General Discussion

Hi all,

Looking to relocate and considering Dawlish. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We are a family with 3 young children and one older, 9 months, 4, 8 and 21.

We have seen a place on Exeter road close to the town and wondered if anybody has any advice about the area? We are desperately looking for community, space and generally a better upbringing for the kids. Would love to hear local thoughts.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Amy

Exeter Road is a good choice since it's also close to the school, beach and leisure facilities (tennis courts, football pitch, gym, swimming pool, etc.) . It's also near Sainsbury's and a good location for commuting to Exeter if you need to.

I think it is a mix of retired folk and working-aged families, but the people are friendly enough.

Thanks Steve, that's really helpful. Looks like a busy road, I'm guessing it gets a lot of traffic?

Yes, it can be get busy, but it's never really slow unless there are works going on. It's quieter during winter and at weekends.

@MumAmy There's a lot of traffic as it's the A379 is the main route to Exeter and Teignmouth and Dawlish has grown massively in recent years due to housing developments around the north of the town and we'll see even more under Labour's housing policy. There's also plenty of holiday traffic, so I'd consider somewhere away from Exeter Road because of the noise and pollution, especially with respiratory issues in mind as you have young children.

@Teignbridge Rotten Borough thank you, that is a good point. I will have a look around. We don't have a massive budget and don't want to end up in the wrong area, looking for somewhere family friendly.

@MumAmy Family friendly wise I favour a close as traffic has to slow down and people tend to look out for one another. I don't think there are any particularly bad areas, but I'd live away from the pubs in the centre as Dawlish does have some problems with anti-social behaviour. The Swan Inn is a great pub in the older part of town. From and energy point of view and general quality of life/wellbeing avoid houses facing north. Also if you're viewing properties near green belt or open spaces, check with the the District Council's planning dept. Dawlish is growing larger than local infraestructure and job availability can cope with, so you may want to be close to the rail station to commute. The new developments claim they're well connected, but the new hosing around Sainsbury's isn't near the station, they may be closer to the station at Dawlish Warren, but that's still a walk and the bus service is terrible.

The traffic is no different to any other town from my experience. I use the road several times a week.

@MumAmy I have lived in Dawlish most of my life, brought up a family and ran my own business. My children were always busy joining local activities. I would not like to live anywhere else. I appreciate Dawlish has grown as have most towns. I am not aware of any anti-social behaviour problems, not sure what part of Dawlish Teignbridge Rotten Borough lives,

Thank you @Teignbridge Rotten Borough and @Steve, really helpful. Everything I read says it is a good community and that's what we are really missing. Also Top tip about north facing, never would have thought of that.

@ZIGGY that is great to hear, really looking for a slower pace of life (we live about an hour from London) and better life balance for the kids, much more nature. We have hopes of starting a business too but will get through relocating first then see if it is possible. Did you start your business in Dawlish?

@ZIGGY There are some anti-social behaviour probems in Dawlish around the Lawn area. If you've ever been around certain pubs on a Friday or Saturday night anti-social behaviour does exist, admittedly it does in most towns. If given the choice of living with a young family close to these pubs or not I would choose the latter. Just my personal preference. I'd rather give an honest opinion to someone who is making a big decision for them and their family; I'm not linked to the Council or the local tourist board and chamber of commerce. Dawlish has some anti-social behavior problems, the vandalism of the play park last year comes to mind. Children and adolescents anti-social behaviour is often learned and relates to their own parents anti-social behaviour, lack of parenting and neglect.

Dawlish has been over-developed, the strand, lawn, manor gardens and the old town are nice, but the new housing areas are effectively another separate town, Dawlish Newton or Dawlish North. Then again it'll seem like a village compared to London. It depends what a person is used to.

Dawlish is a wonderful place to live. I always say to myself how lucky we are to live here. You got great beaches, lovely little shops and cafes, plenty of green spaces, a little stream with ducks and swans. Dawlish Warren nature reserve is close by.

Map below is just my suggestion of a location, but seems to tick a lot of boxes.

Depending where on Exeter Road, some areas have it's benefit, some areas are really nice, some are not so preferable. As Paul rightfully highlighted a really good family location. There are many others, very much dependant on how quick to move and the budget. 

@Paul thank you so much for taking the time to do the map. I think where we are looking would be near to there. Your description of Dawlish sounds perfect, I really hope we can manage to get a place down there.

@TheObserver we are possibly looking near to the town on Exeter road, near the garage on the corner. Hopefully this is one of the nice area's.