Saturday, 22 June 2013

I was trying to daydream but my mind kept wandering !

                                                                      I believe that is a great start to what needs to be a wonderfully chilled blog ...........................

Where has the sun gone??? for the past few days we have had extreme heat but not a glimpse of the sun and as I have been feeling poorly spending a lot of that time on my lonesome in the bedroom does not increase my mood. So what do I do I dream..................................
         
So off on my dream I went and it isn't really the kind where you shut your eye, my dreams are all virtual with real places and me going if only I had a million pounds (don't we all?)
Well for my million pounds in this dream alone I have picked my top 3.
 TORPINT-CORNWALL                   Torpoint, Cornwall just £595,000
This spacious bungalow is set in a waterside location with direct access to the foreshore and views over St John's Lake. It has a kitchen, breakfast room, study, sitting room, three bedrooms and garden. Marchand Petit (01752 829000, marchandpetit.co.uk)

 BRACKLESHAM BAY                    Bracklesham Bay, Susses just £1,100,000
This beachfront property has a reception hall, kitchen/breakfast room,utility room, conservatory, sitting/dining room, master bedroom with en-suite shower room, four further bedrooms and gardens with direct access to the beach. Jackson-Stops & Staff (01244 328 361, jackson-stops.co.uk) 


Weatherly, North Wales                         Weatherly, North Wales £625,000
Looking for a coastal home with spectacular views? This exceptional marine residence sits right on the waterfront and enjoys breathtaking coastal vistas against the backdrop of mountains. Weatherly is well placed for Porthmadog which has good local amenities. This house has three bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen, utility room and balcony. Jackson-Stops & Staff (01244 328 361, jackson-stops.co.uk)

It does make me laugh though that despite the price is isn't big enough heigh ho ............... maybe when all the kids have left home (but isn't that the time that they come over all the time with your grandchildren) and with 8 kids between us I wonder how many grandkids we'll get!!!


            I think in the picture that is their children, hmmm maybe they'll have a few extra grandchildren than us then :)

So i've been thinking about this move again, obviously for us the one would be Cornwall you just can't beat it for the views but..........................
We are also thinking about moving back to Norfolk, Lincolnshire to be closer to Jons mum and the sea and bigger houses for the price, Devon, Isle of Wight and even Jersey (maybe if we rob a bank first).

               

Neither me or hubby have been to the Isle of Wight or Jersey, maybe I should think even further away then to little Britain Gibraltar???

hmmmmmmmmmmmm not too sure that was the type of area I wasn't hoping to retire to?
The Reality of Life in Gibraltar and Surrounding Region
Anyone considering coming to live in southern Spain and the Gibraltar region, in particular, should carefully think it over.

In a nutshell, the advantages are:

Great location if you’re interested in Andalusian (inland Andalusia) and/or North African culture, and like being near the sea. However, be prepared to take advantage of all the benefits life near the ocean can afford, e.g. enrol in a yacht master’s and/or diving course (however, quite a few nuclear submarines have probed the waters here, so you might grow a third eye in the process!), buy a canoe and get paddling, etc., otherwise you’ll be bored out of your brains! It’s best to have a car rather than using unreliable, local transport to visit such great cities as Seville, Granada, Cordoba, etc.

Weather is generally mild in comparison to the UK, but don’t come expecting radiant sunshine and hot weather year round. Gibraltar is often cloudy, rainy, and only warm/hot for about five months of the year (May-October).

Gibraltar is as safe as houses, unlike La Línea (Gibraltar’s immediate neighbour Spanish side). Even as a woman, you can roam the streets at four in the morning, and nothing will happen to you, unless you’re extremely unlucky.

Gibraltar is bilingual. However, bear in mind that whilst Gibraltarians are schooled in English, they prefer to converse in Spanish. Therefore, you’re more likely to hear ‘patatas fritas’ on the street than ‘chips’, even though signs are in English.

The disadvantages:

Employment in Gibraltar, and along the entire Costa del Sol, is limited for the natives, let alone foreigners who don’t speak Spanish. As a general rule, and due to my own personal experience and the experiences of those I’ve met in Gibraltar, the recruitment agencies here are a waste of space. A common practice amongst these agencies is to advertise jobs that don’t even exist, just to make the purpose of their existence seem purposeful or to market the region as prosperous and especially industrious. It isn’t. Apply to companies directly. Bear in mind that if you want varied and meaningful employment, Gibraltar, and this region in general, should not be considered. Most jobs are occupied, naturally, by Gibraltarians, which is how it should be. However, this means that it is often hard, albeit impossible, to get those more coveted roles due to Gibraltar’s insular, exclusive nature. Your best bet as a foreigner, and especially if you don’t speak Spanish, is to apply directly at the many online gaming companies, such as Ladbrokes, Party Gaming, etc. The pay will not be particularly good, and the employment monotonous and dull; think of customer service and shift work, which really screws with any kind of social life of which you might have dreamt.

This region, with few exceptions (I’m not, of course, referring to Seville, Granada and the like), is bereft of culture. Basically, one can ‘do’ Gibraltar in a day. There are theatres, but no decent amateur dramatics societies, and no theatrical troupes of any repute visit this region. There is one museum. Enough said. Locals put on the occasional art displays, but for a culture vulture, these are small and largely disappointing. After you’ve been to the cinema, the bowling alley, played table tennis at the local community centre, you’d better hope you have your yacht master’s to save you from despair! Bear in mind, it’s not really feasible to water ski for seven months of the year, and you need to make friends with people who have boats in order to gain access to them.

