Moving to a different area - what are the priorities?

andycor

Good luck with your move and I agree, not far from some level of amenities so you can walk to get a pint and the paper - and bump into people locally.
BBbevan if you are moving to Wales, research the journey to your nearest big hospital, in case you may need it in the future. In Wales, smaller hospitals are closing with treatment centres in larger hospitals. I didnt do my research fully when I moved home to Wales, only to find there is no public transport to my nearest (and connected by budgets to the GP I see) large hospital - and the taxi fare is £40.00 each way, with very tight criteria for free hospital transport which I don't meet. Good luck.

Wow, there is some lovely useful input here! One of the things i have done since we started looking at different areas earlier this year, is to make notes in a book - of places we like/don't like, the practicalities of being near shop, doctor, hospital, etc .... so I now have some more bits and pieces to add to the lists. It is unlikely our family members will move, on the face of it anyway, at the moment. SOme people have pointed out that this is the time for us to make the choices that we want rather than anyone else. Fair comment, as parents we are not used to being selfish, but maybe now is the time to weigh it up with the weight on our priorities. I like what cornergran and falconbird say, along with everyone else. THANK YOU ALL!

Having moved house when my dh passed away I think the priorities are: Lots of clubs to join i.e I joined TWG and BookGroup and many others. A corner shop within easy walking distance, supermarkets also within walking distance (important) as we get older. Also as others have said - a doctor not too far away, a dentist and good bus routes.

Some issues:
do you want to be near important people? Is it possible that they may move?) and what is 'near'?
in terms of general visitors, are they more likely to visit if you are fairly central (so they may pass by en route to other friends / family)or if you live in a 'destination' (like Cornwall!)
It sounds as if wherever you are, you will need room for visitors - how important is the price of a decent sized house?

I would certainly visit places you might consider and spend a few days there. But then I would also consider renting your house out (you'll need to clear it anyway, and can put anything precious in storage) and rent in the area you are considering for a few months. You get a much better feel for an area and its quirks.

We had the same experience as notTooOld, my parents moved three times to be near us. There had been no choice for us, we had to move because of work requirements. I was more than worried for my parents, it seemed so unfair, but in fact they found positive things in all their moves and I know wouldn't have done it uness it seemed the best thing for them. We moved three years ago, nearly four now, we are closer to family but we moved to the right place for us, not just to be closer to them although that is a real bonus. We explained before moving how pleased we were that we would be closer to them but should they decide or need to move away it was very unlikely that we would also move again. Being closer is a bonus, it wasnt the primary reason for choosing our new location. The one downside of the move for us is that it is proving very difficult to make new friends here, lots of acquaintances but few friends. We aren't disheartened, we sort of expected it and more will come in time, but it coud be something to think about when considering a move

DH and I have been in a similar position to the OP for a few years now and still can't decide what we should do/where we should go, so I am not qualified to offer advice. However, those who point out that moving nearer to children is not necessarily a good thing because the children themselves may move are right. My parents moved to be near me and three years later were left on their own as we had to move upcountry for work. It's a minefield. In fact, I'm coming to the conclusion that we should stay where we are, it's not perfect but it's pretty good.

Just thought of another. Check broadband speed. Or you may find posting on GN difficult.

Brilliant input again today, thank you so much, folks! We are going to have a really good think about our priorities and what we want to get out of this move. I really hope it will be our last move, circumstances have meant two expensive moves for us in a fairly short timespan and it is such a pricy process. The internet is very helpful in checking out areas, but there is no substitute for visiting places, which we have already been doing and I like the tip about the library, we tend to look into the church and pick up parish mags as well as these give a clue to the age range and activities that are around in a place. I am going to shift our compass centre point further west and see how we get on, it had not occurred to me that putting ourselves in the middle geographically would be a bad idea, but it really does make sense. We like the lifestyle we have in Surrey but it is so busy and now is the time we want to kick back and enjoy some quieter surroundings overall. I will post back when there is some progress to report! Thanks again all. Really appreciated.

Is this going to be your last move? If so I would consider easily accessible amenities, especially doctors, hospitals, chemists, shops and perhaps a community to be part of.

I would also want a property that was warm and also cheap to heat. I wouldn't want a house that needed endless repairs. A large garden is appealing but as we grow older it can become a real chore.

I agree with Lillie, youth doesn't preclude you from life changing events and getting older doesn't automatically mean ill health and disability.

Even if you move to an area near your family, with bus and train services, dentists, doctors, shops etc etc, you have no idea how long they will continue to be there, careers change and families moves away (example given above), shops shut, surgeries centralise, bus services are very chancey, although trains are less so. You can make all the 'right' decisions and still end up isolated and lonely.

Choose somewhere you have checked and found to have congenial activities and pleasant surroundings. Move there, take a chance on the services and I think you have as good a chance of a pleasant later life as all the careful calculations on the availability of services.

We moved out to the coast when retired, as did DD, SIL and tiny baby DGD ... separate houses of course!

Our criteria at that point was to be close to civilisation and a fairly easy journey for DH to get down to Liverpool for the football occasionally, oh and a south facing garden.

Everything worked out perfectly in that we are on the edge of town and have bus stops and train station (only 45 mins to big city!) within a few minutes walk. Waitrose is just along the road too.

We plan to move house again next year to what should be our forever home/final resting place move. We will stay in this town so it's more about getting the house right this time. Generally thinking ahead to our dotage and how to make it as easy as possible to stay at home. Also have the old mother to consider should she not be able to be in her own home.

I think it's important to live where YOU want to be and fix your own criteria. Being in the middle of everything but near no-one isn't right.

