Biggest Shithole in the UK

[DickieDonkey]

Am retiring soon so want to relocate away from the rat race but everywhere I consider away from the Home Counties seems to be regarded as a dump. Money goes further away from the SE, I thought about Norfolk which is within reasonable distance of civilisation but my friends think that it is backwards/racist. Is it true that Lincs/Cambs/Norfolk is best avoided. AIBU to move?

Depending on how far from London and SE you are prepared to live - midlands and south wales are worth a look - that's a huge area to look at prices tend to be cheaper.

There are lots of lovely northern locations but perhaps that might be too far for you – though knew several ex Londoner in the northern cities we lived in who loved the places.

I'd be thinking about what you want city, town, access to countryside, coast - then using things like Rightmove to gauge house prices then lots of weekends away to check places out.

Honestly though I’ve lived in quite few places in UK – including Surrey and Hampshire they were okay - but personally I prefer the the two northen cities we spent some years in and where we are now south Wales.

and that is the ignorant bubble I was referring too [sic]

So instead of actually trying to correct ignorance, people prefer to show their own intolerance by ranting and insulting.

@DickieDonkey well as you’ve reappeared and said you’re genuine, would you care to apologise for your rudeness about ‘civilisation’?

Everyone recommending Yorkshire ( particularly Spaceprincess please stop. She’s looking at Norfolk and I’d rather she stayed there, it’s too nice here for that attitude. Actually I expect Norfolk is too.
OP why would you look at retiring anywhere you’ve never even visited? Have you never been to any parts of UK other than the Home Counties???

We are ALL backwards racists here in Cambridge so avoid at all costs.

Don’t like the word shithole even though I sadly live in one. You can’t ignore the fact that some of the most socioeconomically deprived areas of the country are outside London and the Home Counties although I appreciate that some boroughs of London are also very poor...However most are in the north and tend to be those post industrial areas that got left behind in the 80’s if not a lot earlier. Why on earth would you want to retire there for a better quality of life ? There are some lovely parts of the north but you pay a huge premium for living there ....so it’s a bit disingenuous to say North Yorkshire’s beautiful for example

lazylinguist Why should I educate the ignorant when they have had a whole life time to educate themselves? There just wasn't enough in it for themselves to be bothered before. not my fault.

You can’t ignore the fact that some of the most socioeconomically deprived areas of the country are outside London and the Home Counties

Newsnight had the most deprived areas in EU being south wales and then in top five bits of the midlands.

Doesn't mean there aren't areas of considerable wealth within those large areas and very many "normal" locations.

One thing I like about where we are in South wales is easy access to countryside many nice routes, many local historical sites and very good transport to many other nearby cities plus very friendly people.

To use a favourite MN trope: did you mean to be so rude?

I was going to suggest Scotland, as having lived here for 20 years, I could not imagine living anywhere else. But with an attitide like yours, Scotand does not want you. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👌

Please , don’t come to Norfolk , or if you do, then go to Norwich. The traffic should make you feel right at home . That way you can leave the decent part of the county to the rest of us , and not whinge about smells , tractors on the road all year round impeding your triumphal progress , and them there bac’ards locals because the rest of the county is SO racist doncha know .....

Here a map for you OP, that may act as a rough guide to “attitudes” across Britain. The dark areas / “black spots” are those with a high Brexit vote. The yellow areas were a much lower Brexit vote. Read into this what you will..,

Up here we have County Durham, Lake District and weardale. All lovely, lived here my whole life and chosen to settle here

everywhere I consider away from the Home Counties seems to be regarded as a dump.

By whom?

Everywhere in the Home Counties is a dump in my book.

@thenightsky bloody love Scunthorpe! I'm half hour away towards the coast, regularly go to scunny for shopping etc. I'd happily move there or Louth ❤️

Imo London is a shit heap, who wants to suffocate in pollution? The home counties and anything within an hour by train of London is a soulless commuter town. I'm exaggerating but so are you. I was happiest in a little town near the Welsh boarder where I had hills, rivers, shops (albeit v. Middle class, independent high street that didn't appeal to everyone) and connected to the major motorways quite easily - not great on public transport though. Norfolk is also nice. Norwich is a lovely city, rurally it lacks facilities and hills but other wise very pleasant. Very poorly connected by road. When I can move from the SE (yes I'm in a village surrounded by soulless commuter towns) I will be looking up north, near enough the lakes to justify short weekends but probably closer to York. I would never choose the home counties in a million years.

I'm in the home counties, can't get get fibre broadband, nor most mobile signals (in a dip). . Yet the mainline GWR to Paddington passes within a mile of our door (Crossrail apparently coming soon), lovely countryside too. Just don't mention the traffic jams when the M40/M44/M25/M3 gets stuffed up due to an accident. Bit of a shitty place to live compared to say Malvern Hills, Dorset, Cotswolds.

This thread is a shithole.

Very GF way to ask for retirement advice, very bunfight tit for tat answers.

I'm still looking for the thread by @leckford that is offensive. I must have missed it.

Sorry.. Post

I had no idea there was so much anger directed at our capital city. You learn something new every day.

You can’t ignore the fact that some of the most socioeconomically deprived areas of the country are outside London and the Home Counties although I appreciate that some boroughs of London are also very poor

And parts of Kent.

I had no idea there was so much anger directed at our capital city

not anger but growing up in the south-west it used to be really irritating that everything was concentrated in London. Mind you, I may have had rose tinted glasses, Capital radio was the thing to listen to and back then you didn't have internet radio of course. And oh dear my son has it on in the car and it really is rubbish. And London is horribly polluted. It does have some lovely parks and nice buildings now - and is a national park now too.

In terms of retirement, I would go somewhere that was not known for retirees. So a few examples of places to avoid: Rhyl, Worthing, Torquay and Bridport. Maybe go somewhere like Cheshire so you've got cities like Liverpool and Manchester to visit as well as Chester and prettier smaller towns like Knutsford.

The home counties and anything within an hour by train of London is a soulless commuter town

If everywhere within an hour by train of London is a soulless commuter town then my soulless commuter town of 2 dozen houses has oxen and horses wandering through the street.

How many times do you get that in places that apparently are preferable to the Home Counties

I think there is a lot of sweeping statements on this thread.

Didn’t you know that everywhere outside of the M25 was full of three headed racist Xenophobs whose mother’s brother is also their aunt.

...and whose traditional greeting is, "Gimme six."

I live in Suffolk and it's lovely.

I had no idea there was so much anger directed at our capital city. You learn something new every day.

The anger isn't at London itself. It's at that particular breed of people who think that London is the only place that is sophisticated and cosmopolitan and broad minded and that everywhere outside of the South East looks like Corrie or a Lowry painting. I know someone who lives in London who actually told me that he could never leave as he wouldn't be able to find "high culture" anywhere else. He visited us for a weekend "up North" once and was genuinely surprised to find that we had an organic vegan supermarket and a little place where the kids can paint pottery. There's no excuse for that sort of insular ignorance.
The other annoying aspect of London is that they get all the bloody money and then moan that other parts of the country are backwards. Maybe stop taking all the money, then?!