Retiring by the sea

I live very close to the sea Bridgit I have an amazing view from upstairs and the beach is about 2 minutes walk from my front door. DH and I spend a lot of time walking on the beach collecting sea glass (all year around) and there is nothing to beat the sound of the waves when you are lying in bed.

On the down side...... We get fog and sea mist when it is gloriously sunny only 5 minutes away inland. The fog horn blasts all night long and the light from the nearby lighthouse flashes across the bedroom. In the summer people who won't pay to park in the car parks block the roads. The fairground is only a minute or two's walk away making it an expensive summer. "we will only have one ride each grandma, promise." Yeah right.

We moved near the sea ...job rather than choice before retirement. Love being near the sea, but there is always the worry about damage to your property from coastal gales. It can be very idealistic thinking about walks along the front, beach trips etc but the reality is that winter gales particularly can give your property quite a battering and as you get older this can be quite frightening. Just another perspective to consider.
Now we have retired we have moved back from the coast about 4 miles inland and no longer have the fakes battering the garden and house...plus I can grow more in the garden without the salt winds. But we can easily get in the car and pop down to the coast for a good blow!

I was brought up by the sea, so never knew what it was like to be without a cold swim each year in the sea.
When we retired, after much searching, I found a place in Cornwall that I thought would suit us both. However by then our older son had bought a house in the midlands, so living in Cornwall was out of the question.
Now, not only have I lost my dear husband, also my mother is on her own and lives near here, near to where my son lives, but he is often away, also not far from my older brother, who is also often away. So this suits me better, where I can take the odd visit to the coast as the winters can be so miserable.

So really think hard about where you feel you would be happier.
i know of many who have gone to Spain but in the end return when age creeps up on them

How I wish I did live near the sea in Retirement instead of the landlocked Midlands. Even more so today after speaking to my 2 granddaughters in Pembrokeshire who have been on the beach most of the day!

We lived close to the Dorset coast - near Studland - for many years and it was great in the winter. Big empty beaches for dog walking BUT in the summer it was horrendous. Queues of cars, if you wanted to get parking then you had to start off around 7.30, sometimes they even closed the road because they couldn't take any more traffic.

Then we moved to Switzerland - long way to the sea from there; and now we're in Shropshire - also pretty land-locked! We've just come back from Sicily where we rented a flat overlooking the sea, and it was lovely to hear the waves on the beach. I do miss living close to the sea, but I don't miss the chaos.

I love living by the sea and we have been here now for 30 years. I would advise that you choose very carefully. Friends moved to another seaside town and regretted it because it was a different world in the winter, as some restaurants and shops closed down in the off season. Public transport was dire so imagine if you get to the point where you couldn't drive any more and there are no buses after 6pm. I would not want to be too far from a hospital and would need to have shops, doctors, banks, other facilities nearby as we get older. If you are concerned about moving away from friends and family have you considered buying a caravan by the beach where you could spend time in the summer and return home in the winter? Best of both worlds? Good luck!

Wherever you retire to think long and hard about it. I know of many sad stories where people have moved to be nearer DC who decided to move after the parents got settled.
I have had a second home, in another part of the country, since 1994 but remain very much an outsider. We are called offcomers.

Luckygirl - I'm happy to report that the cockle sheds are still there; not so many but still in demand. Old Leigh is now a conservation area so you'll still be able to have lunch in the Peterboat or other remembered favourite.

I live in Torquay where I moved to over 50 years ago from Hertfordshire. I love living by the sea and am sure I appreciate it more than those who were born here. It is close to Dartmoor ....... There are coastal walks and trips to Cornwall and the other adjacent counties are easily accessible. Exeter Airport is within easy reach; the train is great too - I still get a thrill if I've been away when I first sight the sea again and know that I'm home. Finally, the cost of property down here is very reasonable in comparison to many other regions.

My DH always reckons it would be cheaper to take a taxi everywhere locally rather than run a car with all its associated costs and depreciation. Maybe you could consider that cassandra rather than have to move away from somewhere you love?

Enforced early retirement forced a rethink for us and we have happily managed b&b in a lovely village close to the sea and countryside for years. However, now that we have health issues it is less easy. We are over 100 miles from the nearest close family members, fifteen minutes drive from shops, forty-five minutes from a hospital ( not wonderful if you need an ambulance) - and, although a train station is ten minutes away, local buses are infrequent and practically non existent outside the tourist season. We love our beautiful area - but these things do matter more and more as you become older, and if you could no longer drive would become very difficult.

