Missing Persons Report – Making A Life In Truro (Cornwall Chronicles #25)

How do people live in Cornwall? What is daily life like for the inhabitants? How are outsiders treated? These were some of the questions I wondered about before traveling there. I had never met a single person who lived in Cornwall prior to my visit. While I knew about Cornwall’s famous pasties and pasty complexions of the British, I didn’t know anyone who called Cornwall home. Furthermore, none of my acquaintances had ever traveled there. When I told friends and colleagues that I was going to Cornwall they looked at me with a half-smile and blank stare. Then they, “what is in Cornwall?” I did not have an answer other than, “It is supposed to be beautiful.” This ended those conversations rather quickly. Cornwall and its inhabitants were a gap in my knowledge that I hoped to rectify.

Anecdotal Evidence – A Journey of Discovery

I scoured my memory trying to find a human connection to Cornwall. I found everything but one. Despite all the human diversity Great Britain has to offer, Cornwall eluded me. I had met a Welsh couple on a train through northern Poland, Scots when I spent twelve enchanting days there twenty years ago, a woman from Northern Ireland at university when I was preparing for a career in alcoholism, countless English who were verbally brilliant, socially awkward and a bit on the uppity side, and Scots-Irish every time I looked in the mirror, at a family photo, or the people who made up the main ethnic group where I grew up. ?I had met Poles who immigrated to England, Poles who worked seasonally in Wales, and another Pole married to an Englishman who was on a tour of Chernobyl with me. I knew Hungarians who spent summers teaching English by the seaside in Bournemouth, a Romanian that spent several years living with an English family, an Indian who went to an English school in southern India and spoke immaculate English with a British accent. Among all these people affiliated with Britain, not one was from Cornwall.

My parameters were not strict, they did not even have to be Cornish to count. And still there were none. Cornwall was the most visited tourist spot in Britain, but no one I knew had ever spent time there. Cornwall was a mystery to me. How the people lived there was an even greater mystery. I was going to find out by staying with locals, who of course were not Cornish or British. They were immigrants from Eastern Europe, outsiders like me, but with one big difference. While my experience of Cornwall would last a mere week, their experience had already lasted several years and was due to continue. I wanted to see how they lived, worked, and led their lives. I wanted to get their thoughts on Cornwall and its people. This would be cultural anthropology and a journey of discovery. I played tourist, they played the game of life. And only at the end of my journey did I have time to reflect on a week’s worth of observations.

Looking for Opportunities - Coming To Cornwall

My hosts in Cornwall had moved to Truro a couple of years before from London. They came for the educational offerings. One of them had just completed a master's program at the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus in Penryn. Cornwall does not have many things to attract the young and upwardly mobile. Universities are one of its greatest assets. Higher education can prime the pump of economic development. While Cornwall’s residents voted for Brexit 56.5% to 43.5%, in footballing terms that was an own goal. That dealt a self-inflicted blow to an economy that has been reeling since the 19th century from the continual decline of the mining industry which once dominated the county. That industry is now all but non-existent. Tourism is triumphant. The problem is that the pay in the service sector is not very good.

Like rural areas across Europe and other western countries, urbanization has hollowed out the population of young adults in Cornwall. For the county to overcome its long slide into economic obsolescence, keeping the upwardly mobile at home is of great importance. That has proven to be extremely difficult. Prior to Brexit, development funds from the European Union were vital for a region that lags in development. The EU also brought Eastern European immigrants to Cornwall. They helped boost the economy, and the ones who have stayed still do.

Being young adult immigrants in an isolated region is never easy, but Cornwall has been good to my hosts. They have not experienced any overt anti-immigrant sentiment. They mainly received strange looks when the locals learned where they were from. Eastern Europe in Britain usually means Poles. Since my hosts were not from there, the locals had very little to go on. One went so far as to ask if they had internet in Eastern Europe. Another asked if they still travelled by horseback. My hosts found this ridiculous rather than offensive. It showed their inquisitor’s ignorance of Eastern Europe. Though to be fair, I doubt many people in Eastern Europe have much knowledge about Cornwall either.?

Enjoy The Silence – A Quieter Life

My hosts’ stay in Cornwall started out as temporary, but from what I heard it is likely to be longer lasting. And why not? Life in Truro might not be filled with excitement for young adults, compared to London or Budapest. On the other hand, a quieter life has its advantages. Worries about crime are close to non-existent in Cornwall. The beautiful landscapes go some way in compensating for salaries that are lower than in other areas of Great Britain. The main drawback to living in Cornwall is the cost of living. This is nowhere near as bad as London where my hosts spent several years squeezed into a small flat. Living elbow to elbow, even with someone you love, is never easy. Doing that while navigating the clamor and controlled chaos of a major city is difficult at the best of times. London is a great place if you can afford or tolerate it. Truro is a great place if you know what to make of it.

From what I saw and experienced in Truro the city is livable and clean. It is easy enough to get around on foot or by bus. While public transport options in Cornwall are limited, the Great Western Railway covers South Cornwall's main cities and towns. Anyone who lives in St. Austell, Truro, Redruth, and Penzance will find the train a convenient option. I used that same option to make my way around several parts of Cornwall. Just as the landscape left a lasting impression on me, so did the people.