Where to retire in the UK
Discussion
wormus said:
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.
Grantham is horrific. All mobility scooters and heroin. Louis Balfour said:
wormus said:
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.
Grantham is horrific. All mobility scooters and heroin. 
Riley Blue said:
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?
I retired a month ago and we bought our house 4 years ago in anticipation. We are near Farnborough in North Hampshire on the Surrey/Berkshire borders and i can tick all 5 of your measures, Goodwood and the south coast is just manageable in 45 mins at a pinch so south coast in under an hour! Decent restaurants, shops within 15 mins stroll, Frimley Park hospital, very good doctors, Esso garage up the road plus I would add being within close to grandchildren. 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?
Louis Balfour said:
wormus said:
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.
Grantham is horrific. All mobility scooters and heroin. RichB said:
retired a month ago and we bought our house 4 years ago in anticipation. We are near Farnborough in North Hampshire on the Surrey/Berkshire borders and i can tick all 5 of your measures, Goodwood and the south coast is just manageable in 45 mins at a pinch so south coast in under an hour! Decent restaurants, shops within 15 mins stroll, Frimley Park hospital, very good doctors, Esso garage up the road plus I would add being within close to grandchildren.
I've spent quite a lot of time in that neck of the woods. It's the busy-ness, the rush, and the slight air of self-importance of the place that would prevent me from retiring there. CharlesdeGaulle said:
<clip> It's the busy-ness, the rush, and the slight air of self-importance of the place that would prevent me from retiring there.
Not sure about it being the busy, compared to Maidenhead it's decidedly rural As for an air of self-importance, I have no idea how you got that impression, it's not Chertsey or Barnes... 
RichB said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
<clip> It's the busy-ness, the rush, and the slight air of self-importance of the place that would prevent me from retiring there.
Not sure about it being the busy, compared to Maidenhead it's decidedly rural As for an air of self-importance, I have no idea how you got that impression, it's not Chertsey or Barnes... CharlesdeGaulle said:
RichB said:
retired a month ago and we bought our house 4 years ago in anticipation. We are near Farnborough in North Hampshire on the Surrey/Berkshire borders and i can tick all 5 of your measures, Goodwood and the south coast is just manageable in 45 mins at a pinch so south coast in under an hour! Decent restaurants, shops within 15 mins stroll, Frimley Park hospital, very good doctors, Esso garage up the road plus I would add being within close to grandchildren.
I've spent quite a lot of time in that neck of the woods. It's the busy-ness, the rush, and the slight air of self-importance of the place that would prevent me from retiring there. ARHarh said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
RichB said:
retired a month ago and we bought our house 4 years ago in anticipation. We are near Farnborough in North Hampshire on the Surrey/Berkshire borders and i can tick all 5 of your measures, Goodwood and the south coast is just manageable in 45 mins at a pinch so south coast in under an hour! Decent restaurants, shops within 15 mins stroll, Frimley Park hospital, very good doctors, Esso garage up the road plus I would add being within close to grandchildren.
I've spent quite a lot of time in that neck of the woods. It's the busy-ness, the rush, and the slight air of self-importance of the place that would prevent me from retiring there. GT3Manthey said:
Southwold - nice beach , expensive area not much else to do ?
You'd be surprised - more than most villages in Suffolk & Norfolk. Great food shops selling local produce, harbour with freshly landed fish, dunes & marshes for walking, rugby & cricket club, 9 hole golf course & tennis courts. Keep a boat in the harbour or paddle a smaller boat up the river. In terms of arts, it's got a tiny arthouse cinema and lots of productions put on by the local arty crowd run by ones of the Freuds and book festivals held out of season. Boating lake and dedicated ponds for running model boats. Putting green, free outdoor gym, pier. Own brewery in the town centre, delicatessen, artisan bakers, excellent butcher. High street not spoiled by low grade chain shops. Mix of good quality housing, mostly good quality Victorian & Georgian and earlier fisherman's cottages (and some more recent stuff near the pier). Impressive church and lighthouse in the middle of the town. Art galleries for local artists in the town and across the river in Walberswick. All accessible without getting in a car. Not bad for a town of 1200.Lots of great bike rides around, walks on Dunwich heath (Forestry Commission). Get in the car and there are more options, like Snape Maltings for more arts.
However, go west from the A12 and everything slows to a standstill.
That's where we are. 20 mins and 50 years inland from Dunwich.
Our village has no pavements. It is not on any route from one place to another and our nearest traffic light is half an hour's drive away, in Leiston.
I've miles and miles of almost empty country roads to enjoy and Southwold, Snape, Aldeburgh and Dunwich are within easy reach.
Mrs B grew up in Devon. She was the driving force behind our move and she made one particular point that I, as a Londoner, would not have thought of.
Unlike Devon, which has always been a poor county, Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside. These attract more wealthy people.
With wealth comes culture and "interesting people who create interesting stuff".
In a normal year, the grass verges in the area are festooned with signs promoting plays, concerts and exhibitions, along with the regular car/flower/country shows.
You need a large idle, educated middle class to drive these things. Suffolk has that in spades.
And, it's only two hours drive to London. For us, it's just right.
Stay away.
That's where we are. 20 mins and 50 years inland from Dunwich.
Our village has no pavements. It is not on any route from one place to another and our nearest traffic light is half an hour's drive away, in Leiston.
I've miles and miles of almost empty country roads to enjoy and Southwold, Snape, Aldeburgh and Dunwich are within easy reach.
