Has anyone retired to Guernsey?

[PoodlenotDoodle]

Any thoughts on Guernsey as a retirement option? I know there is very little housing stock available as you need to buy in the Open Market (only 1600 or so houses on the island) and it is expensive. I also know that while the income tax rate is a flat 20% that there is also Social Security to pay which adds to that. I know it is extremely safe with very little crime. What I am interested in is what is the lifestyle really like? Are there any wide open green spaces for dog walks or is the entire island very suburban? Do you get island fever? What are the pros and cons versus retiring in a costal location like say Norfolk or Dorset or Cornwall for example? We have a dog and love the idea of being near the coast when we retire but we also love country walks and wonder if this rules Guernsey out?

Why not go on holiday for a week?
Very expensive to get on and off the island.

There aren't really many 'big green open spaces' but there are lots of walks you can do on the cliff paths/beaches/lanes. I will say you kind of exhaust the walks available to you fairly quickly and end up doing the same walks all the time. You can't just drive an hour to a new place like in the UK.

Getting off the island is a bit of a pain at times and is expensive.

Pretty much everything is expensive - groceries (waitrose only real main supermarket), fuel, eating out, even rubbish bag stickers you have to pay for.

It is paradise in the summer months with the beaches but it is quite bleak in the winter in my opinion. There's not much to do - small cinema, no chain restaurants etc.

Nearly married an islander and balked last minute. The thought of being resident on such a small expanse of land felt claustrophobic and the reality kicked in. It’s like living in an enclosed small town. OK if you have an established social and family network. Otherwise very limiting. For me. I really enjoy now the opportunity of being to get on a train and experience something different. Or source what I need from a wider pool of opportunity.

Be aware if you are ill and need an ambulance it costs upwards of £300 I believe. There is no NHS. Major surgery means trips back here with costly flights, accommodation etc. if you have the finances not a worry but you do need to factor these things in. Personally I would be more inclined to look somewhere closer to home.

It sounds as if you've never visited the island. That would be the first step.

We are booked to go for Easter but wanting to get a feel from people who live there as you dont always see all of the pros and cons whilst on holiday.

I had a friend from the Island.

I went on a walk with her once when she visiting mainland UK and we ended up on top of a hill.
She said it gave her the heeby jeebies that she could see so far in each direction and it was just an expanse of land in every direction.
If it were me, I’d get the heeby jeebies that even driving the length of the island would take less than half an hour.
I’ve lived in Cornwall but at least if you drive East you can get out if need be!

Not to mention the financial implications ofc

Our Aunt retired there but spends most of her time in winter months in England. She finds it bleak and dull in winter months.

Some friends did (he grew up there)…. then came back very quickly and are back to holidaying in Guernsey.

They hated that everyone knew each others’ business, and that the biggest excitement you can have is choosing Morrisons over Waitrose.

With the caveat that I don’t know Guernsey but have had relatives retired in rural areas in England, I would consider the following very closely:

1. What life looks like there when you can’t drive any more (and in view of how long people are living, let’s assume that’s “when”, not “if”). Do you have the money for taxis, and are taxis easily available? Is there public transport? (In a meaningful sense, not one bus a day to the nearest town.)

2. What life looks like if your mobility is suddenly reduced and how easy it is to get to local shops, etc. See above.

3. What the healthcare is like. GP, dentist, hospitals, more specialist hospitals.

4. Where your family and friends are, and how easy it will be to visit each other if that matters to you.

I think it’s one thing to move to a rural area at retirement age but it might be sensible to have a five year plan and a plan B covering the above. Our relative was very much in denial about the realities of aging and it was very difficult to support them from a distance, especially as they weren’t willing to make any changes such as moving to a more suitable property. It is much easier to move in a planned way than as a reaction to an emergency.

Have you checked out the cost of homes there, if you aren't local born they are eye watering. Not to mention the cost of health care. And you'll always be a "come-over".

Yes house prices are very high and there is short supply due to the "open market" being only 1600 homes in the entire island. We are aware of this dynamic but it is more what life looks like there that we are interested in finding out from people who live there/retired there.

Not Guernsey, but a couple of friends of mine have had elderly parents on the Isle of Wight and it got really difficult as the parents aged, expensive for visitors to travel over, limited hospital facilities (one person's elderly mother had to be airlifted to the mainland one time, another had to make regular crossings for cancer treatment in Southampton) etc.

Much the same for Guernsey. Also agree everyone knows everyone’s business. It’s what happens on small islands.

I know people who are retired in Guernsey and have a great life. They are local though and have a good network.

I have friends living there (locals).

It’s tiny. No comparison to the Isle of Wight, Went on a bike ride and … 10 mins later, oh it’s the other side of the island.

When I retire I want to expand my life, expand my experiences and community and connections, not make it smaller.

We’re in Jersey which I appreciate is a bit bigger but we certainly don’t know everyone’s business (nor would we care to!). Guernsey is lovely OP and over here on Jersey I’m jealous at the ease of which they can reach Sark & Herm in the summer, my friends’ kids have real ‘swallows and amazons’ summer holidays camping on Sark, cycling around with freedom, jumping off the harbour wall…

Many pertinent points above are perfectly valid though, especially in terms of health care and the costs of travel on and off the island. We may actually move to the mainland when we retire…

We are looking at a range of options - we are not retiring for a few years and wanting to have an open mind about where might work. We have not been there but that doesnt mean we cant consider it - visit - either like it or rule it out.

Thank you but personally I think researching the pros and cons before you visit gives a flavour of things (like healthcare for example) that you just don't get when you are on holiday mode and with rose tinted glasses on. Having lived in NZ, I often meet people who say that they have been on holiday to NZ and they would love to retire/move to, but what they don't realise when they are there on holiday is how far away NZ is (and the reality of that), how poor the infrastructure is (public transport, hospitals, etc) and that NZ has other issues (racial issues etc) that are not always obvious when you are on holiday.

a very expensive mistake to make if you decide this from a few sunny holidays in the country/place that you then sell up and move there. I cant tell you the number of Brits I know who move to NZ and after 5 or 10 years return back to the UK because they just didnt realise how being on the other side of the world would REALLY be like. Then they have to unwind their lives and that can be very expensive - or worse still - stay there and get bitter. Let your fingers do the walking (first!) and find out the reality of it is my theory before the heart gets involved.