Emergency department doctor Ian Duffus knew where to come when he wanted a change of pace.

With his wife Hayley having grown up in the Isle of Man, they knew that it was the place for them.

And Ian, who is currently working in GP surgeries as part of his training, is more than happy with that decision, as is their young daughter Georgia.

He explained: ‘My wife is from the Isle of Man and we thought it would be a good place to come and live and have a nice work/life balance.

‘We thought we would do it for a year and a half. We’ve been here two years now and have no plans to leave at present.’

The Isle of Man has proven to be the perfect place to develop his skills and experience.

‘I worked in A&E for two years and I have just switched to working for GP training,’ he said. ‘I always wanted to go into general practice.’

At the moment, he works from practices in Laxey and Onchan.

He said the pace of working life could be just as fast in GP surgeries as it sometimes was in the emergency department but it brought with it different pressures.

‘It is a really good A&E department here,’ he added. ‘It has lots of really experienced consultants always available who are very helpful and willing for you to learn from them. They are very supportive.

Ian is due to return to the hospital in February to continue his training.

He comes from North Yorkshire and has previously worked at hospitals in Chichester and London. But he feels at home in the Isle of Man.

‘I think what I like about it is it’s hospitable, it is safe,’ he said.

‘Everything is pretty much on your doorstep. It is like the Yorkshire Dales, but by the sea. It is a great place for bringing up families.

‘I have a 20-month-old daughter. It is great to be able to go to the beach and have the beach to yourself!

‘It is just so safe. I love not having to worry about leaving your belongings unattended, because you can be confident it will be okay!’

Ian, Hayley and Georgia live in Port Erin. Hayley’s parents moved to the Isle of Man in 1995, so she spent most of her formative years here.

A keen runner and cyclist, Ian, 32, recognises the wealth of sporting opportunities there are in the Isle of Man, even if he may not have the time – as a father of a young daughter – to pursue them all himself just yet.

People have always been welcoming, he said, and if you were prepared to make the effort to become involved in the community, that would see you settle in very quickly.

Many people who move to the Isle of Man comment that one of the greatest assets is its size and the knock-on effect that it is unusual to have a commute that compares in any way with the long travelling times faced by workers in the UK.

At the moment, it can sometimes take Ian 45 minutes to get from home in Port Erin to the surgery in Laxey. While many people in the Isle of Man would regard that as a very long journey time, Ian said it still came in below the time spent travelling when he worked in the UK.

And he loves the fact that in the summer there is always time to head to the beach at the end of a day’s work.

‘I do like living by the sea,’ he said. ‘It is great for your mental health and wellbeing.’