The cost of living in Gibraltar can sometimes be much more exorbitant than even the UK. As salaries are not great, most people will have to resort to living in the incredibly unattractive commuter town of La Línea de la Concepción. Speaking as someone who, for the most part, loves Spain and is bilingual, La Línea is an unfriendly, poor, unsafe (for foreigners and Gibraltarians) and backward backwater. There will be some expats for whom La Línea is safe and nice enough, but for the rest of the discerning populace, people live there because they have little choice. Living further up the coast makes having your own transport indispensable. The Costa del Sol (with few exceptions, such as Malaga) is made up of soulless, high rise apartment blocks wherein live plenty of expats of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps fame; the sort who should never have been let out of the UK in the first place. If you’re in your twenties and thirties, quite well educated, and more quirky than the average, you’ll be bored beyond reason. Go to Seville, Barcelona, Granada or Cordoba to live. Expats here (a minority are of a pleasant mixed bunch), are, in the main, older than the average expat residing in Spanish cities; married with kids; less well educated than your average expat, love the Spanish weather and sadly little else, and to whom ‘the Prado’ means some sort of Spanish Morris dance. Okay, maybe this is a tad snotty, but you get my drift. Essentially, these expats are not here to learn Spanish and/or anything about the Hispanic culture, look with disdain upon the immigrants back home, whilst forming their own sullen and insular little Brit ghettos over here. Hence, anyone who thinks assimilation is a little more than creating exactly the same kind of lifestyle as you did or didn’t enjoy back home, should look to emigrate elsewhere. If living along the coast, commuting to Gibraltar for work, although hundreds do it, is time consuming and tiring. If you’re doing shift work, magnify this scenario several times. The sweet guards at the Gibraltar/Spain border regularly stage little politically/racially-motivated, throwing toys out the pram tantrums, which mean several hour long delays at the border. If working a 10 hour shift in Gibraltar and residing in Spain, you might be wondering why you didn’t take that high paying job in London.

In essence, you have to ask yourself whether the Spanish home in the sun is what it’s cracked up to be. The miniscule difference in monetary exchange means that Spain is currently no longer the bargain for expats. Salaries in Gibraltar, given the exchange rate, have in effect fallen approximately 30 percent in two years. Spain’s Costa del Sol is often not that sunny in winter and cold as hell. People get bored here as in most places. If you want year-round heat and sun, a fun and multi-cultured atmosphere, a variety of job opportunities, exoticism, go to the United Arab Emirates!
 courtesy of http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=580390

maybe not then!
         Isle of Wight
Much prettier ............................
What's going for it? Has a nice ring to it, Ventnor. Vent-nor. Sounds exactly like what it is, a prim, middle-class, Victorian resort with steep gable ends and a dash of Agatha Christie in the form of copious retired colonels and amateur botanists drawn by its balmy microclimate. Just my cup of tea. Lately, though, the 20th - even the 21st - century has been creeping in, in the form of foodies, middle-class evacuees from the mainland, thirtysomethings who took a wrong turn out of Bestival and inevitably, in their wake, developers. You can't blame them. The place is a delight: the beaches are clean and sandy, the shops independent and thriving, the countryside steep and downy - ripe for blustery walks - the cafes, pubs and restaurants good, and there's a self-contained community spirit. The place feels apart from the Isle of Wight, let alone the UK. I tell you, if I had any inheritance, this is where I'd buy my little hideaway.
The case against Not much. It is away from it all, and there are fears the town's burgeoning trendiness might turn it all Whitstable-y.
Well connected? Touch of Planes, Trains And Automobiles. Or rather trains and automobiles to Portsmouth, Southampton or Lymington, car ferries or catamarans to Ryde, Cowes or Yarmouth, automobiles or trains from Ryde to Shanklin, five miles away. Then a taxi or bus. If you time it precisely, you can get to or from London in two and a half hours. Though inevitably you won't.
Schools Very good. Wroxall primary is "good", St Wilfred's Catholic "good" with "pockets of excellence", Chale CofE "very good", Godshill "excellent". The nearest secondary is next door: Sandown High is "good".
Hang out at... Many hanker after The Pond Cafe at pretty Bonchurch village; others the decent food and live music in the Spyglass Inn, perched over the sea. But Matthew Chatfield, who runs Matt & Cat's Isle Of Wight Eating Out Guide (mattandcat.co.uk) rates El Toro Contento.
Where to buy You can't go wrong anywhere. The town is full of pretty Victorian villas and semis (especially in St Lawrence), and more cottagey terraces lacing the steep hills. Bonchurch, just to the east, is much in demand, too. Plenty of cafes and chippies for sale if you (like me) fancy the teashop of your dreams.
Market values Quite a bit of silly speculation right now. Posh five-bed villas, plus the odd 10-bed hotel, £400,000-£1m. Four-bed modern detacheds, three-bed period town houses, Victorian semis or cottages, £150,000-£400,000. Lots of flats, many overpriced: one-bed from £75,000; two-, £130,000-£240,000.
Bargain of the week Two-bed semi high above the town, with fabulous views and a great patio garden, £146,950, with Watson Bull & Porter (01983 852021).
From the streets of Ventnor
Graham Benson "Don't miss the Volunteer pub for real ales, Tinto's wine bar, the Met Bar on the front, El Toro Contento for authentic tapas, the Ventnor Brewery and, for a bit of style, the Royal Hotel."
Dave Trevan "Ventnor Rare Books is a real old-fashioned secondhand bookshop; the Undercliff for walks, rare plants and red squirrels; Blakes for the freshest fish you'll find."
James Bradley "Gorgeous green wall lizards, even in January."
Name withheld "The pubs on the Esplanade cater efficiently for the masses but I've never had a good meal in them. Watch out for steep roads and difficulty parking. The developers have grandiose plans, but I'm not sure the town will survive their input. Might be more Benidorm than Southwold in a few years

MMMM promising

Now JERSEY
   very much my cup of tea :)

Unless you are very , very, rich your chances of residing on Jersey are remote. Apart from people born and bred there, the island select who they want living there and people with lots of cash are what they prefer and who can blame them. I believe the policy is to tax the rich less than the mainland and in doing so they have many rich people who are happy to be paying less tax, but in turn that generates much more income for the island than if they were screwed. Property is very expensive. I believe seasonal workers that come to work on the island during the summer have to leave the island when their work finishes. (found this on a forum, probably rules us out then lol)

Top 10 UK Coastal Towns

Weymouth Harbour Summer is in full swing, and there is no better place to enjoy the weather’s fairest season than at the coast. With such a big year for events and happenings in the UK, there seems little reason to leave our fair shores. So this month, we’ve decided to count down the Top 10 Coastal Towns in the UK.

