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?

Avoid Devon and Cornwall at ALL costs. The M5 stops dead for hours in the holiday season.

@Reasonedcamper prices in Holt Budgens are sky high compared to anywhere!

Gillingham is a big place but it’s not that nice ... couldn’t wait to get out ... sort of ideal for getting in the property ladder but that’s it
Schools rubbish ... we moved for the sake of the children’s education

Where I live now, ‘shit town’ has two vegan cafes, everyone of our independent cafes has a vegan and a vegetarian option there is every kind of food you can think of. Every year we celebrate Diwali in the town hall.

But the difference is in my “nice town” you could have a vegan option but it’s all grown in the pubs back garden. Salad in summer, soup in winter. It’s an award winning pub. Most of the other pub and restaurants do local food. So not vegan but the meat is local from local farmers or gamekeepers . Not canned jack fruit from Australia.
And we don’t do Diwali or any other religion ( that’s for them to organise) - we have original organised town events for everyone to enjoy..

Having just come back from Scotland I have no idea why people are recommending it. It's three hours in every direction to get to it from wherever you started

Absolute rubbish.

Shithole? Really?

North Yorkshire, the whole of it, is a huge shithole. Please avoid.

London is the biggest cesspit I’ve been to. Whilst the South might have the money and the nicer weather, the North has the friendliest folk with the biggest hearts, and I know which I would rather have.

London is a very big orifice between the buttocks.

We have a couple of charity shops on our doorstep and I swear that the people working with one of them grew up in Royston Vasey. I turned up with some nice, outgrown kids' stuff, plus a few kitchen items to donate. The two ladies there (evenutally) stopped what they were doing and stared at me for a bit then one piped up, in a rather menacing tone, "You haven't got any bric-a-brac in there, have you?"

I just take it all to the PDSA shop or into town, now!

I live in Norfolk, in a small seaside town that had already been slated! I absolutely love where I live... it's a slower pace of life and yeah some people are behind the times but overall it's lovely with a stunning beach, some fab Portuguese and Greek restaurants and little independents plus all the usual chains etc...

Good enough for Danny Boyle to film at 😉

The south Wales / Gloucestershire border is lovely and within easy travelling to Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham and London. Tons cheaper than the Cotswolds, too.

Retiring to a place where you have not paid any council tax, but expect the council tax payers of that place to pay for your adult social care when you can no longer wipe your own arse is fairly shitty to be honest.

This sums it up for me. Please stay in the area where you have lived so you can reap what you have sown.

@Justaboy Cor t hell. You talk loike me bah.

The west Country. Omg relocating there from Sussex. I hate the south east. It's mega busy and overpopulated.
I'm moving to Somerset for the quiet rural life and stonkingly cheap housing.

Wish I could ' like ' some of these responses. The North is full of marauding Vikings so you really should avoid... or perhaps we'd prefer snobbery to avoid us.

It does irk me that in our area retirement zone, our hospitals have to cope with a huge amount of geriatric care, my gp says they have patients who book appointments two or three days every week and there is nothing they can do about it. They then complain about children, noise, teenagers, to their local councillors and they do not even bloody belong here.

Telford. Easy.

I am biased but Crickhowell, Abergavenny, Monmouth, Forest Coalpit, Llantillio Croesenny, Usk, Tintern , Trelleck . My personal favourite has to be Forest Coalpit though it is just breathtaking. Oh all in Wales .

If I could I would move to the New Forest. Beautiful but £££.

Barrow in Furness is the place to be, you want your money to go further, to work for you...you can buy a whole street with these prices
Probably can even see Blackpool on a good day

If I had my way and I had the funds. I'd either move to the Scottish highlands (ist choice) or Norfolk.
It's not that they are backwards or racist but maybe seen that way by a city person as it's a total different way of life. It's predominantly white British in both places, so of course the people there aren't exposed to the same multicultural city life.

Give me those two places any day over the shithole that is Birmingham where I live. And also,sadly,a lot of places just out of the major cities are as bad or getting as bad.
For me the only way I could have the life I would like for my dc is to move as far away from where i live or any other major town or city.

think before you make any move I would rent your own house out and then rent in an area for a few months to get the feel of the place.

Sometimes a place no matter how beautiful and highly recommended it comes is just not right for you.

I have lived in most places in the UK. (DP had a job which took him all over the country for a month or 3 at a time) I ended up stating that I was not leaving the M25 again.

I lived in one area where it was stunning countryside and beautiful villages and is a very sort after place to live. All it made me feel was claustrophobic and when we left I was positively throwing our stuff in the van so I didn't have to spend any more time in the place.

Why do you feel the need to go far away from your friendship network just because you have retired.

There are some nice places on the outskirts of the Home Counties and much cheaper because they haven't got great train links to London

I live in the home counties/ London borders and you get horses and oxen wandering down the road. The most unrat race place I can think of.

Paris might meet with your friends' approval, non? I'm told they consider themselves very civilised over there & there's a direct train to London.

Yes, you are being unreasonable to even consider moving if you are so uneducated to think that.

I suggest you buy a van and spend the first two years of your retirement touring Britain!