Where to retire to

Well, I moved back to the UK after 25 years living in Europe. I originally come from rural Suffolk, and my friends enquired if I would be moving back ........no, I said ...ok so where are you going ? to Newcastle Upon Tyne I said ....which was met with howls of horror ! WHAT ? WHY ? ...because, I said living in a rural community you have to be able to drive.....there are no services, banks, busses, or other means of transport, no doctors or hospitals and once you can no longer drive, you are stuck and taxis may be expensive ! Here I have the beach and sea 1 min from me, the countryside and historic places of Northumberland, the City within a few minutes Metro or bus ride. I have an international airport some 25 mins away. I have DFDS Ferry to Amsterdam round the corner (often go for a weekend when possible) I have taxis a plenty.......I have an international concert hall (The Sage at Gateshead), cinemas, restaurants, cafes, a community hub, a club, etc theatres, another concert Arena, a mainline rail station (plus senior railcard (ha ha when not on strike !) many Banks, building societies, cafes, restaurants AND doctor's surgeries, Two private hospitals and many many big hospitals which are University hospitals ...Opthalmologists (had to drive 45 mins when in France for my Opthalmologist !) what's not to like !!! If I had stayed in France (may have done but for Brexit !) it would NOT be possible without a car as even the boulangerie was 3 km away .......no services, nothing ! and you have to consider the possibility you may one day have to give up driving and then rely on others or taxis whenever you want to go anywhere. Of course, if you have family reasons to move, then you may have friends in any new place you want to move to ...........not easy making new friends (espcially if you moved like I did, in Lockdown) but another reason that I bought a retirement flat was that whenever possible before lockdown, and during it when it was lifted a short time, and after I have been everywhere in the World I want to go ..........just waiting to go to Canada, Alaska and the UK in Autumn (solo as usual !) for my 75th birthday ! I have been to Antarctica, the North Pole, Crete, Lanzarote, Eire and many other places ...just last week returned from Cyprus, and often go back to Menorca where I used to live and when possible (if they let me in !) back to south west France or Paris for a weekend ! When I can no longer travel I can look at my many mementos and remember ! Think carefully what it is you want out of life, and the future, before you decide ! good luck

NOT the Uk ha ha ...the USA ! ....mind you, I have done a few days in Blackpool, Liverpool, Loch Lomond etc (I thought I should look around the UK as well !) need to get Northern Ireland in as have never been there, and maybe the Isle of Wight .....c'est la vie !

I was born in a small Yorkshire village which has now lost all it's, pub & no bus service, my DM was still there until 18 months ago when she moved to a Care Home, she's now 93 & is 300 miles from where I now live.

I have moved around, lived in Sunbury on Thames for over 20 years. My DH & I sold our 4 bedroom house with a large garden 6 years after he retired & I took early retirement. We moved to a very small village just outside Yeovil, Somerset, we needed a car although taxis were very affordable.

2 years after I was widowed I moved to be nearer DD & DGC, I live about 10 miles from her. I live in a small Town on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Doctors Surgery, Library, lots of clubs covering a large variety of interests. Bus service half hourly to nearest Market Town & Hourly to Exeter. I live in a Mobile Home so I have very friendly neighbours, about 20 minutes to the coast & 10 minutes to the Moors if you're still able to drive. There is also a group that provides services for older/disabled people.

Due to my ongoing health problems & frequent appointments I have had to concede that whilst I am a very independent person that I am going to have to employ a home help & a gardener. 18 months ago I would have laughed if some-one had said I would need help as I led a very active life

Choose wisely & I hope you find an area you like. I was lucky that DD had lived in Devon for several years & I frequently visited her so my move was easy, I've made lots of new friends but I find it easy to chat to people