How about trying it for a year by taking a year long let - you could always let your home for the same period if money is a problem. I think a year should be long enough to give you an idea of whether you would like to make it permanent or not. You mention about somewhere more rural. Be aware of moving to a rural area as you are getting older - is there public transport if you become unable to drive, are you near to doctors/hospitals, etc. If it's for you then good luck and enjoy your retirement.

J52, I remember those mansions on the sea front at Saltburn. It's not really changed much in over 50 years. My mum liked to take us there as she thought it was more genteel than Redcar!

It had changed when we visited recently but the beach was the same!!

Ah Exmouth - I spent every holiday in Lympstone as a child as my grandma lived there - and then my parents moved to Exmouth. So that area is very dear to my heart. We went back there last year and Exmouth had changed enormously - I found it hard to get my head round.

I live in St Ives Cornwall. Many people retire to this area and it is lovely with loads to do. Property is pricey in St Ives itself but places like hayle are less. But....many people who move down here ,including me, find it too far from family and friends! Something to be aware if wherever you go.

funnygran, DH had a great Aunt who had a top floor flat in Britania Mansions on the front at Saltburn. As a young boy he spent many happy week ends there, overlooking the sea. Whenever we are in the area we always go and visit Saltburn.

I've stolen him to our seaside second home on the West Coast of Scotland!

x

Now, if I can just persuade DS, DIL to move to Devon .....

Dillonsgranma so
We were there the other week, many happy days spent there!

I live in Exmouth in a bungalow ten minutes by car from the beach. Best of both worlds, as I am onan estate with s shop and post office, and a main bus route too. I love wal
king my little dogs on the beach.

I was brought up in the North East and have happy memories of Saltburn and I still visit when I am up there. But to move would be to leave children and grandchildren a long way away and as others have pointed out, it's not always easy to start afresh after retiring. I live a long way from the coast now but appreciate the city I've lived in for 30 years. I suppose it's all a question of compromise.

I have no desire to move to the coast - last year I moved to Devon (edge of Dartmoor National Park) from Somerset, originally from Yorkshire (Dales). Moved to be near my family after my DH sadly passed away. I have the best of both worlds though as I am a country girl but am only 15 mins from coast (without holiday traffic) if I need a "sea fix". Wouldn't swap my home & area for anything all shops, doctors surgery etc accessible by car or bus & 2 large cities only 10mins drive away.

I think its a lovely goal Bridgett to live by the sea and countryside.

I live along the south east coast of the UK(stretching from Folkestone to Bexhill-on-sea) and I feel so lucky as its always so healing by the sea. I go regularly to many of these coastal gems.

I often go for walks along several sandy beaches here especially when I feel very tired or need to totally relax and unwind. I think the negative ions in the atmosphere rebalance the body really quickly.

My sister used to live in a lovely spacious but very affordable 2 bed flat in a little coastal area in East Sussex and she swears that she had never felt so healthy.

I have many friends who live in Hastings and say they would never live anywhere else.

I used to swim in the sea a lot when there was a full moon at a lovely beach called Camber after my nursing shift in the evening. It was heaven. The moon would spread its silver shimmers across the gently lapping sea...really magical.

Now a days I am very lucky that work in my small property search business that looks for properties for either country or coastal relocators to the south east.

If I can help you Bridgit, please look at my advert listing on mums net and grans net under.. on the high street or household services property search and I may be of service to you?

I would love to hear what attracts you to the sea or indeed the countryside?
Where are you in the UK at the moment?

You could always buy a buy-to-let bungalow by the sea and rent it out until you retire??

Many people come to the South East and retire here.

Hythe is a very popular area.

My next favourite place to be if not here is Nepal. Its very peaceful and calming where I stay.

I live in Redcar,no I wouldn't recommend this part of the coast,Northumberland is lovely,why not have a holiday at a couple of different places,just remember it's not always lovely,,winter can be difficult,don't move too far away from the area and friends you know.life may get lonley

I live in Teignmouth - Great beaches, transport & shops, including an Arts Quarter. Only £2.85 for return train ticket (19 minutes) to Exeter (University & all the shops you need) with Senior Rail Card, or free bus every 20 minutes with Bus Pass. Exeter International Airport just 20 minutes' drive away. Oh & Dartmoor can be seen from my window, only 25 minutes' drive away. Lucky me!