Isle of Wight

scaredlady

Hi
DH and I with in the next few years may be looking to move to the IOW. We are retired so would not be looking to work.
Any one who lives there any comments?
I would like to be close to or on a bus route. Whitwell Road near Ventnor seems to have some nice properties.
I know about the ferry costings ,but would hope if we had to travel to the mainland we could go over as a foot passenger, and train from there.
OH has said main thing would be a sea view. I would like top budget to be 350K-he is looking higher ,but I hope to control that!!!!.

Sherbert123

Hi, I actually live on the island but on the other side in ryde. My father has a property which cost 350k in ryde which from the top windows you can see the sea and it is a gorgeous property. There are bus routes all over the island, ventnor is also on a main bus route which runs regularly throughout the day, early untill mid night. We love the island and the ferries arnt all bad as most have deals on throughout the year which get posted to residents of the island. Obviously visitors think there sky high but with discounts etc they can be quite affordable, were always getting off the island. Pretty much everywhere on the island has a sea view so there wont be short of houses that don't. We've always found ventnor to be a cheaper area for house and rental prices. Its quite far out to any main towns, (also dont expect any phone signal there) but quite a small town. Newport and ryde are the two main towns, have you looked at bembridge? Thats right by the sea and we find that the whole town is retired couples, its also really close to ryde which is a main town and beach. Hope this helps

outofmoney

Keeping an eye on this as are hoping to move to IOW next year.

scaredlady

Sherbert123 wrote: »

Hi, I actually live on the island but on the other side in ryde. My father has a property which cost 350k in ryde which from the top windows you can see the sea and it is a gorgeous property. There are bus routes all over the island, ventnor is also on a main bus route which runs regularly throughout the day, early untill mid night. We love the island and the ferries arnt all bad as most have deals on throughout the year which get posted to residents of the island. Obviously visitors think there sky high but with discounts etc they can be quite affordable, were always getting off the island. Pretty much everywhere on the island has a sea view so there wont be short of houses that don't. We've always found ventnor to be a cheaper area for house and rental prices. Its quite far out to any main towns, (also dont expect any phone signal there) but quite a small town. Newport and ryde are the two main towns, have you looked at bembridge? Thats right by the sea and we find that the whole town is retired couples, its also really close to ryde which is a main town and beach. Hope this helps

Thanks for the very helpful info. We don't really go out, so somewhere quiet would not be a problem for us. We live in a village at the moment.OH does not want a built up area as he has alway lived rural. oh well will bear your comments in mind, when the time comes.

CCP

I don't live on the IOW but my parents do, so I hope I have enough knowledge to chip in!

If you prefer quieter, more rural places then you could try looking at West Wight - Freshwater / Totland and the surrounding villages - there's some fantastic scenery and nowhere's far from the sea (although that goes for most of the Island tbh!). There's a ferry service which runs from Yarmouth to Lymington on the mainland, or you can head to Ryde or East Cowes to catch the ferries from there. (I know you say you know about ferry prices, but for anyone else it's worth noting that a bit of flexibility on times can work wonders at bringing the cost down - my dad had to travel to the mainland a couple of weeks ago and catching a ferry just half an hour earlier than he had planned bought the cost down by nearly £100. :eek:)

Most West Wight villages are connected by the main bus service and some have community buses as well: the one problem - and you will find this all over the Island - is that nearly all services go via Newport so, depending on where you're going, you might find you need to go into Newport to change buses.

Otherwise, I would second Sherbert's suggestion of Bembridge - it's a lovely little town and would be top of my list if I was looking at moving to the other side of the Solent.

vectistim

Obviously its a very popular retirement destination.

I'd be inclined to go for a six month letting somewhere first so you can get to know areas rather more - better than spending £350,000 and then two months in deciding its in the wrong place.

With the ferries they are generally cheaper (or at least less expensive) from the South Island rather than buying on the mainland.

Its also possible to get a postal subscription to the County Press that could give you an idea of what's going on. (or look at their website iwcp.co.uk or better yet the spoof version iwcp.net)

M_Duck_2

I would love to live on the island and hopefully I will be a homeworker soon so it may become a reality. My grandparents have lived on the island for 40 years so many of my school holidays were spent there.

I love the west of the island and my choice would be either Shorwell or Brighstone. Both are lovely although you will be pushed for sea views it is only a few minutes drive away.

The cost of the ferry is a consideration not just for yourselves but also family. My grandparents have not been well and it has cost my parents a tidy sum this year having to visit regularly.

daska

We have family on the island and I lived there for a while. My comments are from the POV of someone who is disabled and much as I love the Island it ain't great as you get less mobile!

However active your are now you need to be realistic, most people's mobility doesn't improve during retirement. And even in central Ryde (the largest town on the island) there are a number of places where you ride down a dropped kerb and find yourself unable to get on to the pavement on the other side of the road.

