Retiring by the sea

Yes it's a lovely idea to live by the sea when you retire,but you do need good transport links if you don't drive or if you decide to give up driving.My mum and dad loved Paignton in Devon and wanted to move there but they met an elderly gentleman who had retired with his wife down there and she had sadly died after a while he said he was very lonely so my parents decided not to go in the end. So it's something to think about.

We used to holiday in the beautiful Lake District for years. Our plan was to retire there. However, we decided to get brave and move whilst we were still young (ish) My oh managed to get a job and I stopped working but volunteer. We moved here in 2009. As we live quite close to the Cumbria coast we can be on the Solway coast in 20 minutes or walking in the Lake district cells in 20 minutes also. We live about 15 miles from Keswick.

We have just moved to the Lincolnshire coast having looked for properties in Cornwall, Cumbria, Essex, Kent and along the south coast. I have to say that this must be the UKs best kept secret! It is a little village with the coast across the road, there are salt marshes, nature reserves, bird life in abundance and I am just about to take a walk along the sea with my next door neighbour. This area is soon lovely I cannot think why more people are not moving here. Yes it is a little remote and there is only one shop, but bus service to Grimsby and Louth available, house prices definitely reasonable and views to die for. So I would highly recommend it. No retired yet.

We moved to Anglesey about a year ago after years of visiting. We now live in a bungalow with a great view of the sea (we can see the Isle of Man on a clear day). We walk the dog a couple of times a day and because we are away from the more touristy areas we really aren't troubled by crowds or traffic. There isn't a day that goes by without one of us commenting on how lucky we are. It was the best decision we ever made. Property is not expensive here, there is a bus service and 'town' is just a mile away if we are in the mood to walk in. Idyllic? You bet. We only live one life and we intend on enjoying this for as long as we can. The neighbours in the next house along are renting for a year while they decide if it is for them. So there are different ways of doing it. If it is your dream, I'd say only you can make it happen. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I have lived near the coast all my life, apart from the occasional walk, I never visit. Too many dog walkers that allow their pooches off the leash to pester everybody else. The salty air is damaging to paintwork and metal so property maintenance is more frequent. Don't get me started on the flaming seagulls.

It was always my dream too, to live by the seaside. Last year, following a visit to Kent, we decided to go ahead while we were still young enough to make the change. We put our house on the market, "sold" it several times over for more than the asking price but just couldn't find anything for a similar cost that we liked as much as our own house so we had to pull out. We decided there was no point in buying something that we were not happy with just because we had a buyer for ours.

Anyway, as it has panned out, whilst I still hanker after the seaside, I am glad we didn't actually go. I have 2 grown up children and 5 grandchildren, living locally. They were all so relieved that we didn't go even though the thought of "free" hols by the sea appealed to them, obviously. I look after two of the babies at the moment, one day a week, and the idea was that I would travel back by train once a week, stay overnight then go home and enjoy my seaside life. As it happened, I had a pretty poor winter, healthwise, and would have had to let them down and therefore probably not get to see the children as often as I would have wished to. The thought of travelling through London to Hertfordshire each week lost its appeal in the bad weather etc. Reality kicked in and I realised how much I would miss having the children/grandchildren pop in randomly, the whole family thing really. With the best will in the world, the journey from Herts to Kent on the motorway would not be as easy as I initially thought so visits from the family would probably have been less frequent than I imagined.

Meanwhile, property prices here have increased greatly in the past year while they went down in the area we were going to move to so had we gone and had it not worked out, it would have been difficult to come back.

There is a lot to be considered and I'm glad I have given myself time to think but who knows what may happen when the children are a bit older.

Yes. We retired to a seaside village 6 years ago. Don't forget that if somewhere is a rural idyll by the sea, hordes of tourists also want to visit it as well. This means that for six months or more of the year you are indundated with noisy visitors and, much worse, their multiple dogs. Think very carefully!

I live on the North Essex coast having retired here 7 years ago. We love it being 200 yards from a beautiful beach and we have a national nature reserve on our doorstep too. Whenever I feel stressed I just go for a walk on the seafront. I am so glad we came here.

I live by the sea - lots of it. We retired to the Isle of Man nearly 13 years ago from Birmingham. We used to holiday there and like you, wanted a nice place to be in retirement.
It is wonderful. We have beaches to walk on and the coastal path to explore. The scenery is stunning. In the summer, we can go out and enjoy the sunshine in a beautiful place. All the tourist places are open and we have great days out. I still feel like I am on holiday. The sea is amazing.
As it is a small place, all the amenities are community based and accessible. I have no worries about being isolated here. The community is strong.
In the winter - it is cold and blowy and you have to accept that, The pay off is you still have the pleasure of knowing you live in a safe, amazing place.
We go back to Birmingham to visit relatives but I cannot wait to get back home after a couple of days of city/built up/ busy hassle.
Go for it - and remember - if you want to, you can always move back ( but I doubt you will).

I think I might like to live by the sea - we've always quite fancied Eastbourne. But sometimes seaside towns - particularly small ones - can seem quite bleak and deserted in the winter.

