Where to move to on South Coast, need good healthcare (Cancer)

[southerndreams]

Hello,

I have stage 4 cancer, currently in remission but very likely to recur. We have been renting in London all our adult lives (mid 40's) We don't drive. Both work from home.

Living on the coast has been a lifelong dream and I would like to spend my final years there. We have a budget of max £325k.

Any recommendations?

I have received excellent care here, and am a bit worried about losing this. I'm not sure whether this is unfounded or not. Does anyone have any insights?

Would really appreciate some advice.

Which coastline have you got the fondest memories of? We can help pinpoint a precise location from there.

Stay in London where the good hospitals are and long term rent somewhere? After a lifetime of living in London I'm not overly impressed with hospitals elsewhere.

You might want to ask on this thread ' Living with incurable stage 4 cancer? This thread is for you. Thread #3, in memory of Tilllly and Mowly '

Canterbury has an oncology dept and it's in striking distance of the Kent coast.
Moving round the south coast there's Brighton, Southampton, ?Portsmouth.

The problem you'll have is your budget in the south.

Honestly like others - stay where you are, near family, friends and the familiar. Living at the coast isn't all its cracked up to be, whatever your diagnosis.

Use the cash for weekends away

I wouldn't recommend Canterbury's oncology department. I'm treated there.

We definitely want to leave London. What we are looking for is a small house in a nice, peaceful area. We realised our budget is problematic but just trying to do the best we can with what we have got.

The best we have found so far is Dibden Purlieu in Southampton and Lymington. We love the Isle of Wight, but understand that getting to treatment on the mainland could be troublesome. We like the Kent coast too, but not sure what oncology services are like there.

@tothelefttotheleft why? DM me if you prefer.

Southampton General Hospital oncology service has been fantastic for me. It is actually a centre of excellence for my type of cancer and my oncologist speaks nationally on the topic.
I live in the beautiful New Forest and it takes about 30 minutes to get to the hospital. Whilst some parts of the forest are expensive it is still not as high as london prices. Also if you looked for property on the edges you get more for your money.
Where I live it is five minutes to open forest in one direction and five minutes to the sea in the other.
There is also an excellent hospice at nearby Lymington which offers a range of care and support for any cancer patients and families.

I am very close to Dibden Purlieu. A great area. In fact my neighbour is just about to sell his bungalow if you fancy ground floor living!

Me too - about 4 miles 😂

As has been said, your budget is your issue OP, but if you like DP, you might be able to find something. There’s also Marchwood and other surrounding villages. You’ll struggle to get to the coast without a car though. The beach is about 6-8 miles from DP/Marchwood. You could always bike it although the road to the nearest beach is quite narrow and I don’t even like driving it.

You won’t be able to buy anything in Lymington for your budget, unless you’re going to go extremely small or a flat.

What about Hayling Island? No clue what cancer services are like in Portsmouth though.

Small world!
Marchwood tends to be more expensive though as it has a slightly easier commute to Southampton and imo some of the properties are very small.
As well as Dibden Purlieu nearby Hythe is really nice and is good value and the village ( well very small town maybe) has a waitrose, lots of nice independent shops and bars, a library, doctors and a market on tuesdays. There is also the lovely pier with a little vintage train running along it to take you to the little ferry you can catch to Southampton.

As i am nosy and enjoy look at / looking up properties, I found
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149603090#/?channel=RES_BUY

and
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/149605136#/?channel=RES_BUY

and
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144549851#/?channel=RES_BUY

and
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148555394#/?channel=RES_BUY

all of which may fit in the Op's budget, I posted all the ones as I found, just incase I am outing her by having found the property she likes/found ?

If you don't drive I would think carefully about how your would get to and from hospital when living outside a city. I learnt to drive in the end purely because hospital trips for my son were exhausting by public transport

I hate to say it, but trying to do the trip from Marchwood or Dibden P to the General is rubbish. There are no direct buses from the Waterside you would be looking at getting a bus into the station and then back out on No. 17. However, there at beach huts at Calshot overlooking Cowes.

Speaking from experience, rule out the IoW. Treatment would be at the General. You would struggle to find anything you could afford in Cowes, especially when you factor in the crazy cost of the Red Jet. The Island itself though is more doable without a car than the Waterside.

Haywards Heath West Sussex? 20 mins on the train to Brighton and there is an Oncology Unit at the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.

