Where to retire in the UK

[Siko]

Castrol for a knave said:

Shropshire - graveyard of careers.

I moved here and did the London run 3 times a week. now I just WFH, ride my bikes and fiddle with cars.

A good number of career types, military and medics seem to wash up here and go native....

Yep that’s me too! Came here in 2006 on a posting and just stayed ever since. Now mainly WFH and bloody love it, best of both worlds as far as I’m concerned!

[Wozy68]

I live near and work in the North Cotswolds. ..... and I make besoke furniture for a living so i travel all over installing furniture.

The secret county to move to IMO is Herefordshire and especially so around Ledbury. Ledbury town centre is quite lovely.

The Cotswold villages I'm surrounded by have been overrun by the London second homes faternity and I've seen the villages die on their feet because of it.

Herefordshire though and especially the Ledbury area is not only just as beautiful but also it has a mainline station to London, it also is only around 4 miles from the M50 .... and more and more London folk are moving further west from the Cotswolds to the area.

The great thing is though that their settling there not just have a second home but to live fultime which is great for the local economy.

[worsy]

Siko said:

Castrol for a knave said:

Shropshire - graveyard of careers.

I moved here and did the London run 3 times a week. now I just WFH, ride my bikes and fiddle with cars.

A good number of career types, military and medics seem to wash up here and go native....

Yep that’s me too! Came here in 2006 on a posting and just stayed ever since. Now mainly WFH and bloody love it, best of both worlds as far as I’m concerned!

I WFH too, but travel to client site if needed or the office in London. 06.09 train gets me in the office at 09.30 which is doable for the odd day. Manchester Airport is 50 mins at 5am so a flight out to Paris for example is easy enough. Just not a place you can commute daily.

[ARHarh]

Siko said:

ARHarh said:

Had this a lot when i decided to move from the Hampshire Surrey border to Shropshire, I still get that's near Birmingham isn't it? But then it what you expect when they people you know think Guildford is up north somewhere.

Where do you live in Shropshire? We’re north of Shrewsbury, it’s a wonderful county.

Porth y Waen right on the border to Wales. Are you in Ruyton-XI-Towns? I got that from earlier in the thread

[ARHarh]

worsy said:

Siko said:

Castrol for a knave said:

Shropshire - graveyard of careers.

I moved here and did the London run 3 times a week. now I just WFH, ride my bikes and fiddle with cars.

A good number of career types, military and medics seem to wash up here and go native....

Yep that’s me too! Came here in 2006 on a posting and just stayed ever since. Now mainly WFH and bloody love it, best of both worlds as far as I’m concerned!

I WFH too, but travel to client site if needed or the office in London. 06.09 train gets me in the office at 09.30 which is doable for the odd day. Manchester Airport is 50 mins at 5am so a flight out to Paris for example is easy enough. Just not a place you can commute daily.

I came up here intending to work out the last 10 years of my career, worked for about 4 years, then gave up working. Now I just potter around and walk the dog. Especially this last year not being able to get out and about as much.

[pubrunner]

worsy said:

ARHarh said:

Gecko1978 said:

paulguitar said:

Shropshire might be suitable.

Yeah not retired yet but bought pur retirement home already, in Shropshire. Basically enough big towns mean you can get everything day to day you need but live in the sticks in a nice place and enjoy the views

Done it. Moved to north Shropshire 8 years ago from Fleet in Hampshire. 6 miles from Oswestry on the welsh border. Local towns are usable, access to countryside with the Shropshire hills and Snowdonia in easy reach. Good access to Birmingham or Manchester if you need it. But by far the best bit, hardly anyone lives here, so the roads are quiet and countryside deserted. If you need cafes, pubs and restaurants then Shrewsbury will be hard to beat form the point of view of having all those facilities yet still feeling like a market town in some lovely countryside.

Shhhhh


Oswestry ticks all your boxes OP.

As a resident of Trefonen (just 2 miles west of Oswestry), I can only agree with you.

It is a beautiful area, with plenty of opportunities for outdoor pursuits. It is a great place of children and in the general scheme of things, a very safe place to live.

Take a look at these images, one taken today and one yesterday.



This ^^^ image is just a few mintues walk from my home.


This pic I took this morning, in nearby Bronygarth :

[pubrunner]

ARHarh said:

Porth y Waen right on the border to Wales. Are you in Ruyton-XI-Towns? I got that from earlier in the thread

Blimey, that's only a mile from me in Trefonen !

Anyone considering moving to close to Oswestry, should take their car from Oswestry towards Trefonen and about a mile out of Oswestry, take the turning right for Llansilin. Follow the road to Llansilin and you'll see some of the best views in the UK.

Other great driving roads to try, are Chirk along the Ceiriog Valley to Glyn Ceiriog and then on to Llanarmon DC. Also worth a visit is driving from Llynclys along the Tanat Valley to Llangynog or Llanfyllin.

I'm a keen runner and my better half loves cycling; we own a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog and for us, the locality is a brilliant lifestyle choice - very easy access to the countryside and many great walks.

Edited by pubrunner on Friday 26th February 14:31

[RammyMP]

This thread has had me on Rightmove most of the afternoon!

I still fancy somewhere in Northumberland with a sea view...

[ARHarh]

And a view from the other side of the hill from Trefonen

[pubrunner]

ARHarh said:

And a view from the other side of the hill from Trefonen

Was that taken from the quarry ?

Great views along the Tanat Valley.

