Where to retire in the UK

[Clifford Chambers]

LetsTryAgain said:

I point out nice houses to my dad in quieter areas, but his main concern is public transport (or lack thereof) for my mum.
Secondary concern is "How long will it take to get an ambulance to me?".

You need to consider these things, post 80 stuff can happen very rapidly. Most places are covered by schemes to help, private voluntary drivers, ring and ride mini buses that sort of thing. But it can get very awkward.

Sometimes the hospital you'll need isn't the local one either, even if it's not all that far away just being on wrong side of the city life gets difficult.

[anonymous-user]

bristolracer said:

But when you are elderly and living in the country, you are more concerned at getting to the doctors at 11am rather than from the pub to the club at 11pm

Very true.

There's always a sliding scale of compromise between urban and rural living. The more extreme you go in either direction, the greater the compromises.

When I lived in rural Cumbria, the location was amazing; great scenery, quiet, no traffic jams or keeping up with the Jones'. On the flip side, nearest proper supermarket is 15 miles away, as are most jobs. Hospital is 40 miles away and for specialist stuff 1.5hr+ by car. Crap broadband and a very close knit community. By close knit, I mean it comprises of about 4 families that have slowly interbred over the generations, meaning everybody is related to and expects to know about the business of everybody else. If you come from outside, you will never be a 'local' in their eyes. On balance, especially if retired, I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

[Taylor James]

Clifford Chambers said:

LetsTryAgain said:

I point out nice houses to my dad in quieter areas, but his main concern is public transport (or lack thereof) for my mum.
Secondary concern is "How long will it take to get an ambulance to me?".

You need to consider these things, post 80 stuff can happen very rapidly. Most places are covered by schemes to help, private voluntary drivers, ring and ride mini buses that sort of thing. But it can get very awkward.

Sometimes the hospital you'll need isn't the local one either, even if it's not all that far away just being on wrong side of the city life gets difficult.

I think the last thing most old people want when they get older is remoteness. They can get very lonely and eventually will almost certainly live on their own. This is a thread about retirement after all so the better input may come from people who are near or actually retired rather than someone much younger who may think what they want in retirement won't be much different from what they want now. Jumping in the car to drive three miles to the shops is nothing when you're younger - it's a pain in the neck for older people. Speaking of which, it's a sad fact that most retired people have various medical ailments needing trips to the doctor or hospital. There's a reason old people like the south coast - everything is accessible, the weather is mild, walking doesn't generally involve Hovis type hills and bungalows - lots of bungalows. I'd be interested to know stats on people moving when they retire. I'd be amazed if anything like as many southern breds move north as the other way round. Southern Europe all day long for me outside of high summer when somewhere like the IOW, or a small south coast town would do just fine. I love York and Edinburgh but I simply could not cope with the weather difference. I don't suppose I'm that unusual - how many ex pats in southern Europe v the Baltic States?

[ARHarh]

Taylor James said:

I think the last thing most old people want when they get older is remoteness. They can get very lonely and eventually will almost certainly live on their own. This is a thread about retirement after all so the better input may come from people who are near or actually retired rather than someone much younger who may think what they want in retirement won't be much different from what they want now. Jumping in the car to drive three miles to the shops is nothing when you're younger - it's a pain in the neck for older people. Speaking of which, it's a sad fact that most retired people have various medical ailments needing trips to the doctor or hospital. There's a reason old people like the south coast - everything is accessible, the weather is mild, walking doesn't generally involve Hovis type hills and bungalows - lots of bungalows. I'd be interested to know stats on people moving when they retire. I'd be amazed if anything like as many southern breds move north as the other way round. Southern Europe all day long for me outside of high summer when somewhere like the IOW, or a small south coast town would do just fine. I love York and Edinburgh but I simply could not cope with the weather difference. I don't suppose I'm that unusual - how many ex pats in southern Europe v the Baltic States?

