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

Just as a precaution, I moved near the sea with a view to permanency. I was only sixty and loved my new life. It was like being on holiday every day. After a few years my ASs said I was too far from them for regular visits .... please move back closer. So I did. 18 months ago at the age of 71 I had a very bad stroke that rendered me disabled. I received a lot of help from my sons and their families, without which I don't know where I would be today. I have now made a reasonable recovery, but don't know where I would have been without their help. My point is, you just don't know whats round the corner. So you need to consider every aspect before deciding to be away from friends and family, just in case tragedy strikes.

Lymington appeals to us. Coastal walks, New Forest, good sized town with open wide high street unlike some towns which feel closed in. We think of moving from London at some point and after 2 holidays in the New Forest, Lymington appeals. Pricey though. It also has a couple of bridge clubs!

We're just about to move to Lincolnshire, between the Wolds and the coast, so easy access to both, with Louth a few miles away. House prices are very reasonable. Lots of countryside and coastal walks but not far from a town - can't wait!

I would ditto Keswick or nearby Cockermouth; hourly bus services to Penrith railway, 3 hrs to London; annual literary, film & mountain festivals; U3A, music society, local hospital, fantastic scenery, great walks & bike rides, miles of forest walks, wild swimming in many of the lakes, many bars, restaurants & pubs, friendly, helpful people, low crime, and best of all, a choice of 2 great parkruns!

Don't know how old you are but it is good to take into account what will happen if for whatever reason you can't drive. In the list of top 10 places to live it mentions Burnham overy staithe, which is lovely but you really need to be able to drive, hospitals quite a drive away, lots of holiday cottages. The coasthopper bus is under threat, and banks are closing. I'd alßo suggest spending a winter somewhere before deciding, I love Norfolk but it is so icy cold in winter. Lived in coastal Essex too and that was so cold. There's a lot to be said for living within reach of reliable public transport. Where I live is not pretty but there is a station and I can get to towns nearby easily or London. I can get mainline trains from a station I can easily get to. Bus not good. Still helpful to be able to drive. Parents live in a northern city and am so impressed by the social and health care. Good oublic transport too.Also there are so many things going on, but if I moved back I'd be a long way from my children, one is about 11/2 hours drive away, the other lives and works locally. They have said that they'd prefer it if I wasn't too far away as they saw how difficult it was for their father and aunt looking after their parents who needed more than weekend visits but didn't want to move nearer, where regular visits could be made by the whole family. They wanted to be with friends and their activities, but old friends died and if they did make any new ones they seemed to be just acquaintances who never helped at all with anything
I'm only 62 so hope I'll have a time to go before I need a lot of help but seeing the in-laws suffering has really made me think that I need to be somewhere I can be as independent as I can be for as long as humanely possible. And I tell myself I can always go places on holiday. So sorry no particular ideas for places, just a few things to think about

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.

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

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.

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 ...

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.

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

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.

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.

We are moving to South Devon this year love it there

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!

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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!

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.