Returning to London at 60 🤔

[jjW29]

I’ve already posted about this a few months ago under London topic and tried posting this today in Retirement section but not much response.I would love some points of view from people that may understand my dilemma a bit more or may have been in same situation as me…sorry but I just need more opinions.
Im 59 and relocated to Norwich around 17 years ago with then partner(from London and has since married)and our 2 young children.
Fast forward to now I’m an almost empty nester in a large mortgage free house and have been single apart from bit of online dating etc for 12 years.I just can’t see me living out the rest of my life here,I miss London so much.I have a handful of friends in both Norwich and London but no family so friends and family wouldn’t really be a factor.
My house is worth around £350k and I’m on a low income £25k or so and have savings of around £50k.I feel I need at least 2 beds so that my 20 DD at uni and DD 18 can still have a home.
I know I should just make the move but people keep saying why would you want to move there,the crowds,the crime,the cost,you’ll be lonely there on your own in your old age!! I’m finding the logistics hard to imagine also,having moved house many times I know what it’s like but seems a mammoth task now…I suppose I’ll have to prepare to be out of work for at least a few weeks as need to hand notice in a month before move and then no guarantee of finding job within a month.
Would welcome any advice or thoughts please on relocating to London alone age 60ish xxx

Moved from a Home Counties chocolate box kind of village (lived there for 15 years), before that a northern big city. I chose London just because it seemed like a good idea. Since I’m renting, my original plan was to try it for a couple of years, and if I didn’t like it, go back to the northern city.

To be fair, I did do my homework. I spent the couple of years before my retirement visiting regularly, and staying for up to a week at a time every so often in a borrowed flat. I joined various cultural organisations and scoped out local churches, gyms and swimming pools, bus and tube routes and the like, and did a lot of walking to build an understanding of the geography of the place (I had no intention of being one of those people who walk around using Google maps as a pedestrian satnav).

I still do some professional consultancy work, mostly fairly seasonal, probably averages around 6-8 hours a week.

The borough of Croydon is huge and includes some really great areas with fantastic transport.

From the chi chi, villagey and leafy to the slightly gritty and 15 mins to Tate Modern.

Even Croydon town has perfectly reasonable areas where normal decent people go about perfectly normal lives.

People live where they can afford and live in great communities in areas that make the tedious suburban matrons of MN shudder.

Have you thought about Woolwich? It's on the Elizabeth Line which is great for getting into Central London and you could get a 2 bed duplex flat in your budget, obviously there will be an annual service charge though

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168221684

I totally agree with you,Croydon is a little bit far out for me but when I lived in London in the 90’s people used to say the same thing about Hackney,Walthamstow and even Islington.I find it strange that people can’t believe that someone would actually want to move to London,why not? Just because I have a massive mortgage free house doesn’t mean I’m happy and to be quite honest it’s freezing in the winter and I’m finding the cleaning,diy and the garden so time consuming as I approach 59 and still work full time!

The entire borough of Croydon is most definitely not terrible. 🙄
Op will buy outright, no mention of a mortgage.
Not everyone wants a quiet/dull life.

Well said!

Agree!!!

Croydon is 15 mins to London Bridge - and it really is - frequent trains - it’s literally one stop at clapham
junction then you are there

also trains run through the night!

some beautiful old stock Victorian in south Croydon

it’s probably changed a lot since you lived there

Anyway you will definitely find something mortgage free within zone 4 - and nowhere near as far out as Watford

OP, I am nearly 10 years older than you, I have close relatives in Norwich and Norfolk and have lived there for extended periods.

Go for it!

I LOVE being retired in London (as I loved working here and bringing up Dc here).

I haven’t got much money but with my O-60s Oyster and now my Freedom Pass I am all over the place seeing fantastic stuff for free or cheap prices.

And actually though we know how to observe privacy in buses and tubes (aka ‘unfriendly’) I have never lived anywhere in London that didn’t have a great community to tap into if you choose to.