A lot of people retire to the IOW and a substantial number find themselves widowed shortly after. The carers I had on the Island knew many cases of widows isolated from their friends and family because unlike being on the mainland, as mobility worsens and costs increase that very short trip across the Solent becomes a substantial barrier. Yes, you can get multilink tickets and the catamaran is quite fast but it's not always accessible if the ramp is out of order or they're using the 'small' boat etc. The hover isn't accessible at all. Taxis and buses are extortionately expensive.

Travelling by train on the other side, well... Portsmouth Harbour has to be the most unhelpful station I have ever travelled through and South West Trains are a nightmare. At one point I was travelling across the water every other week so it's not a case of judging them on a one-off.

The Island has many positive aspects as well and I would never suggest that anyone shouldn't move there but be aware of the pitfalls of growing old there.

The most crucial question is: do you have any friends or a network you can plug into at all? If not then plan how you're going to achieve this and budget for helping pay towards the costs of people visiting.

Dunroamin

To add to the above comments I would say that the IOW is lovely but it has many drawbacks, one of which is St Mary's Hospital. The other is the high level of unemployment and the drugs and social problems that go with it.

I'd suggest renting for 6 months before finally deciding.

scaredlady

CCP wrote: »

I don't live on the IOW but my parents do, so I hope I have enough knowledge to chip in!

If you prefer quieter, more rural places then you could try looking at West Wight - Freshwater / Totland and the surrounding villages - there's some fantastic scenery and nowhere's far from the sea (although that goes for most of the Island tbh!). There's a ferry service which runs from Yarmouth to Lymington on the mainland, or you can head to Ryde or East Cowes to catch the ferries from there. (I know you say you know about ferry prices, but for anyone else it's worth noting that a bit of flexibility on times can work wonders at bringing the cost down - my dad had to travel to the mainland a couple of weeks ago and catching a ferry just half an hour earlier than he had planned bought the cost down by nearly £100. :eek:)

Most West Wight villages are connected by the main bus service and some have community buses as well: the one problem - and you will find this all over the Island - is that nearly all services go via Newport so, depending on where you're going, you might find you need to go into Newport to change buses.

Otherwise, I would second Sherbert's suggestion of Bembridge - it's a lovely little town and would be top of my list if I was looking at moving to the other side of the Solent.

I only mentioned the ferries as an afterthought. I am hoping that except for the very odd ocassion we would not be wanting to go off the island much. I was looking at west wight ,but i feel we would be swapping 1 rural for another. I do not like driving, hence wanting to be on a bus route. I am hoping the supermarkets do home delivery on the island, as that is what we use here. Really as long as I can get on a bus and go somewhere for a change of scenery I will not mind.
I think it would take a while for OH and I to agree anyway as to what is suitable/feasible.
I was looking at Bembridge, and althought the 1 million £ homes mentioned sea views, a lot of the others don't on Rightmove.
One of the replies mentioned out of work youths. I think any seaside town would suffer from similar problems . Also we have a shopping centre at the moment with 1 shop,1 cafe and a post office in it, all the rest of the shops are shut up, so same problem all over.

Paul_iow

I grew up and lived on the island for 25 years and although it is a great place I would agree with a lot of things people have said above.

Firstly I would go for somewhere either central or east of the island. The west, freshwater etc, are very nice but are quite rural and although they don't seem far away in distance it can take a while, upwards of over an hour, to cross one side of the island to the other. Buses aren't cheap either but I guess you will probably be getting bus pass if you are looking to retire there.

Vent nor is nice, used to work there, but it has a lot of youth problems and is very very hilly! Not great as you get older with mobility problems. I used to work in the NHS and had many elderly patients moan about the hills. Just something to think about. Home insurance can also be very difficult on the south/west island as a lot of it is crumbling into the sea. Another thought.

Ferries. They are expensive. Especially in the summer and it can be hard to get on one, not impossible and you soon learn when they are busy, but it does become a pain especially for people visiting. It also adds a lot of time on to any journey.

St Mary's Hospital. Ts is one of the nicest hospitals I have worked in and heard/received very few complaints about. There will always be some who aren't happy but there is a private hospital if his is more your thing.

Bembridge is nice but very expensive. I used to live in St Helena, next village to Bembridge, and although it is a nice area there are an awful lot of holiday homes which are only occupied a few weeks a year. This means it can be dead in the winter and extremely busy in the summer. There are also very few shops about due to the low number of people around generally.

If I was in your position I would take 6 months and rent somewhere around Shanklin area. It will give you a good idea of island life, especially if you stat around June time so you get to know what summer and winter life is like there. It will also allow you to explore and find out if it is what you want.

Ay questions feel free to ask and I'll try and answer for you