10. Weymouth

Weymouth has been earmarked as the coastal destination in 2012, thanks to the Olympic Sailing taking place there and all the attention it's bringing. But if you take a step back from the hype, Weymouth is still a world-class costal town worth visiting when the show is over. The main beach has Blue Flag status, so you can be assured that it’s clean and safe, which is always great for families wanting to spend some time in the sun. You’ve got a great selection of pubs, restaurants and iconic sites to explore in town – the Portland Bill Lighthouse, the Pavilion Theatre and Portland Castle. On top of that, Weymouth is sitting on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that needs to be seen. The Jurassic Safaris of the area take visitors through the more rugged parts of the coastline, across wildlife, ancient architecture and viewpoints that will blow your mind.
More info: www.visitweymouth.co.uk
Weymouth Harbour Weymouth Harbour

9. Mablethorpe

Mablethorpe is a good ‘ol fashion seaside holiday town, with a serious edge for families with young kids. The Seal Sanctuary is a fantastic place for little ones to learn about marine and bird life in the UK. Its Seal and Wildlife hospital has been taking in injured animals since 1974, and maintains a high release rate once the seals are well enough to make it on their own. As for the rest of the town, Mablethorpe boasts a long, sandy beach for days spent building castles and going for dips, plus a choice selection of amenities – the Spanish City Complex, theme park, a lovely promenade and some fantastic eateries.
More info: www.mablethorpeholidays.com/
Mablethorpe Beach Huts Mablethorpe Beach Huts

8. Barry

The Vale of Glamorgan in Wales has been a seaside favourite to holidaying Brits for generations, and the town of Barry (the largest of those making up the Vale) just seems to get better with age. It has all the charm of a small seaside village, backed up by world-class facilities and a packed social calendar. Classic attractions like Barry Island’s Whitmore and Jackson Bay (ideal for lazy days on the beach), Pleasure Island and the familiar locations from ‘Gavin & Stacey’ are appealing to all ages – especially older visitors who’ve been coming back since they were young bucks. The town itself is a mixture of quaint Welsh architecture and gorgeous parks – perfect for post shopping snacks and walks. Just a short drive down the coast you have the rest of the Vale to see, with its Neolithic ruins, incredible cliffs and strangely beautiful beaches. It’s unlike any other coastal town in the world. One reviewer aptly named it, “the Welsh Riviera”.
More info: www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/
Jackson Bay Barry Island Jackson Bay Barry Island

7. Walberswick

Only a short walk away from the iconic sea-side village of Southwold, you’ll find Walberswick, and it’s a cute little neighbour. This tiny crabbing community boasts a number of excellent beaches and stunning countryside pubs to keep families busy when they’re not taking walks along the harbour trail. The Suffolk countryside is an attraction on its own, as open expanses of rapeseed fields stretch out between the forests that overlook its beaches. Bring bicycles and tour the area in all directions, stopping at the old churches and ruins that will still be there in 200 years time.
More info: www.explorewalberswick.co.uk/
Walberswick Beach Walberswick Beach, courtesy of Roger Miller

6. Stonehaven

Stonehaven is full of the raw, dramatic landscapes and castles that people have come to associate with Scotland’s countryside. The coastal trail that runs past Aberdeen goes for 150 miles, allowing walkers to get as much distance as they like. For something a bit lighter, there is a whisky distillery tour that’ll still get your legs shaky. Although the harbour has needed to be rebuilt several times since the 1600’s, what stands today is one of the finest and liveliest recreational harbours in the UK, adding a nice touch to one of the most picturesque coastal towns in the world.
More info: www.stonehavenguide.net/
Stonehaven Stonehaven

5. Penzance

The most westerly town in Cornwall may be a very long trek for people living further away than London, but it’s worth every hour of the journey (and more). The milder climate makes it ideal for people wanting to maximise their time on the beach and develop something of a natural tan before going home. But it’s also fast becoming known as one of the cultural hubs of the Cornish coast; you’ve got iron-age villages on the periphery of town, Georgian architecture and art galleries on the High Street, plus stunning beaches all around you. These elements work together in a way that bewitches visitors and makes them never want to leave. June is a particularly cheerful time to visit Penzance, as Galowan and Mazey Day Festivals go back to back starting on June 23.
Another reason to head for the Cornwall coast is to experience Newquay, one of Britain's Top 10 Beaches.
Penzance Penzance

4. Southend On Sea

Home of the world’s longest pleasure pier, Southend on Sea is a town built around family fun at the beach. The pier comes in at 1.33 miles long and even has a railway service - that goes to the head - for those not up to walking. The nearby Sealife Adventure Centre is always a hit with kids; they’ll have a ball trying to spot and name the tropical sharks, pufferfish, clown fish and other interesting specimens. From the seafront, you can take the newly restored Cliff Lift (a 100 year old structure that only costs 50p per person) to the High Street, where the features in town are equally impressive. There are several art galleries, museums, a planetarium and finally The Rendezvous Casino Centre – for when the little ones have gone to bed.
More info: www.visitsouthend.co.uk/
Southend On Sea Southend On Sea

3. Rock

Rock is a posh little town North East of Newquay, opposite the Camel Estuary, frequented by certain members of the Royal family and a number of celebs. The sheltered waters of the estuary are ideal for regulars to take their yachts, canoes or rowboats for a spin, or to simply drop a line and see if any fish are biting. There’s also a large bird population, which people can spot from the deck of their homes tucked into the hillsides, preferably with binoculars in one hand and a glass of Pimms in the other. It’s a terribly expensive coastal destination, but the scenery is magnificent and nearby Daymer Bay is perfect for family days on the beach; it’s safe and warm. If you can afford a local holiday that costs as much as a trip across the world, you’ll find that the juice is certainly worth the squeeze.
More info: http://www.rockincornwall.co.uk/
Camel Estuary, Rock Camel Estuary, Rock

2. Cromer

Cromer is one of Norfolk’s best assets. Its Blue Flag beach is one of the main draws for people wanting a holiday at the seaside, but there’s plenty more to back this up. The town is elegantly stylised by Victorian architecture, giving it a surreal, time-warped feeling - especially to visitors from outside the UK. The Parish Church takes poll position of the town, dominating the skyline with a tower that extends 160 metres. If you’ve got the mustard to take all 172 steps to the top, a mind blowing view of the town awaits you. Like the church, the pier’s Pavilion Theatre has been a Cromer institution for more than 100 years, and still puts on shows throughout the year.
More info: www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/
Cromer Pier Cromer Pier

