Devon - where should I move?

Depends if you want city, town or village?
Do you want coastal or rural?
Devon has everything, but you need to sort your priorities. Where have you been to in Devon? Have you had holidays here? I've lived here for 30 years and have no desire to leave. Have a think. Come and visit and have a good look round.

We have friends who moved to Dartmouth and are very happy there. They have joined U3A and volunteer in the tourist office, for a national charity and the NT. the main drawback (as I see it) is that it isn't on the mainline rail network and we have to take the train to Totnes and be picked up from there. I would say that you have to think about where your family live and will they be able to get to you easily to visit or in an emergency. The plus side is that there are loads of places to visit down there.

We used to live in a small village on the south end of Dartmoor. South Brent. It is extremely beautiful area. Reasonably easy to get to all sorts of places from there. But Dartmoor does experience a high level of rain.

Well, I wouldn't choose any of the places listed by Devonshire Homes in your link. They are pretty non-descript inland places compared with other retirement locations.
Yes, as Humbertbear says, Dartmouth is nice, but you could try East Devon - Sidmouth, Budleigh, Lympstone, Exmouth etc. All with good links to Exeter and beyond.
If you read the recent thread on dreams you will notice a lot of people like the sea, so maybe not too far from the coast would make sense.

North Devon, no contest!
Beautiful scenery, the sea, and less populated than other places in Devon.
Have a look around Bideford and Great Torrington.Lovely friendly place to live.?

Lympstone is lovely.

But if you move to Devon, do be prepared to hear the A48 from just about anywhere, however isolated, and for the lanes to be clogged during school holidays.

There is a major accident a week on the A48.

The A48 ? Never heard a thing. Really.

No clogged lanes in North Devon at any time.

A38 perchance?
All beautiful places will be inundated with tourists so beware plenty of traffic jams.

I live in Devon and love it. It does get busy in the school holidays, but only for a couple of months.

What sort of place are you looking for, Lucy? Large town, small town, village? Coast or inland? Do you like walking, swimming, boating? Do you want to be close to shops, theatres, cinemas? Do you drive? Are communications important (e.g.visiting or being visited by family who live elsewhere)? Devon's a big county and some places are a long way from main roads or railways.

If you give us some clues about your lifestyle and interest, we may be able to help you more.

I live in Devon. For the long term choose your council wisely (social care) & don't stray into Cornwall...

As others have said it's a large county and what you can get for your money varies massively.

According to that link, the south-eastern coast of Devon ranks as one of the sunniest parts of Britain, with Seaton and Croyde boasting some of the highest temperatures.

I thought that Croyde and Seaton were in North Devon, perhaps they have moved!

As the postcards say 'Come to sunny Devon, where it rains six days out of seven'.
Still lovely though!

I would avoid anywhere 'touristy' particularly Torbay - too busy in the summer.
You can always visit the coast out of season.

Sorry - suspect geography alert!

Croyde is N Devon but Seaton is SE!

A38 of course.

I used to be in Devon a lot (Gran lived there and so did we at one point) and when I was young it was much quieter - I am very conscious of the road noise there now, because it was not like that when we were young.

I'm another one who lives in Devon. Moved from the SE nearly 10 years ago. It's a beautiful county with a huge variety of environments. I decided to move to a town having spent 25 years living in a small village where you had to use the car to go anywhere. I'd think about what you want now, whether this is likely to be a final move, transport links etc. Also be aware that you'll spend the first couple of years feeling like a B&B as friends and family use you as a stopover en route to Cornwall ?
It's a great place to live.

I'm in a village in North Devon, public transport isn't good at all, but we have a good village shop, schools, doctors, pub and a mobile post office!

Also be aware that you'll spend the first couple of years feeling like a B&B as friends and family use you as a stopover en route to Cornwall
It is a good way to see friends and family who live up-country as they tend to stay for only a night or two!!

Luckygirl - there is so much traffic compared to how it used to be; the A38 used to take hours then the M5 was opened and was so quiet compared to other motorways - now it's always busy.

I'm Devonshire born and bred and still live here.
It depends what you want really, town or country or coast? North Devon or south?
I'm ten minutes drive from Dartmoor, and yet only five miles from the market town of Newton Abbot, and near the A38 for ease of acess to anywhere really. This location is perfect for me. I'm in the countryside but not too isolated.
Devon is lovely, and still very peaceful in these troubled times. Good luck and I hope you find exactly the location you need.

[sigh] with henetha
We moved away and have never managed to get back again.

Me too JALIMA. We now live in Dorset. We could move back but when we visit we feel like strangers and don't recognise where we are!

A friend has just moved to Tavistock and is loving it. Close to the moor, with good shops and transport links. Lots to do and lovely places nearby.

I can second Tavistock too, a lovely market town, friendly people, lots going on.
High rainfall though but who cares.....

Jalima, I have heard that rhyme as: "...where it rains EIGHT days out of seven"! Not quite true of course, but it does rain. Some parts of Dartmoor have almost twice the annual rainfall of the area of the South Hams where I live.

that's why it is so lovely and green.

Oh, the South Hams [sigh]