Working in Newquay for the summer
Posted on November 4, 2007
Filed Under - work |
I’ve been in Newquay throughout the 2007 season, and now that summer has come to an end it is a good time to go through the essentials you need to know if you are intending to come down to Newquay for the season.
Finding accommodation
It’s always best to start your search as early as possible. The season lasts from April to September, so many rooms have been snapped up by April/May. The further into the summer, the less choice you have and the more prices go up. However, people do move out of flats or houseshares at short notice, so if you are in Newquay and keep your ear to the ground, you should be able to get something. The two estate agents in Newquay dealing with rentals are Start & Co and David Ball. Other good sources of information are the window ads in the Choc Box (a newsagent in the centre of town) and the local newspaper, the Newquay Guardian, which comes out on a Wednesday.
See also my post on Things to know about flat-hunting in Cornwall.
Rent
Although Newquay is relatively expensive compared to most of Cornwall, there is a huge range of accommodation, so it should be possible to find something to suit every budget. The cheap options if you are down for the summer working are a caravan or a room in a shared house (around £70 per week). You will generally need to have a job sorted or prove that you’ve got the money to cover the rent for, say, six months. If you plan to be here even longer, a shared house/flat is probably a good option. I don’t have much experience of surf lodges but as far as I can tell they are not the best option if you are staying for the season. They work out more expensive than a room in a shared house and they get booked up very early. They can also be a bit scummy and noisy! Fine if you’re on holiday, not so good if you’ve got to get up for work in the morning. Not sure what the latest is on caravans either – perhaps someone can enlighten me? Some of the campsites used to rent caravans long term to people who were down for the season but the council seems to have put a stop to that this year. If there are campsites that still do this, I suspect you will need to get in there early.
Jobs
The job market in Newquay is pretty much what you’d expect from a seaside holiday town. 
There’s plenty of bar work, chambermaiding etc, all minimum wage stuff. I think you get a better hourly rate with the local supermarkets, Somerfield and Morrisons. If you don’t mind commuting to somewhere like Truro, you’ve got a wider range of options such as office work. Basically, if you are getting in the region of £6.50-7 an hour for a temp job, you are doing well. Jobs can be found from the same sources as accommodation – the local paper, the window of the Choc Box or just keeping your ear to the ground and trawling the town. There is also a job centre which is worth popping into. As mentioned above, you often need to have a job before you can secure decent accommodation, so if you are just going to turn up and look for work, stay at a cheap out-of-town campsite while you find a job, then get your accom sorted.
Transport
In the summer extra bus services are laid on within Newquay, not only to supplement the main routes but also to ferry happy campers to and from their campsites. If you happen to live on a route to a campsite (as I do) you can take advantage of this service, with buses running far into the night. There are also regular buses to Truro and St Austell, and somewhat less frequently to Padstow, St Ives etc. I have a bike that I use to get around town, to the supermarket etc. Be warned that Newquay is quite hilly and the surrounding area is also undulating. It is a bit of a pain if you don’t have a car, especially if you need to ferry a surfboard around. That said, I’ve coped without a car throughout the summer so it is possible! If you don’t have a car, make sure you get accommodation near to whatever it is you are interested in. For example, if you want to surf, make sure you are within walking distance of a surfing beach. It will make your experience so much better.
Shops
Newquay’s got the basic supermarket and high street names plus loads of surf shops, so you will never be short of funky clothing or naff surfboards. For a wider range of shops, Truro is a bus journey away. The one area where I have had to go further afield is outdoor equipment. There is a big outdoor store in Truro but its prices are not particularly competitive – perhaps because it doesn’t have any competition! I got what I needed cheaper in London on one of my visits.
The crowds
If you look on the web or talk to people who live in Cornwall you will find that Newquay is the place everyone loves to hate. There is constant moaning about the crowds, the behaviour of young people, stag and hen parties, the noise, the mayhem and so on. But it’s really no different from Saturday night in any city centre. Yes, it does get rowdy right in the centre of town and I feel sorry for the people who live there (and probably moved there when it was all nice and bucket-and-spadey), but if you find somewhere to live that isn’t on the main drag you should be fine. Be warned, there are some roads (such as Mount Wise and Edgcumbe Avenue) in town that are wall-to-wall B&Bs so you might want to avoid those.
The vibe
As far as I am concerned, Newquay has lived up to my expectations of being a great place to be with a laid-back vibe and interesting, like-minded people. It feels different from other towns in Cornwall: there’s a broader range of people around, everyone is always dressed for the beach and most people don’t have a nine-to-five job. If partying is your cup of tea, there is plenty of it about. My hardcore partying days are over and I prefer more chilled-out way of spending my time: there are some nice local pubs if you know where to look, or you can just hang out at the surf shop.
In summary….
There are loads of people down for the season doing exactly what you are doing so you won’t be alone. Wages are low and it might take you a while to find good accommodation but the atmosphere is relaxed, the beaches are lovely and you’ll meet some great people.
Additional info
If you have any info to add to the above, please leave a comment. I’m writing from my own experience and there may be useful stuff that I haven’t encountered myself.
Stumble it!
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