1. Margate

Margate is the original British coastal resort, with a tourism history that goes back hundreds of years. There is a great awareness of the past in Margate, which bridges the gap between generations for holidaymakers; the classic ‘Margate sites’ are constantly being revamped to preserve its original charm. The seafront and harbour have undergone numerous alterations, while the Blue Flag beach in front is still the perfect place for swimming, surf lessons and a day of tanning. Another great example of its timelessness is the unexplainable ‘Shell Grotto’ (an underground lair of tunnels and rooms that are lined with shells), which is as enthralling today as it was during the 1800’s. For outdoor lovers, the Viking Coastal Trail takes you through a nature reserve, past abbeys and other historical sites, all while tottering along the magnificent Kent countryside, right to the spot where the first Vikings landed on our shores.
More info: www.visitthanet.co.uk/
Margate Beach Margate Beach

Read more: Top 10 UK Coastal Towns | Enjoy these seaside towns year round
So other reviews in reverse order are :

Margate one of the world's top ten resorts? Trust me, it's East Germany with wind farms

By Leo Mckinstry
PUBLISHED: 23:37, 13 December 2012 | UPDATED: 23:56, 13 December 2012
Recuperating after a nervous breakdown in 1921, the poet T. S. Eliot made a visit to the seaside town of Margate on the Kent coast.
While he was there, he sat for a time in a municipal shelter on the front and stared out at the concrete-grey sea beneath a wide but darkening sky. The sheer bleakness of the scene was to serve as a form of  literary inspiration.
‘On Margate sands, I can connect nothing with nothing,’ he wrote in The Waste Land, one the finest 20th-century poems in the English language.
Bleak: T.S. Eliot wrote 'On Margate sands, I can connect nothing with nothing' in his poem The Waste Land
Bleak: T.S. Eliot wrote 'On Margate sands, I can connect nothing with nothing' in his poem The Waste Land
Exactly 90 years after Eliot’s epic first appeared, the term ‘The Waste Land’ seems more appropriate than ever for Margate, for the resort is even grimmer than when Eliot visited the place in the early Twenties, though it does have a rich history and retains  some of its Victorian architectural charm.
Certainly, it is those positive aspects that one travel guide has been seduced by.
In an extraordinary move, the compilers of the Rough Guide, the respected international travel annual, have declared the resort to be one of the top ten places in the world to visit. 
Most people in Kent might think of Margate as a nightmare place, but according to the Rough Guide, it is actually a dream destination, fit to be put in the same category as Earthly Edens such as Puerto Rico and North-East Iceland. 
With its ‘golden sands’ and ‘dilapidated seaside charm’, Margate is ranked seventh in the Rough Guide’s ‘must see’ destinations for 2013.
So there we have it. Honolulu, Portofino and the Maldives can be ignored. Margate is where it’s really at. But, much as we might admire the unorthodox enthusiasms of Rough Guide writers, their determination to put Margate near the top of the global tourist summit is laughable.
'An upcoming area': Most people in Kent might think of Margate as a nightmare place, but according to the Rough Guide, it is actually a dream destination
'An upcoming area': Most people in Kent might think of Margate as a nightmare place, but according to the Rough Guide, it is actually a dream destination
The town is not even the seventh best place to visit on the Isle of Thanet, never mind the world.
Other nearby resorts like Broadstairs, Ramsgate, and Sandwich are far more attractive. The artist Tracey Emin, a Margate native who somehow embodies the more negative side of the town in the empty mediocrity of her output, once said that Margate is ‘romantic, sexy and weird’. She should have left out the first three words and she would have been closer to the truth.
Anyone inspired by the Rough Guide to visit Margate may be in for disappointment. I should know because for the past six years my wife and I have lived on the outskirts of the resort. In a fit of inexplicable folly, for which I must entirely carry the blame, we decided to buy a house there in late 2006.
Part of my perverted rationale was that I had always liked the idea of living by the sea. Moreover, as someone who loves to wallow in nostalgia, I have long been drawn to the relics of England’s past.
‘Bleak enough for you?’ said my wife when we first saw the street where we bought our home. ‘Just about,’ I replied, relishing the mood of  autumnal Victoriana. 
Positive: Artist Tracey Emin once described Margate as 'romantic, sexy and weird'
Positive: Artist Tracey Emin once described Margate as 'romantic, sexy and weird'
Besides, I told myself, where else could you buy a period house with five bedrooms in the South-East of England for less than £250,000? 
Well, there was a reason why the property was cheap — and that was the location. Ever since our purchase, we have been told that the town is ‘an upcoming area’. But it seems pretty paralysed to me.
The reality is that, for all the Rough Guide’s excitement, too much of Margate could be an East German resort before the Berlin Wall came down. The feeling of degeneration is almost palpable.
In dramatic contrast to Margate’s centre which, proportionately, has more boarded up shops than any place in the South of England, the old town by the harbour has fared much better, its narrow, winding streets now full of boutique shops and cafes. 
The catalyst for this change has been the arrival of Turner Contemporary Art Gallery, named in honour of Britain’s greatest painter J. M. W. Turner, the 19th-century genius who produced more than 100 pictures inspired by the Kent coast, including some of his greatest seascapes.
‘The skies over Thanet are the loveliest in all Europe,’ he once said. But for all its economic success, the modern Turner gallery is infused with none of that artistic spirit.
The building itself looks like a warehouse on an East Midlands industrial estate, while its exhibits are mostly the worst kind of pretentious tat that today passes for modern art. 
Nor would Turner be too pleased by the view from the harbour, with large swathes  of the estuary now given  over to Europe’s biggest off- shore windfarm.
Economic decline is also reflected in the demographics. Margate was hit hard from the Sixties onwards by competition with cheap overseas travel, especially Mediterranean package holidays, so the local authority took the reckless decision to fill up the increasingly empty hotels and boarding houses with social security claimants. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247807/Margate-worlds-resorts-Trust-East-Germany-wind-farms.html#ixzz2WxanQigs


