Moving to a different area - what are the priorities?

We once lived in Cornwall( actually, twice!) I wouldn't want to live there now though love it for holidays.We had new next door neighbours there who had moved specifically to be near to DD and family, then DD told her that husband had got new job in Lancashire, and they duly left, and the old couple stayed put, very bitter, saying they couldn't follow them around ( my thoughts too, you can't follow your adult children around the country.)Cornwall is a long way from anywhere else.I would stay in Surrey, move house there ( if not keen on present house) to somewhere near by, and near family, and family in Cornwall ( younger than you!) can travel to see you.Good luck.

We moved out to the coast when retired, as did DD, SIL and tiny baby DGD ... separate houses of course!

Our criteria at that point was to be close to civilisation and a fairly easy journey for DH to get down to Liverpool for the football occasionally, oh and a south facing garden.

Everything worked out perfectly in that we are on the edge of town and have bus stops and train station (only 45 mins to big city!) within a few minutes walk. Waitrose is just along the road too.

We plan to move house again next year to what should be our forever home/final resting place move. We will stay in this town so it's more about getting the house right this time. Generally thinking ahead to our dotage and how to make it as easy as possible to stay at home. Also have the old mother to consider should she not be able to be in her own home.

I think it's important to live where YOU want to be and fix your own criteria. Being in the middle of everything but near no-one isn't right.

I agree with Lillie, youth doesn't preclude you from life changing events and getting older doesn't automatically mean ill health and disability.

Even if you move to an area near your family, with bus and train services, dentists, doctors, shops etc etc, you have no idea how long they will continue to be there, careers change and families moves away (example given above), shops shut, surgeries centralise, bus services are very chancey, although trains are less so. You can make all the 'right' decisions and still end up isolated and lonely.

Choose somewhere you have checked and found to have congenial activities and pleasant surroundings. Move there, take a chance on the services and I think you have as good a chance of a pleasant later life as all the careful calculations on the availability of services.

Is this going to be your last move? If so I would consider easily accessible amenities, especially doctors, hospitals, chemists, shops and perhaps a community to be part of.

I would also want a property that was warm and also cheap to heat. I wouldn't want a house that needed endless repairs. A large garden is appealing but as we grow older it can become a real chore.

Brilliant input again today, thank you so much, folks! We are going to have a really good think about our priorities and what we want to get out of this move. I really hope it will be our last move, circumstances have meant two expensive moves for us in a fairly short timespan and it is such a pricy process. The internet is very helpful in checking out areas, but there is no substitute for visiting places, which we have already been doing and I like the tip about the library, we tend to look into the church and pick up parish mags as well as these give a clue to the age range and activities that are around in a place. I am going to shift our compass centre point further west and see how we get on, it had not occurred to me that putting ourselves in the middle geographically would be a bad idea, but it really does make sense. We like the lifestyle we have in Surrey but it is so busy and now is the time we want to kick back and enjoy some quieter surroundings overall. I will post back when there is some progress to report! Thanks again all. Really appreciated.

Just thought of another. Check broadband speed. Or you may find posting on GN difficult.

DH and I have been in a similar position to the OP for a few years now and still can't decide what we should do/where we should go, so I am not qualified to offer advice. However, those who point out that moving nearer to children is not necessarily a good thing because the children themselves may move are right. My parents moved to be near me and three years later were left on their own as we had to move upcountry for work. It's a minefield. In fact, I'm coming to the conclusion that we should stay where we are, it's not perfect but it's pretty good.

We had the same experience as notTooOld, my parents moved three times to be near us. There had been no choice for us, we had to move because of work requirements. I was more than worried for my parents, it seemed so unfair, but in fact they found positive things in all their moves and I know wouldn't have done it uness it seemed the best thing for them. We moved three years ago, nearly four now, we are closer to family but we moved to the right place for us, not just to be closer to them although that is a real bonus. We explained before moving how pleased we were that we would be closer to them but should they decide or need to move away it was very unlikely that we would also move again. Being closer is a bonus, it wasnt the primary reason for choosing our new location. The one downside of the move for us is that it is proving very difficult to make new friends here, lots of acquaintances but few friends. We aren't disheartened, we sort of expected it and more will come in time, but it coud be something to think about when considering a move

Some issues:
do you want to be near important people? Is it possible that they may move?) and what is 'near'?
in terms of general visitors, are they more likely to visit if you are fairly central (so they may pass by en route to other friends / family)or if you live in a 'destination' (like Cornwall!)
It sounds as if wherever you are, you will need room for visitors - how important is the price of a decent sized house?

I would certainly visit places you might consider and spend a few days there. But then I would also consider renting your house out (you'll need to clear it anyway, and can put anything precious in storage) and rent in the area you are considering for a few months. You get a much better feel for an area and its quirks.

Having moved house when my dh passed away I think the priorities are: Lots of clubs to join i.e I joined TWG and BookGroup and many others. A corner shop within easy walking distance, supermarkets also within walking distance (important) as we get older. Also as others have said - a doctor not too far away, a dentist and good bus routes.

Wow, there is some lovely useful input here! One of the things i have done since we started looking at different areas earlier this year, is to make notes in a book - of places we like/don't like, the practicalities of being near shop, doctor, hospital, etc .... so I now have some more bits and pieces to add to the lists. It is unlikely our family members will move, on the face of it anyway, at the moment. SOme people have pointed out that this is the time for us to make the choices that we want rather than anyone else. Fair comment, as parents we are not used to being selfish, but maybe now is the time to weigh it up with the weight on our priorities. I like what cornergran and falconbird say, along with everyone else. THANK YOU ALL!

andycor

Good luck with your move and I agree, not far from some level of amenities so you can walk to get a pint and the paper - and bump into people locally.
BBbevan if you are moving to Wales, research the journey to your nearest big hospital, in case you may need it in the future. In Wales, smaller hospitals are closing with treatment centres in larger hospitals. I didnt do my research fully when I moved home to Wales, only to find there is no public transport to my nearest (and connected by budgets to the GP I see) large hospital - and the taxi fare is £40.00 each way, with very tight criteria for free hospital transport which I don't meet. Good luck.