Relocating to Cornwall - Part 1. Myth, reality, the whole Cornish Pasty
I touched on, in my earlier blog 'And So The Cornish House was born...', mine and my husband’s desire to change our life and our reasons for choosing Cornwall to do it.
I think it’s about time I covered how our relocation has gone thus far.
Naturally, for the first six months, I think it's only normal to feel like you are on some kind of extended holiday in your favourite place in the UK.
Yippee! Beach days, long coastal walks, cream teas whenever the mood takes you, which owing to my extended waistline appears to be quite a lot.
We love everything about Cornwall. Well; pretty much everything. Don’t get my husband started on the speed of our internet connection dropping from 64MG to 8MG…
Then reality sets in and the need to think about work, paying the bills and the mortgage… Thud! That’s me hitting the ground, in case you were wondering.
We weren’t complete muppets. We knew one of us would have to get a job pretty sharpish, and in our scenario, that (unfortunately for him) was where hubby drew the short straw.
Day 1 of Hubby’s New Life – Move to Cornwall and change our life. Day 2 – Start new job doing the same hours, the same travel, in a similar role for considerably less money… Hmm, something is definitely amiss here.
Of course, we knew salaries in the South West were never going to match those nearer to London, and initially, I don’t think we thought that would be too much of a problem. When you have a good income, you kind of take it for granted and start to think there’s more to life than just money.
There is more to life than just money. MUCH more. But when you only have a finite amount of savings to get by on, and only one of you is working (so the other can pursue her dream career… ), it’s easy to stop seeing the wood for the tree’s. I think you get my drift.
Common sense would suggest I quickly procure a job in the career that had served me well for the last 17 or so years.
And I would, in a heartbeat, but that would kind of defeat the reason why we wanted to make this life change.
Not merely because the stress levels in my old job had made me quite poorly with a medical condition I previously had under control and in remission. That it had reared its ugly head and was starting to affect every fiber of my being. The way I felt, the way I functioned and the way I looked at life. No, there was more to it than that.
I had gained a certain clarity. A perspective I think one only acquires if you've had something fairly life altering take place in your short existence on this planet. That was, I didn’t want to live and die in my old job, in my old house, in the town I had grown-up in. Basically in my old life.
I’d already seen my old dad reach retirement age with a plan to do everything he’d always wanted – go travelling, take things easy, spend more time with mum. However, one year into retirement prostate cancer cruelly snatched all those dreams from him. From them both.
I didn’t want that to be my life. I didn’t want my husband and I to wait until retirement, until we were too old or ill to pursue our dreams and enjoy them.
Some of you may think me an old romantic. Some, a stupid old romantic. Perhaps you are right, but you only get one shot at life. At living. Why not take a (calculated) risk every once in a while.
And so here we are, The Cornish House.
Don’t get me wrong, making a go at changing your life and setting up your own business is not without its stresses and strains, but somehow working for yourself, to your own agenda, seems pleasantly very worthwhile.
Of course getting any form of business off the ground is difficult. I keep repeating the mantra ‘the first year is always the hardest’… Yup, pretty much, but there’s nothing that focuses the mind more than the desire to make something you love, succeed. That and, helping to keep a roof over our heads.
So here I am. The Cornish House. Qualified interior designer. Stylist. Lover and restorer of vintage furniture. Artist. Cornwall enthusiast. Wife. Mum to four mad rescue cocker spaniels. Sharing our journey so far with you. An audience I don’t know and have never met. I’m not entirely sure if anyone is even reading my blog… Other than my mum, the odd stalker and maybe an old friend… But if you are there, whoever you are. I hope you find my blog (so far) interesting and that it resonates with you in some way. I was going to say ‘enjoyable’ but that might be too much to hope for so soon. I hope you will stay tuned so I can share our journey some more.
Cornwall Lifestyle Blog, Cornwall Lifestyle Blogger, Relocating to Cornwall
