Did you move to the Coast/countryside?

Bun

Whatever you do, consider how you will travel ANYWHERE if you are not able to drive. I live in Bournemouth and many of the places in the area which may fit the bill for you are being stripped of bus services left right and center. If indeed they had them anyway. My parents live in rural Wiltshire, and if they are carless they are trapped.

Ensure you can walk anywhere you need to go (ie stations etc etc) and that you have local shops you can access wherever. My parents don't and for retirement it just isn't practical. They will be moving before it becomes a problem and I am so thankful that they are. Also consider the above in terms of possibly non-driving rellies getting to you.

divadee

im with bun on that one.

but moving to somewhere like bournemouth which is a big town you wouldnt be without shops etc... anyway compared to london.

It depends how rural you want. Someone right on the coast like hengistbury head is lovely. or mabe somwehere like the purbeck coastline.

The south coast will be near enough for your family 2 hours maximum and im sure if you lived right by the coast they will always want to come and visit you!!! you will probably be fed up with them !! lol

you should try some areas you are thinking about, go for a long holiday and try and live like you would if you moved there. Dont do tourist things just everyday things etc... and see how you would cope.

Bun

Quite right Divadee, was thinking more of some of the villagier areas round Christchurch etc where the buses no longer go past quite areas of bungalows at the bottoms of hills etc so now no access anywhere - can't remember which ones. And Corfe Mullen type areas I believe have the same problem.
My comments are more aimed at rural areas I guess!

divadee

Bun wrote: »

Quite right Divadee, was thinking more of some of the villagier areas round Christchurch etc where the buses no longer go past quite areas of bungalows at the bottoms of hills etc so now no access anywhere - can't remember which ones. And Corfe Mullen type areas I believe have the same problem.
My comments are more aimed at rural areas I guess!

yep i'm over that way and some of the buses are poor now. It makes me laugh they have spent all this money on free passes for teh oap's and now they cant use the damn things as they have stopped the buses god thats council sense aint it!! the bus companies must be laughing all the way to the bank!!

tanith

I do drive so no local buses will not be a problem and everyone that I can think of that will visit also has transport. I think the idea of spending a long holiday and doing normal things sounds like an excellent idea and I will suggest that to OH.. the outskirts of a small seaside town is what we have in mind Dorset would be good but maybe out of our price range.. but we have another 8yrs to explore and decide what we want to do... we won't take the decision lightly ....... thanks for your thoughts...

Curv

tanith wrote: »

Dorset would be good but maybe out of our price range..

Oh, I don't know, tanith... if the HPC doom-sayers are right, in eight years time you'll be able to buy ALL of Dorset!

Sorry, I don't have any advice for you. My parents moved to the Cornish coast a few years ago and have since moved back, but that was so they could be closer to their (now very) aged parents. I do remember my mother complaining about how the locals weren't very welcoming and also about how she despised the tourists, but then she's a very hard woman to please and will moan about anything.

The advice to go on a long holiday but behave like you live there is fab - I'll remember that one in future if the urge to escape to somewhere further flung ever takes me.

Conrad

Tanith

Only you can know your desire.
We moved to a lovely quiet village in Hertfordshire and we wake up every day literaly amazed by the green open space. On Sunday we just sat and gawped at the views.

It all depends on your core sense of what makes you happy. We are always happiest being away from it all, sitting under the boughs of a mighty Ash tree, just loving the sense of peace, space and local freindships. Staggering accross the foggy heath from the village pub at night.

Others however would not relate to this connection with natural surroundings.

For example you mention shops; Shops for me are meaningless contrived spaces just to fulfill the need to buy food etc. Buying 'stuff' (really just collections of atoms that will one day end up at the dump) is infinetly less satisyfying compared to say reading the papers on a misty Sunday morning surrounded by nature and space.

So it's all personal. Are you a concrete pavement lover or a lover of what we all came from and lived in until very recently? Cities dont forget have existed for less than 1% of the time Man has walked, so for me are durty noisy cold boring and depressing places.

Im not too keen on most UK coastal towns as I find them a little depressing especially in winter. The exception would be say Rock in Cornwall or Dartmouth in Devon but certianly not any of the fish n chip, kiss me quick, bingo type places (Clacton, Margate, Weymouth etc).

Bun

Sorry about the bus fetish but I meant if you are going to retire and stay there you may need to think that when older are you able to drive, that sort of thing. My mum had her car totalled by a falling tree, and was effectively grounded. No food shops etc.
Will calm down about it now!
The seasonal thing is a good point too.

lynzpower

divadee wrote: »

yep i'm over that way and some of the buses are poor now. It makes me laugh they have spent all this money on free passes for teh oap's and now they cant use the damn things as they have stopped the buses god thats council sense aint it!! the bus companies must be laughing all the way to the bank!!

have to agree 10 fold on this one! My OHs parents live in Parkstone - hardly rural, but one bus an hour is utterly ridiculous just to get into bournemouth (not even a 10 min drive)

Im in london too, and i know that doorstep feeling.everything is here. We toy with moving out for the kids, but in reality I really dont think I can, so will probably cnsider more commuter belt places when the time strikes. When I visited christchurch last year in the height of summer, sad to say but I felt like I was in a coma the pace was just not right for me. Saying that you are older, so It might sut you more. But if you are into the resturaunts theatre galleries etc of london, face it theres no where else comparable

Kez100

I haven't done it but have lived in the westcountry by the sea all my life. It's in my soul so I can't recommend or not to a city dweller. We see people come and go some settle, some don't.

You must choose carefully as the trek to see your family will be a long one. It can be shortened - or made more practical - if you are in the right place.(For example making sure you are close to the sleeper service or a station where the fast train to London stops).

You must come down in the winter. Some places buzz all year long. Others die after October half term.

You need to consider your modes of transport. Local public transport is dire/non existant and even supermarkets can be miles away - do you drive? It's another consideration.

Are you in good health. Also consider hospitals - I had to travel 50 minutes to our nearest hospital when having my baby! If you have health issues think of a location close to the amenities you need.

I come up to London a few times a year. I cannot think of anywhere I have ever been that is less comparable to home! Do your homework first.

Many holiday lets will do a long winter let for five months or so - perhaps try that? It may seem expensive. It's nothing compared to selling and regretting it.