I, too, have lived close to the sea all my life - for the first 40 years in devon where I had to drive 5 miles [ish] to get to the sea. I learned to swim in the sea.
for the past almost 30 years I've lived further along the coast in dorset and I now live 5 minutes by car from the sea.
during the summers in both devon and dorset the parking was horrendous and we found that the best time to take the children [and now the grandchildren] was after school when the holidaymakers were wending their way to their hotels, etc.
again, in both devon and dorset we had the best of both world with the countryside within easy reach.
no problems with shops, etc - they're within easy reach of my home. so i'm here for life!

When we moved near the coast some 49 years ago, it was a purely economic move, it was within commuting distance of our jobs for a short while and we could afford the house we wanted, What a great decision it was,

I went to school on the Fylde coast, lived and worked in Berkshire and Cheshire but still visited family by the coast. Our DD and SiL moved with a work transfer to the Fylde coast before we retired but we followed when we had the opportunity and DGC appeared. We have no regrets about moving back. Although we are not near the sea a 10 minute drive or bus takes us to the centre where we can walk along the prom, pier or beach, enjoying the air and watch the visitors having fun. The sunsets are spectacular, the little theatre, picture house and local historical buildings and landmarks supply us with lots of interest and we are not far from the razamataz of busier seaside resorts if we want them.
I can recommend Lancashire with its miles of sandy beach, so take a look, you may be pleasantly surprised.

My parents retired to the seaside, without ever intending to. They wanted to sell their family house and downsize to a bungalow, but bungalows in their area were thin on the ground and expensive. One day, they visited friends near Littlehampton and found a lot of bungalows at a price they were prepared to pay. They checked the area out and found lots of things going on that interested them so moved there. They did sometimes walk along the beach but really had no interest in the sea itself ata ll.

I have lived nearly all my life near the sea and find it strange when I have been a long way from it. We live about 15 minutes drive from the sea in a lovely area.

Things to think about. Where ever you live near the sea property is expensive. If you need to drive to the sea parking is expensive and at any Holiday period the roads and beaches are very busy. But at other times with free bus passes you could easily get to the beach without living very close. When it is busy we go in the other direction and enjoy the countryside. This means we have shops and community facilities around us.

An idea would be to take out of season caravan holidays which are usually reasonable priced to test places out until you find somewhere that meets your need.

I am getting itchy feet
Perhaps a paddle next week may cure them

I've lived 5 mins from the sea on the central South Coast for 38 years and will never move.
I walk and have a cup of tea there most days all year round and every time I say "aren't we lucky" to my partner.

I completely understand your desire, I think many people love the idea of retiring by the sea, I think it's a primeval instinct personally, life, albeit not human, we are told started in the sea first. There's something infinite about the tides going out and coming in and the crashing of the waves, a wonderful sound. My maternal grandparents retired to the Sussex coast and I have many memories of our seaside holidays with them in early childhood. We have a time share in Bournemouth which overlooks the sea on East Cliff so at least I'm looking out at it for one week in 52. We are off there on Sunday I absolutely love walking along the lovely sandy beach that goes for miles. Don't abandon your dream Bridgit hope it comes to fruition for you both.

Hi Bridget, I also live on the East coast, and am just a 5 minute walk from the sea front. It's wonderful, particularly if you get out early on a nice morning. I can highly recommend it

It was our aim too, moving back to where we lived for years,but just a bit nearer to the coast so that we could see the sea.
However, along came the DGC and we would rather be near them - and probably couldn't afford to now anyway.

I hope you can follow your dream!

I have lived a couple of hundred yards from the sea for the past 35 years . I love it. Nothing more comforting at night than hearing the waves on the sand, the sound of ships sailing past or the wailing of seals on the rocks. I have only swum in it 3x - far too cold without a wet suit! Go for it Bridgit

We moved to the coast after DH retired. Lovely bungalow, nice place but could not settle and returned "home". Would advise anyone thinking of moving away on retirement to rent a place for a while to see if it is right for you.

I spent most of my childhood by the sea and yearned to get back to it for years. When we retired we moved to be near our DC and DGC and lived happily for 10 years in South Bedfordshire. Then in 2012 I realised my long held ambition and moved to the south coast to be near our DD and her DC. It is wonderful to be near the sea again after 50 years and we both love it. We are 1 mile from the sea and 1 mile from DD. The prohibitive cost of sea views meant this is as near as we could afford! Go for it if you can - sea air is so invigorating.

My dream too, but husband doesn't like the seaside .
I was born and grew up on the NE coast, and like ninathenana grew up swimming in the sea. I miss the wideopen horizon and the fresh sea air.
www.thebeachguide.co.uk/north-east-england/northumberland/blyth-south-beach.htm

It has long been my dream, to live by the sea, but it will never happen, because we just can`t afford to buy a seaside property, our present house not being worth very much. Charleygirl, the shopping would be taken care of by online shopping, so there would be no worries there.
Bridget, if you do decide to move by the sea, I wish you all the very best, and I`ll be green WITH envy!