England, Scotland, Wales, NI, RoI?

[BitterArrowsmith]

If you had your choice to live anywhere in the UK, where would you choose? And why?
We're retired, access to healthcare is important as we age, great walking, would love to be near water for kayaking. Let me know if any other bits of info would help...

Largs ins on the Wet Coast, sorry, West Coast. But I am serious - west is wet, wet, wet...

Stirling - Perth 'corridor' is superb (guess where I live). All the amenities you need / want, some good cultural things. and yet fabulous greenspace and not far from 'big' scenery, loads of paddling in the Trossachs and more..

Also do not discount just south of Edinburgh - Tweed Valley (nickname: the Valley of the Bike People) is a lovely part of the world.

@MiddleAgedDread - apologies, most folk refer to anything north of central belt as 'highlands' through lack of geographic knowledge.

Yes, I'm a bit leery of the we(s)t coast, for that very reason 😀
I spent a bit of time in Perth when I was cycling LEJOG in my youth and really loved it (to be fair, it was july...) but my Aussie husband seems to be put off by the name. I cant imagine why, as Perth WA is gorgeous. It's another place we'll have to spend a few weeks in. So many places, so little time...

I’m in East Central Scotland and love it. Fife is nice for little coastal villages. I love further north, particularly Inverness too.

I wouldn't consider Dundee itself if I was looking for somewhere nice but there may be nice places in that area

I can't wait to explore Fife!

errr, Dundee and Aberdeen are very much not in the Highlands! however, are lovely places. Aberdeenshire could be a good shout? Airport, big hospital, etc etc. Not sure about private healthcare, but there is a trainline as well as good road links.

South Wales - coastal walking and the Bannau Brycheiniog and Black Mountains within easy reach.

Decent rivers to paddle and the sea too.

Major hospitals for emergencies but plenty of private provision available too.

We’re in The Vale of Glamorgan. Another bonus is that there’s a thriving language to learn if you fancied it!

Wherever you go make sure you will have good public transport links in the event you end up not being able to drive as you get older.
Also near good healthcare options.
This would rule out a lot of Wales because healthcare is already stretched here, and you can end up having to travel quite a distance to a hospital. Same for rural Scotland I'm sure.
I wouldn't rule out Northumberland countryside, or North Yorkshire maybe

I’m a few miles north of you.

Not much private healthcare to speak of and the NHS is on its knees.

There are 3 private hospitals within 30 minutes of where I live.

My GP surgery and dentist are great.

Free prescriptions.

I can’t complain about the NHS services that my family and I receive tbh.

You’re very very lucky then.

My parents are in Bridgend. Dad was told 7 year wait on the urgent list for a hernia operation - it was preventing him walking so he had it done privately in Swansea.

Pretty sure the only private GP is in Cardiff Gate.

I have a great NHS and a great private dentist, in Cardiff. 30min drive that would take close to 2 hours on public transport.

I have a private psych, in Cardiff, managing my ADHD, pending the NHS picking it up. Anticipated 4 year wait, so I’m paying about £100 a month for meds (so free prescriptions not really helping).

GP took 12 weeks to complete a simple form for my daughter, then declared a condition that didn’t need declaring so I’ll have to do it all again when I gather enough energy.

GP insists on e-consults even when that’s just adding a 48 hour wait onto the chance to wait for over an hour for them to answer the phone to make an appt.

I live in the NE (Moray) and it's never been considered the Highlands

West is wet but also noticeably warmer - at least as far as Scotland is concerned!

Stirlingshire/Perthshire sound like they would fit the bill, but closer to the cities of Stirling & Dundee would be better for the bigger hospitals and transport links.

Would love to know where you end up - let us know, and how you like it!

Did you miss your manners? Unnecessarily rude.

I really appreciated all your feedback - thank you! 🥰