That's why we moved up north in our late 40's as it will give us enough time to enjoy the place before we get too old. It enabled me to retire at 55. If I was back in Fleet living in a house like this I would most likely still have a £300k mortgage and all that entails, as do most of my friends i grew up with, who live in similar properties.. When and if it does get too much to travel the 6 mile round trip to the supermarket I can then consider a move to a market town, known as the "big city" round these parts, public transport is surprisingly good around here as well, never sure how long it will last though. And we do get deliveries here as well.

[Sticks.]

Taylor's comments are spot on for me. I'm retired, have physical limitations, so 'old age' has come early. I live in a commuter village which worked very well in that it had a good balance of access to towns and London, with community, easy to get to know people.

But now I don't commute my priorities are staying well and staying in touch. Access to facilities and a social life, not too far from hospitals is what I'd look for. Some rural villages work, if they still have a few shops, pubs, whatever, but I can see why coastal towns are so popular. It's a strange thing that as I get older I enjoy being by the sea more. And coastal towns often are more planned, in that they'll have theatres, clubs, parks, public transport, along with people of your generation (although I'm not old enough yet). It's not all good, and not all coastal towns, but as Ronald said, it's a balance of compromises.

[Wiltshire Lad]

monkfish1 said:

There isnt really anywhere there are not taxis. So when you cant drive any more, get a taxi. Not having several thousand pounds plus sitting on the drive buys a fair few taxi rides.

Plus of course, self driving cars will fix that completely.

Accept that if you have to go to hospital 3 times a week for months or years, then yes, that might be a problem,

Hospital not so important - ask yourself - can I walk to the shops / pub / restaurants / gyms etc...? We lived in a picture postcard cotswold village for 5 years and frankly it became a pain in the butt having to drive everywhere. Now live in a larger village - small co-op, leisure centre, 3 pubs...so much better. And socially far better - various clubs, societies from sport to music and gardening.
Plus the lager the community it’s often easier to become part of it.

[anonymous-user]

I'm incredibly torn. As a kid of 10 the family moved from a town (Harrogate) to rural Cumbria (Eden Valley). My parents thought the rural location would give us kids a better quality of life. The reality was the amenities and schools were crap and there wasn't a lot to do. The local kids were all related and had little interest in academics seeming they going to be driving tractors or similar from 16.

As much as I found 20 years there stifling and compromised, 5 minutes travelling around urban West Yorkshire makes me pine for the countryside and isolation. I hate living in the town for the clutter, noise and feeling of being just a worker ant in the colony. The ridiculousness of queuing to do things as wild as using a drive through restaurant.

I stick with it, because the opportunity for our kids is better here and they can make their own choices as they grow up. Once they've left secondary school, I'll almost certainly sod off back to being a country bumpkin.

[rlw]

RonaldMcDonaldAteMyCat said:

There is. Some back and beyond places only have a one man band kind of operation or two. They often go to bed at 11 and that's that.

It was an amazing novelty when I moved from Cumbria to Leeds that I could just get a taxi whenever.

And north Cornwall after about 7.00 pm unless you book well in advance.

And if you want one like now, well, forget it.

[rlw]

Wiltshire Lad said:

Hospital not so important - ask yourself - can I walk to the shops / pub / restaurants / gyms etc...? We lived in a picture postcard cotswold village for 5 years and frankly it became a pain in the butt having to drive everywhere. Now live in a larger village - small co-op, leisure centre, 3 pubs...so much better. And socially far better - various clubs, societies from sport to music and gardening.
Plus the lager the community it’s often easier to become part of it.

But that's not the back of beyong then, is it?

[Wiltshire Lad]

rlw said:

Wiltshire Lad said:

Hospital not so important - ask yourself - can I walk to the shops / pub / restaurants / gyms etc...? We lived in a picture postcard cotswold village for 5 years and frankly it became a pain in the butt having to drive everywhere. Now live in a larger village - small co-op, leisure centre, 3 pubs...so much better. And socially far better - various clubs, societies from sport to music and gardening.
Plus the lager the community it’s often easier to become part of it.

But that's not the back of beyong then, is it?

