Where to Retire To ?

creativemieu

I already live in Cornwall. Not retired. Cost of living quite high despite it being one of the poorest UK regions. House prices high. But very scenic. Great countryside and beaches plus some very good restaurants. All that said when I do retire I will probably not stay - warmer and sunnier climates appeal but not Spain or France.

Happychappy

fufu_banterwaite wrote: »

Sutton-on-Sea in Lincolnshire!

Just down the road from the beautiful rural retreat of Skegness :eek:

Freecall

On a serious note, what's wrong with where you are now in Surrey?

I know that you say that the people aren't that friendly but presumably that is where your friends are, maybe some family.

Also depending on how long you have been there, you presumably have a familiarity with the people you deal with on a day to day basis.

By this I mean those folks who you interact with on a casual basis such as the local pub landlord, shopkeeper, postman etc. These are the people that can add quality to your life and you might find that replacing them in a new town might not be as easy as you think.

BigAunty

East Sussex - perhaps not Brighton due to the density of population and high property prices and usual urban problems like masses of hen parties and junkies.

but perhaps somewhere like Shoreham or Eastbourne or the quiet end of Hove or their surrounding areas. My cousin swears by Hastings but I haven't been there since a kid.

Good weather. Fairly good trains (compared with other coastal resorts). Handy holidays and flights out of Gatwick. Not too far away from areas with good restaurants, cinemas, gigs, etc. Close to the South Downs for lovely walks. Lovely days out in London to visit museums and festivals.

Should be able to hop on a bus or train to a part time job in Eastbourne or Brighton or perhaps as far up as Croydon if its well paid as the commute there might only be 30 mins or so.

Also, they don't have the tribal resentments about incomers that is common to the highlands, the south west, wales and so forth.

WobblyDog

I'm a bit uneasy when it's suggested that people in one area of the country are more friendly than in other areas, but my judgement in this area is rubbish because I understand computers better than I understand people. I can't help feeling that moving house in the hope that people in the new area will be friendlier might result in disappointment, but I'm in a poor position to judge.

However, I have some relatives who moved to a small village in rural north Devon, mostly occupied by "incomers". In my judgement, the fellow incomers were friendly and behaved decently, whereas many of the rural "locals" saw incomers as a naive revenue stream to be exploited.

kidmugsy

I thought it was universally accepted that people in Lancs are friendlier than people in Yorks?

BigAunty

WobblyDog wrote: »

I'm a bit uneasy when it's suggested that people in one area of the country are more friendly than in other areas, but my judgement in this area is rubbish because I understand computers better than I understand people. .

I do believe some areas are friendlier than others.

I lived in London for 10 years but found it very much easier to make friends in Scotland. I can chat to local shop keepers, fellow commuters, the postie, taxi drivers and neighbours much more easily up north. Icebreaking is much easier, people are a bit more open.

Of course, a minority of Scots will automatically hate anyone with an English accent - I have been insulted occasionally by bigoted nationalists- but still I believe that overall, its a much friendlier place. Perversely, the area where I live also has one of the highest murder rates in northern europe. And yet, refreshingly (should I not be murdered...) I can have a blether with total strangers here whereas its really hard to chin wag that way in London.

atush

kidmugsy wrote: »

I thought it was universally accepted that people in Lancs are friendlier than people in Yorks?

Are we now have the war of the roses?

atush

I really think the OP is going to be limited until A, they rent a cottage in a few new places, and b, they find out abt work opportunities.

If there is nothing going for them in Cornwall or France, not much point in buying there (even if I love them both).

I have a house in france, and if I hadn't been able to buy a wreck for the price of a second hand ford (ie 5K) I would not have bought it lol. Mind you I had to put in a few K to make it habitable, and I did learn my 'trades' there. From tiling, to cement work, insulation. Paint and D I already knew. I have had it more than 20 years now, and I can tell you France is never easy if you own. It can be cheap, but not easy.

ibizafan_2

I've always had a fancy for living on the coast, probably after being at college in Brighton in the '70s. In fact, we did think very seriously about it in recent years, but my OH is Warwickshire born and bred and all his family live in this area, so we have decided to stay here. Advantages are that it is easy to get anywhere from here, as we are very near all the major motorways, and Birmingham airport is 30 minutes away. We do go away frequently so we can drive to the coast at any time now we are retired. The other thing is that although we have visited most areas, I have never found any coastal town that is quite right. I love Sussex, Kent, Dorset, Devon etc but generally find that the traffic is much worse than where we live at present, even out of the peak season. Never say never though, and as I have one son in London and one in Australia, I don't feel tied to any particular area myself so maybe I will be able to persuade my OH to up sticks, although now we have actually retired (well semi in my case) I don't feel quite the urge that I once did.