Where to retire in the UK
Discussion
Esceptico said:
Any suggestions as to go towns/cities to move to if you are retired (so don’t have to worry about the job market)?
Somewhere big enough to have enough to do and facilities without being overwhelming. Preferably with access to decent countryside and importantly, reasonable house prices.
Cities that we like and have considered in the past eg Bath seem to have suffered from their popularity and house prices are nuts. Our idea is to sell up and downsize whilst releasing some capital but it seems you can easily pay £500k for a two bed flat in Bath.
My wife has done some preliminary research and come across Lincoln. Not somewhere I would have considered but seems a bit like Bath/York but much more affordable.
Maybe look around the southern/eastern part of the Peak District. Somewhere like Bakewell which is close to glorious countryside and also has reasonable house prices and plenty of shops and pubs etc. Plenty of similar small towns around there to choose from too. Somewhere big enough to have enough to do and facilities without being overwhelming. Preferably with access to decent countryside and importantly, reasonable house prices.
Cities that we like and have considered in the past eg Bath seem to have suffered from their popularity and house prices are nuts. Our idea is to sell up and downsize whilst releasing some capital but it seems you can easily pay £500k for a two bed flat in Bath.
My wife has done some preliminary research and come across Lincoln. Not somewhere I would have considered but seems a bit like Bath/York but much more affordable.
We’re doing exactly this and move in 3 weeks.
We found £400k buys a 2000-2500sqft 4-5 bed, non estate, detached with a decent sized garden in Pembrokeshire.
We are a mile or so from beach, 10 minutes outside Tenby, bigger towns like Carmarthen, Haverfordwest, Pembroke, Narberth all near and many houses served by fftp for gb speed internet.
cobra kid said:
Eastwood in Rotherham is a particular delight.
Good one lol. Raised a smile from me.
I was born there! Had a good time in the 70’s with my mates in a nice enough community but we soon moved away.
What a dump now.
Shame really that the powers that be allow it to happen.
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 viewsEdited by Magnum 475 on Thursday 25th February 17:11
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 viewsJohnnytheboy said:
SCEtoAUX said:
Dorset though would be my choice. Towns like Dorchester, Blandford Forum and Wimborne Minster are well worth a look.
North of Dorset less touristy. Sherborne is a delight, Shaftesbury less so but still nice. Gillingham not nice. Good rail line to London if that's your thing. easytiger123 said:
Maybe look around the southern/eastern part of the Peak District. Somewhere like Bakewell which is close to glorious countryside and also has reasonable house prices and plenty of shops and pubs etc. Plenty of similar small towns around there to choose from too.
Hmmmm proper Bakewell pudding from Bakewell.. my favorite food everSorry bit off topic
Have you got a decent income in retirement ? sorry to be blunt
If you have you are welcome on the Isle of Wight. Us locals in business require a steady stream of HNWI with generous disposable incomes to keep our local economy bouyant.
As a place to retire I would say its one of the gems in this country but I am biased
If you have you are welcome on the Isle of Wight. Us locals in business require a steady stream of HNWI with generous disposable incomes to keep our local economy bouyant.
As a place to retire I would say its one of the gems in this country but I am biased
HaplessBoyLard said:
I’m biased, having lived here most of my life, but Norfolk takes some beating.
If you want city life then Norwich has a bit of everything. A range of theatres and arts venues, decent pubs and restaurants, good shopping, lots of history. You’re never really very far away from open countryside either. I live 20 minutes/10 miles out of the city to the south and am surrounded by open fields in a well serviced village.
£400k will currently buy you a nice 3 bed terrace in the most desirable postcodes, walking distance to the centre of Norwich, or something a little further out (but not far) in a nice area with better parking and a bigger garden.
If you want country living then there’s plenty of villages within easy travelling distance of Norwich that offer proper country life with a decent village pub, where your budget will probably stretch to a pretty cottage of a decent size or possibly a barn conversion.
North Norfolk beaches are amongst the best in the country. Holkham and Wells especially. If you wanted to live coastal then North Norfolk is the place to be, but £400k doesn’t get you much up that way. Things get a bit rougher as you head east towards Yarmouth, but there are still places I’d consider living over there if the right house came up.
If I were retiring now, I’d be tempted by one of several villages North or NW of Norwich so I’d have easy access to the city and beaches.
Travelling south is a lot easier now that the A11 is dual all the way to London. I can hit the M25 in about 1 hr 40 from
Norwich. Getting out of Norfolk to the West isn’t so easy.
I’ve spent time at university in Lancaster, and have worked all over the country, and I don’t think much tops Norfolk for cost vs benefit.
I have spent a few months living in Dorset and Gloucestershire recently though, and loved both.
A long time to my retirement but North Norfolk is somewhere we would go. My partner lived there when she came to the UK so have spent a lot of time up there but I have noticed over the past few years the North beaches seem to becoming a lot busier and people less friendly but maybe I am getting grumpy now I am 40.If you want city life then Norwich has a bit of everything. A range of theatres and arts venues, decent pubs and restaurants, good shopping, lots of history. You’re never really very far away from open countryside either. I live 20 minutes/10 miles out of the city to the south and am surrounded by open fields in a well serviced village.
