Top 5 reasons to come and live and work in Cumbria
1 – It really is very beautiful
This is the view I stepped out of the house to this morning – it put a big smile on my face. We all know the highest mountain and deepest lake in England are here, but locals can take advantage of these and countless other natural wonders daily, after work, and early on the weekends before day-trippers arrive. You can enjoy picnics on the lake shore (or a quick dip in it) after school pick-up, go sledging on your local fell in the evenings, spend the weekend exploring, and discovering new places to go and things to do whenever you feel like it.
2 – There’s a great community spirit
Much of Cumbria is rural and people really do look after one-another. New families are made to feel very welcome - we certainly were four years ago when we made the move up here - and it’s a safe, healthy and exciting environment to bring up children. After the 2015 floods it was easy to see what a fantastic community spirit there was, as the whole county pulled together to help each other out on a local level, to fundraise and recover together.
3 – Jobs opportunities, apprenticeship numbers and investment are high
Investment in the area is high, bringing new projects, new construction and jobs to go with it. Particularly, in the engineering, construction, energy and nuclear sectors there is a lot of new opportunity. School-leavers and young people have also got much to feel confident and optimistic about, with an impressively large number of apprenticeship schemes, and further education options available to them.
4 – Cumbria has great schools
The county can boast some high-achieving schools and investment in schools. Many secondaries are well above the national average for attainment 8. Primary and secondary schools alike take advantage of the natural environment that we are in and the opportunities in sport, the arts and beyond are numerous.
5 - Don’t just take my word for it – just look at the statistics
In the recent Halifax Quality of Life Survey, the Eden district of Cumbria came third overall. It beat many areas in the south in terms of housing affordability, good schooling, quieter roads and more space. It also has three times more pubs per head than the UK average! And, not so long ago, Allerdale was voted top in a national survey on happiness levels in the UK (Copeland being only a few places below it) – with the study citing affordable housing, a fantastic natural environment and low crime figures to measure levels of well-being.
So, if you’re getting itchy feet or have ever been on holiday up here and wondered ‘What if’? Maybe the question is, ‘Why not?’