Where to retire in the UK

[talksthetorque]

DodgyGeezer said:

rustyuk said:

Not sure I would move to Scarborough to be honest.

depends if you like parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Fair comment.

I predicted when we bought our bungalow six years ago that baby boomers retiring to the countryside would mean our house would beat the local market at least. Unfortunately a pandemic that affects the elderly has meant there is quite a choice of bungalows nearby now when we’re trying to sell and this hasn’t happened.

[GT3Manthey]

Jaguar steve said:

Never in a million years would anybody whose been there write nice parts of Essex and Harwich, Witham and Laindon in the same sentence

“Some” is what was said .

Pay attention at the back !

[GT3Manthey]

Having offered on a house in Frinton the seller is now getting close to our bid although we are starting to get cold feet about timings and logistics with kids.

I sense there is a fear from sellers now that they don’t want to miss out of fast price rises.

Our plan was to buy a house there and then sell our current home in around 2yrs from now but I’m now slightly concerned that prices might dip back a little in that time which leaves me somewhat exposed for that period

[anonymous-user]

Vasco said:

So, Suffolk or Cambs then......

They are very different places in terms of cost and lifestyle. Cambridge is a great city but it’s getting almost as expensive as London whilst the surrounding towns and villages are feeling the effect. Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

[Vasco]

wormus said:

Vasco said:

So, Suffolk or Cambs then......

They are very different places in terms of cost and lifestyle. Cambridge is a great city but it’s getting almost as expensive as London whilst the surrounding towns and villages are feeling the effect. Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

I know. It was only 'anywhere but Essex......'

[anonymous-user]

Mark Benson said:

M3333 said:

Weardale. Absolutely beautiful. Keep it a secret.

All the snobs go to the lakes or north Yorkshire and don't realise the place exists.

I turned down a beautiful end cottage just up from the river a few years ago with a stone built new garage over looking stanhope Dean. 80k. It's worth 150k now. What an idiot.

It isn't going down in price either. Wolsingham. Stanhope. Lovely areas. 25 mins from Bishop Auckland for easy train links.

Teesdale too. Daughter is at Barney School and a lot of her friends live up in Teesdale and Weardale - I'd never really bothered to go up there before, I assumed that west of the A68 was the same as east but it couldn't be more different - some lovely places and not (yet) at Dales and Lakes prices.
And much quieter roads

Some places up that way are quite remote. My parents are in that area and no they are in their 80s, distance to a hospital is now important . 40 miles is no joke.
Also some of these idyllic cottages have very steep stairs and can be very difficult for the elderly.
Don’t get old before your time but plan ahead a bit.

[Mark Benson]

Cliffe60 said:

Mark Benson said:

M3333 said:

Weardale. Absolutely beautiful. Keep it a secret.

All the snobs go to the lakes or north Yorkshire and don't realise the place exists.

I turned down a beautiful end cottage just up from the river a few years ago with a stone built new garage over looking stanhope Dean. 80k. It's worth 150k now. What an idiot.

It isn't going down in price either. Wolsingham. Stanhope. Lovely areas. 25 mins from Bishop Auckland for easy train links.

Teesdale too. Daughter is at Barney School and a lot of her friends live up in Teesdale and Weardale - I'd never really bothered to go up there before, I assumed that west of the A68 was the same as east but it couldn't be more different - some lovely places and not (yet) at Dales and Lakes prices.
And much quieter roads

Some places up that way are quite remote. My parents are in that area and no they are in their 80s, distance to a hospital is now important . 40 miles is no joke.
Also some of these idyllic cottages have very steep stairs and can be very difficult for the elderly.
Don’t get old before your time but plan ahead a bit.

True, mum and dad were in Wensleydale (not that remote compared to some places) and moved down to Ripon once they were into their 70s for that reason. Plenty don't however, some of their friends are still there in their 80s (albeit now reliant on hospital transport for appointments).

Teesdale and Weardale are lovely though, and so much quieter than the better known Yorks Dales.

[Blib]

wormus said:

Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

I live in NE Suffolk. It's utterly uninspiring. I couldn't be less inspired when I wake up every morning. Keep well away, whatever you do.

[DodgyGeezer]

Blib said:

wormus said:

Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

I live in NE Suffolk. It's utterly uninspiring. I couldn't be less inspired when I wake up every morning. Keep well away, whatever you do.