No it isn’t and that’s my point - I’ve lived in cities and small villages..absolutely love the country but it’s very easy to romanticise it if you’ve never lived there. It’s important to me now, and I imagine it will be even more so in 10 years or so when I retire, to be somewhere that I can stroll to local amenities.

[Pit Pony]

Pit Pony said:

monkfish1 said:

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

Not yet at retirement age yet, but moved when we had kids 26 years ago to be closer to.my wife's family.
Wife has made some good friends locally, but her Dad died of heart failure in October and it looks like her mum is now in palliative care because her heart is fked. I suspect she has no more than a few weeks left.

Wife's brother lives near us. Hes been an arse for years.
Wife's sister lives closer but expects alot from us and gives little back...only if it suits her agenda.
So, I'm waiting until our kids 27 and 24 start their own families and I'm going to be suggesting we move closer.

She died on Wednesday.

[oblio]

Wiltshire Lad said:

rlw said:

Wiltshire Lad said:

Hospital not so important - ask yourself - can I walk to the shops / pub / restaurants / gyms etc...? We lived in a picture postcard cotswold village for 5 years and frankly it became a pain in the butt having to drive everywhere. Now live in a larger village - small co-op, leisure centre, 3 pubs...so much better. And socially far better - various clubs, societies from sport to music and gardening.
Plus the lager the community it’s often easier to become part of it.

But that's not the back of beyong then, is it?

No it isn’t and that’s my point - I’ve lived in cities and small villages..absolutely love the country but it’s very easy to romanticise it if you’ve never lived there. It’s important to me now, and I imagine it will be even more so in 10 years or so when I retire, to be somewhere that I can stroll to local amenities.

I think that Wiltshire Lad is making an important point here. Living in a small village in the middle of nowhere does present its challenges and I am sure that those will be come exacerbated with age.

In 2018 we moved to a bungalow in a small village in west Wales. This is our forever home as we both officially retired (I retired at 50 am now 54). The village has a pub, a church and a church hall - which is pretty active in 'normal' times. There is a community shop 4.5 miles away but other shops and supermarkets are 18 miles/25 mins drive away. The nearest A road is 10 miles away; hospital and train station 18 miles; M4 around 30 miles. Mobile phone reception is poor as is wired broadband. 4G is acceptable. We have 1 bus a day to the nearest town and one return bus in the afternoon.

Oh...and we can't get a takeaway delivered

On the plus sides: great bunch of people (mainly) in the village; we live on the edge of a huge forest so plenty of walking/cycling opportunities; property-wise, you get so much more for your hard earned; and its so clean and fresh. Plus I took up Indian cookery using spices from scratch etc...which is soooooo much nicer than a takeaway

We love it however...I'm not sure I'd want to live here on my own if anything - God forbid - happened to my wife. I too would want more around me so as to feel less isolated. I'd not live in a town/city again but a larger village where I wouldn't be dependent upon my car/public transport would be good. It would be nice to bimble down to the shops to get a daily paper, for example.

[ARHarh]

oblio said:

Wiltshire Lad said:

rlw said:

Wiltshire Lad said:

Hospital not so important - ask yourself - can I walk to the shops / pub / restaurants / gyms etc...? We lived in a picture postcard cotswold village for 5 years and frankly it became a pain in the butt having to drive everywhere. Now live in a larger village - small co-op, leisure centre, 3 pubs...so much better. And socially far better - various clubs, societies from sport to music and gardening.
Plus the lager the community it’s often easier to become part of it.

But that's not the back of beyong then, is it?

No it isn’t and that’s my point - I’ve lived in cities and small villages..absolutely love the country but it’s very easy to romanticise it if you’ve never lived there. It’s important to me now, and I imagine it will be even more so in 10 years or so when I retire, to be somewhere that I can stroll to local amenities.

I think that Wiltshire Lad is making an important point here. Living in a small village in the middle of nowhere does present its challenges and I am sure that those will be come exacerbated with age.