CROMER

Let's move to ... Cromer

Cromer is not just about the crabs, you know, says Tom Dyckhoff
Cromer, Norfolk
Cromer, Norfolk: Cheaper than Southwold and Aldeburgh, with added seafood. Photograph: Fabio De Paola
What's going for it? Enduring mystery of life no 17,978: just what is it that separates Cromer from loftier spots such as Holt and Burnham Market one way and Southwold and Aldeburgh the other? A matter of yards, I tell you! Outside Cromer's city limits, property prices soar: beyond Blakeney, you can barely get a coal scuttle for a quarter of a million. Yet Cromer's bone structure is Southwold in all but property price and plum-mouthed inhabitants fresh from Hampstead. Gorgeous beach, cliffs high enough to be picturesque, splendiferous pier, a chain-lite centre, lighthouse, independent cinema, a faded hotel called the Hotel de Paris. What more do you want? Delicious, locally produced foodstuff to feed the foodie in you? One word: crabs.
The case against Yes, yes, it's shabbier and more faded than Miss Havisham's stockings. Yes, yes, it's duller than a Rotary Club meeting in Nuneaton. But that's where you lot come in – pot of Fired Earth paint, a bit of gumption, you've got yourself a bargain. It's a long, long way away.
Well connected? It's in Norfolk. On the coast. What do you want, a motorway? Trains: hanging on to its rail link to Norwich (45 minutes or so, every hour). By road Norwich is 40 minutes away; the A1 or M11 up to 90 minutes away. The excellent Coasthopper bus service serves the coast east and west.
Schools Cromer Junior's "good", says Ofsted. But Cromer High, alas, is "inadequate" and requires "significant improvement".
Hang out at... Could do with a decent restaurant or even a caff. Head west along the coast for posh. The Red Lion and Wellington are decent enough for a pint.
Where to buy There's a small old town around the church with pre-Victorian homes and cottages; a good grid of hefty Victorian terraces and town houses to the west and south, on and off Norwich Road. Suburban nirvana east towards the golf course, off Overstrand Road.
Market values Very large sprawling detacheds, £400,000-£550,000. Normal-sized detacheds, £150,000-£400,000. Town houses, £180,000-£350,000. Semis, £130,000-£350,000. Terraces, £120,000-£180,000. Flats, £50,000-£250,000.
Bargain of the week Two-bed Victorian terrace with a wee back garden, needs refurbishment, £114,000, with William H Brown (01263 513764).
Live in Cromer? Join the debate at guardian.co.uk/letsmoveto

The word from the streets

Tracey & Chris Jennings "La Griglia serves delicious Italian fare or for a more traditional Cromer crab sandwich try the Rocket House or Lifeboat cafes, both with sea views."
Stephen Stone "Buttercups Tea Room: excellent cakes; the Cromer Social Club: good for a cheap pint."
Brian MacArthur "You can sometimes share the cinema with only three or four other people."
Ian McKenzie "Suffers during term-time, with drunk UEA students."

ROCK - (have been there and it truly is stunning)


How you can afford a home in Rock, Cornwall

A low-cost self-build scheme that allows people to afford a home in Rock, Cornwall, impresses Graham Norwood.

Living the dream: the Bosleys outside their Cornwall home
Living the dream: the Bosleys outside their Cornwall home  Photo: CHRISTOPHER JONES
11:00AM BST 31 Aug 2011
Comments11 Comments
Could there really be a family home for under £100,000 in one of Britain’s loveliest and most expensive areas?
There is for Dan and Liz Bosley and their children, who are one of the first families in the country to have built their own low-cost property under a scheme which brings affordable homes to expensive locations.
The couple and their four children aged 18 months to 13 years live in Rock, Cornwall, identified as the fourth “least affordable” place to live in England and Wales in a survey by Halifax. Some 40 per cent of the properties in the village are second homes and the average price is more than £500,000. A four-bedroom house is currently on sale for £975,000.
“There’s no way we could afford to pay anything like those prices, but we were one of 12 local families selected to build our own homes,” says Liz. “Scores applied but the lucky dozen were chosen by having their names drawn from a hat. If it wasn’t for this scheme, we’d be renting or having to move away from our own area.”
The secret behind the low-cost housing is a non-profit-making Community Land Trust created by locals fed up of being priced out of the housing market – a sort of bricks-and-mortar version of David Cameron’s Big Society.
In 2008, the CLT received a gift of land donated by a local farmer and then selected the families who were willing to self-build. Each family put down a small deposit – just £2,500 in the Bosleys’ case – and took out conventional mortgages to complete the construction work, which cost £80,000 to £100,000 for each property. To keep costs down, they tried to avoid buying in any craftsmen.
“I wired every one of the 12 houses, while others did the bricklaying or woodwork. Lots of people had skills already and a few undertook training. We had to get all the homes finished before anyone moved in to make sure no one lived in a building site,” says Dan, whose father – a gardener – helped with the landscaping.
If the Bosleys ever sell, they are obliged by a covenant to set an asking price no more than one third of the market value of the property, so while it may appreciate in the long term, their home will remain much cheaper than others in Rock.
Community Land Trusts exist around Britain, in cities as well as rural areas, and have a strong local focus. Some use local professional building firms, while others rely on self-builders, but all strictly control what happens to properties after completion to ensure they stay in community hands and do not become second homes or private buy-to-lets.
Most rely on land given to them by local benefactors or councils or purchased at below-market value. So far about 50 low-cost homes have been built, with work under way on another 100. The most recent completions were at Bishop’s Castle in the West Midlands.
Housing minister Grant Shapps is introducing the Community Right To Reclaim Land Act, allowing local residents to force councils to release unused land which could be allocated for housing.
The 12 homes now completed at Rock are mostly bungalows sitting in a quiet cul-de-sac off a road lined by detached private houses fetching up to £500,000 each. Another eight homes are under construction by local people. “The fact that we’ve all worked on all of the homes and are tied to passing them on only to local people when we sell means there’s a great sense of community here,” says Dan.
“It’s allowed us to live where we were bought up – and that’s something special.”


