Leeds, obviously I don’t know how I’ll take to the area, culture and people’s attitude, time will tell.

Thanks again and to think this isn’t the first time stw has been a part of big decisions I’ve made in life 👌

Good luck muckytee – we’re some of those scum of the earth type people who dare to enjoy holidays down in Cornwall and its a great place. Would feature high on my places to move to if we wanted to relocate.

Maybe have a go at rock climbing, there’s some lovely routes in Sennen and surrounding areas.

having so much beauty on your door step is really something, I don’t really have that in Leeds

Oh come on, the canal is right on your doorstep for swimming. 🙂

Have fun, I’m sure it will work out just fine – it’s a different lifestyle and attitude altogether.

My mate has just done the exact same thing, granted he’s 46, but after years of contracting he sold his two houses up un the North West, packed everything into a box van and drove down with his wife and young child.

They started in a caravan somewhere on the North Coast and are just about to move into a long term rental in a village outside of Newquay. He doesn’t need to work in the short term, due to what he made out of property sales and saving those mighty contractor wages so as far as he’s concerned, life is rosy.

and are just about to move into a long term rental in a village outside of Newquay.

from what I understand finding somewhere to live might be a challenge. new building sites and renovations seem to pop up everytime I venture over the border to go surfing but i think very few are affordable homes, and most go straight to holiday homes/lets.

good luck, and your nearest decent surf shop is probably down the line in hayle, or karma in newquay. good time of year to start learning, water is finally starting to warm up a bit.

Good luck with finding somewhere decent to live

I’ll be honest I’m one of those stw people that doesn’t actually ride anymore,

In the majority then 😉

Good luck!

So I posted this thread a while back and in the end I decided to move, the advice of people who posted on here was greatly appreciated.

I have been living in Cornwall for the last 5 months and love it, yes it can be quiet and not have that big city vibe, but in turn the countryside is just stunning I’ve done so much sea swimming and any excuse to be outside as there are so many places to go. The locals I’ve found to be very friendly and I feel I’ve been well received out and about and at work.

So a great example of the positive contribution the people of STW can offer, thank you all again.

Glad it has worked out for you. How is the work vive you were concerned about? – have you slowed down to the locals pace yet?

Yeah people aren’t bothered about work much and just want to be out of the door enjoying the sunshine, it did annoy me until I found myself being the exact same haha

have you learnt to surf yet…

I haven’t, not even touched a surf board, shameful I know

When do you apply the jam?

Happy ending! (or is it just the start?)

Nice one OP