If you retired this week where would you move to in the UK (South maybe).

[MonumentalLentil]

Would you want peace and quiet? Coast? Busy town?
North, South?
I am particularly interested in places which are quiet, but with shops, vets etc. but if you have any better suggestions please go ahead and suggest.

No schools needed - unlike most of the where shall I live threads on here.

(I am not actually retiring this week but wishful thinking and looking ahead with hope, and South would be easier and closer to family).

[BHRK]

New Forest for me

[Ellmau]

Romsey might suit you. Smaller and cosier than Winchester, but in easy reach of Winchester, Southampton, Salisbury, etc, and decent public transport if you get to the point of not wanting to drive everywhere. I would look at the older parts of the town rather than the enormous Abbotswood area which has a lot of families. There are plenty of areas which are quiet but close to the town centre.

[JockTamsonsBairns]

It really depends on what you like, and what you're looking for.

I'm Scottish, and lived down South for many years when I was younger. London for around 10 years, then Sussex for 6 years. I'm now settled in North Yorkshire.

Honestly, Hell would freeze over before I could be persuaded to move back down South - but, obviously, many millions of people love it, and wouldn't touch the Yorkshire Dales if their lives depended on it.

We're all different.

[Pinotpleasure]

@MonumentalLentil - we moved back to England after living overseas for 24 years. We always wanted to live near the coast and looked at various towns, starting from Exmouth in Devon and going eastwards.

We’ve very happily settled in Weymouth, Dorset - just voted the #2 beach in the UK. We live on the edge of town so we’re only 3 miles from the county town of Dorchester (where the hospital is located, although there’s a walk-in clinic in the Weymouth Community Hospital). The beaches (sandy and pebble) beaches are approx 8 minutes to drive to, although in lockdown I used to ride my bicycle to the beach on the dedicated cycle paths.

There are loads of places for walking (with or without a dog) and it’s especially lovely on the coastal paths and cliff tops - the National Trust protects many of the coastal paths and bays/seashore around here. There is also the island of Portland (reached by a causeway)where the landscape is very different and the sea can be wild! Chesil Beach begins here.

There’s a variety of shops in Weymouth and Dorchester but like most British towns there have been closures of shops and banks. Lots of supermarkets though (and vets!). Housing stock is interesting and wide variation of prices - with older terraced housing, low rise flats, larger older homes converted into flats and upscale houses. Also cottages and manor houses in the conservation areas and a sign of the times, lots of new construction. Just up the road in Dorchester there are traditional older houses but on the western edge of town is Poundbury, the brainchild of King Charles with all kinds of housing….it’s quite an interesting place to visit with pubs, restaurants and coffee shops (and a Waitrose!).

Just steps from our house is lovely countryside (and public footpaths) in the Dorset AONB. At the top of our street is the main road with 2 bus routes and a short walk to the train station with direct trains to London Waterloo (including Poole, Bournemouth and Southampton) on the Southwestern Railway trains. The Great Western Railway trains go to Bath, Bristol, Trowbridge and Gloucester.

We love it here because we have the towns, the coast and the countryside and it’s not as sprawling as Poole/Bournemouth but they’re easy to get there if we want. It’s also a short drive to Swanage/Studland Bay/Corfe Castle/Lulworth and Durdle Door if we go eastbound. Just west of us is Bridport/West Bay/Charmouth and Lyme Regis (Jurassic Coast). Also lots of leisure and sporting activities here too (including groups for retired people). Dorchester and Bridport have arts centres With exhibitions, drama, talks, live bands and museums. Weymouth has a theatre (mostly tribute acts tbh) and there are three cinemas locally.

It’s definitely worth taking a look in west Dorset! :)

[thomsons]

@MonumentalLentil

What is it like for medical care, vets etc.?

Not good I'm afraid - I work in health across the region and there is a shortage of GPs and medical provision on the Island which when added to the increasing demand as people get older and need more care means that it is hard to get appointments and treatments in good time. For more complex procedures people have to travel to hospitals in Southampton or Portsmouth which is a hassle if regular treatment is required.

Friends who have recently moved from Isle of Wight to Portsmouth also say how poor the general services are - it is very hard to get deliveries from many online shops for example and the number of supermarkets and food shops is poor. They were increasingly having to travel across the Solent for basics so in the end they decided it wasnt worth it. Yes the houses are cheaper but theres not much else to recommend it on a cold winters day!

[topofbighill]

North Northumberland

[FineThings]

Southwold.
DH won’t though because he says it’s full of second homers, and thus empty in the winter. I’m not sure as it has always been busy whenever I’ve been there.

[Mitchumforthewin]

Anywhere m in devon, except Torquay / Newton Abbot side which is a bit scabby. I even like Plymouth which I know a lot of people don’t.

[thismeansnothing]

Realistically - Didsbury Manchester
Dream land - south west cornwall

[PermanentTemporary]

If it were in fact me I'd stay where I am in Oxfordshire.