Edited by pubrunner on Friday 26th February 14:35

[ARHarh]

pubrunner said:

ARHarh said:

And a view from the other side of the hill from Trefonen

Was that taken from the quarry ?

It was.

[Siko]

Trefonen is beautiful - we used to go for walks there when we lived nearby. Yes we lived in Ruyton Xi Towns (the only village in the UK with a Roman Numeral in its name apparently!) for a decade and moved to the countryside just north of Shrewsbury near to Hawkstone Park/The Follies. It’s just stunning up here and we do miss Oswestry and the Welsh hills very much, but living in the dream home (for now!) just in the middle of nowhere really.

I work in Aberdeen (6:30hr drive ) although I only need to go up one week in 2 or 3 at the moment, which is nice, funny thing is two blokes at work who live in Aberdeen are both retiring to Shropshire. They mentioned the great links to just about anywhere, the dirt cheap houses and it being a stunning place to live. Who am I to disagree?

[ARHarh]

pubrunner said:

Blimey, that's only a mile from me in Trefonen !

Anyone considering moving to close to Oswestry, should take their car from Oswestry towards Trefonen and about a mile out of Oswestry, take the turning right for Llansilin. Follow the road to Llansilin and you'll see some of the best views in the UK.

Other great driving roads to try, are Chirk along the Ceiriog Valley to Glyn Ceiriog and then on to Llanarmon DC. Also worth a visit is driving from Llynclys along the Tanat Valley to Llangynog or Llanfyllin.

I'm a keen runner and my better half loves cycling; we own a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog and for us, the locality is a brilliant lifestyle choice - very easy access to the countryside and many great walks.

Edited by pubrunner on Friday 26th February 14:31

Do you mean this view?

[pubrunner]

Siko said:

Trefonen is beautiful - we used to go for walks there when we lived nearby. Yes we lived in Ruyton Xi Towns (the only village in the UK with a Roman Numeral in its name apparently!) for a decade and moved to the countryside just north of Shrewsbury near to Hawkstone Park/The Follies. It’s just stunning up here and we do miss Oswestry and the Welsh hills very much, but living in the dream home (for now!) just in the middle of nowhere really.

When they were younger, my sons loved Hawkstone Fark & the Follies; iirc, the TV series Narnia was filmed there back in the 80s ? We did a great walk just a few weeks ago, in the region of Grinshil & Clive - that's what I love about Shropshire, there's very easy access to the countryside.

Siko said:

I work in Aberdeen (6:30hr drive ) although I only need to go up one week in 2 or 3 at the moment, which is nice, funny thing is two blokes at work who live in Aberdeen are both retiring to Shropshire. They mentioned the great links to just about anywhere, the dirt cheap houses and it being a stunning place to live. Who am I to disagree?

I'm certainly familiar with the drive to Aberdeen - when I go to visit relations in Shetland, I drive there to catch the ferry to Lerwick . . . . . . . never done it 6.5 hours though , especially if I stop for a brew at Peggy Scott's near Forfar.

[pubrunner]

ARHarh said:

Do you mean this view?

Yes !!!

I bet that pic was taken on the sharp bend near the top of the hill, on the descent to Llansilin.

[ARHarh]

pubrunner said:

ARHarh said:

Do you mean this view?

Yes !!!

I bet that pic was taken on the sharp bend near the top of the hill, on the descent to Llansilin.

Exactly.

[Red9zero]

RammyMP said:

This thread has had me on Rightmove most of the afternoon!

I still fancy somewhere in Northumberland with a sea view...

Same here ! I thought I knew where I was going to retire to, but it's changed about 20 times reading this thread

[Siko]

pubrunner said:

I'm certainly familiar with the drive to Aberdeen - when I go to visit relations in Shetland, I drive there to catch the ferry to Lerwick . . . . . . . never done it 6.5 hours though , especially if I stop for a brew at Peggy Scott's near Forfar.

Small world-a bit of Narnia was filmed in a cave in our field! We also walk around Clive and Grinshill which are lovely. Upto last summer I worked/lived in Shetland half the year which is an amazing place. I really miss it....

[AC43]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I live in London suburbs. Due to retire in a couple of months, and the dream would be to sell up and buy a nice flat in C. London. Soho perhaps, somewhere with a W1 postcode. Wife not so keen though!

I don't understand this desire to retire to somewhere quiet and tranquil. The older you get, the more noise, hustle and bustle you need to stay young.

I don't understand the lure of countryside either. I like being surrounded with people and hustle and bustle.

I once lived in a remote part of NY state for 6 months and a rural part of France for 3 months. When I was in NY state at least I could escape to Manhattan at the drop of a hat which I did endlessly. I was more trapped in the French situation - there was literally nothing for miles and miles. Drove me nuts.

Each to their own but I can't think of anything worse of growing old in isolation.

[Sticks.]

AC43 said:

I don't understand the lure of countryside either.

I sometimes go to a pub in a small rural village and that's put me off the idea. Oh it's lovely, and there's a great sense of community around the pub. But if that goes, there's not another for miles, no shop, no mains gas, no mains drainage for many, poor wifi and you depend on being able to drive - which isn't a given as you age. Not all rural villages are like that, and I can see being in the centre of one which is still alive, but I do notice all those in the pub from old houses wearing more layers than I need to.

I get the lure of the coast.There's enough to do, cafes, theatres, sports etc, but at a more sedate pace and in a way which is geared towards retirement.