Where to retire in the UK

[monkfish1]

Well, i wasnt trying to start a war with my question!!!

Just looking for real world experiences. I can afford wales, and few places else. Mind you, if i didnt want a big barn/shed, life would be simpler. Or so my wife tells me.

[monkfish1]

tokyo_mb said:

monkfish1 said:

All these people on here that have moved, how many were moving to an area they had no connection too?

Yet another vote for the Marches (South Shropshire) in our case. Middle of nowhere, a bit the land that time forgot, but <2 hours to Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff or Liverpool airports. Much better restaurant scene than you might expect - even after Ludlow lost its two Michelin starred venues. Also lots of artists and writers here.

Moved here from Tokyo with no connection (15+ years off retirement). Huge contrast, but wanted to return to some green space (and found nothing we liked, in budget, in the Kent/Sussex commuter-belt). Pre-Covid, I weekly commuted to London (slow, but reasonable to work on the train - GWR via Hereford or Newport-Gwent). Like most, will probably work more from home going forward.

Now have farmhouse, outbuildings and surrounded by our own fields. Will, no doubt need to downsize when we get older (75+?), but for now (5-10 years out from retirement) this works well.

Sounds perfect. Sadly, having dithered, prices have really gone up for the sort of property you have (and i want)

[Tango13]

Tyre Tread said:

Louis Balfour said:

Tyre Tread said:

We're looking at Lincs/

In my experience, some of it (e.g. Stamford) is nice. Some more like an outtake from Deliverance.

You do need to be selective but we have friends there (Market Deeping/Boston) so well aware of the disparity of the places.

I moved up to Lincs from Hertfordshire nearly 3 years ago.

I looked at Boston but the risk of flooding put me off, apart from that it's a nice town.

The fens in the triangle between Boston ~ Skegness and the A16 are bleak beyond words but once you get onto the Wolds north of East Keal you're into some amazing countryside.

Avoid Skegness like the plague and make sure you have your wits about you when driving because some of the driving can be bloody awful!!

[Escort3500]

Tango13 said:

Tyre Tread said:

Louis Balfour said:

Tyre Tread said:

We're looking at Lincs/

In my experience, some of it (e.g. Stamford) is nice. Some more like an outtake from Deliverance.

You do need to be selective but we have friends there (Market Deeping/Boston) so well aware of the disparity of the places.

I moved up to Lincs from Hertfordshire nearly 3 years ago.

I looked at Boston but the risk of flooding put me off, apart from that it's a nice town.

The fens in the triangle between Boston ~ Skegness and the A16 are bleak beyond words but once you get onto the Wolds north of East Keal you're into some amazing countryside.

Avoid Skegness like the plague and make sure you have your wits about you when driving because some of the driving can be bloody awful!!

Lincolnshire’s a county of strong contrast, as you say. Until I had occasional work-related sites there I’d never been. The Wolds are lovely as you say - nice rolling landscapes and attractive villages, but I found the flat, open Fens to be monotonous and quite depressing

[LetsTryAgain]

Escort3500 said:

Lincolnshire’s a county of strong contrast, as you say. Until I had occasional work-related sites there I’d never been. The Wolds are lovely as you say - nice rolling landscapes and attractive villages, but I found the flat, open Fens to be monotonous and quite depressing

But the county ‘town’ (City) does have one of the most beautiful buildings in Europe.

[Louis Balfour]

Tyre Tread said:

Louis Balfour said:

Tyre Tread said:

We're looking at Lincs/

In my experience, some of it (e.g. Stamford) is nice. Some more like an outtake from Deliverance.

You do need to be selective but we have friends there (Market Deeping/Boston) so well aware of the disparity of the places.

Ah yes, the names. I used to go there for business and the town names, as a result of having been borrowed by the Americans, sound more exciting than they really are.

I was deeply underwhelmed by my visit to New York.

[cayman-black]

I,m retired and living in Italy but now we want to return to the UK when its possible so have been looking in Devon as our Daughter lives there (Holsworthy)
The market is very strong though, even now as every place i see is selling quick.

Johnspex or Bristolracer please tell me what's going on down there?

