Where in the UK would be good to live in retirement?

[GaynorsTrainers]

I'm daydreaming and looking on Rightmove.
It's time for a change.

I don't need school catchment areas.
I could potentially go anywhere as no family connections.

I'd like somewhere where I could walk to a shop, have access to arts and culture and not be overly busy or isolated.
I quite like country walks, I like the beach.
I might need a part time job as my pension is going to be rubbish.
I'd still need a reasonable size house as I'd want my children/grandchildren to stay.

I can't afford Winchester, which I like. Cardiff is also on the shortlist but still a bit expensive.

Where can you suggest?

The coast near Newcastle?

Somewhere with good hospitals and infrastructure.

There’s still cheap housing to be had in Torbay. Make sure you know the area though as there are some particularly rough bits of Paignton and Torquay. Torbay hospital is in Torquay with easy access from anywhere in the bay but there’s been talk for years of doing away with the A and E department.

I'd like to make the next move the last one so somewhere that covers me being active and also frail!
I hadn't given the hospital situation any thoughts
That rules out Cornwall I suppose
A few mentions of Swansea. I've never been there. Maybe be worth a trip to investigate.

Liverpool!

I think the hospital consideration is a good one.

Swansea is lovely. What about Falmouth?

Wow 3bed house for under 300 in Cardiff is going to take some beating tbh.

How much do you want to spend and how much space. Flat/house?

Plymouth, Bristol.

Lytham

We are a musical family so detached is a must.
And I think a bungalow will be future proof.

I'm not sure what my budget will be as I haven't had my place valued yet. I suspect £400k will be about where I'm looking.

Glasgow.
You'll get loads for your money.

And more to the point, I suppose, it's easy to find somewhere where you can walk to a shop and there's great arts and culture (in Glasgow itself but it's also only an hour to Edinburgh, plus you've got Dundee a bit further away with the new V&A). Not too far from countryside and coast. Probably decent prospects for work.

Norwich.

Have a look along the coast of Kent
From Dungeness to Deal, it has everything you've listed

My dream location is Tynemouth but I probably can't afford to downsize there.

I follow someone who lives in Newbiggin on Sea which looks gorgeous but I'm not sure about access to culture there.

The Suffolk coast is lovely, so either Norwich with a drive to coast or perhaps Woodbridge with river, access to Snape, close to Ipswich and good community. Southwold May be too expensive.

Perthshire

West Sussex

@PermanentTemporary

My dream location is Tynemouth but I probably can't afford to downsize there.

I follow someone who lives in Newbiggin on Sea which looks gorgeous but I'm not sure about access to culture there.

One of the coldest winters I’ve ever experienced was when visiting relatives at New Year, in Newbiggin on Sea. It’s an old fishing village that once had a lot of coal mines. But despite that Northumberland is beautiful.

I am staying in Surrey, we would have to get a stair lift installed, but we are staying.

I used to say, I would move closer to Holyhead so I could go home as a foot passenger and meet my sibs and their partners for lunch and then come back.

In normal times we have a great time socially at the rugby club and I really couldn't be bothered trying to recreate that anywhere.

We have a separate savings pot for sitting on a balcony in Spain, so we will do a lot of that to start with.

Thirteen months and counting.

South East Cornwall for proximity to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Huge teaching hospital. Not sure about culture though.

My in-laws retired to Pembrokeshire from London. It is there home but a big mistake due to appalling lack of healthcare. Definitely worth considering. They considered Cardiff and we so wish they had done it as they are so isolated where they are and no longer healthy enough to enjoy the gorgeous coast.

I was in Harrogate yesterday and actually got myself round to thinking how nice it would be when I’m a bit old and frail and I’m on my own, to have a little retirement type flat in the town centre. I could see myself pottering about the Valley Gardens in my dotage. My father actually spent his last months in a lovely nursing home in Harrogate. The local hospital were fantastic with him and the nursing home gave him and dignified and caring end. I would definitely recommend finding somewhere with a good local hospital. The only downside to Harrogate might be that it’s quite hilly. Could be tricky to navigate with mobility issues…

My Pil moved to a rural Scottish Borders town, just before lockdown. Between all the lockdowns & their health deterioration, we didn't see them for many, many months. If I'd have known what a catastrophic effect a move would have on early-stage dementia, I'd have said something prior to the move.

Definitely move near to facilities, hospitals & support services, not a very rural idyll (much I would love to).