So here’s my story, this is why I went to England in the first place and this is where my life had in store for my future…

I met a wonderful German man back in 2012 in South Africa on a backpacking adventure. We kept in touch via Skype, e-mail and postage (while I lived in the arctic). We fell in love, traveled back and forth for the past few years to see if we could make it work. I eventually broke down and moved to Germany. Though I love Germany and all it has to offer, the one thing it hasn’t been able to offer me is an English speaking job. I am eagerly trying to learn German but my skills will not be near good enough to speak fluently in a job placement at least for another five years or so. My bank account is running low and I would love to find a job so I can continue my travels. Paul cannot work in Canada as his dental certification does not transfer over and I cannot work in Germany since I don’t speak the first language.

So here’s where Southern England came into play.

Legally, he can work in England and I can obtain a two year work visa through the Canadian embassy. I speak English, he speaks English and this is the best option at this point.

We spent one week traveling from London, all the way down the coast, and back again. We made stops in the following cities to see if we could picture ourselves living in each location: London, Bath, Newport, Newquay, Lands End, Penzance, Plymouth, Falmouth, Devon, Truro, and Salisbury.

So, in conclusion these were our following thoughts:

• London: Far too busy to ever enjoy a normal life.
• Bath: Absolutely gorgeous but perhaps not far enough down the coast to enjoy warmer weather.
• Newport: Though there seems to be potential in 10 years or so due to some extreme development, the current state is no place to live for us.
• Newquay: Wonderful, sunny and close to the airport.
• Lands End: Overpriced, in the middle of nowhere and filled with tourist attractions.
• Penzance: Far too industrial for living, though there is a beautiful waterfront for fishing and boating.
• Plymouth: A good city to raise a family, large enough to find opportunity but too large and modern for our taste.
• Falmouth: Beautiful, a little larger than Newquay but has beautiful beaches and great prices.
• Devon: A perfect place to purchase a summer home but not urban enough to live.
• Truro: Overpriced, underwhelming and overall just blah.
• Salisbury: Beautiful history yet modern shopping in one place. A little too close to the city for our liking. 

Though you may have already guessed, we have come up with two final destinations to search for jobs in: Newquay and Falmouth. Both cities are very close to airports, big enough to find jobs and small enough to enjoy a quaint life. The prices for food both restaurant and super markets were reasonable and there were ample activities for our friends and family to take part in while visiting. Truro as you can tell was our least favourite spot partially because I was so amped up to visit as this was my number one choice while surfing the web. The food was extremely overpriced, the people weren’t nearly as friendly as other parts of Cornwall and the accommodations were run down and terribly expensive.

Make this a lesson if you are ever considering a move to England, more specifically in the South West coast of England. Falmouth and Newquay are both perfect places to live in all aspects of our ‘test.’

Looking for a little more inspiration to travel? Check out my blog on How to Break out of Habit and just Fly!