SOUTHEND ON SEA (been there)

Let's move to Southend and Shoeburyness, Essex

Unlike most resorts, it's never lost the fight
Southend
Southend-On-Sea: You won't find a more grounded seaside resort than this. Photograph: Sophia Evans for the Guardian
What's going for it? I once saw a bronzed, elderly lady in a thong karaoking at 6pm on the prom at Southend. On a Tuesday! Here, I thought, was a town that knows how to have a good time. Brighton, despite its seediness, always had airs and graces. Still does. You won't, though, find a more grounded seaside resort than Southend. It has its posh side, and these days it's made the inevitable attempt to gentrify itself with arts festivals and the like. But only Leigh-on-Sea has really fallen to the Cath Kidstons. Southend is red in tooth and claw. Turn the corner into Shoeburyness and Essex's vast skies meld with mudflats and wetlands to make the most ethereal, peaceful landscape imaginable. While faded, like most resorts, Southend has never lost the fight, unlike most resorts. It's still alive. That thong lady had it figured.
The case against If you're averse to bronzed, elderly ladies karaoking, this probably isn't the place for you. Avoid all that by sticking to the Thorpe Bay/Shoeburyness end of things. The beach can be more sludge than sand when the tide's out, though it's as clean as a whistle.
Well connected? Very. You have your pick of dual carriageways to zip you through Essex. And the train service is good: around an hour to London from Southend East or Victoria, five to seven trains an hour.
Schools Among primaries, St Mary's Prittlewell CofE and Sacred Heart Catholic are "good" with some "outstanding" features, with Bournes Green Junior, Temple Sutton Primary and Milton Hall "outstanding". Secondaries: Shoeburyness High and The Eastwood are "good", St Bernard's High "outstanding".
Hang out at… Rossi's ice-cream parlour. Knickerbocker for me, please.
Where to buy Mostly very affordable for the south-east. Huge Edwardian semis for £250,000. Unattainable only in the poshest end of Thorpe Bay. Look at nearby Southchurch "village" for big Edwardian town houses, Kilworth estate, Clifftown conservation area, Westcliff-on-sea, Milford estate, and the Southend conservation area for nice Victorian semis and terraces.
Market values Huge detacheds, £500,000-£800,000 and up to £1m. Detacheds, £170,000-£500,000. Semis and town houses, £160,000-£415,000. Terraces £140,000-£300,000. Flats from £60,000 for a studio, up to £215,000.
Bargain of the week Five-bed end of terrace, currently two flats, in the Clifftown Conservation Area. £340,000, with Sorrell.

From the streets

Holly Edwards "Rossi's ice-cream is a local institution. My nan wouldn't eat any other. True blue Tory stronghold, so it can be hard to find a Guardian..."
Nathan Coyne "People joke about Shoeburyness on the train from Fenchurch Street, but they have clearly never been farther than the station. It's got beaches and coastal walks with views over the estuary. Properties in Shoebury Garrison would cost millions closer to London."
John Cheek "East Beach is lovely, where the Thames Estuary meets the North Sea."


PENZANCE (been there)

Let's move to Penzance, Cornwall

It has a 30s lido, palm trees and isn't stupid-bonkers posh
Let's move to Penzance
Penzance's amazing 1930s Jubilee pool. Photograph: Getty
What's going for it? I want to move to Penzance. Right now. I'm trying to persuade Mrs D. In the meantime, Penzance is the latest entry in my occasional "Let's move to…" mini-series Ordinary Yet Extraordinary-Cornwall Without The Hooray Henrys. (I am attempting a one-man revival of the phrase "Hooray Henrys".) Anyhow, you're all wondering, why? Because it's cheering to see palm trees common as muck in a British town. Because it has the most incredible sunrises across the bay to St Michael's Mount, and sunrises are sexier than sunsets. Because neighbouring Newlyn's fishing port is too unpicturesque to attract posh money, and this means, a) you're not fighting hedge funders over the lobsters, and b) the town, with its exquisite streets of stone Georgian and Regency stucco, isn't stupid-bonkers expensive. Because it has Victorian shopping arcades and the amazing 1930s Jubilee pool on the rocks. Because Jean Shrimpton owns the Abbey hotel. I mean, come on! Because it's the end of the line, but feels like the beginning.
The case against It's suffering, like much of Cornwall, from long-term economic decline as fishing follows mining into the mire. It's also miles from anywhere except the Isles of Scilly. Not stupid-bonkers expensive, but pricey for locals. The temperature in the Jubilee pool: turn it up, mate.
Well connected? As much as an end of the line can be. Rail-wise, even Exeter is three hours away, Plymouth two (one or two an hour); Truro 40 minutes (twice hourly), St Austell 50-ish and Bodmin 75 (both one or two an hour). Driving, Truro's 45 minutes, Exeter two and a half hours.
Schools All very good. Primaries: Pensans and St Mary's RC "outstanding". Secondaries: Humphry Davy "good", Mounts Bay Academy "outstanding".
Hang out at… It's bursting with great places. There's smashing beer at the Turk's Head or Admiral Benbow.
Where to buy The delightful old town for first dibs, mostly rebuilt after a sacking by the Spanish in 1595: Chapel Street to Parade Street for Georgian and Regency town houses. Posher suburbs include Chyandour, with sublime views of the bay, or Tredarvah. Affordable small terraces around Taroveor Road.
Market values Large detacheds, £350,000-£800,000. Town houses, £300,000-£500,000. Detacheds, £175,000-£350,000. Semis, £140,000-£320,000. Terraces, £125,000-£300,000 (big).
Bargain of the week Two-bed stone bungalow in pretty Gulval, just outside, needs updating, £115,000, with Miller & Son.

From the streets

Colin Reynolds "It's the quirkiness of the shops that stands out, from Steckfensters in Chapel Street selling all kinds of goodies, to the side roads off Market Jew Street with little shops selling great individual gift and home items."
Peter Harris "The Star Inn on the A30 just outside PZ sells the finest beer I've ever tasted." The landlord has his own microbrewery and regularly gets drinkers arriving with 4 pint jugs with rubber stoppers in order to cart them home on the bus.
Roger Lowry "Discerning locals go to Little India for an Indian meal, Sea Palace for Chinese or Suko Thai."
Tim Dwelly "The main problem here is opposition from some people to new harbour terminals and new homes. Luckily, plenty of local people don't feel this way."

