Moving! Where is a great place to live? Ideas please.

Yes I love Church Stretton, although have never lived there. Wild swimming. Envy!

Church Stretton in South Shropshire. A small town in the heart of the Shropshire hills AONB, plus we have wild swimming in the reservoir in the NT's Cardingmill Valley. Lots of independent shops, lots of societies, on the North Wales-South Wales main line. Idyllic!

I live in Plymouth which I really like but don’t get to fully appreciate it as working a lot as I have a guest house. Trying to sell it now as I will be 63 this year and tired out.
Our family want us to move back to Stoke-on-Trent but I think once you have lived near the sea it is hard to move away from it. Our house is right on Plymouth Hoe so it is expensive to buy property and we will no longer have the income from running the guest house..
We are thinking of moving to west wales coast as it has cheaper housing and cost of living and a good train line.
There are some really pretty coastal towns/villages there.

I live in Edinburgh, it's beautiful. But I wouldn't recommend swimming in the north sea unless you're very brave!!!

My son has lived in Brighton and Hove since 2000. I visit very often and if I could afford something other than a delapitated garage I would move there in a second. Love the place and everything on the doorstep.

Brighton sounds ideal for you but is very expensive. Seaton, Devon is very pleasant and cheaper. It is five miles from Lyme Regis which is on the top Times seaside places to live but Lyme is very expensive.

If you do fancy Norfolk, Burnham Overy Staithe or any of the Burnhams are known as Chelsea on Sea for a reason. Go at bit to the west and around the corner - Hunstanton, Sandringham way and its a bit cheaper, warmer and there’s a good train line to Cambridge and Kings Cross from Kings Lynn. Go further east and its cheaper too - but the beaches still face north!

Another vote for Keswick here! We sold the family home and moved to a smaller property of family. At the time I wanted to go to Keswick, but it would have meant we were further away from the family so we compromised and moved to a more rural part of Lancashire. I would sell up and go to Keswick tomorrow but at least we are near enough to visit regularly and we are within easy reach of the Yorkshire Dales, the coast and Manchester for theatres and shopping and we have beautiful Lancashire country side within walking distance so I think I should consider myself very lucky though I'm still not giving up on my Keswick dream.

Seven years ago, I retired to Torquay from Staffs and love the life here. It’s quite a balmy climate and well served for countryside, coast, theatre (especially amateur) etc. Visitors are always impressed by our bus service and there are regular trains to London or the Midlands and North. I had no difficulty signing on with a GP Practice and I’m with a NHS dentist.
Good luck with your move!

BGranniel, what a truly beautiful house and in such a lovely location. I envy whoever buys it.

Hythe in Kent. It's a delightful little town, within walking distance of the sea, it has a real old English character and decent shops. At the same time it's not far to London and if you fancy a trip to the continent the Channel Tunnel is on your doorstep.

Oh BGrannie1 if I was in a position to quit my job right now I would BITE your hand off for that its my dream home/location
<3 <3 <3

If I moved anywhere it would be Brighton. Love the place

North Wales, but try renting for 6 months before committing.

If you want this to be your final move,vwaves make sure you buy a house that is close to shops and public transport and not too far from a large hospital.
If you have the time I would visit - perhaps even have a mini break - a few different areas before I made any final decision.
Some people retire to places they have spent happy holidays but of course a holday town is a lot different in the winter than it is during summer months.

SW coast of Scotland is where we are, just across the road from the sea.... Absolutely love it here but we are desperate to move to Leeds/Sheffield area to be nearer the grandbabies.
www.mcewanfraserlegal.co.uk/properties/126681
Tell everybody.... please!

We are moving to South Devon this year love it there

nanny123 i quite agree with you but i'd say poole not bournemouth!
from where i live i can be in the town centre in a little over 5 minutes, in the middle of the countryside in 5 minutes or down by the sea. if i turn left at the end of the main road 2 minutes from me i can get to london or anywhere (southampton, bath, the north or where the whim takes me) but london is easy. if i turn right at the main road i can wend my way further into the west country to exeter, plymouth and cornwall. the new forest is also very near - drive on the london road and turn left after about 12 miles!
and, of course, we've got miles of coast we can take trips along.
yes, all in all i really like living here - i feel i've got the best of all worlds.

Well, that's a no-brainer for me... Bristol! I moved here on my own (aged 75) from the Home Counties. I only knew one person before I made the move and she's very busy and not often around, so although friendly, she wasn't there to 'hold my hand'. But now, 2 years later, I have lots of really lovely friends, and plenty to do. Bristol has a great sense of community... as well as a wide range of interesting arts projects. There's a real sense of 'together we are stronger' here that was totally missing for me before I moved.

Suffolk, absolutely love it so unspoilt. Or even Norfolk lovely there too.
I would love to have a holiday home in either.

Somerset is lovely and so are all the counties on the Jurassic coast - and good access to London from most of those areas. I remember that when people got a job in Devon or Dorset others would comment "that's the death of ambition!" because they never wanted to move again. And as others have said - the weather is better in the south - though almost everywhere in the UK you can find lovely places to be. Being near the Mendips gives me access to the sea (and though our nearest coast is not the best probably, due to mud, there are lovely exceptions), as well as great walks and Bristol and Bath, Wells, and lots more.

I agree with an earlier poster who suggested the Sussex coast ... I'd go further and suggest West Sussex... We USED to live there but moved after retirement to south Somerset .to be near grandchildren .... Who have now flown their nest ... Very beautiful but WET .... Sussex being east is much dryer ... So perhaps that's something to consider .... But enjoy wherever you go ...

I used to live in village five miles from Basingstoke. Area of outstanding natural beauty. Good train service to London, not far from the New Forest, Southampton, Winchester, etc. Broke my heart when we had to move from there to flat Norfolk for financial reasons.

Go back to St Ives, you loved it there and it’s fab.

Conwy, and it's environs, the best place under the sun, except that we do not have even one bank in this World Heritage Town.