I live in a small market town, a popular place to move away to and indeed retire to. They are currently building hundreds of new houses on the edge, particularly bungalows. The trouble is there is no dentist taking on patients around here, in fact not within 20 miles and the Gp surgery cannot cope with the number on its books already. The nearest town with a hospital, railway station, affordable clothing and shoe shops, cinema etc is 16 miles away and buses are hourly at best, last one being 6pm. Like others have said, thats all ok if you can drive. I would say, do plenty of research into any places you like the look of, checking out local Facebook neighbourhood pages. There are often questions on ours from new residents unable to access services locally asking for advice. Too late once they have already moved in

Not Devon, if it is rural here your internet will be dreadful...if it exists - some peoples till use dial up or Internet with a dish. Dr's will be miles away and forget getting takeaway delivered. Towns and villages are a little better, but Internet is a permanent issue, and food delivery difficult. Consider Gloucestershire, but prices can be high.

I'm also interested in where you live now, as your list has an urban / suburban feel. On reflection I realised that some of the things you list may change as your lifestyle changes - assuming you want it to.
I live in a village near to the one where I spent my childhood. Out of interest, here's your list as applied to me:
Affordable - below national average
No field of our own - these are not always easy to come by, but we have a garden and look over meadows.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - it is low-key here, but suits me. We do have neighbours, and they are lovely, we help each other out.
Close-ish to a good GP, but our bus service has been badly cut. What do you mean by 'near a hospital'? Most rural, and many urban areas aren't that near to one. I can't realistically get a bus to the hospital, but there are voluntary transport services, as well as informal lifts that are part of the give and take of village life.
Broadband is OK - can't stream films without 'buffering', but most internet use is fine. Poor mobile signal - I use a bank and credit card that enables confirmation by email.
You may well find that a different way of life means you don't need supermarket deliveries, although I see vans in the village.
Our greengrocer (who stocks local dairy products as well) and butcher both deliver. I bake my own bread, but a local baker sets up outside the pub twice a week. Eggs at the farm 100 yards away.
We share lifts to our local wholefood co-op to stock up every month or so; and our local Co-op is 2 miles away.

I hope this has given you food for thought.

Do you have any family or friends that you’d like to be in striking distance of? Forgive me for stating the obs but I’d do it will get harder to travel to see people as you get old. No neighbours and rural might not seem as perfect if you have to drive to get a more facilities too.

I relocated 18 months ago. Little country village. I can walk to a GP and village. Sometimes the pharmacy is out of stock of certain meds. They don’t do prescriptions on the prenisus so it can all take s while. Sometimes you have to go on an expedition if you’re in a hurry for something.

We moved from south London to the centre of a small market town in southern England. I never thought I would like living in a town but we love it - we’re just five minutes walk from so many useful and interesting shops along with doctors surgery and a station.

picking up on something hellis said, re the last bus. My last village there were 3 buses a day and the last one back was at 5. There are many more buses here where I now live in somerset but the last bus back is around 5.30, which I believe is pretty usual nowadays, unless you live in a big town or city

We've gone back to the Big Smoke, to a large maisonette on a well-managed estate so no maintenance issues,
excellent local buses, allocated parking,
supermarket within easy walking distance and a more local corner shop. There's a doctors surgery within walking distance now (but a bus service for when we're less able) and a large hospital 10 minutes away by bus.
Our large balcony looks over the Thames to Kew Gardens and we can get a reasonable season ticket to the parkland 100 meters away.
The rural life is great for some, especially if you know what to expect, have lived in the country before and have local friends. However transport, loneliness and house/garden maintenance can be a bugbear for many. I know this is not the life for me.
The outskirts of a small country town could be lovely however especially if you already have friends there.

Come to Northumberland. We live in South East Northumberland not far from Morpeth.
Fabulous scenery, coast , castles . Lovely villages and towns.
Friendly people .
Good local services compared to where we lived in Hull.
Marvellous community spirit
Housing relatively cheap ( though prices going up a bit )
Loads to see , do
I find almost everyone I know who has moved here loves it .
We are so happy here.

South Devon where we moved to 3 years ago. Five minutes drive to the coast. Ten or fifteen minutes to fields, country park, shops, 4 supermarkets, parks, woods, GP, etc. 10 miles from large city of Exeter. Love it here.