STONEHAVEN - SCOTLAND (not been there)

 

Let's move to: Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

Home of the deep-fried Mars bar, and the only place to be come Hogmanay
Stonehaven Aberdeenshire
The town where the deep-fried Mars bar was invented … Stonehaven Aberdeenshire. Photograph: Stan Green/Alamy
What's going for it? Of all the shenanigans at Hogmanay, none, I suspect, is more riotous than Stonehaven's. This is a town that lives for 31 December, when, as midnight approaches, its citizens take to the streets swirling chains with giant fireballs at the end. As you do. Something to do with purifying the soul, or tempting out the sun, an infrequent visitor to northern Scotland in midwinter. Now, I know what you're thinking: fireballs, alcohol and the traditional Hogmanay gift of coal… An interesting combination. It has not been unknown for the odd spark-induced hole to appear on manmade fibres. But Stonehaven chaps have sharp minds. The fireballs are triumphantly doused in the harbour at the end of the night before the real jamboree begins. In any case, they know what they're doing with the application of fire. This is the town, after all, where the deep-fried Mars bar was invented, and for that we salute them. They make the most of everything round here.
The case against Cold, of course, and dark at this time of year, but this is northern Scotland. What do you expect?
Well connected? Trains: 20 minutes, twice an hour, to Aberdeen; an hour, twice an hour, to Dundee. Buses to Aberdeen, too (45 minutes, hourly). Driving: 25 minutes to Aberdeen, 70 to Dundee.
Schools Primaries: Mill O'Forest and Arduthie are "good", HMIE says; Dunnottar mostly "very good". Secondaries: Mackie Academy is mostly "good".
Hang out at… The Haven Chip Bar, birthplace of the DFMB is long gone, but its replacement, the Carron, is offering seasonal deep-fried shortbread and clootie dumplings. For dieters, try cullen skink at the Boat House, watching the seals.
Where to buy Much of this handsome town was laid out in the late 18th century on a grid between its two rivers: expect elegant stone town houses, semis and terraces in the centre, especially up towards Baird Park; plenty of post-oil-boom suburbs, too. But the period property is the real boon here. Also, the remnants of the original fishing village and pretty harbour.
Market values Detacheds, £250,000‑£430,000. Semis, £180,000-£230,000. Terraces, £140,000-£220,000.
Bargain of the week Charming, three-bed, stone Victorian terrace with a garden, in need of modernisation (though I'd keep the amazing decor); offers over £145,000, with Raeburn, Christie, Clark & Wallace.

From the streets

Mandy Tulloch "Friendly community with proper independent shops. Dunnottar Wines is a great wine store that can get you anything. The harbour and bay is perfect for sea air – if you're lucky, you'll see dolphins. And Dunnottar Woods is great for kids. Downside: it could be a couple of degrees warmer."


WALBERSWICK (not been here)

The ideal home? It's here in Walberswick on the Suffolk coast

Supermarket, seaside, friendly pub, nice neighbours.... one property that ticks all the boxes

Sweet home: Jan Etherington's neighbours include comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and his wife, Emma Freud
Sweet home: Jan Etherington's neighbours include comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and his wife, Emma Freud Photo: Alamy
By
7:30AM GMT 05 Feb 2013
CommentsComment
It’s not often that I come out top in a survey but a recent report on what makes the ideal home showed me that, on some subjects, I do tick all the boxes.
According to research by housebuilders Banner Homes, the perfect property is two miles from a supermarket, 10 miles from the coast and within walking distance of a pub where everyone knows your name. It must have good neighbours on both sides, be close to the countryside and a newsagent and have at least two TV sets. Tick, tick, tick... (though the sea is, in fact, just at the end of my road).
Admittedly, I’ve only been living in Walberswick in Suffolk for four weeks, but I couldn’t be happier with my new set-up.
For the past 20 years, I’ve lived on the banks of the River Thames, near Hampton Court. But as comedy writers, my husband and I can work anywhere, and with family and grandchildren in Suffolk and a longing to be beside the seaside, we started thinking about a move to the East Anglian coast.
One day, we drove into Walberswick. Flashy it is not. The beach huts are a universal, sombre black; no pastels and plastic lobsters here.
Low-key, laid back, slightly in the shadow of its grander, big sister Southwold – a ferry ride across the River Blyth – Walberswick has always attracted artists and writers, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Philip Wilson Steer.
We found ourselves a lovely 1910 Arts & Crafts house, which happens to tick yet more boxes in the survey – it has a garage, a couple of spare rooms and a nice lawn. It will shortly also acquire the remaining essentials for an “ideal home” – a comfortable sofa, an en suite bathroom and a fire (the logburning stove man came yesterday).
“Community spirit is something we still view as integral to being happy where we live,” says Banner Homes spokesman Piers Banfield.
Well, there’s buckets (and spades) of that in Walberswick.
When we arrived, neighbours came out to greet us, and smiles broadened as we explained that we plan to live here permanently (half of the properties are second homes, some owned by famous families including screenwriter Richard Curtis and his wife, Emma Freud, who are terribly supportive of the community).
There are two fantastic pubs within walking distance of our house. The nearest, The Anchor, is run by splendid Sophie, who quickly made sure that everybody knew our names. Far from being met by silence and swivelled heads when we walked in as “newcomers”, we were introduced all around, quizzed on our plans for the house and brought up to date on local events.
The saddest of these was that one of the legendary Walberswick characters, builder Wally Webb, who’d even done some work on our house, had died. Wally knew everyone in the village – and the inside of most of their houses. One villager has put up a number of blue plaques, inscribed: “Wally Webb, builder, worked here” and someone has renamed the sign at the entrance to the village “Wallyberswick”.
In the month since we arrived, we’ve been to a village lunch, a play reading and star gazing on the beach – and that is in midwinter, which locals claim is a quiet time here. I’ve been invited to join the early morning swimmers – yes, it’s the North Sea and, yes, it’s seven degrees – so I am throwing myself into village life.
When I attended my first parish council meeting, I learnt that a travelling post office visits twice a week and that there were “no reported crimes” in Walberswick in December, which gave me a great idea for a comedy... Oh, just a minute, I think Richard Curtis has beaten me to it with the Vicar of Dibley.
As the road ends in Walberswick, it really is a silent night here, and a very dark one. There are no street lights and a torch is an essential accessory. But I can see the stars and hear the sea, and even if I had never read that survey, I’d know that I’ve found my ideal home.
BARRY (my aunt, uncle & cousins live here)


