would you move to another part of the country on your own in your 60s

[MarmaladeFatkins]

maybe late 50s? just considering my retirement. I want to live near the sea, I know where I want to go to. it's nearly 3 hours from where I would have lived for the last 30 years. i will have 2 grown up children by then that will probably stay in this place. can't decide if it's a stupid idea, because I will know no one..

My mum did this, although she did move close to my older sibling and not to her ideal area. She has made a great life for herself, she’s used her hobbies to join groups, joined a gym and made loads of friends. Her move was quite far but close enough to her old area that meant she was able to easily keep in touch with some old friends which I think helped as it meant she still had social contact during the slightly lonelier early days. She also managed to free up enough money that means although she’s not rolling in it, she is having a reasonably comfortable retirement.

I'm having this exact conversation with myself at the minute! I just can't decide what to do for the best, and change my mind on an hourly basis. Maybe we should move together @MarmaladeFatkins!

Right now, I'm leaning towards staying put. I'm worried that I won't have the confidence to push myself to meet new people, and I don't want to end up isolated. I wish I could be like @superdupernova's inspiring relative, or like @abbey44 ( could I ask roughly where you moved to?) but I know myself too well.

But probably by this time tomorrow I will have changed my mind again - it's exhausting <sigh>.

I do understand but I personally wouldn't choose the coast at all unless it was somewhere with proper year round facilities/life - we live in Bath and a lot of the over60s here have a cracking time!!

I grew up by the sea and would like to live near it again. However regarding living far from adult children. I do not expect to be looked after but it’s really crap for visits. For instance my MIL lives 3.5 hours away so it means she stays with us for a few days or we stay with her. It’s a lot harder than her being close enough to see her for an afternoon and not have to have any of us stay over. Plus now she can’t drive that far so we go and get her, that is four trips at Christmas and a 3 night 4 day stay 24/7. We only see her 3 times a year but it’s far more intense when you stay in the same house.

I guess this is a thread for southerners selling up. So liberating when you can afford to move to the most desirable parts of the country on the proceeds of your house sale...

Absolutely I would (and no Fraulein, I don't live in the South .. just a run down part of the West Midlands ). So long as you are confident and outgoing I think it is actually easier to make friends as a single persons than as part of a couple ... no need to 'compromise' on what you want to do and the sort of people you want to mix with ....

@abbey44 ...would love to know where u are!

I would do it...and rightmove is my best pal! But will probably wait til dc finished uni...part move during last year..... Covid knackered so many of our plans/trips etc have pushed back a couple of years to reduce need to work a bit more...
My parents did but into a busier area and its been so much easier for health care/ carers/ deliveroo ....

I wouldn't leave children (and grandchildren?) behind. Surely it would make more sense, to just rent a cottage there, for 2 months every winter? Best of both worlds.

Not necessarily, no. It would apply to most people who are downsizing.

I’m over 60 and divorcing. I’ve always had a plan to move nearer my Dd to help with childcare. It will be an area where I know no-one else.

If I wasn’t going to do this, I would consider moving to an area with lower house prices, so I could live in a nicer house. But I do know as I get older and maybe need more help, the closer I am to her, the easier it will be for her.

Depending on your finances:

Sell and buy the house in the location you like. There’s nothing to stop you selling and moving back if circumstances change.

Sell and rent to see if you like it, then buy.

Rent out your home and then rent in the location. There are tax implications, but it’s playing safe.

Look for long term pet/houses sitting jobs. TrustedHousesitters occasionally has 3/6 months sits. Sometimes during the winter when the owners want to visit family in Australia’s summer.

Blimey, bit chippy there

I wouldn't because of my friends and family here, people say you make new friends but it's just not the same. I would also hate grown up children having to drive hours to see me if they've got busy lives, bet you'd hardly ever see them

Not chippy just realistic. At one time I would have had some chance of moving close to my home town (York), now not a cat in hells (after living in a bit of a dump the last 20 odd years). It's just a bit grating to hear posters gushing about moving 'up north' where quality of life is so great whilst those of us who live up here would struggle to do that because house prices have shot up so much.

@FrauleinEngelhart who the hell can afford to live in York??

I think you might be confused about the south...south west is not like London and the south east. I didn't have to pay stamp duty on my house because I live in a deprived area. I'm just talking about down sizing, to a equally un affluent area. still in the south west

@FrauleinEngelhart the thread is specifically around people considering moving to the coast in retirement and/or moving away by yourself and making friends. The coast could either be north, south, east or west - one of the places mentioned is Bournemouth. Like Ragwort I live in the Midlands and if we did choose to move would be looking for a property of a similar size/price.

Not really. I’m in South Wales, planning a move to East Anglia. Neither are exactly property hotspots, though both lovely to me.

I thought about this, I currently live where I do for family reasons which will change in the next few years. I moved from a seaside town to inland and I really miss the sea. But I was shockingly diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year (there's no cancer in our family. I don't drink alcohol I eat practically vegan and exercise regularly) and without my good friends around me, I'm not quite sure how I would've coped either practically or emotionally. I guess that's a very risk averse reason for not moving, on the other hand, I could say that moving to somewhere where I would have a more relaxed lifestyle might help prevent a recurrence, but it is such a difficult decision to make. At one point my DD was talking about moving to the coast where her boyfriend's family comes from, and she wanted me to move close to her for when she has kids, so in that situation, I think I would consider moving.

The loneliness research indicates that people are less lonely in rural areas than they are in urban, and I do think once you get to retirement age, there are more opportunities to meet people and socialise than there are in middle-age, so as long as you're picking somewhere with various social opportunities that you want to participate in, I think you would soon make friends, it's just how long they take to become close friends rather than acquaintances if you need support in the meantime.

Is it crazy to want to fulfill a long ambition to move to the coast and have money to retire on? It would be on my own though, this want never leaves me I have visited several times and never want to go home, would be great to hear from others that have taken the leap on their own and never regretted it