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).

[WakeMeUpInspring]

North London where I live now. My family and friends are here. I love it.

[MonumentalLentil]

Lots to think about here, thank you all.
No way would London be a quiet place to retire to though. Even the suburbs.

[Cinnamon23]

Lake District, no question.

[NancyJoan]

Central London if I could afford it. Since I can’t, I’ll probably go to Norwich.

[Groutyonehereagain]

North Yorkshire. Towns like Helmsley are lovely.

[NurseCranesRolodex]

Farmhouse in coastal Fife, dogs and the beach.

[megletthesecond]

I'd be in Exmouth. Small hospital, train station, walkable town and large supermarkets, sandy beach and very close to hills and open spaces. Lots of cafes.

[QuertyGirl]

Moving away from your support network and/or to the countryside is actually totally illogical.

You're going to decline. Everyone does.

Stay near your family, friends and near services such as hospitals, shops etc.

[MinnieMountain]

Back to Pembrokeshire where I grew up. But I’m also aware that the healthcare is poor…

[MonumentalLentil]

@QuertyGirl

Moving away from your support network and/or to the countryside is actually totally illogical.

You're going to decline. Everyone does.

Stay near your family, friends and near services such as hospitals, shops etc.

I have good reasons to move away from my 'support network'. I am not even near what family I have left. Where I live is really not what I want now, never mind in a few years time.

I'm not planning to move to a deserted area, as in my OP, I want to be able to actually access GP services, vets, shops etc. not live in a field 😀

[cobden28]

I've lived in Portsmouth for fifty years, but only because my ex is a Portsmouth laddie and his job was based here. Now that we're divorced the only things keeping me here are the lack of funds to move away from a town where I have no family other than my adult daughter and no close friends either. I've found that some Portsmouth folk can be very resentful of outsiders, ie people from another part of the country; although this doesn't apply to everyone by a long chalk, what has happened is enough for me to want up up sticks and move back to my native north-east of England IF I had the money to fund a move to the other end of the country.

[Verv]

I wouldn't move to the south.
Id move to the Cairngorms - Ballater, Braemar etc.
It's my favourite place in the UK.

[longwayoff]

Winchester is good. I chose a city centre ground floor flat (although it was a lot cheaper then), walk into town so dont need car, still got reasonable shops. Near to cinema, theatre, new leisure centre, cathedral with many musical events, great library, lots of sociable stuff going on, galleries, museums, etc. It is Dog City though. Lots of dogs. Little crime or ASBOs and no pit bull type scary.ones that I've seen. Fast train to London Waterloo if required, coast not far, New Forest and South Downs national park on doorstep. It's a nice place to be in.

[musixa]

If I had no family to consider, I might move to Filey, North Yorks.

[Bluevelvetsofa]

I’d probably do what I did, or somewhere near, which is West Sussex. We have good transport links, so can get to London, Southampton, Brighton, relatively easily. A few miles from Chichester, with museum, theatre and shops, though not as many as there were. South Downs on the doorstep, Goodwood, Weald and Downland museum, Arundel, Amberley, all within a short drive.

[restisall]

I want to retire to central London and take advantage of the free buses and actually have time to go to all the galleries and shows etc. Also imagine it will be handy to have so many hospitals and services nearby.

At the moment I live in zone 3 and sadly my next move is likely to be out of London to have more space for children.

[SoShallINever]

Why are you obsessing about GPs and vets. Everywhere in the UK has access to GPS and vets. Even the outer hebrides.

[MonumentalLentil]

@SoShallINever

Why are you obsessing about GPs and vets. Everywhere in the UK has access to GPS and vets. Even the outer hebrides.

Why did you bother to answer if you don't have a sensible contribution?
Not everywhere has easy access to a selection of things. If you know everywhere in the UK surely you would be aware of that.

[SweetBirdsong]

Currently live midlands. (semi rural.) I will never move as long as my DC are a stone's throw away, and easy to get to. If they were not in the equation/left the country, I would move further North. Berwick Upon Tweed or The Peak District or even The Lake District. Or by the sea somewhere in West or North Wales. Definitely not south.

[LIZS]

Clearly if you think ds may have additional needs or that dss is setting him up to misbehave you cannot leave them together unsupervised.

[LIZS]

Sorry not sure how that happened, wrong thread!

[SweetBirdsong]

Glad it was the wrong thread @LIZS coz I got a bit confused for a moment there!

[WhereYouLeftIt]

@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 agree with this. And, having recently retired - I have no intention of moving.

[Whyishewearingasombero]

@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! :)

I live quite near you in West Dorset - absolutely love it!

[SweetBirdsong]

@Verv

I wouldn't move to the south.
Id move to the Cairngorms - Ballater, Braemar etc.
It's my favourite place in the UK.

Nice area.