Calor Gas rather than mains gas.

Tax_Slave

Irratus_Rusticus wrote: »

Does this mean multiple properties on the estate draw off the same tank? So while you economise neighbours turn up the thermostat and the shared tank just keeps needing refilling no matter what you do? Wouldn't like that.

yes we were told it was a communal tank.
We also have to contribute to a service charge each year that includes some tank cost ?
Maybe the estate owns the tank ?

Thanks for the reply another issue to consider it seems.

Tax_Slave

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Many small towns and villages in Cornwall are not on mains gas.

Perranporth may look nice especially if you come from up country, but there are a lot nicer places in the county. You need to live down here for a while before buying your retirement property.

Other things to look out for are buses, few and far between in rural areas.

Hospitals, you may need the, the main ones Truro, Plymouth,
Exeter, Barnstaple, Penzance, you could be 50+ miles away.
Radio especially DAB could be problematic.
Mobile phone, probably no 4g, maybe 3G, and may be non-existent.
Broods and, probably okay.

You will need to do a lot of research before moving. And beware of newbuild, bad quality, probably bought by buy to let so your neighbours may just be tenants.

Goodluck fj

Thanks for the consideration list.
We did live in Cornwall for six months many years ago and also had a holiday home for three years in the Bude area.
(I'm not a rich banker - We inherited some money back in 2000 and rather than at the time pay our mortgage off we invested in a holiday home. It was ok for 3 years and then we sold at a nice 45% profit "This was a surprise to be honest" and paid the main house mortgage off).
The distances are an issue yes.
We are also considering Bude.
Both Bude and Perranporth have positives and negatives.
I will not go into to them all here.
We will always buy in town or on edge of town.
Broadband ....well silly as it sounds , most towns and small places in Cornwall are now on fibre ! Yes I know ....Of course small villages and rural may not be.
New build is one option and poor quality is a negative on some builds.

Tax_Slave

G_M wrote: »

I guess another option would be not to use the gas.

Install electric storage heaters once you own the property.

Not recommending this, just suggesting........

That would be a prudent move.
They charge at cheap rate electric and give heat all day and evening.
For couple that work, they are a poor idea because the house is heated all day when you are at work and when you get home it is now at end of heat charge. However for non workers (semi retired) they are ideal when you are at home all day.
For a new build I would not really want to be paying out for them post build , but for property searches and older properties definitely something we would look out for.
I know this sounds a bit mad ....but if you fitted solar panels then I guess you would charge them during the day ?
or
would you sell the electric during day and buy cheap night time power to charge them ?

Davesnave

bigfreddiel wrote: »

Many small towns and villages in Cornwall are not on mains gas.

Perranporth may look nice especially if you come from up country, but there are a lot nicer places in the county. You need to live down here for a while before buying your retirement property.

Other things to look out for are buses, few and far between in rural areas.

Hospitals, you may need the, the main ones Truro, Plymouth,
Exeter, Barnstaple, Penzance, you could be 50+ miles away.
Radio especially DAB could be problematic.
Mobile phone, probably no 4g, maybe 3G, and may be non-existent.
Broods and, probably okay.

You will need to do a lot of research before moving. And beware of newbuild, bad quality, probably bought by buy to let so your neighbours may just be tenants.

Goodluck fj

Can't thank this enough.

Most people retire down this way with a car, but the inevitable happens, and suddenly that 'forever home' becomes unviable.

The seaside places are lovely, but the holidaymaker pressures distort normal life to some extent and they may not come out tops for community or best value either.

If you value the great outdoors, it's quite tricky finding the best location relative to those varied country walks and local services; certainly worthy of a qualification in geographical location theory!

Near me is a village where there's both modern estates and a quaint square, so lots of retirees there. On the surface it looks great, but I have my cars MoT'd there, and already I've walked every one of the few footpaths available. It wouldn't be my choice.

Rent for a while and get to know your new area. You will do a better deal for the longer term.

Tax_Slave

Davesnave wrote: »

Can't thank this enough.

Most people retire down this way with a car, but the inevitable happens, and suddenly that 'forever home' becomes unviable.

The seaside places are lovely, but the holidaymaker pressures distort normal life to some extent and they may not come out tops for community or best value either.

If you value the great outdoors, it's quite tricky finding the best location relative to those varied country walks and local services; certainly worthy of a qualification in geographical location theory!

Near me is a village where there's both modern estates and a quaint square, so lots of retirees there. On the surface it looks great, but I have my cars MoT'd there, and already I've walked every one of the few footpaths available. It wouldn't be my choice.

Rent for a while and get to know your new area. You will do a better deal for the longer term.

