Living in Truro

Truro is where Cornwall does its admin. The cathedral sets the skyline, the hospital is here, and the shops are the ones people from the west come in for. At high tide the creeks reach into the city and it briefly feels maritime. At low tide it is a valley town with mud and gulls.

Living here is closer to an ordinary small city than to a harbour village. You can do a week without treating every errand as a day out. Trains run to London, slowly, and buses reach the coast. The edges of the city turn quickly into villages and industrial estates.

Choose it if the move is about work, a hospital appointment, or children who need a range of schools. Choose a coast town if the sea is the point and you accept the drive.

Who it suits. Households who want services, schools and a job market more than a beach at the end of the street.

The catch. You give up the open Atlantic. Summer visitors still fill the centre, and the river streets flood the mood of the place twice a day.