Cornwall is a great place to live but there are places that can be a bit tricky in winter. Many towns turn from a bustling metropolis into a ghost town with no shops open and not even a functioning chippy to keep the spirits up. At least the pubs stay open in some areas.
Clive Gardner, 71, came to in 1996 and runs Clive's Cat's Cartoons - a gallery and framers with a waffle hut - with his partner Mandy Rose. The pair love living in Cornwall, but they've got a handy trick for surviving the winters. They live above the business, in the heart of Looe's old town - until winter comes, and they leave Britain behind.
Clive told they flee Britain in January, only returning at the end of March. He said: "It's so quiet here then there's no point staying. If it was busier I wouldn't want to be away for so long - I'd get twitchy thinking I'm missing out on custom" He continued: "We go away in the winter, for three months, to Thailand.
We work seven days a week in the summer and take the winter off." "It would cost us more in electricity to stay here in the winter. Especially now the government has taken our winter allowance away!" "Everything here costs an arm and leg - so we go away to Thailand.
We rent a villa for £14 a night on Koh Samui - we couldn't stay here for that. And it costs next to nothing to eat out there." Despite decamping to an island paradise for the winter, both Clive and Mandy, maintain that Looe is a great place to live.
Even in the winter. Clive said: "Looe is stil.