Wow, this has been so helpful! Really appreciate all the replies.

@Blackcats7 The new forest does look fantastic. Not many properties available, as you suggested am looking on the edges. Any thoughts on West Totton? We may be interested in that bungalow!

We have been to the Nova Forest cafe and thought it was amazing!

We like cycling so will probably go to the beach and forest that way. We also intend to learn how to drive.

@Dearover I realise the bus to hospital isn't ideal. But, currently it takes two buses and 45 minutes to get to hospital here - I'm not sure if it will be much worse than that.

@OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon Yes, those properties are the kind of thing we are looking for.

Does anyone have any experiences of the Hythe medical centre?

We looked at Hayling Island (no supermarket!).

Will have a look at Haywards Heath.

@southerndreams I am with forestside medical practice in dibden purlieu for my gp, they are excellent. We have a new small hospital built on the site of the old victorian one at Hythe Hospital which you mean by Hythe Medical Centre which offers a variety of services like x rays and ultrasounds and all sorts of clinics and also has an urgent care clinic to which all local gp practices can refer patients. I was there myself two weeks ago and had very good care.
If you need a ct, pet or mri scan you need to go to either southampton general or lymington hospital. A&e is at southampton general. Southampton oncology has a 24 hour direct line for cancer patients and will support you at home or bring you straight in as needed. I can’t fault them.
Lymington has more of a casualty type walk in set up for medium type issues.
Nova Forest Kitchen is great!
A very nice pub lunch can be had at the royal oak at hilltop just over the main road and on to the forest from dibden purlieu. Beautiful Beaulieu is just five minutes further and has a stunning little street with donkeys queuing outside the shops and a fabulous garden centre with an excellent cafe.
I would very much not recommend red and green practice which has two surgeries one in blackfield and one in hythe near the hospital. They are rather infamous locally.
For a nice two bed detached bungalow in very safe and peaceful area I would expect to pay around £320k. I think my neighbours will probably go for around that. Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a mumsnet house purchase!
Let me know if I can give anymore info or help at all. Can recommend local services, removals, etc.

@southerndreams also we have an active voluntary car scheme who will take you to hospital appointments. To go to southampton and back (they will wait up to 4 hours) is £15
West Totton is ok but a a bit built up although nice as estates go.
The waterside is a lot quieter than totton though and having lived in both I prefer the waterside.

You're going to struggle getting round the new forest if you don't drive, the railways ok but the buses, not so much...

@Blackcats7 Thank so much, that is all very relevant and useful info. We do enjoy eating out so it is nice to get recommendations. We did have some good food in Southampton centre too, so good to know that is an option for an occasional meal out too.

Gobsmacked about the 24hour oncology line - that is fantastic. And the voluntary car scheme! Of course, I may never need all this but it is very reassuring to know it exists.

May I ask how long it generally takes to get scan results?

I would definitely appreciate some local services recommendations when the time comes, we don't know a soul there!

Really appreciate the time and effort you have taken in your posts :)

Scan results usually 4 weeks if just regular keeping an eye on you. Obviously much quicker if they are concerned.
I prefer lymington for my scans as it is much quieter there.
If you do move here you now know me. Feel free to message about anything if you like.

I'm in the new forest not far from Totton, and I agree with everything others have said, it's a great place to live. The only thing I'd add is that public transport is not the best when you're used to London, but Totton is slightly better than further down the waterside. Even then it's 2 buses to Southampton General.

If you need to research further look at bluestar timetables 6 8 9 11 12 and X7. There are also stations at Totton and Ashurst, trains once an hour to Southampton central where you can get the 17 to the hospital. The above buses also stop there.

@Blackcats7 Thanks again, I will venture down very soon and have another look at the area.

@windowshopping Thank you for that. We were impressed with the bus services when we visited. It looks like the bus, train, taxi and bike options will be enough for us and one of us might even pass a driving test 😂

When you decide on the area Google village name website or town name website. Village I live in has a volunteer driver scheme for medical appointments so you could be driven to and home from the University hospital ( big oncology dept). Village also has a railway station with direct train to London.

@southerndreams happy to make a new friend if you move here.

I was only trying to put it in context for those who are used to London style public transport. DD leaves our house at 6.45 for an 8am start at the general General with the option of catching some of the buses from the Waterside. I can't fault oncology there as they saved my (IoW based) MiL's life.