I had always assumed I would end my days in Penzance. I’d lived there since 1977; brought up our two children there, seen three grandchildren born there; and seen them all leave the county. So, there was just my wife and I living in a largish Victorian house which was turning into a money pit as the demands of maintenance increased and my physical abilities decreased. Following a chance remark by our son in August 2020 that he wished we lived nearer to him (in Somerset) we found ourselves in a maelstrom of emotional and practical “stuff” as we contemplated moving.
Our son lives in Somerset and our daughter in London. Seeing either of them was difficult in normal circumstances never mind in a pandemic. We decided that it would be sensible to move to Somerset. We reasoned that going in our early seventies would make it easier to build a new life rather than wait until we were older.
We embarked on a frantic period of making our house look smarter before we put it on the market. That paid off because we had a good offer within a short time. The big issue was finding a new house. It wasn’t easy because our chosen area was too far away for day trips, so we had to “shop” via the internet. We shortlisted several houses and went to stay in a hotel for a week with viewings arranged.
We found a house and our offer was accepted. We opted to dump much of our furniture because it needed renewing anyway. That made packing easier but it’s astonishing how much stuff one accumulates. There were hiccups along the way, but we had a great estate agent and conveyancer, and our removal firm proved to be adaptable, efficient, and very reasonably priced.
Our belongings were collected on a Tuesday and delivered to our new home on the Wednesday. We stayed overnight with our son. When we arrived at our new home that Wednesday morning, we were greeted by a new neighbour who made tea for us. That was a lovely surprise. We have been very fortunate to have friendly and helpful neighbours on both sides.
We find ourselves in a very friendly large village (almost a town) where everyone you pass says hello. People seem happy here. Although there are lots of amenities here and a normally active community, we found at first that it was difficult to become part of things, because nothing was happening due to Covid. As the months have gone by, we have seen things begin to open up and we’re now able to join in various groups and pastimes.
We missed the sea at first, but we love the “novelty” of being able to drive in any direction whereas in West Cornwall we could really only travel East! And just like in Cornwall we can go to the Bristol Channel Coast or the English Channel coast. Both are about 40 minutes away. The biggest bonus has been seeing our children. We see our son most weeks and he’s come over to help with some DIY; and our daughter has visited us twice and we’ve been up to London to see her.
It was a drastic change for us after living almost all our adult life in Cornwall, but it has definitely been a good move. And now, after being grumpy about tourists in Cornwall for years, I can now visit Cornwall and be a tourist there myself!!
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