Would you prefer to retire to the countryside or city centre?

[Faciadipasta]

Inspired by another thread on here I'm just curious to see people's thoughts. I'm not due to retire for another 20 years or so but really hadn't considered doing so in the centre of London (or maybe another big city) but now after the other thread I'm thinking what a bloody brilliant idea!
I'd always just thought people tend to retire to the seaside or countryside before. So what do others think? City or countryside? And why?

Not London, but a smaller city is our plan.

My husband loved those @Northumberlandlass but not me.

I was hoping for an almond or apple replacement, not sure if want chocolate every week. I may just have to eats lots till I'm used to them.

Without any doubt CERTAINLY not a city. I nipped into one this morning and I’m still winding down. Everything is just so noisy and frantic.

That said, I’m uncertain that if I was old that the lack of public transport/distance to shops/doctors etc. would suffice rurally.

I think, like several people have said, something semi rural would be perfect. A village with a shop, pub, village hall and a bus ride to a town with a doctors etc.

Close to the middle of a decent sized town at least - I want to be able to walk/mobility scooter myself to the theatre/doctors etc, and have easy access to cafes, shops and social things.

DP wants to retire to the countryside. I told him no way. We live on the edge of a decent sized city, great public transport and everything easily reached. I grew up semi rural and hated it, no way am I doing that again.

Not an isolated rural place with no public transport, miles and miles from a hospital, GP. Dentist and even needing a car to buy a pint of milk.

I want to be able to get to a cinema, cafes, galleries, bookshops, a performance venue, good shops.

Country. But that’s where I am already. Cities and even bigger towns are a young folks game to me.

Countryside. I might rescue hens and a couple of ponies. I want to be self sufficient with veg and fruit.

Personally detest cities, busy, dirty, aggressive people and drivers, noise , pollution, I have to lock my doors when driving through and also put my wallet in my front pocket, grubby pavements with gum and litter, as for going out at night, major cities are awful with drunks, there is nothing I like about cities. I live a village, know most people , lovely community feel and zero crime. My wife always breathes a sigh of relief when we exit the suburbs.

I used to be adamant that I wanted to live in the middle of nowhere. This is definitely not the case, and I’d love to retire to the middle of a city, preferably a pent house though up high so I’m not in the thick of it but can watch the world go by.

Countryside for me. It’s where I grew up and moved back to as soon as I could after university. I love the peace and quiet.

We are planning on moving somewhere more populated than I’d prefer. We’d be looking for a village with a doctors and a large convenient store like a co-op.

100% city centre. Would always want to be where there is loads to do and easily accessible.

Although to be fair I live in a very busy seaside city so lots of open space also.

I lived in a big city, and I’d always thought to retire to a country village. Then I moved for work to a country village, and discovered what a goldfish bowl existence it is - everyone knows everyone else’s business, and if they don’t know yours yet, they are astonishingly nosey until they do. There’s one bus an hour to the nearest town, last bus at 6pm, taxis cost a small fortune, and apart from the village pub, there’s no entertainment at all. So I’m going to retire back to the big city and get myself a life before it’s too late :)

The countryside, I hate cities. We visited Edinburgh recently and while I’m sure it’s a lovely city I couldn’t wait to get back into the countryside.

Definitely somewhere where I can walk / cycle to stuff. People generally live 10 years longer than they can safely drive* and wouldn’t want to rely on public transport. Also more social connections in a small town, I think loneliness would be a real risk in old age.

*Not totally made up but can’t remember source.

Town would be my preference. I would like to live in an centrally located apartment in a nice town.

I do not want to spend my retirement hoovering a large house, tending a large garden and organising repairs and upkeep.

I would like a small camper van so a lock up and leave apartment would be perfect for when I want to head out to the seaside.

Right where I am. 50 miles from the nearest tiny town. I never get bored.

Seaside village with a couple of decent pubs and a shop, but with easy access to a good sized market town or small city.

City centre for me, not London but somewhere decent sized. Cardiff might suit me?

Something in between: small town with decent access to a bigger city by public transport.

I don't drive so rural/village life is not for me although I lived in a small village as a child/teen.

But at the same time I am fed up with the noise, pollution, anti-social behaviour and stress of London so I am retiring somewhere much quieter by the sea this year but still commutable.

I was brought up in, and have pretty much always lived in, the suburbs of a city/large town. We retired a year ago and have moved to the very edge of a small town - population under 10,000 - but 15 minutes drive from the centre of a small city.

We are within a few minutes’ walk of a moderate-sized Tescos and the doctors’ surgery, less than 10 minutes walk from the station and 20 minutes to the town centre. That has a vibrant High Street composed mainly of independent shops, including a real butchers, greengrocers, 2 bakers, 3 (yes, 3) bookshops, a hardware store, a card/gift shop, deli, wine merchant, optician. There are 3 dentists and numerous coffee shops. There is a local arts and cultural scene which provides plenty to keep us busy, and if we want more (cinema/theatre/big shops, hospital) as mentioned the city is only 15 minutes away.

If/when we have to give up driving, as mentioned it is not far to the station, and there is a bus stop at the end of our road. Yet from our window, we can see open countryside, and evenings and weekends it is pretty quiet. It’s not that noisy the rest of the time, to be fair.

I use to think I’d love to retire to the country - but that was before many visits to friends in rural N Devon. They needed the car for everything, even to anywhere they could walk the dogs off the lead. At least a 10 minute drive even for emergency milk or bog roll.
Nice for a visit, but no thanks.
I don’t think I’d want city centre either, though - certainly not our local one, which is London. Too crowded, too much traffic, too many fumes.
Where we are now suits us fine.

'Live in the country, live in the car' was our experience too - was one of our main reasons for moving back into the city.

Not the country. And not the city, unless it was London or Paris, although ideally I'd want some private outdoor space.

DH and I can't think of anywhere where we'd rather live than our own house, which is a nice problem to have.