Lootman wrote:We have had a house in Devon for well over 20 years. We spend varying amounts of time there but it is not our full-time home. It is in Dartmoor and so expensive and cold in winter, which might not be what you seek. Chagford is considered the most desirable town there and renowned restaurant Gidleigh Park is just a couple of miles away. Exeter is half an hour by road, which is 2 hours from Paddington and has a useful airport.
Sidmouth is a lovely town as you appear to know, but it doesn't have a railway station and there are only 2 roads in and out, which can cause bottlenecks.
East Devon has the best weather and sandy beaches, but there must be a million people living along the coast between Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth. I like Shaldon, across from Teighmouth, and the impossibly delightful town of Salcombe if you are a boat person. And Dartmouth of course.
If you have hippie tendencies then you might like Totnes. I do not.
I don't know too much about North Devon except to avoid Minehead, although that might be just across the county line in Somerset.
If you like to shop at Waitrose, and I do, then they exist in Sidmouth, Exeter, Torquay, Okehampton and Holsworthy. The one in Teignmouth closed, sadly.
I live permanently in South Devon. I see the above post mentions Shaldon. I live just across the water from there. Nice place, expensive but sadly the sun disappears behind the cliff after lunch which would be hopeless for some. The town has a nice atmosphere; there are apartments going for a reasonable price (under 400k) and some one bedroomed flats for less but a property nearer the front would cost more. In the summer a run down house was sold for £900k. Salcombe, also mentioned, is horrendously expensive and is mainly for boat owners and second home wealthy occasional residents.
The original post mentions Budleigh Salterton. The place is still undeveloped and is one of the few places which is largely unchanged. Sidmouth remains pretty much the same although the cliffs are rapidly crumbling so don't think about buying anything nearby. Seaton is also OK with a nice tramway along the estuary to Coleton which is also a nice place but feels isolated.
Don't consider buying in Torquay; the place is full of druggies, people living on the streets as well as a high level of crime although Babbacombe is nice. Unlike an earlier poster I like Totnes but it can be expensive. The hippies haven't been around for a couple of years but they are harmless enough. There are new apartments in the town but they are very small; I've been in a few and I wouldn't want to live in one. Most don't have lifts so seem designed mainly as second homes.
The downside of living in Devon is the terrain. When I first moved here 15 years ago, the hills didn't bother me but now it's a struggle to even get out of the road on foot or even walk back from the beach even though I have a protected right of way to a private footpath giving beach access which we can't take advantage of due to the climb. Most residents, the retirees, in my town for example now walk to the beach and shops, then catch the bus back using the free bus pass. We are very lucky to live here especially in the summer when we feel as though we are on holiday enjoying the area with the thousands of other holidaymakers.
As for the climate, south Devon is mild in the winter but, surprisingly, is one of the cooler places in the south during the summer months.