Yes definitely a big factor in our consideration is local facilities and public transport.
Anywhere we select must be a walking distance to a doctors and local small to large supermarket. Also have transport links to local hospitals. In fact i was researching this for Bude yesterday.

I always remember when we had our holiday home in a coastal village near to Bude (9 miles Away) and a older lady mentioning to us on how she was now trapped since her husband passed away. Almost zero public transport (one bus a day). She said it was all great for the first few years ....
Somewhere else we have considered is Praa Sands and I would love to retire there, but once again it requires a car to do anything. Yes it does have a limited bus service.

At the moment the shortlist is getting shorter :-)
Bude is still open as an option.
Some large local supermarkets inc a Lidl and a cottage hospital within a couple of miles. District hospital is however 50 miles away in Barnstaple (negative) , but a bus link does exist.
Oh and also on mains gas :-)

macman

Tax_Slave wrote: »

That would be a prudent move.
They charge at cheap rate electric and give heat all day and evening.
For couple that work, they are a poor idea because the house is heated all day when you are at work and when you get home it is now at end of heat charge. However for non workers (semi retired) they are ideal when you are at home all day.
For a new build I would not really want to be paying out for them post build , but for property searches and older properties definitely something we would look out for.
I know this sounds a bit mad ....but if you fitted solar panels then I guess you would charge them during the day ?
or
would you sell the electric during day and buy cheap night time power to charge them ?

Yes, it is mad. You can't 'charge' solar PV panels, and they do not come with battery storage. You either use the output at the time of generation, or it goes back into the grid, and you receive FITS based on 50% of the generation meter readings-not on the actual export.

Tax_Slave

macman wrote: »

Tax_Slave wrote: »

That would be a prudent move.
They charge at cheap rate electric and give heat all day and evening.
For couple that work, they are a poor idea because the house is heated all day when you are at work and when you get home it is now at end of heat charge. However for non workers (semi retired) they are ideal when you are at home all day.
For a new build I would not really want to be paying out for them post build , but for property searches and older properties definitely something we would look out for.
I know this sounds a bit mad ....but if you fitted solar panels then I guess you would charge them during the day ?
or
would you sell the electric during day and buy cheap night time power to charge them ?

Yes, it is mad. You can't 'charge' solar PV panels, and they do not come with battery storage. You either use the output at the time of generation, or it goes back into the grid, and you receive FITS based on 50% of the generation meter readings-not on the actual export.

When I said charge , I meant charge/heat the storage heaters during the day using electric generated from solar panels.
So the question is ;
Is it better value to sell power generated during the day and charge storage heaters during the night on economy 7 electric or use the power generated during the day to charge the sorage heaters ?

I think Tesla are working on a battery for home use to store generated power ?

Davesnave

Tax_Slave wrote: »

Somewhere else we have considered is Praa Sands and I would love to retire there, but once again it requires a car to do anything. Yes it does have a limited bus service.

At the moment the shortlist is getting shorter :-)
Bude is still open as an option.
Some large local supermarkets inc a Lidl and a cottage hospital within a couple of miles. District hospital is however 50 miles away in Barnstaple (negative) , but a bus link does exist.
Oh and also on mains gas :-)

Praa will have somewhat kinder weather than Bude, but if you like sandy beaches, good bus services and mains gas then Braunton (close to Saunton) would be a decent compromise. It's the largest village in England, I believe, and many people retire there. The centre floods periodically and it's busy during the holiday season, but the impact on most residents is small. Barnstaple is only about 6 miles.

Award winning fish & chips too!

Tax_Slave

Davesnave wrote: »

Praa will have somewhat kinder weather than Bude, but if you like sandy beaches, good bus services and mains gas then Braunton (close to Saunton) would be a decent compromise. It's the largest village in England, I believe, and many people retire there. The centre floods periodically and it's busy during the holiday season, but the impact on most residents is small. Barnstaple is only about 6 miles.

Award winning fish & chips too!

Funny you should mention Braunton , that was also on the short list below Cornwall.
We used to visit Braunton on a regular basis and the Fish and Chip shop. Is it Squires still ?
(Only on a forum could you start off discussing Calor Gas costs and morph into mentioning Fish and Chips. ).

Davesnave

Tax_Slave wrote: »

Funny you should mention Braunton , that was also on the short list below Cornwall.
We used to visit Braunton on a regular basis and the Fish and Chip shop. Is it Squires still ?
(Only on a forum could you start off discussing Calor Gas costs and morph into mentioning Fish and Chips. ).

:rotfl:
Yes, it's still under the personal management of the [STRIKE]old battle-axe.....[/STRIKE] proprietor and still just as good!