In 2018 we moved to a bungalow in a small village in west Wales. This is our forever home as we both officially retired (I retired at 50 am now 54). The village has a pub, a church and a church hall - which is pretty active in 'normal' times. There is a community shop 4.5 miles away but other shops and supermarkets are 18 miles/25 mins drive away. The nearest A road is 10 miles away; hospital and train station 18 miles; M4 around 30 miles. Mobile phone reception is poor as is wired broadband. 4G is acceptable. We have 1 bus a day to the nearest town and one return bus in the afternoon.

Oh...and we can't get a takeaway delivered

On the plus sides: great bunch of people (mainly) in the village; we live on the edge of a huge forest so plenty of walking/cycling opportunities; property-wise, you get so much more for your hard earned; and its so clean and fresh. Plus I took up Indian cookery using spices from scratch etc...which is soooooo much nicer than a takeaway

We love it however...I'm not sure I'd want to live here on my own if anything - God forbid - happened to my wife. I too would want more around me so as to feel less isolated. I'd not live in a town/city again but a larger village where I wouldn't be dependent upon my car/public transport would be good. It would be nice to bimble down to the shops to get a daily paper, for example.

It all depends on what you want surely. I have no desire at all to walk to a pub, restaurant or to bimble to the local shop for a paper and I am assuming this will be the same if I can't drive in the future. Food is easy to get delivered, even if I can't cook for myself there are plenty of outfits delivering meals. Hospitals have transport services run by charities if you really need it and taxis will be available during the day. The only issue is probably land ambulances for emergencies, the air ambulance works well in the more remote parts. If you value these things living in the country is not going to work for you.

[oblio]

ARHarh said:

It all depends on what you want surely. I have no desire at all to walk to a pub, restaurant or to bimble to the local shop for a paper and I am assuming this will be the same if I can't drive in the future. Food is easy to get delivered, even if I can't cook for myself there are plenty of outfits delivering meals. Hospitals have transport services run by charities if you really need it and taxis will be available during the day. The only issue is probably land ambulances for emergencies, the air ambulance works well in the more remote parts. If you value these things living in the country is not going to work for you.

Of course it depends what you want. I was just pointing these things out based on my experience. I could see social isolation being an issue in a small community if a person was on their own.

Couple of things...

In terms of food - I guess you are meaning the firms like Wiltshire Farm Foods etc? If so: Nasty...

Taxis yes - but for a 35 - 40 mile round trip, very pricey.

[Vasco]

Deleted

Edited by Vasco on Sunday 7th March 13:42

[ARHarh]

oblio said:

ARHarh said:

It all depends on what you want surely. I have no desire at all to walk to a pub, restaurant or to bimble to the local shop for a paper and I am assuming this will be the same if I can't drive in the future. Food is easy to get delivered, even if I can't cook for myself there are plenty of outfits delivering meals. Hospitals have transport services run by charities if you really need it and taxis will be available during the day. The only issue is probably land ambulances for emergencies, the air ambulance works well in the more remote parts. If you value these things living in the country is not going to work for you.

Of course it depends what you want. I was just pointing these things out based on my experience. I could see social isolation being an issue in a small community if a person was on their own.

Couple of things...

In terms of food - I guess you are meaning the firms like Wiltshire Farm Foods etc? If so: Nasty...

Taxis yes - but for a 35 - 40 mile round trip, very pricey.

That farm foods stuff it probably is, never tried it. I was thinking more like Our local farm shops delivery of pies and ready meals etc. Or ready meals from the likes of Tesco. All easy to sort in the microwave.

[littleredrooster]

Some people still seem to have a rose-tinted view of living in a small village.

We presently live in a village of ~95 homes within spitting distance of the industrialised Midlands - CV postcode. We have no facilities other than a pub (closed, expensive when open). No bus service, no taxi availability after about 7pm, none of the food delivery operators come here (JustEat, Uber, Deliveroo etc.) and until 2 months ago, we could not get a takeaway delivered - we now have the choice of 2, although it is order by phone only, nothing online! Phone signal is pathetic, deffo no 3G let alone 4G or 5G, and until 14 months ago, broadband was <1MB/sec so no iPlayer, Netflix etc.