I quite like Bognor Regis or Middleton on Sea- it's not fancy at all round there but it seems friendly and the sea is nearby.

[crisscross101]

@GinIronic

Stay where you are when you retire. Why would you want somewhere new? If you hate where you live - move now whilst you’re still young enough to enjoy it.

I don't hate where I live but it's convenient for work, schools and teenagers socialising. When those things don't matter I want to be more rural and let someone else live in my lovely home with their young family.

[dubyalass]

Oban. Just not sure I could deal with the midges in summer. I'd love to live on the west coast of Scotland but it would need to have some facilities. Maybe west Wales.

Or basically anywhere with a seafront I can walk along each day. And perhaps a lido for swimming. That'd do me.

[WasThereAnotherTroyforHertoBurn]

We are in a small enough town, access to two airports,three if you count Bournemouth, two brilliant hospitals, access within thirty minutes to two motorways, an hour into Waterloo, access to the arts in Guildford and Basingstoke, the only thing we are missing is a beach.

Actually having written that, I am staying here, moving was an always a small thought in the back of my head.

[skippy67]

Back to Hackney if I could afford it. Specifically Stokey or Dalston where I grew up.

[LadyGardenersQuestionTime]

I work with the elderly and am coming up to retirement and while I’d love to retire back to the West Country I know for a good old age the ideal is

• to be within easy reach of one of your children or other close family
• to have friends living nearby
• somewhere liveable when you cant drive
• urban enough to have a good supply of carers
• good transport to and from hospital

The trouble is that in early retirement when you can still drive and don't need healthcare it’s easy to move somewhere that doesn’t tick these boxes and then find yourself in difficulties when you get proper old.

After a good think we’re staying put, much though I would love to move to live beside the seaside.

[Wilkolampshade]

Staying in London. But might downsize to a flat in Zone 1 if the house becomes too much to cope with.

[MarnieSQ]

Tynemouth - quite pricey though. Whitley Bay - less pricey.

Beaches, independent cafes and shops.

Metro in to Newcastle for city life.

Easy access by car to Northumberland.

Best of all worlds.

[Newjumper2023]

So due to ill health I was retired in my 30s. Where I live is not ideal for me because I can't drive however the schools are good, my dc are happy, my home is adapted so for now I'm stuck.
What I want/need when I am able to move is a small easy to keep clean/low maintenance home on one level (ideally with somewhere to sit outside), easy access to hospitals and gp surgery, easy access to shops and activities, good transport links and somewhere to socialise.

[Oblomov23]

Tricky. We are considering the same and can't seem to find anywhere. We both have medical conditions so want to be close to a hospital.

We've had a caravan in Dorset for 20 years and like it so much we thought of Dorset, but whilst it has good hospitals, Poole and Bournemouth for starters, we still aren't sure. Plus the poverty in many Dorset places, like many seaside towns in the UK is so sad, I know this sounds awful but seeing so much poverty when I visit and walk through the bus station filled with homeless and beggars. I know that sounds snobby. The poverty in many seaside towns where friends live, best friend in Devon near Brixham, where I grew up near Plymouth, where my mil lived near Clacton, my sil has a holiday place near Great Yarmouth. Such lovely seaside towns but in the rainy winter can be grim, and the crumbling, the poverty in all areas is so sad to see

Considered near to West Wittering beach, but houses are so expensive. Considered Winchester and Chichester, but maybe they are too quiet for us.

Just not sure.

[MyriadOfTravels]

@GinIronic

Stay where you are when you retire. Why would you want somewhere new? If you hate where you live - move now whilst you’re still young enough to enjoy it.

There is something to say about staying where you are when you retire IF you have a nice network around you.

Retiring somewhere nice but far from family and friends, having to build up an entire new network around you - starting with being able to meet up with people!- isn’t easy at the best if time. Harder when you are 65~70yo.

Yep talking from experience watching my parents who did something similar. I’m dreading the time when one of them dies and the other is left completely alone.

[ArianahX]

@Oblomov23 agree about how sad the poverty in Bournemouth is, last time I went into the middle of town during a Saturday lunchtime there was a large queue for the 'soup kitchen'.

[Turmerictolly]

Lewes - lots going on, vets, can walk on to the South Downs from the golf club, frequent buses to Brighton, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells and good shops. Not cheap though.

[familyissues12345]

We'd love to retire to Dorset, but realistically I think we'll end up on the outskirts of London (Surrey) due to family links

[astarsheis]

As close into London as I could. We already live quite close but need to catch a train. I really just want to live on a tube line.
I'm working on it...I've retired and working on DH to finish to and then sell house and move to flat closer in.

[Spambod]

@Turmerictolly

Lewes - lots going on, vets, can walk on to the South Downs from the golf club, frequent buses to Brighton, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells and good shops. Not cheap though.

Second Lewes if you have tons of cash it’s very well situated and just lovely but my god the prices.