Where to Retire To ?

chucknorris

kidmugsy wrote: »

Annual average sunshine 1523 hours. Is it lighter where you live?

You can say what you want but my experience of living in Tynemouth (Tyne and Wear) for about 25 years (allowing 7 years for living in Europe and my degree in Leeds) and living in the South (London and Surrey) for 24 years I can say that I find the South warmer. This is usually (obviously there are odd days when the North is warmer) confirmed when I visit my parents 2-3 times a year in Northumberland.

You could of course argue that the weather isn't that important, but it is to me because my hobbies are running, cycling, bowls and walking my dog, I would have also said tennis, but I stopped playing a few years ago, but it isn’t impossible that I start playing again.


EDIT: I would consider living in the North for the spring/summer only and Spain and/or the Algarve in the winter, but as we take our dog with us, it means that we have to drive, and that adds an awful lot of miles onto an already long trip. But it could be argued as it was only once a year that it might be worth consideration.

bigadaj

kidmugsy wrote: »

You miss the point: East Lothian is dry - Dunbar is cited only because that's where the weather station is. Personally I'd choose North Berwick.

It's dry and sunny but cold.

The fact it's on the east side of the country means exactly that, rain shadow area, and no rain, but misses the warming effects of the Gulf Stream, the North Sea itself is relatively cold because it's isolated with the tiny Dover straits being the only access to warmer southern waters.

Temperatures in the uk pretty consistently rise on average as you move from the north east to teh south west.

atush

kidmugsy wrote: »

Annual average sunshine 1523 hours. Is it lighter where you live?

Yes at 1,563.5 hours per year. But this is not quite right as these measurements are from a different side of a mountain and we have more sunshine than that side.

Plus more of our hours of sunshine are from when I am awake. Having it sunny at 4 am and 11 pm aren't all that enjoyable to me lol

Anyway, as I said it is cold enough, dark enough where I am so I want to spend time further south than this. At least part of the year.

Alisha2008

chucknorris wrote: »

That's what we hope to do, but we are only at the early stages of planning it yet though. We spent 3 weeks in Nerja the year before last and also had a holiday in the Algarve last December. We found Nerja (which probably represents most of the Costa Del Sol) wasn't particularly dog friendly, particularly on the beaches and also at Lake Venuela where we had to keep him on a lead. I know that technically all (99%) beaches in Spain ban dogs, but I have heard that in the Cadiz region it is far less populated and in the winter months there wouldn't be too much of a problem taking a dog onto a beach, does this sound reasonable to you?

If you are interested the village where I spend my holidays in Spain has a "dog beach", big section of the beach dedicated exclusively to dogs. It's really popular and I know many people moving and spending holidays there just because of this..

chucknorris

Alisha2008 wrote: »

If you are interested the village where I spend my holidays in Spain has a "dog beach", big section of the beach dedicated exclusively to dogs. It's really popular and I know many people moving and spending holidays there just because of this..

Yes thanks, I would like to know where it is? The only dog beaches that we found near Nerja were a nudist beach and an extremely well hidden and hard to get to beach.

kidmugsy

chucknorris wrote: »

I can say that I find the South warmer.

Well of course it is, in summer at least. Where did I say otherwise? My objection was to ignorant stuff about ooooh, it's dark and wet, not about East Lothian's summers being cooler than the English south coast's. The whole of the north of Britain has cooler summers cooler than the south: this is widely understood. But not all of it is dark and dank. And there are other advantages: when we lived in EL we found a dead whale on our beach one day - you wouldn't get that in Durham or York or Lincoln or Cambridge, to take some easterly examples. Hell you could heat your cottage for a whole winter with a bit of whale oil. Compost your garden using ground-up bone. How dull not to have lived somewhere with whales, seals, porpoises, dolphins, puffins …..

atush

Well I still say east lothian is darker than were I am, and colder too. That isn't being ignorant, it is truthful. According to the met office and other govt bodies. So I don't think that you can call me ignorant for that. In fact, I think that is very mean.

So I dont' want anywhere darker and colder than where I am now (about the same in wet content too wet for me). I mean, if it is dryer and brighter than where you are, and warmer too then retire there. But it isn't for me. So i wont.

Alisha2008

chucknorris wrote: »

Yes thanks, I would like to know where it is? The only dog beaches that we found near Nerja were a nudist beach and an extremely well hidden and hard to get to beach.

It's in Alicante (Costa Blanca), a town called El Campello. The "dog beach" is a pebble beach, and it's in the town centre, next to the main beach, which is golden sand.

gfplux

I was born in the midlands and lived and worked in London for many years
I have been retired for some time and live permanently in Luxembourg. This is a modern country with very good infrastructure. A great health service and modern theatres, museums and concert hall. The multiplex cinema shows all films in original language with English and American films out at the same time if not before the UK. So for me everything I need.
Being in the centre of Europe it is (normally) colder in the winter and warmer in the summer than the UK.
We have and do spend time in Florida and the South of France and also a couple of weeks in England.
All these places have the pluses and minuses and in a perfect world we all probably would like to spend some time in lots of different place.
However in my opinion, good infrastructure and in particular a good and well funded health service becomes the most important thing as you get older.

paparossco

kidmugsy wrote: »

You miss the point: East Lothian is dry - Dunbar is cited only because that's where the weather station is. Personally I'd choose North Berwick.

I would love to live 'east' of Harthill as living in the 'Monklands triangle' we are cold, dark and wet :rotfl: Dunbar is lovely and more affordable than North Berwick I would guess.