We once lived in Cornwall( actually, twice!) I wouldn't want to live there now though love it for holidays.We had new next door neighbours there who had moved specifically to be near to DD and family, then DD told her that husband had got new job in Lancashire, and they duly left, and the old couple stayed put, very bitter, saying they couldn't follow them around ( my thoughts too, you can't follow your adult children around the country.)Cornwall is a long way from anywhere else.I would stay in Surrey, move house there ( if not keen on present house) to somewhere near by, and near family, and family in Cornwall ( younger than you!) can travel to see you.Good luck.

Priorities when one moves house are whatever one decides are one's priorities.

When we moved to Argyll from Oxfordshire, my priorities were a fireplace and a primary school for Minibags, who was five at the time, within walking distance. As for the rest we would just wing it. Ten years on we're still winging it .

I am sorry Luckygirl and Ruby, I didn't mean to be flippant. None of us know what is round the corner at any age.

I just feel the expectations on the next generation of retirees is to live longer and to be fitter for longer, so at 61 I felt there was no point in andycor moving to any area full of elderly people and becoming old before their time.

Actually, andycor seems to be caught in that middle area both in terms of age and health, and also in geographical terms of wanting to be in between family and friends. I guess that was my thinking about choosing a place they liked, and forget all the practicalities for once. Nothing is forever, and I would suggest that maybe 5 or 6 years doing that would give them breathing space before they make the final move.

We are toying with the idea of one last move. Our essentials would be nearby doctor, dentist, shop, bus route, pub (great for getting to know people!) and close to major roads for ease of visiting family. We would live to go to Devon but it's not practical - I have one son and a granddaughter living there, but 2 other sons elsewhere and my husband's children are all within one hour of us. As we do one day a week grandson sitting for one of them we would not want to go too far away.

I agree lucky, it's not an age thing. I'm only 52 and have serious health problems, making me a virtual prisoner in my own home at times, for days on end until I feel slightly better for a ride out. But then I can't go far or I get too tired and in too much pain.

I didn't anticipate this neither, not at such a young age but it's the cards you are dealt.

My concern moving here two years ago was a shop nearby for essentials including our gas and electric at the time (now on a smart meter) and shops nearby for me to be able to get to for a break every now and then. I will have to use my mobility scooter for this though from now on but at least I have somewhere to visit and a lot of variety where I am, which is good. The area we came from was took over by Asda and all the small shops closed down, including the library. Somewhere to go is essential, a library is a wealth of opportunity for finding things out in the area. Do a recce first.

I tend to agree with beammeupscottie that being an "in-betweener" might not be a good idea as you won't be that near your daughter or your friends.

I'd want to be in an area with very good transport links - railways and buses - so that I could easily visit friends and other relatives. I personally wouldn't choose a village but a small town, with access to shops and other facilities. I would check the area out properly before looking for a property there to see how friendly the people are. From my own experience, some places are friendlier than others.

I think Truro and Fowey are rather nice.

Excellent public transport, as J52, we won't always be able to drive, easy access to GP surgery, and market- and also 'culture' cinema, adult courses. Beautiful countryside.

Dorchester. Loads to do for retired people, mainline train, great market, nice people. Best place in the southwest!

Check out what is going on locally. Make sure that any interests you have will be easily met in the new area

40 years ago, when my parents were retiring they went to the Library in any location they were thinking of moving to, and checked out what was going on locally. They found a lovely house, put an offer in, checked the library and withdrew the offer.

The house they eventually bought was not perfect, but there were lots of organisations in the area that interested them. Within weeks of moving in they had become part of several groups and by the time they both died nearly 30 years later the church at their funerals, was packed with all the friends and acquaintances they had made.

Thank you all for such useful and helpful comments and suggestions. I so agree about not being too isolated and we do want to be part of a community. We both have hobbies and interests and will not be idle. I think the problem is that we are trying to please others with our location and being accessible rather than really looking at what we want ourselves .... yes we are fairly fit and active now and it is hard to project to a time we are not, so this is another good reason to choose to be within walking distance of amenities. My late parents moved to Cornwall in retirement and although it was lovely while they were still active, it became too isolated in the end and I am afraid of following suit. I do like the idea of siting ourselves in an area that has lots to offer so that the family/friends will come to us, rather than us go to them when it gets more challenging. More thought required I feel! Appeal is countryside and a slower pace rather than seaside for both of us. Decisions, decisions!

Luckygirl I could not agree more- I retired in 2002, had 3 casual jobs until I broke my ankle in 2009, had to have it internally fixated and life has never been the same since. Not quite what I had envisaged.

Lillie - we did not choose to be "old before our time" - it just came and bit us on the bum!

I agree, near a decent hospital, GP surgery, dentist, optician. You want to be close to shops and as somebody else mentioned, a train station. Country bus routes have a nasty habit of disappearing. You may not need these now but fast forward 10 years and a lot can happen.

A manageable house, small garden and a bungalow if possible but not a house with eg 3 floors.

Do not be so far away from friends that it is an overnight trip to visit.

Do you have hobbies?

you do not want to be too isolated that you cannot get anywhere if eg it is snowing. It should be easy to buy a newspaper and a pint of milk.

We are both 71 and are moving next week from the S East to West Wales. We haven't bought a house yet so shall be staying with our DD whilst we have a look around. We would like something rural, but realise that might not be practical for long. At the moment we are both fit and well and do a lot of walking.So it will probably be within walking distance of a shop, and a bus route. Also ease of access to doctor and dentist. A small village would be good. Quite excited now. !