The nearest shop is a 7 mile round trip away, so no walking to it when we run out of milk. The only way we could get a supermarket delivery was to take a six-month subscription to guarantee a weekly slot.

We have lived here - and very much enjoyed the close-knit friendliness of the community - for 23 years but, as we are now both pensioners, being effectively stranded no longer appeals hence my earlier post about our move to Thirsk where we will able to walk to shops, library, doctor, market (and most importantly, pubs with sensible prices).

[Louis Balfour]

littleredrooster said:

Some people still seem to have a rose-tinted view of living in a small village.

We presently live in a village of ~95 homes within spitting distance of the industrialised Midlands - CV postcode. We have no facilities other than a pub (closed, expensive when open). No bus service, no taxi availability after about 7pm, none of the food delivery operators come here (JustEat, Uber, Deliveroo etc.) and until 2 months ago, we could not get a takeaway delivered - we now have the choice of 2, although it is order by phone only, nothing online! Phone signal is pathetic, deffo no 3G let alone 4G or 5G, and until 14 months ago, broadband was <1MB/sec so no iPlayer, Netflix etc.

The nearest shop is a 7 mile round trip away, so no walking to it when we run out of milk. The only way we could get a supermarket delivery was to take a six-month subscription to guarantee a weekly slot.

We have lived here - and very much enjoyed the close-knit friendliness of the community - for 23 years but, as we are now both pensioners, being effectively stranded no longer appeals hence my earlier post about our move to Thirsk where we will able to walk to shops, library, doctor, market (and most importantly, pubs with sensible prices).

We are in a village. We used to get involved with all the village activities - and there are many. But now we stay very much out of things to avoid the politics and gossip. It can be quite tiresome.

As soon as we've got rid of our last child to Uni we will move. It has been a good place to bring up youngsters though.

[Prolex-UK]

We sold up in SE London and moved to Whitefield twixt Bury & Manchester.

My sister lives in Old Trafford and auntie in Prestwich.

We are very happy here as manchester airport is 30 minutes away. Picadilly station 20 minutes by tram (5 mins walk) Whitefield has a good number of eateries within 5 minutes walk plus some nice pubs.

2 hours from lake District (north) peak district an hour North wales an hour.

Nice to breathe clean air...............

Neighbours are great and people really friendly when out and about.

Care home close by so er indoors can visit me easily !!

[monkfish1]

littleredrooster said:

Some people still seem to have a rose-tinted view of living in a small village.

We presently live in a village of ~95 homes within spitting distance of the industrialised Midlands - CV postcode. We have no facilities other than a pub (closed, expensive when open). No bus service, no taxi availability after about 7pm, none of the food delivery operators come here (JustEat, Uber, Deliveroo etc.) and until 2 months ago, we could not get a takeaway delivered - we now have the choice of 2, although it is order by phone only, nothing online! Phone signal is pathetic, deffo no 3G let alone 4G or 5G, and until 14 months ago, broadband was <1MB/sec so no iPlayer, Netflix etc.

The nearest shop is a 7 mile round trip away, so no walking to it when we run out of milk. The only way we could get a supermarket delivery was to take a six-month subscription to guarantee a weekly slot.

We have lived here - and very much enjoyed the close-knit friendliness of the community - for 23 years but, as we are now both pensioners, being effectively stranded no longer appeals hence my earlier post about our move to Thirsk where we will able to walk to shops, library, doctor, market (and most importantly, pubs with sensible prices).

Rose tinted? No. Not for me anyway.

Everything you say in your first 2 paragraphs are of no interest to me at all. Ive never used just eat, deliveroo or Uber. Nor do i see myself ever doing so.

Addmitedly, ive not retired yet, but im not sure why i would suddenly want the things in your last paragraph, just because i retire? Ok, no doubt seeing a doctor, hopefully only occasionally, will be required, but it is possible albeit drive, taxi, of worst case ambulance. A price worth paying not to have to live surrounded by other people?