[Vasco]

Blib said:

wormus said:

Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

I live in NE Suffolk. It's utterly uninspiring. I couldn't be less inspired when I wake up every morning. Keep well away, whatever you do.

How strange, I have family in Southwold. It always seems rather nice to me........

[phil_cardiff]

Vasco said:

Blib said:

wormus said:

Suffolk is flat and pretty uninspiring, they are also building lots of housing estates there. Not somewhere I’d choose.

I live in NE Suffolk. It's utterly uninspiring. I couldn't be less inspired when I wake up every morning. Keep well away, whatever you do.

How strange, I have family in Southwold. It always seems rather nice to me........

You may have just been whoooosh'd by Blib.

[Blib]

phil_cardiff said:

You may have just been whoooosh'd by Blib.

That's just about as bad as can be.

[GT3Manthey]

Vasco said:

How strange, I have family in Southwold. It always seems rather nice to me........

Southwold - nice beach , expensive area not much else to do ?

[anonymous-user]

GT3Manthey said:

Southwold - nice beach , expensive area not much else to do ?

There’s the Adnams brewery shop?

To be fair, when I said it was uninspiring, I was referring to mostly south Suffolk, where my brother lives. It’s ok as a place to live but I’d be going further north to retire.

I’m considering somewhere around Kings Lynn, but I’ll still need to commute into London on average twice a week. I’d love to not have to live in the south of England anymore. It’s just too busy.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 27th July 08:06

[talksthetorque]

wormus said:

There’s the Adnams brewery shop?

To be fair, when I said it was uninspiring, I was referring to mostly south Suffolk, where my brother lives. It’s ok as a place to live but I’d be going further north to retire.

I’m considering somewhere around Kings Lynn, but I’ll still need to commute into London on average twice a week. I’d love to not have to live in the south of England anymore. It’s just too busy.

Edited by wormus on Tuesday 27th July 08:06

You don't

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109102961#/...

1 hr 10 minutes to KGX, 10 minutes drive to the station. Nice village.

500k used as a reasonable budget for someone with a house in the SE with small/no mortgage.

[Riley Blue]

I'm intrigued by the answers here as 'Where to retire to?' is a question often asked here as I'm already retired by O/H has a few years yet to go.

What criteria do you use? Is it scenery? Proximity to family? Coastal or inland, flat or hilly, good health care, plentiful shops, availability of 99RON?

What would be your top five? Mine, in no particular order:

Inland but coast within a 45 minute drive.
Excellent/good CQC rated primary care and hospital.
Local shops within walking distance and on the flat.
99RON within three miles.
Good choice of varied restaurants.

Your thoughts?

[DodgyGeezer]

Riley Blue said:

What would be your top five? Mine, in no particular order:

Inland but coast within a 45 minute drive.
Excellent/good CQC rated primary care and hospital.
Local shops within walking distance and on the flat.
99RON within three miles.
Good choice of varied restaurants.

Your thoughts?

Swap out coast for daughter and 99RON for (relatively) quite quiet, but not too (aka don't want to live in the arse-end of nowhere) and you've got us at the moment

[How u doing]

wormus said:

There’s the Adnams brewery shop?

To be fair, when I said it was uninspiring, I was referring to mostly south Suffolk, where my brother lives. It’s ok as a place to live but I’d be going further north to retire.

I’m considering somewhere around Kings Lynn, but I’ll still need to commute into London on average twice a week. I’d love to not have to live in the south of England anymore. It’s just too busy.

Edited by wormus on Tuesday 27th July 08:06

I went to Kings Lynn once, underwhelmed I was.

[anonymous-user]

How u doing said:

I went to Kings Lynn once, underwhelmed I was.

I guess anywhere in Norfolk is boring for a small, green Jedi Master?

[anonymous-user]

talksthetorque said:

You don't

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/109102961#/...

1 hr 10 minutes to KGX, 10 minutes drive to the station. Nice village.

500k used as a reasonable budget for someone with a house in the SE with small/no mortgage.

We went for a drive around Grantham and the surrounding areas as we were looking there too. Cheap like you say, but a fair few charity shops in the centre and too much Police Camera Action coverage, especially towards Nottingham. Things look a little nicer towards Lincoln but I don’t really know the area that well.