Follow Gavin and Stacey: reasons to move to south Wales

The young couple start a new life in Barry in the third series of the BBC comedy. Here are the reasons why you should too
The cast of Gavin & Stacey on the beach at Barry
The cast of Gavin and Stacey on the beach at Barry. Photograph: Baby Cow
Three years ago I, like Gavin, relocated from south-east England to south Wales. There are big differences – I'm not a character in a comedy series, and don't live in Barry but up the road in Cardiff – but in honour of the imminent move in the final series of Gavin and Stacey, I thought I'd share my favourite things about living here.

The food

In Cardiff, there are some likeably quirky additions to dining options. The Cardiff Arts Institute is the hot new city centre haunt from the team behind hip and lovely Milgi working in partnership with 580 LTD (Start the Bus, Bristol, and Lock Tavern, Camden). The CAI is impeccably cool: it has a Lego wall, good canteen food served all day, a manifesto to roll your eyes at (rule number three: Forever Evolve) and an effortless, modernist aesthetic that's partnered by charming service. It describes itself as "like getting pissed in a Saatchi exhibition" but don't let that put you off.
Other promising recent openings include The New Conway, a gastropub in leafy Pontcanna from the team behind Wood's Brasserie in the Bay, and Ffresh in the Wales Millennium Centre, where Shaun Hill of the Walnut Tree in Abergavenny is involved with menu design.
That's the other fab thing about foodie haunts here in south Wales: the gourmet hotspot of Monmouthshire is just up the road with The Walnut Tree, The Hardwick, The Bell at Skenfrith, The Felin Fach and The Foxhunter all reliably delightful and close by. For fancier dining, there's also The Crown at Whitebrook, currently the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Wales.
Back in Cardiff, the excellent Mint and Mustard – one of only two Indian restaurants in Restaurant magazine's Top 100 Restaurants – opens its new venture, Chai Street, next month, promising a cheaper menu of dishes inspired by Keralan street-food. And Canteen on Clifton Street, the veggie-friendly restaurant that reverses roles to include just one meat dish on its menu, remains terrific value.

The arts

Like everything in south Wales, it's pretty laid back. But these are exciting times: Chapter Arts Centre has just reopened after a major redevelopment and it's now a stunning space for art, film and theatre, and hanging out in the café-bar with Cardiff's finest bohemian types. Also, the new National Theatre Wales, based in Cardiff but performing all over Wales, will open its first show in March next year. Hopes are high.

The rugby

Even if you're not into the game, it's fascinating to observe just how deeply it grips the place. I also like going shopping when Wales are playing. The shops are deserted.

The countryside

South Wales never feels crowded. It's easy to get yourself to gloriously empty landscapes – outside of high summer, the Gower peninsula and its stunning beaches are brilliantly quiet – and even Cardiff has calm nooks and crannies aplenty. "Where are all the people?" my friend asked when he came to visit for the first time. That was on a Saturday afternoon, walking into town. The fab things is, there just aren't that many of them.

The Taff trail

This riverside traffic-free walking and cycling path, snaking right through the city centre, is one of the best things about living here. Try cycling from Cardiff Bay to the extraordinary Castel Coch – built for the 3rd Marquess of Bute in the 1870s as his country pile a few miles from his city centre pad (Cardiff Castle) - on a Sunday, stopping off at the award-winning Riverside Farmers' Market (10am-2pm on Sundays) en route, and then recovering from the ride at castle's Bakestone tearoom, with their delicious home-made cakes.

The pace of life

Boy it's slow. Wonderfully, impossibly slow. I worried for a while that I'd never adjust and then found that I had, very slowly indeed. Traffic lights stay on red for whole epochs; nothing's worth hurrying for. The first day I moved here, the BT chap who came to connect the phone spent two hours telling me about the delights of the area. He was sitting on my one unpacked chair, rocking back and forth as he spoke. Dawdling and pottering are the norm. I go back to London now and think, golly, there are so many people, and they're all in a grumpy rush.

The shops

The new St David's 2 shopping centre has brought John Lewis and lots more high street names to Cardiff, but there are many independent gems too. Fabulous, in the Bay, is a shrine to the Welsh cake – how brilliant a business concept is that? – and stocks a good range of tasteful Welsh design. The Victorian arcades in Cardiff are home to some of the best small shops: the legendary Wally's deli in Royal Arcade now has a sleek new look and twice the retail space. Penarth and Cowbridge, in the Vale of Glamorgan, both have a good range of chic boutiques, as does swish little Mumbles, a few miles beyond Swansea.

The glamour

Since I moved here – and I'm not suggesting a causal connection – south Wales has stealthily increased its profile on telly and, in most cases, with quite respectable results. Doctor Who, of course, is filmed here; Torchwood is set here; Gavin and Stacey spends half its time here. There's always a selection of Welsh talent on singing shows (Only Men Aloud; Lloyd and Lucie on the X Factor). Cardiff's a small city, so you see the filming quite a bit. I am now fantastically blasé about seeing John Barrowman. And Daleks.

The weather

It rains. It really rains. But that means two good, life-affirming things: you really appreciate it when it's sunny – even crazy golf at Barry Island in the sun, with views out over the Bristol Channel, takes on a tropical sheen after months of drizzle - and it keeps those rural rolling hills lush and green. When I'm out for a walk in glorious Welsh isolation on a dry day, and carrying a picnic that includes local cheeses and a bottle of Wheat's Occurin' ale from the Vale of Glamorgan micro-brewery, I feel very lucky indeed to have made the move.
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