Best place to live in the uk ?

Hi, I recently moved to Cornwall, it’s 250 miles from my home. We are originally from a small village with just a village pub, no public transport or much for younger people to do.

We made a list of what we would ideally need, we are  now 7 miles from the coast and a major holiday town. The house prices are cheaper and although I do realise the local economy needs the tourist pound, we are far enough away as it can be very overwhelming in the Summer. There are plenty of quiet coves though.

The village has a pub, community shop and Post Office, train station and bus routes. It also has a doctors surgery with a pharmacy, that was important. The village also has schools which I think keeps a mixed age group in the area, I have two adult sons.

My youngest son doesn’t drive so a bus stop at the end of the road is useful. There isn’t as much work as a lot of it is seasonal. My wife wants to join local groups which is what I wanted for her, if anything was to happen to me then she would have friends. Im more a lone person and have projects on the house to keep me occupied. A disused cottage came with the house so we are hoping to renovate it as a holiday let. We discussed bed and breakfast but neither of us wanted people in our own home.

Getting trades people takes planning and shopping is further distances, things like broadband took some investigation, we use a satellite link. It’s really down to what you want, I’ve never liked large towns or cities, some do, we don’t have the option of takeaway delivery as too remote, that’s important to some.  

That sounds wonderful Roy - we have similar considerations to you in some ways, and we’ve loved going on holiday to Cornwall for many years. Like you we don’t want to live in a big city, but at the same time we are looking for a place where a person can manage without a car because in our family I’m the only one who can drive. Also my husband is still a few years from retirement- and needs to find some work even if he takes his pension early as his pension is not very much (he’s worked for the local council for many years but only in a low paid job). By nature I’m a very cautious person but I know that where we live now is too isolated for my son - especially after me and husband aren’t around anymore for him. I want him to be able to walk to a shop or a bakery or whatever, and have some contact with people. Your holiday let idea sounds like a wonderful way to have some income coming in - good luck with it! 

Thanks Kate Kestrel  , I don’t know if my younger will ever drive, adhd makes decision making very difficult for him, it’s one of the reasons we chose our location, he’s happy to use public transport. My wife is the main earner in our family, she has taken her pension early and then returned part-time. I personally don’t think anywhere is perfect, as with anywhere there is always things like drug use. I have a friend who bought a beautiful small holding in Wales, the price was very reasonable but there isn’t the infrastructure in the area now they are ageing. I hope you find your dream home.

Thanks Kate Kestrel  , I don’t know if my younger will ever drive, adhd makes decision making very difficult for him, it’s one of the reasons we chose our location, he’s happy to use public transport. My wife is the main earner in our family, she has taken her pension early and then returned part-time. I personally don’t think anywhere is perfect, as with anywhere there is always things like drug use. I have a friend who bought a beautiful small holding in Wales, the price was very reasonable but there isn’t the infrastructure in the area now they are ageing. I hope you find your dream home.

Thank Roy. Yes - we know someone who lives in rural Norfolk and they said there’s a lack of services etc there so not great if you have a disability or extra needs of any kind, or are very elderly. I don’t want my son to be as socially isolated as we are here. My eldest has eyesight issues and has been told he cannot drive (and he never learned to drive in the first place) and my youngest feels he doesn’t have the concentration and focus to drive (partly due to OCD as well as his Autistic traits etc) and doesn’t want to learn. Where we live now there’s not much public transport and no shops you can walk to - it will be nice to be somewhere where we can walk to a local bakery or whatever. My husband is mildly in shock (in a good way) about the prospect of handing in his resignation - he’s been in the same job for 30 years!