Looking for a great friendly place to live in Devon or Dorset - any ideas?

I live just outside of Bath, in a woodland, the house being built around 1850 and am looking for a place with a similar feel further south.

Looking to buy another older period property in Devon or Dorset I guess I am being a little picky as I realise I am looking for whatmany others seek!  

I love living in a friendly community with a pub and shop nearby, but would also like to have a larger city with a cafe culture to drive to nearby sometimes.  Ideally, I see myself walking to the beach from my house, having a detached cottage with a garden and a welcoming community with some life to it.  O.K., this is the ideal, but I need to start somewhere.  Plymouth and area looks good but I am yet to visit. 

I have been spoilt having Bath on my doorstep and being surrounded by good places to go out and eat. 

I know, it's a wish list, but there must be some lovely places out there that fit the bill. 

Any ideas?   

Our Paul know's best Bella!

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What more do you want?

Thank you so much everyone for your advice.  I remember visiting Beer as a child so will look into that and Lyme Regis is one of my favourite days out - I'm just not sure what it will be like out of season.

I'm in no hurry so am looking forward to getting out my atlas and travelling around a bit.

Hi Bella and welcome to POE.  Not being from there, I'm no expert, but we spent a little time last summer in the area around Wimborne Minster in Dorset and it was fantastic.  It's really lovely down towards Christchurch as well, and Lulworth is gorgeous.  It's really pretty around Corfe Castle and Swanage too.  I don't know about the age of the places, but a lot are thatched and the pub where we ate our Sunday roast was a 15th century coaching house.

But if you end up not moving, Bella, Bath's not too shabby either. 

Thanks Ruth.  I looked at your Bath pictures.  

 Being born here, it is nice to see my local area through another's eyes.  I see many of the pictures are taken at the Roman Baths, with the Victorian addition of what they thought Roman statues would look like.  I sometimes wish these places would go the whole hog and paint them as they would have been in their day.

Bath is a very expensive place to live, not just for food but for taxes and the like, but wages here in the South West are comparatively low.  It results in an influx of people from all over and really adds to the colour of the place - I especially like the Bath Festival season where one can attend talks, shows and arts such as poetry.  I do feel these things are priced out of many's pockets and are therefore a way of dividing society.      

I would be sad to leave the place but I have heard it said (Douglas Adams was one person) that we should all make a big change half-way through our lives by way of invigoration.  These are the first tentative steps ready for when my youngest leaves home, but i can always move back if it doesn't work!

Thanks you for sharing with me.