The corporate countryside: why executives swap the City for Devon

Moving to Devon? The reasons for executives to relocate…

There’s more to Devon than rural charm. With more organisations choosing the South West as their home, there is steady demand for executive talent. (We know because we help hire the best.) Far from the business backwater it’s sometimes mistaken for, Devon and the wider South West is a progressive, positive and potentially prosperous place to be in business.

So, if you’re considering moving to the Devon area, here’s five reasons to help you make the right choice.

1. It won’t mean going back to the digital dark ages

Granted, internet connectivity in Devon used to be primitive. You could generally draw images faster than your web browser loaded them. But if you are old enough to remember the delirious chirp of a dial-up modem, you will know that painfully slow loading times were the norm across the UK. Today Devon’s digital infrastructure is fast, secure and reliable - with even remote villages well served by nippy broadband.

2. You can get to the places that matter - fast

Client meetings, sales presentations, product launches. When you opted for a life in business, you could’ve sworn that “opportunities for travel” would be more glamorous than trekking across Britain’s A-roads and railways. But if you want to go places, you need to be prepared to, well, go places. Devon’s road, rail and air links mean you can reach London, Bristol and Manchester in a snap. The M5 starts in Devon and connects to the M4, while there are daily flights from Exeter Airport to various UK cities.

Best of all: no overcrowded underground.

3. Devon is great for growth

Great businesses have great staff. So if you decide to relocate your business here, it helps if there’s a decent talent pool from which to cherry-pick your perfect hires. Exeter University regularly features among the UK’s top ten undergrad institutions - which gives local businesses a steady supply of bright graduates eager to step onto the first rung of the career ladder. And because fewer young adults are choosing to live in the big cities - blame the eye-wateringly high rental costs - Exeter is retaining more of its intellectual muscle.

4. It makes economic sense to relocate your business here

Speaking of costs, office leases are generally far easier on your P&L than they are in London. And we guarantee you’ll have a nicer view from your window.

5. You upgrade your quality of life

All work and no play? Unfortunately the corporate rat race is hard to escape up country, where it sometimes seems like everyone is doing their best to function with as little downtime as possible. (That’s why you can’t walk 200 metres without seeing the logo of a popular coffee chain.) In Devon your leisure time is exactly that: leisure time. Get ready for 7 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the splendour of Dartmoor and Exmoor, 289 miles of stunning coastline and some of the best sandy beaches in the UK. Oh and delightful villages, 2 major cities and 14 English Heritage sites. You’ll wonder what took you so long to move.

Your next executive role is right this way...

National recruiters might have scale, but they don’t have local insight. At Cathedral Appointments we know the West Country jobs market inside out. And we have a number of senior consultants who specialise in executive recruitment across Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. Whether you are looking for your next job or your dream hire, we can help.

Curious about leaving to do business in Devon? Call us for a chat on 01392 413577 or visit our website to see what jobs we are currently recruiting – www.cathedralappointments.co.uk.