I left Kent for Devon – we cut £100,000 off our mortgage for a huge seaside villa

More people in England are moving towards rural areas, with net internal migration increasing in the past decade. For some, the appeal is a slower pace of life. For others, it is the prospect of getting more house for their money. Katie Taylor, 42, is one of those who made the move. She swapped her almost £500,000 home in Kent for a £245,000 five-bedroom Victorian property in Ilfracombe, North Devon – getting double the square footage for half the price. She shares her move on Instagram @ourcoastalchapter. Here, she explains why she decided to leave Kent. We decided to leave Kent because my husband wanted a slower pace of life; he was working in London and burnt out from the two-hour commute and we both wanted something different. We initially thought about moving abroad but our children are at important stages in their lives (they’re 19, 15 and 13), and so we looked at the UK. This January we started investigating different areas. We met in South Devon 24 years ago so it always held a special place in our hearts but we weren’t set on it. We were looking for something rural with animals as neighbours, somewhere with land on which we could perhaps build an Airbnb. We wanted a real country pad. This house was a wildcard. I saw Brookdale Lodge on Rightmove in Ilfracombe, a place we’d never visited. We’d never even been to North Devon; but we fell in love with Ilfracombe immediately. I lined up a viewing and we rocked up to an open morning viewing — as soon as we stepped inside we were gobsmacked.The grandeur of the place takes your breath away as soon as you walk through the door. You open the stained glass door and are met with high ceilings and beautiful architecture; it’s like stepping into a castle. Our daughters were with us, and they were as bowled over by it as we were. That day we put in an offer £5000 above the asking price, at £245,000, and after a nail-biting couple of days it was accepted. As a result, after we sold our Kent home for almost £500,000, we were able to knock £105,000 off our mortgage and plan to spend around £100,000 renovating the new house. It’s a Grade II listed Victorian property and a massive project; we’ve never owned anything like it before. We’ve done renovations on newer properties, but this is something else. It is quite a risk. Brookdale Lodge has five bedrooms and two reception rooms I have huge plans; we’ve put aside the money we saved on the mortgage for renovations, and the biggest cost will be making the roof watertight. The whole thing will need replacing eventually; there are holes in the roof, and we caught a leak recently. We also need to second-glaze the 24 windows. We want to keep the house looking Victorian with a modern twist; we want a boudoir with a free-standing bath in the corner of the master bedroom. We have two reception rooms, and one will be a members-club style with a dartboard, a pull-down projector and a bar, like a plush cinema room. We have a big wrap-around garden at the front that we’re currently landscaping. It’s a nice big garden but it’s not as private as our one in Kent. The Grade II listing comes with challenges; we have to keep the conservation planning officials in the loop with everything we’re doing. I think it’s why the house stayed on the market for two years before we bought it. There were a lot of surveys done to get a mortgage; for the roof, the timber, and structural surveys. We tried to add character to our previous 1960s home in Kent; we extended from a three-bedroom to a four-bedroom. It was 1400 square feet, but this is a 3000sq ft, five-bedroom house. We got double the size for £250,000 less. Brookdale Lodge is a Grade II listed property which has come with renovation challenges The house is quite iconic around here. It was built by an architect who developed the whole road and he built this house for his family. There is a lot of detail; the three great, arched stained glass windows took our breath away, as well as the intricacy of the carvings in the hallway. There are even gold lion mouldings in the hallway. Our family have visited, and they’re all shocked by it. They walk in and immediately say “oh my goodness” because there aren’t many places like it where we come from. Life has been so different since we moved. We don’t have to use our car; everything is on our doorstep. We don’t have big high street stores; they’re all independent and local, but they cater for everything. If you need a U-bend for the toilet, you can guarantee one of the shops will have the part you need. Katie and her husband are a five-minute walk to the beach now, away from the London rat race It’s an isolated place – in a good way – but it did take some getting used to because I’m used to having a four-lane A-road that can take you to places very quickly. Now, it’s country lanes and a 30-minute drive to Barnstable. It’s a slower pace of life; we’ve been walking and talking to each other a lot more. We can walk to the beach within five minutes, and after school we walk to the harbour for chips, even on colder days. Previously the children would come home from school and be in their rooms on their phones; I wouldn’t see them until dinner, but now we all take the dog for a walk and it’s lovely. Their 1960s house in Kent was a four bed, but Katie felt it lacked character The community is like nothing I’ve experienced in my life; I’ve been to art workshops and get invited out. It’s freeing here; nobody cares what you wear, what car you drive or what your job is. I’ve never been so sociable. They call us blow-ins; people who have moved here and are not long-term locals. There’s a lot of us who have moved recently, and we’ve formed friendships through friendly neighbours inviting us around, visiting local restaurants and the yacht club. Our outgoings have reduced; our mortgage is around £700 less per month and socialising is cheaper, like a pint in the pub (£4 compared to £6.50) or a glass of wine (£3.50 for a large glass of the good stuff). Petrol and food shops are similar, but we drive less, so we save there. We’re all so excited. When we moved in, the kids were showing the dog around, and it just felt surreal that this is ours. Where else could we do this?