When it’s sunny, Elizabeth Berman sits upon the deck overlooking the silvery expanse of the Camel estuary, or else she’s swimming in the waters of the Celtic Sea. In a storm, by the fire with a G&T, she reads Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn. All this idyll is what Elizabeth is in the process of leaving behind as she prepares to leave for London and her 63rd year.
The case of Elizabeth and her husband Charlie is but one in the rising statistic of retirees who are now moving back, with their respected spouses, to the city after a lifetime of out-migrating from urban centers following the traditional behavior associated with the old-aged, only by the god-willed retirement ages of the masses. “There is a dawning realization that you’ve got the life cycles the wrong way round,” says Elizabeth. Recent analysis by conveyancing solicitors Bird & Co, based on data taken from the 2021 census, says that this is the case it found inner London had grown in population by 15% between 2011 and 2021, while Cornwall was reported to have declined by 9% in the over-65s.
The Bermans have lived at Treverra Farm near Rock in North Cornwall for the past 14 years but bought it 24 years ago, for what is now a most beautiful estate, at a price around £1.25 million. The estate includes a five-bedroom principal house, a holiday cottage, and a garden studio, which is now being sold at £7.5 million. The property has seen a reasonable share of family times and the freedom of children growing up in it.
All well and good moving to Cornwall in your thirties or forties, but then two things happen says Robin Thomas of Recoco Property Search. “Those little children of five, six, seven, eight or nine turn into teenagers who don’t want to be there anymore, and 60-year-olds have elderly parents.”
Logistically, there are things that just don’t really work. Rock’s a lovely place, but I don’t play golf, Charlie doesn’t own any red trousers and I don’t have a dog, I’m probably quite an urban person. And also, the practicalities of living somewhere so remote, in terms of public transport and the distance to a healthcare facility.
For Elizabeth, this is a lifestyle decision. She is tired of the demands of caring for a large home. She looks forward with great excitement to the freedom and amenities of the city. I’m also looking forward to the variety and quality of food shops and restaurants as well as art galleries, the ballet, theatre, and museums. But she wants to be near her mother in Kent and her children, who live in London.
Elizabeth understood life wasn’t always much greener on the other side of the Thames in London. “I notice the traffic is now terrible, much worse since all the cycle lanes and new limits. When I’m there, I always notice the noise and that you are more frenetic. More doing, less being and always consuming, but I’m quite a restless person so I can live with that” The couple, however, are full of excitement about the move and has plans to rent for a while before deciding where to buy their new home.
On the other hand, Clare Coghill relocated from the noise of London to the beauty of Skye. Brought up on Skye, Clare went to London in 2018 to get into a media career. She loved life in the city like that, but after a while, she realized that the job was not really embracing her. Her passion is cooking, so she decided to be a chef. Clare had opened Café Cùil in February 2020 in Dalston, only to be forced to close the café five weeks later by the pandemic.
During lockdown, however, Clare and her husband Dave, had returned to Skye and the couple started rethinking their life. “We feel that the access to nature is unparalleled,” she says. “We can look out of our window and see the ocean, and we can walk for miles and never see another person.” Last September, they purchased a four-bedroom stone house in Carbost for £395,000, converting a separate bungalow on the property into an Airbnb.
Having now had some success in Skye with the relaunch of Café Cùil in March 2022, Clare says of those days in London: “I think it is important to have these experiences and open yourself up to the world even when it is overwhelming. After living in the city we knew what we valued most.”
Whatever the destination may be, retirement in the countryside or moving to the city, these stories illustrate in very individual ways the personal paths to take in seeking higher-quality life. Then, as her new adventure in the city starts taking shape and Clare is settling into this rural haven, the courage and flexibility required to take up major changes in life are well epitomized by both women.