Mrs B grew up in Devon. She was the driving force behind our move and she made one particular point that I, as a Londoner, would not have thought of.
Unlike Devon, which has always been a poor county, Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside. These attract more wealthy people.
With wealth comes culture and "interesting people who create interesting stuff".
In a normal year, the grass verges in the area are festooned with signs promoting plays, concerts and exhibitions, along with the regular car/flower/country shows.
You need a large idle, educated middle class to drive these things. Suffolk has that in spades.
And, it's only two hours drive to London. For us, it's just right.
Stay away.
ARHarh said:
loafer123 said:
And yet, just the other side of the M3, you have Hartley Witney and miles and miles of countryside.
if 10 miles to Reading, Basingstoke or Camberley with smaller towns in between, is miles of countryside https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3539795,-0.95703...
Blib said:
Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside.
Good point. It's amazing to see how much money was floating around when tiny villages have huge vanity "wool churches" and other trappings of wealth that survive today.Blib said:
Stay away.
It's amazing how unknown Suffolk is to most people - maybe because it's the only county without a motorway running through it? Distinctly different from its neighbours Essex and Norfolk. As you say it's got the tranquility of untouched village life or the hubbub of more active villages depending on what you want. My post was to put some colour on GT3Manthey's post about Southwold not having much to offer - if he thinks that about Southwold then most other villages in the East will be a shock!PhilboSE said:
Blib said:
Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside.
Good point. It's amazing to see how much money was floating around when tiny villages have huge vanity "wool churches" and other trappings of wealth that survive today.Blib said:
Stay away.
It's amazing how unknown Suffolk is to most people - maybe because it's the only county without a motorway running through it? Distinctly different from its neighbours Essex and Norfolk. As you say it's got the tranquility of untouched village life or the hubbub of more active villages depending on what you want. My post was to put some colour on GT3Manthey's post about Southwold not having much to offer - if he thinks that about Southwold then most other villages in the East will be a shock!worsy said:
Norfolk and Cornwall don't either off the top of my head. There is probably more, certainly most of Wales, so Wrexham, Powys (don't think the M50 goes into Powys), Denbighshire, Flint and Gwynedd. M4 stops before Pembrokeshire as well. Anyway, there is more than just Suffolk.
Gah! Don't know where I got that stat from, but it's plainly b
ks as you've pointed out. The original observation was supposed to be limited to England, but even that's not correct anyway. I think I must have been under the impression the other counties had (M) rated A-roads.Blib said:
However, go west from the A12 and everything slows to a standstill.
That's where we are. 20 mins and 50 years inland from Dunwich.
Our village has no pavements. It is not on any route from one place to another and our nearest traffic light is half an hour's drive away, in Leiston.
I've miles and miles of almost empty country roads to enjoy and Southwold, Snape, Aldeburgh and Dunwich are within easy reach.
Mrs B grew up in Devon. She was the driving force behind our move and she made one particular point that I, as a Londoner, would not have thought of.
Unlike Devon, which has always been a poor county, Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside. These attract more wealthy people.
With wealth comes culture and "interesting people who create interesting stuff".
In a normal year, the grass verges in the area are festooned with signs promoting plays, concerts and exhibitions, along with the regular car/flower/country shows.
You need a large idle, educated middle class to drive these things. Suffolk has that in spades.
And, it's only two hours drive to London. For us, it's just right.
Stay away.
Worlingworth ?That's where we are. 20 mins and 50 years inland from Dunwich.
Our village has no pavements. It is not on any route from one place to another and our nearest traffic light is half an hour's drive away, in Leiston.
I've miles and miles of almost empty country roads to enjoy and Southwold, Snape, Aldeburgh and Dunwich are within easy reach.
Mrs B grew up in Devon. She was the driving force behind our move and she made one particular point that I, as a Londoner, would not have thought of.
Unlike Devon, which has always been a poor county, Suffolk has been wealthy for centuries. This old money is still very much in evidence. There are hundreds of glorious homes and large farmhouses dotted throughout the countryside. These attract more wealthy people.
With wealth comes culture and "interesting people who create interesting stuff".
In a normal year, the grass verges in the area are festooned with signs promoting plays, concerts and exhibitions, along with the regular car/flower/country shows.
You need a large idle, educated middle class to drive these things. Suffolk has that in spades.
And, it's only two hours drive to London. For us, it's just right.
Stay away.
Vasco said:
Worlingworth ?
That metropolis? Nope.
Even people born and bred in Suffolk call our area "Bow & Arrow country".
And no, I'm not divulging where we live. I've been on this forum for many a year and I've learned in that time that I'm the only sensible person on here, and that every single one of you lot is a swivel-eyed lunatic that I'd crawl across a busy, eight lane motorway to avoid!
No offence.
Have a nice day.
Buy Krupp.
PhilboSE said:
worsy said:
Norfolk and Cornwall don't either off the top of my head. There is probably more, certainly most of Wales, so Wrexham, Powys (don't think the M50 goes into Powys), Denbighshire, Flint and Gwynedd. M4 stops before Pembrokeshire as well. Anyway, there is more than just Suffolk.
Gah! Don't know where I got that stat from, but it's plainly bks as you've pointed out. The original observation was supposed to be limited to England, but even that's not correct anyway. I think I must have been under the impression the other counties had (M) rated A-roads.Dorset, Lincolnshire as well. East Sussex another one which surprised me.
Just been scouring the map
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