[Louis Balfour]

cayman-black said:

I,m retired and living in Italy but now we want to return to the UK when its possible so have been looking in Devon as our Daughter lives there (Holsworthy)
The market is very strong though, even now as every place i see is selling quick.

Johnspex or Bristolracer please tell me what's going on down there?

Where in Italy are you and why are you coming back?

On the latter point, I LOVE Italy and go there a lot (usually) but I have always had reservations about living there permanently.

[ElectricSoup]

oblio said:

monkfish1 said:

bennno said:

monkfish1 said:

Well it depends on where you are looking. North devon, herefordshire and shropshire have a resonable amount to choose from. Or did. Until the prices really started going up post the first lockdown, spurred on by stamp duty holiday. I probably see something that might be suitable at a rate of 1-2 a week. Of course, when you get there, it might not be quite as described". Estate agents after all. West coast of scotland fits the bill. Wife says no, and with sturgeons anti-english pot stirring, id be thinking twice about it too.

My problem is i need to sell what im in to do it. Which puts you on the back foot straight away.

We looked at all those areas and found stamp duty holiday + covid wfh has pushed up prices hugely, north Devon also has real infrastructure challenges especially backwards in terms of internet speeds. We looked at Wales, anywhere idillic within an hour of Bristol has jumped following removal of bridge tolls and previous value differential. We went further and bought near Tenby, big house, triple garage, large garden, mile from beach, non estate, 900mbps fttp for £425k.

Agreed, wales in an obvious answer. Ive been unable to convince myself i could live with the hostility of being an englishman in rural wales. The cities are fine, but the change of attitude in the more rural parts is quite obvious.

Do you not find that an issue? Assuming you are from england of course.

As long as you are not a knob you'll be fine.

We moved to a small village in the middle of nowhere in west Wales. I am Welsh (but haven't lived here since the 80's) and my wife is English. 100% no problem at all: very welcoming and friendly. There are other English people living here, as well as 1 x Swiss, 1 x Italian...and even some people from Cardiff!

We live in a Welsh speaking Plaid Cymru voting area and it really is no problem. My wife has experienced no issues at all and neither have the other English folks in the village. You get good and back everywhere and tbh the only tossers in our village happen to be Welsh

Well, as you say, you're Welsh. My half English, half Maltese Mum (with a Scottish surname thanks to my late father from a Scottish family) has lived near Carmarthen since 1985, and still gets grief. Despite having run a business there and generated jobs and income for the area for decades, the local authority still block everything she wants to do, despite immediate Welsh neighbours doing whatever they bloody well like. I hate the place (not the whole country, just the bit my Mum is in, it's havily parochial to a fault). My sister is now considering moving there for retirement and I can't say I understand why. There's so much resentment of outsiders it's seriously not funny.

I'd consider living in the southern and eastern bits near the English border, but I'm done with west Wales.

Edited by ElectricSoup on Thursday 4th March 10:35

[parakitaMol.]

cayman-black said:

I,m retired and living in Italy but now we want to return to the UK when its possible so have been looking in Devon as our Daughter lives there (Holsworthy)
The market is very strong though, even now as every place i see is selling quick.

Johnspex or Bristolracer please tell me what's going on down there?

Just about to complete on a house Mid-North Devon and we found it really difficult during the 18m we were looking because the places we liked were few and far, then got snapped up instantly.

We thankfully persuaded our vendors to sell despite having withdrawn from market but this was only possible by chain free cash purchase. Depends what you’re looking for I guess but seems to be very little period/large/with land available.

[Sticks.]

monkfish1 said:

Well, i wasnt trying to start a war with my question!!!

Just looking for real world experiences. I can afford wales, and few places else. Mind you, if i didnt want a big barn/shed, life would be simpler. Or so my wife tells me.

An elderly relative in Wales had a superb support package after breaking a hip. 2 carers a day and a bathroom converted. Quite a contrast to England.

OK, not an issue now, but none of us getting younger, but if you're moving away from a family and one day you or your partner may be on your own.

