General Advice Cumbria -Cockermouth, Workington, Whitehaven, Maryport

jbbonce

Hi
My DH and I are looking to relocate to Cumbria, specifically Cockermouth, Whitehaven, Workington or Maryport around july this year, and I wondered if anyone with some local knowledge could point me in the direction of good places to find out about job vacancies, good estate agents and let us know where to avoid in the area, to live work and visit.
Many Thanks
Jbbonce

firrybabe

why ?! joke !

have sent you a PM. I currently live in the 'haven.

carolwat

All of those places with the exception of Cockermouth (which I dont know about as I havnt been in years) has been regenerated over the last few years and have really changed for the better. I was in Workington recently and wow what a difference. My family all live in Workington and Whitehaven and I have lived in Workington and Maryport a few years ago. I still visit regularly. Obviously there are some places that are rougher than others but it depends on what you are used to because the people in those rougher areas are actually mainly nice, salt of the earth people, some are my family

The jobcentre website is a good place to start to look for jobs. The local papers are also good but obviously you will need someone to send them to you unless you can look online but I dont know if they have that facility.

I dont know about estate agents but im sure a general search on the net will give you that info.

Goodluck with your move and I hope you enjoy Cumbria. There really is some lovely places.

Carol

carolwat

All of those places with the exception of Cockermouth (which I dont know about as I havnt been in years) has been regenerated over the last few years and have really changed for the better. I was in Workington recently and wow what a difference. My family all live in Workington and Whitehaven and I have lived in Workington and Maryport a few years ago. I still visit regularly. Obviously there are some places that are rougher than others but it depends on what you are used to because the people in those rougher areas are actually mainly nice, salt of the earth people, some are my family

The jobcentre website is a good place to start to look for jobs. The local papers are also good but obviously you will need someone to send them to you unless you can look online but I dont know if they have that facility.

I dont know about estate agents but im sure a general search on the net will give you that info.

Goodluck with your move and I hope you enjoy Cumbria. There really is some lovely places.

Carol

rare_stuff

jbbonce wrote: »

Hi
My DH and I are looking to relocate to Cumbria, specifically Cockermouth, Whitehaven, Workington or Maryport around july this year, and I wondered if anyone with some local knowledge could point me in the direction of good places to find out about job vacancies, good estate agents and let us know where to avoid in the area, to live work and visit.
Many Thanks
Jbbonce

WOW!

I lived in Cockermouth over 18years ago, and briefly in Maryport, am puzzled as to why anyone would want to relocate to this particular corner of England? Although I do know that Maryport has had a lot of redevelopment money spent, particularly on the Marina to attract money and tourists, not sure wether successfully though. And Cockermouth had changed very little on my last visit apart from having sprawled a bit and gained a few supermarkets. As for Workington, well this does regularly win the prize for the most inaptly named town due to it's high rate of unemployment, the main competition coming from a vilage the otherside of Maryport called Prospect, if you ever drive through (people just don't visit it as their is nowhere to stop) you will see why!

The only reason I can see why people would relocate into this area is to top up their suntans at Sellafield, which is the biggest employer in the region. Though I'll give credit to a drinking partner of my father who always states that more people die of poverty in that area than they do of radiation related illnesses!!!:eek:

If you want a flavour of the culture you'll have to take part in "Mad Friday" activities, traditionally held the last friday before xmas, where people get exceedingly drunk and then involved in a punch up with their best mate, often involving a bottle or glass in the face.

Though to be fair, there is the Crab Fair, held every year in Egremont, where they hold the worlds Most Ugly competition, usually won by a local! And their is some sort of mini rock festival held every year in Workington, unfortunately this area is so far behind the times they are just getting in to 80's Hair Metal!

jbbonce

rare_stuff wrote: »

WOW!

I lived in Cockermouth over 18years ago, and briefly in Maryport, am puzzled as to why anyone would want to relocate to this particular corner of England? Although I do know that Maryport has had a lot of redevelopment money spent, particularly on the Marina to attract money and tourists, not sure wether successfully though. And Cockermouth had changed very little on my last visit apart from having sprawled a bit and gained a few supermarkets. As for Workington, well this does regularly win the prize for the most inaptly named town due to it's high rate of unemployment, the main competition coming from a vilage the otherside of Maryport called Prospect, if you ever drive through (people just don't visit it as their is nowhere to stop) you will see why!

The only reason I can see why people would relocate into this area is to top up their suntans at Sellafield, which is the biggest employer in the region. Though I'll give credit to a drinking partner of my father who always states that more people die of poverty in that area than they do of radiation related illnesses!!!:eek:

If you want a flavour of the culture you'll have to take part in "Mad Friday" activities, traditionally held the last friday before xmas, where people get exceedingly drunk and then involved in a punch up with their best mate, often involving a bottle or glass in the face.

Though to be fair, there is the Crab Fair, held every year in Egremont, where they hold the worlds Most Ugly competition, usually won by a local! And their is some sort of mini rock festival held every year in Workington, unfortunately this area is so far behind the times they are just getting in to 80's Hair Metal!

Oh come on, rare_stuff, don't sit on the fence, tell me what you really think but thanks, all advice is appreciated. The main reasons we want to move to the area are because it's better than where we live now, and we might be able to afford to buy a house and start a family in 2 years rather than 20 years. From what I have heard from various people though, I think we'll steer clear of Workington. I've heard good things about St Bees, have you any experience of it yourself?