My last move - where to move to, please?

Savvy_Sue

Of course none of us can predict how an area will change over time, a perfectly respectable neighbourhood can decline very rapidly if there's an influx of less cultured people from elsewhere. And equally areas can become highly sought after and very genteel!

I guess it's a case of talking to people, checking the area out at all times of day, and realising that you will probably never find the perfect final move, it will all be swings and roundabouts.

Talking of which, one of the first sheltered housing complexes I was ever aware of had a new children's playground built the other side of the fence. The roundabout had the most appalling squeak: it was bad enough pushing my children round on it, if I'd lived so close to it I would have been driven demented! :rotfl:

lilac_lady

Talking of which, one of the first sheltered housing complexes I was ever aware of had a new children's playground built the other side of the fence. The roundabout had the most appalling squeak: it was bad enough pushing my children round on it, if I'd lived so close to it I would have been driven demented! :rotfl:[/QUOTE]


Perhaps we should all carry a can of WD40. IF it doesn't help our joints it may save our sanity!

I'm glad this thread was started because it's helped me come to a decision about where to stay in the future. I'll stay here until/if I if I have to move and then I'll rent somewhere such as a Housing Association flat as I feel the management fees for sheltered homes follow a "how long's a piece of string" scenario and I may not manage to keep up the payments in the future.

downshifter

treliac wrote: »

Jen,

Sidmouth is a lovely place IMO - lots of character, sheltered position, nice set of shops but still quite small, swimming pool, old-fashioned little cinema. Lovely place to visit and wander round. Don't know about prices or the U3A though - yes just checked and it does ... http://www.u3a.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=474&Itemid=238

The south-eastern corner of Devon is generally very pretty.

http://www.visitsidmouth.co.uk/frontpage.htm

As you say, Sidmouth, and others like this, are great to visit for a holiday or day out. But I wouldn't live in Sidmouth at your age - it's completely inappropriate. The average age of resident is around 90, (ok, slight exaggeration!!) house prices are kept enormously high because lots of well off people from London or senior officers from the civil service or the forces retire there. You need to be a churchgoer, vote tory, have private health insurance and a really good income. If you fit with the above description you will be welcomed, there are masses of activities. If you have a northern accent, 'walk out' with a feller who doesn't always wear a tie, or don't fit with the social - very conservative - norms you will really be looked down on. My mother lives there, and it's dire!!! However at 83 she isn't looking at sheltered accommodation quite yet, though when she does it might be for two as she has recently started a relationship with a new man. Sidmouth has also recently suffered from over-development. Lots of new flats aimed at older people which have really blighted it and older buildings demolished. Many of these haven't sold and some developments have been abandoned half way through. Not good, but might be solved if prices came down. Health and social services are pretty stretched because of the age profile but as so many people have private provision they might be worse. There's also a definite divide between the incomers (mostly live near the sea) and the locals who live further inland where property is cheaper. And lots of forelock tugging still goes on too. The other thing is that it's better for residents in the winter, in the summer quite a few go away as much as poss as they don't like the holiday makers, when the big folk festival was held there in August (was the best thing about Sidmouth) there was a grand exodus of incomer-locals to other parts for the duration.

Surely at your age you would be looking to go on a round the world expedition or caving in India or starting a new career/job or love life or planning on several house moves - not looking for sheltered accommodation. You've got years of active, fulfilling and useful life ahead of you, haven't you? Apologies if this causes offence and I know we're all different in what we want from life but 62 is so young to be thinking of final resting places!!
DS

molly_mandy_2

Loved your post downshifter as I have family in Sidmouth. Despite the fact they don't fall into your description of churchgoers/ 90 / army etc. etc, (That to me is more Budleigh Salterton) I do know all about the dancing men with their hankies (lol) and the Sidford/Sidmouth divide!

BUT, despite what you say, I personally would love to live there. However I can't afford the prices of the type of property I would choose.

But your post completely proves that we all like different things and the only person who can choose where to live is the person doing the moving.

downshifter

molly_mandy wrote: »

Loved your post downshifter as I have family in Sidmouth. Despite the fact they don't fall into your description of churchgoers/ 90 / army etc. etc, (That to me is more Budleigh Salterton) I do know all about the dancing men with their hankies (lol) and the Sidford/Sidmouth divide!

BUT, despite what you say, I personally would love to live there. However I can't afford the prices of the type of property I would choose.

But your post completely proves that we all like different things and the only person who can choose where to live is the person doing the moving.

