Would you retire to the East Neuk

[Belindabelle]

DH and I have visited the EN forever. We love it as a holiday retreat and feel that we have a real connection to the area. We are a few years out from retirement and are looking at options.

Would you rather live by the coast or continue to live in the Central Belt (Stirling area) and have holidays/weekends there.

From an Edinburgh perspective, no. It feels weirdly far away by car despite it being close by map. Have you spent time there in winter?

By the coast every time, beautiful in the Summer and the Winter.

Yes I would retire there.
lovely area and easy striking distance to central belt

In a heartbeat. I love it up there

Yes but I think it is pretty empty in Autumn/Winter so loses the village feel.

How about North Berwick?

This could have been me posting! I often fantasise about retiring to the coast and love the east neuk.

The main thing that puts me off is that you would be very car dependent and, without a car, it is awkward to get anywhere and particularly to access health services.

Hopefully you will enjoy many years of good health before that becomes an issue, if indeed it does become an issue, but potentially having to travel to Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, St Andrews for appointments. I have seen this with my own parents who have to travel to multiple different locations in Fife for different specialties. Obviously there are more travel options in the central belt and services are easier to access.

Maybe this is an overly gloomy view of retirement and it depends how old you are now and if you would be happy to move again. Following with interest...

I live in St Andrews and enjoy trips to the East Neuk but i wouldn't live there. I like what St Andrews offers me in terms of amenities and i like being relatively close to a train station.

No. Probably not. Dh is from there and it's quite insular at times.

Well seeing as you ask@MorrisZapp we are actually up here just now and we were here at New Year.

Being honest l love it at this time of year . No tourists (except us ) big waves, deserted beaches. But I totally acknowledge the point I presume you are trying make. A coastal village in winter is a totally different proposition to the summer.

It’s a little bit like the film Cacoon up here. I think the average age of death is 95. Must be the sea air.

Funnily enough@Mara246 the bus service is pretty good. For reasons I won’t bore you with I am car less this week and I have been to St Andrews and Anstruther (staying in Crail) on the bus.

just musing at the moment but it’s definitely a possibility.

Must admit I count St Andrews as East Neuk! Clearly I'm a tourist 😊

MIL owns a property (a mobile home equivalent) in the East Neuk. It has been our bolthole since 2004 and we love escaping there but I would never retire to there. It's too far from a hospital.
I have personal experience of dealing with my DF who moved from Glasgow to East Lothian to marry my wonderful DSM. DF and DSM both had need to be hospitalised and because of the distance it was awful.

@Belindabelle , yes, good bus service between St Andrews and Leven (which we have used many times doing different sections of the Fife Coastal Path). Trickier to get to Kirkcaldy or Dunfermline, though the new station at Leven will be another option for reaching these place, and Edinburgh, if you're not in a hurry!

You need to choose the right village. Elie is a ghost town but Pittenweem, Anstruther and Crail have actual village life going on and have doctors surgeries and useful shops. DH went to the minor injuries unit in St Andrews last week and was in and out within half an hour with antibiotics, tetanus jab and bandage.
The bus service in the East Neuk is pretty good. Getting out of the East Neuk takes for ever. The nearest major hospital is Ninewells in Dundee, 45 minutes away.
@Belindabelle feel free to PM my about my experiences moving to Fife.