He said, cheerfully

[Mellyb]

Having lived in Paignton for 4 years, I would thoroughly recommend the Torbay area. Relaxed way of life, plenty to do, beautiful scenery.
Lots of villages if that’s what you are after, reasonable house prices inland a few miles.
Lots of the work is seasonal based, that’s why we moved back to St Albans, but would love to retire there.

[grichard]

Forget the UK!! You are going to be taxed off the planet after Brexit! Come to sunny Spain where the climate welcomes aching joints and offers very cheap homes, cheap pop, cheap food, what more do you want. And, if you buy on an urbanisation, you do not need to speak Spanish. No brainer!1

[ElectricSoup]

grichard said:

Forget the UK!! You are going to be taxed off the planet after Brexit! Come to sunny Spain where the climate welcomes aching joints and offers very cheap homes, cheap pop, cheap food, what more do you want. And, if you buy on an urbanisation, you do not need to speak Spanish. No brainer!1

And how do you propose we settle in Spain, after Brexit, with no right to stay in the EU for more than 3 months at a time?

Also, I hope you approve of those migrants who come to England, stay in one area, don't integrate and speak only their native language.

[Blu3R]

grichard said:

Forget the UK!! You are going to be taxed off the planet after Brexit! Come to sunny Spain where the climate welcomes aching joints and offers very cheap homes, cheap pop, cheap food, what more do you want. And, if you buy on an urbanisation, you do not need to speak Spanish. No brainer!1

All the reasons it's not for me.

[Ntv]

Ok, it's expensive, but if you can afford I put in a vote for Guernsey

- nice beaches
- nice walks
- if you like the sea / boating etc, obviously great
- st peter port is pretty - though not as good as it was before Amazon
- very low crime, and very civilised
- no inheritance tax
- low income tax
- other islands and France nearby adds interest

Downsides ... high property prices. Limited choice of property. Goldfish bowl. Culturally a bit limited, though way better than
many of the places mentioned on this thread.

[Escort3500]

Blu3R said:

grichard said:

Forget the UK!! You are going to be taxed off the planet after Brexit! Come to sunny Spain where the climate welcomes aching joints and offers very cheap homes, cheap pop, cheap food, what more do you want. And, if you buy on an urbanisation, you do not need to speak Spanish. No brainer!1

All the reasons it's not for me.

Absolutely. The ‘new life in the sun’ type TV programmes always deter me big time.

[ElectricSoup]

I'm going to Slovenia. I can because I'm an EU national as well as a UK citizen. Why? Skiing in the winter, cheap property and low cost of living, stunning mountain scenery, not far from the Adriatic coast for the summer months, laid back locals with no chips on shoulders and great, inexpensive local food and wine (and beer), it's absolutely ideal and there aren't hoards of "urbanisation" type Brits there to ruin it either.

I'll keep a small house in the UK as well though and spend some time here to maintain contact with friends and family, probably will go for South Oxfordshire/Wiltshire for a balance of accessibility, resonably priced property and proximity to those friends/family. Much as I'd dearly love it to be in Scotland, it's just logistically more difficult and I've no family or friends up there any more. Also part of the plan is a decent motorhome for long-ish term trips around the continent, particularly France, and in the winter months, Spain/Greece/Malta.

That should keep me busy.

[Mark Benson]

Escort3500 said:

Blu3R said:

grichard said:

Forget the UK!! You are going to be taxed off the planet after Brexit! Come to sunny Spain where the climate welcomes aching joints and offers very cheap homes, cheap pop, cheap food, what more do you want. And, if you buy on an urbanisation, you do not need to speak Spanish. No brainer!1

All the reasons it's not for me.

Absolutely. The ‘new life in the sun’ type TV programmes always deter me big time.

So - in the last few pages we learn that if you move to Spain you don't have to learn the language, but move to Wales and you do (if you don't want a fight)

[cayman-black]

parakitaMol. said:

Just about to complete on a house Mid-North Devon and we found it really difficult during the 18m we were looking because the places we liked were few and far, then got snapped up instantly.

We thankfully persuaded our vendors to sell despite having withdrawn from market but this was only possible by chain free cash purchase. Depends what you’re looking for I guess but seems to be very little period/large/with land available.

What and where did you buy para? And yes you are absolutely right