Having lived in a small village when the kids were little and I drove - great. But once you retire, you have to plan with public transport in mind. And frankly bus services can change in the twinkling of an eye.

Where ever you go, rent a property there for at least 6 months before you buy.

A close friend retired back to where she had been happy in her 30s, or at least a nearby town as she could not afford the village. We all urged her to rent first. She didn't.

She insisted on buying - and it was a disaster. Heaven, when she was in her 30s, working with a group of similar aged people, plenty of cash. In her 60s, on state pension only, even though she had a lovely house was hell. The friendliest of people, she never made friends, never put roots of any kind down, just surrounded by memories. She died of cancer within 5 years.

My parents thoroughly researched where they retired to. Checked where all facilities were, checked that there were organisations and activities they enjoyed that they could join, already had friends in the area, who they visited regularly. They made the move and never regretted it. My mother died 2o years later, my father lived on for nearly another 10, and to the end was surrounded by friends they had made.

If you want to move somewhere you do not know, you need to do a lot of homework. and live there before you commit to buying.

Sazzl, where are you in A Devon please? Am looking at Dawlish.

S Devon

Like ALANaV we also retired to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and absolutely love living here. We didn't want isolation but all the benefits of city living while still having the sea and countryside nearby.
It's important to visulise your life in years to come and consider if your dream retirement home would still be suitable or if you will be too isolated.

have a look at the walk-throughs on youtube, just put the town in the search box. They are interesting and better than driving there in a car just for a look

That sounds like such a positive lifestyle! I will be retiring in 3 years, I live in Austria at the moment (have lived in other countries as well when younger) but will move back to the UK where I was born then. I have got my sights set on the far West, St Just area. I know it’s touristy but think maybe a bit of an international vibe might be good for me. The fact that by train it is an easy 4.5 hours from London, makes this also a good choice.

I wouldn't dream of moving when I fully retire...my friends are here....2 of children are here and 3 GC ....people are more important to me that a pretty landscape.....I will be staying exactly where I am

I move from the Midlands to the South Coast - followed a DD down.
Love it - the weather is dryer & 2°c warmer (in general) Its classed as a village but ajoins a small town. I've joined a local group and have some lovely neighbours.
There are 2 main hospitals within 30-45 mins. drive and a smaller A&E just up the road. Doctors - in Town.
Yes places which tick your boxes do exist.

I dreamed of a bungalow with lovely views. I've decided the move away from friends and my lifestyle would be a mistake now I'm in my 70s. Anyway there's a bus stop at the end of my road that I can use for the town centre and the coast. Still think of that bungalow and view though, so do it sooner rather than later supergabs1960.

My df moved from Scotland to Cornwall when she and DH retired.
They love it there. It's warm and not far from the sea.
Their DC love to visit. I miss them.

I am widowed and my house is now too big for me. However it has the best location and ticks almost all your boxes. (Except no paddock)
It's a small town well served with amenities but a half hour bus ride from Edinburgh.
There is no station so if I was choosing an area I would want to be near a station.
Dunbar is lovely and has the seaside.
Galashiels is very affordable.

We have family on the Isle of Wight and visit as often as we can afford to. We'd love to move there but wouldn't want to leave our son's, their wives and our grandchildren. Wherever you retire to make sure it's not to far away from people you'd miss.

Bluefox

My elder son and family live just outside Salisbury and it’s a lot like you describe.

Yes, I agree the Salisbury Plain area is good. I live on a farm two miles from a village centre on have the best of both worlds, with access by choice to hospitals in Salisbury and Swindon (and Bath is further west).
But I have a neighbour that barely walks and cannot self care properly and really needs to move. She won’t and (apart from her not being very nice to any of us over the years) we now don’t help as it’d compound the situation. Imagine being isolated in that way, where no one is available to assist - that can be in any environment anywhere if you’ve been unable to make good friends.
Someone above mentioned that you’ll never be accepted as a local - I’d agree, despite being married to someone born 3 miles away, having lived here for 32 years and a parish councillor to boot!