£400k will currently buy you a nice 3 bed terrace in the most desirable postcodes, walking distance to the centre of Norwich, or something a little further out (but not far) in a nice area with better parking and a bigger garden.
If you want country living then there’s plenty of villages within easy travelling distance of Norwich that offer proper country life with a decent village pub, where your budget will probably stretch to a pretty cottage of a decent size or possibly a barn conversion.
North Norfolk beaches are amongst the best in the country. Holkham and Wells especially. If you wanted to live coastal then North Norfolk is the place to be, but £400k doesn’t get you much up that way. Things get a bit rougher as you head east towards Yarmouth, but there are still places I’d consider living over there if the right house came up.
If I were retiring now, I’d be tempted by one of several villages North or NW of Norwich so I’d have easy access to the city and beaches.
Travelling south is a lot easier now that the A11 is dual all the way to London. I can hit the M25 in about 1 hr 40 from
Norwich. Getting out of Norfolk to the West isn’t so easy.
I’ve spent time at university in Lancaster, and have worked all over the country, and I don’t think much tops Norfolk for cost vs benefit.
I have spent a few months living in Dorset and Gloucestershire recently though, and loved both.
And isn't the weather in the Isle of Wight supposed to be the best in the UK?
Although saying that, every time I worked on the big festival it peed down, was cold and I got covered in mud
One summer I got so cold up on my camera position that the first aiders below me were lending me their jumpers and coats.
Although saying that, every time I worked on the big festival it peed down, was cold and I got covered in mud
One summer I got so cold up on my camera position that the first aiders below me were lending me their jumpers and coats.
SCEtoAUX said:
Is climate a biggy? If so you are perhaps looking at Devon and Cornwall. (I live in Somerset on the Devon border).
Cornwall - Terrible transport links, generally to be avoided
Devon - Better, and Exeter is quite nice. Way better transport links than Cornwall.
Dorset though would be my choice. Towns like Dorchester, Blandford Forum and Wimborne Minster are well worth a look.
Me though, I'm heading north and shall be moving to Scotland once the COVID stuff is over. All I want is a little cottage with a log burner, not too far from a town and pub. Books to read, beer to drink, hills to climb.
I could have written that myself!Cornwall - Terrible transport links, generally to be avoided
Devon - Better, and Exeter is quite nice. Way better transport links than Cornwall.
Dorset though would be my choice. Towns like Dorchester, Blandford Forum and Wimborne Minster are well worth a look.
Me though, I'm heading north and shall be moving to Scotland once the COVID stuff is over. All I want is a little cottage with a log burner, not too far from a town and pub. Books to read, beer to drink, hills to climb.
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 this desire to retire to somewhere quiet and tranquil. The older you get, the more noise, hustle and bustle you need to stay young.
Nola25 said:
Ex North Devonian here and miss the place every day. We moved there from Leicester via North Dorset in 2015, stunning beaches and amazing countryside.
We moved there too early as we were both still working (me in Yeovil and south coast, partner in Bristol) and found the commuting too much which resulted in not taking advantage of what we had on the doorstep.
After moving back to the lovely Leicester !!, we both can’t wait to get back down there at some point, hopefully fairly soon so out baby boy can grow up down there.
The lovely Leicester We moved there too early as we were both still working (me in Yeovil and south coast, partner in Bristol) and found the commuting too much which resulted in not taking advantage of what we had on the doorstep.
After moving back to the lovely Leicester !!, we both can’t wait to get back down there at some point, hopefully fairly soon so out baby boy can grow up down there.
Been here over 30 years now.....it has improved dramatically, I would say!
Finding a King in a car park (that I used to park in!) and winning a 5000:1 Premier League has helped in recent years. Some great pubs in town for a bit of a crawl, some nice villages and walks/cycles (Charnwood in particular), easy transport links to head to London or Peak District for even day trips mean it actually meets many of our needs right now. 3 big hospitals mean it could meet them in the years ahead.
I broadly agree with those suggesting the IOW, I would think £400k should get something reasonable there.
However, I had a shockingly poor experience with an un-diagnosed torn retina by the IOW hospital a couple of years back: luckily laser-fixed at the specialist eye hospital back in Leicester the very next day....perhaps puts me off retiring full-time down there, although as other have said, it is a real gem of a place.
As someone else suggested: why leave NZ though? I’m told it is a beautiful country - plan to visit one day. If it is to be nearer family, fine, but that must narrow your choices already, OP?
Not retired yet, though have made the move to Scotland. It rains lots but flipping heck it's a lovely place when it dry.
400k buys you a 6 bed Victorian villa by the sea. 250k a smart low maintenance bungalow by the sea.
We're in the process of moving as we speak, today we are viewing a property with views overlooking a suitable mooring. Sailing from the bottom of the road sounds perfect.
It's miles away from your in laws 😁
400k buys you a 6 bed Victorian villa by the sea. 250k a smart low maintenance bungalow by the sea.
We're in the process of moving as we speak, today we are viewing a property with views overlooking a suitable mooring. Sailing from the bottom of the road sounds perfect.
It's miles away from your in laws 😁
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