Best of both worlds, keeping friends in different places incl Norwich. You can visit them when you fancy a weekend steeling yourself against the E wind on a walk along Blakeney Point, and they will love to visit you for a weekend in London without accommodation costs.

So maybe an eye for transport connections to Liverpool St / bottom of the M11 - whatever Croydon has to offer 😉

Thank you! Yes I have thought about Woolwich and need to investigate more.Lots of comments making me feel more positive.Think I need to spend more time there and wander around more,I’m just completely unfamiliar with South London as only ever lived North or East and ventured into Essex for a couple of years.Im not bothered about living in a flat but would have to be ground floor or have balcony at least as have little dog.
The service charges on some of them are extortionate though unless ex local authority which seem to be more affordable £1-2k per year

I live in zone 2 and there is so much to do for people who have retired. A lot of it is free. Saddlers Wells run a class near me, another place offers free theatre tickets, tai chi classes, walking groups, yoga classes, summer festivals and so on. All free. Plus your transport is free too. All the galleries, museums all run workshops, again all free. It is a fantastic place to retire. Work your way outwards on Rightmove and get as close as you can. East London may be a good option. Have a look at the Olympic village area. Lots going on over there. I dream of being able to stay here for retirement. Lots of opportunities to meet people, great public transport and stuff to do. I never wait more than 5 mins for a bus just to give you an example. Go for it! We know some friends parents who have done exactly that and they are having a great time.

Woolwich town centre is a shithole - no shops really but a massive tesco thats usually understaff. Over the road where the woolwich arsenal was has been converted and is lovely - this is where the Elizabeth line is -
Greenwich is lovely but more expensive - nice park and markets -
Yes be mindful of the service charges - its like having a second mortgage.
Never a dull moment in London. Good luck.

Yes lots to do always and I find people more friendly and chattier even if it’s just about the weather etc Thank you!

Thank you!

Have lived there and have relatives there. Don't assume my ethnicity.

I suppose it depends if you can find something big enough for the money in a nice place (son rented a studio flat in zone 2 that was worth around £350K, so not sure if it is enough? Also how on board your 18 year old is with it at the moment - will you do it now or wait until she has left home? And will you earn enough to live there?

Following because I'm doing the same in about 5 years.

I moved from London to "escape to the country" and it was the worst mistake of my life (even though I am from here!)
Dreary humdrum waste of life sort of place where people spend thousands to come on holiday 🫠 people retire here with anll their money and then realise they can't get themselves to A&E 45 minutes away and there's no ambulances to come and get them. I don't want to die like that...

I have a similar budget to you and I'm looking around Bromley and maybe near a friend more centrally in Zone 2. I love those areas. I appreciate I likely have a different taste than others on this thread but it is doable and it should be done.

The last time I visited I literally held a door open for a woman carrying heavy bags, got chatting and we actually became very good friends. It's so funny. But my point is you'll make loads of friends!

it's your life OP and you should live for you! And you only 💃

I'll also have a 18 year old and they will have a room and the opportunity to stay with me in London. Staying where I am now will cause them harm with their career prospects like it's done to mine. 100%

If I stay, they'll most likely "fail to launch" even if they go to University.

I live in an area where house prices are comparable to London already and our current home is only 60SQM! Not going to cry over empty square meters, a garage full of shit and an unused garden. 😁

I'd go for Southwark in your shoes. I actually have a Rightmove search saved, just in case... I'm probably never going to be able to go back, but I still pine a little bit.

This is 3 beds in Kennington for £350k:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/159805241#/?channel=RES_BUY

4 beds in Peckham for £375k:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170605316#/?channel=RES_BUY

Refurbed 3 bed in Walworth for £390k
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/167130962#/?channel=RES_BUY

In that budget, it's going to be flats which aren't that close to the Tube, but it's certainly not impossible or unpleasant.

Anyway, I hear you OP. London is the centre of pretty much everything.

North London is best ;)

I watched a TV show a few years ago, it probably was location, location, location and it featured a retired couple who decided to move to London and they loved it. Great transport links, some free stuff to do and they moved into a flat, no garden or external maintenance to deal with. I thought it was a great idea.