Goodness, I'm so glad you didn't take offence, I thought afterwards that it sounded as though I had a real chip on my shoulder about the place - perhaps I have. However I think my point was really to make sure you always research the place you want to live in, and make sure that the type of people, activities etc are the types for you. As I live in a world where women generally are seen as equal to men, where friends are people you curl up on the sofa with to watch old films, eating chocs and drinking wine, and where going shopping in your wellies on a wet day is considered perfectly acceptable, then Sidmouth sure aint for me!!!

Good luck with the decision, it doesn't sound easy.

DS

molly_mandy_2

Ha ha ....... don't tell anyone downshifter but having walked my dogs on the beach in Sidmouth, I have been known to wander up the high street in my wellies ...... probably got some funny looks from behind the curtains as I passed the big houses !

Jennifer_Jane

Hi all.

Wow, thanks for all the posts! I have been looking at Sidmouth on Rightmove and Google, and I love it. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, it has a population of 15,000 of whom 40% are over 65. All the photos on Google show oldish people, of whom I will be one (if not already), fairly soon.

If I didn't have to move (always told family I would move to the South West/have kept socialising here to a minimum as I knew I would be moving, so now - retiring - I need to get organised to meet the friends I hope to keep for ever!). That's why it's important to be in the right environment.

I'm sure I can find friends who are like molly_mandy who are down to earth and good fun, and a home where she could come in with her wellies and her dog for a cup of tea or a glass of wine!

The alternative is to be in Wells! Much of the same but without the sea, I think? That's where my sister wants me to go.

Re going round the world and so on, yes, I plan to travel as much as I can, but going round the world on my own is not on. I would do plenty of other travelling, however, to see friends who are in, or moved from, South Africa, or my friends from when I lived in Brussels. I now want to find a place to rest, and love, which has the facilities I want. I'm tired of the moving, and can see it will get worse as I get older. (I will consider the Sidmouth older profile and see how I feel about it when the time comes).

Have also considered some other parts of North Devon - anyone know anything about Ilfracombe, please? Seems cheaper than Sidmouth.

Also need to look at Lyme Regis which someone else mentioned. Haven't done the Rightmove thing on that yet.

Regarding the sheltered accommodation, I really had in mind the independent places where you would have older (over 55/over 60's with you) but you still did everything for yourself - I didn't mean 'close care' (I think it's called). The idea of the warden was to maintain the darn place as I can see that handling gardening and cleaning is just a chore (and the water falling down the walls when the central heating valve went), and then there's someone there if you have a fall, or such (have fallen down twice fairly recently, once down the stairs and once in the street, was fairly OK after it all!). Anyway, thanks to this thread, have decided to do the Age Concern call thing when I do retire. So have pretty much ruled out the warden thing as being expensive.

Re getting a job, well I might, or might not - but actually I'm tired, so prefer not to after 45 years of work. So I thought a nice little place by the sea.....with a library, swimming pool, some shops, and U3A (thanks for the link to that I will check out the Sidmouth lot). I want to look for somewhere where I'll spend the next best years in a lovely place.

Thanks, again, everyone. So grateful to you all!

Jen
x

Jennifer_Jane

Just thought I'd post this. This is the Sidmouth U3A list of topics:

List of or examples of study groups
Art Appreciation, Art-Painting, Book Talk, Geology, History of Fashion, Linguistics, Literature, Local History, IT Support, Mahjong, Music Appreciation, Play Reading, Poetry Appreciation, Shakespeare Plays, Science, Engineering and Technology x 2 ,Walking, Garden History, Scrabble, Bridge, French Conversation, Gardening, Nature/Birdwatching, Points of View, Shorthand revision, Recorder Playing, William Morris/arts and crafts.

I'd enjoy quite a few of those, perhaps not recorder playing or Engineering & Technology ... but there are others there. Sounds good although perhaps it's not a very big group, and that might be a bit stifling.

Jen
x

molly_mandy_2

Well JJ ...... if you want to live in Sidmouth like I want to, keep saving girl! (It's only 20 mins or so from Exeter if we fancy a rave up lol) but at present prices, compared to where I am in South Devon, are soooooooooo high,

Errata

The idea of the warden was to maintain the darn place as I can see that handling gardening and cleaning is just a chore (and the water falling down the walls when the central heating valve went),

Very valid points. The difficulty I see with retirement complexes such as McCarthy and Stone or non-retirement flats in a block is the running costs. There will be charges for cleaning and maintenance that you won't have any control over and in the case of complexes can be pretty steep to start off with. Have you thought about what would be the max you could afford per week for this, which would be on top of a flats running costs. ?