house move downsize maybe

There are some lovely thriving market towns if you look around . They always seem friendly too .
I like more country places, not a fan of seaside.

That is the problem with a lot of small towns, though, the shops closing down, not encouraged by higher and higher parking charges.

I'm confused.

Not being quite sure where Sudbury is, I looked it up. It looks lovely, but the description of the pier, sandy beach etc was confusing as I thought it was inland?
www.visitsuffolk.com/destination/sudbury#:~:text=The%20town%20has%20attractions%20that,indulge%20in%20fish%20and%20chips.

You can't beat a market town imo .

we used to live in sudbury people were always looking for an angle we were there for 10 years and the council still had not adopted the roads on our new estate they put a bus route through and the first time the bus came up ripped itself apart with rise and fall bollards so that was the end of that .then the we had 30 teanagers making a racket in the littlies play ground and 1 yes 1 policelady was sent and she would not get out of her car.we are now down in somerset doctors is run by a private business been here 10 years still do not know doctors name or even if i have one only get the so called nurse practitioner .they do not take blood pressures properly look down their nose at handing in urine sample and continualy peddle lifestyle coaches and coming from a medical background just infuriates me.
as for family one two hours drive away they if we are very lucky come once a year but have not been for 3 years now.the other one lives in ireland so hardly ever appear and then we do all the cooking etc while they play on their phones.older sis is 78 and lives in scotland.we dont seem to go anywhere now the last holiday was 12 years ago .we seem to have a habit of moving somewhere and the shops promtly shut and the place turns into a dump .bournmouth was ok but that was 20 years ago and from what one of the mps said now the place sounds dire.hence ideas needed as i realy do not want to have to keep packing and moving.

Cornwall is expensive and many homes are empty much of the time as they are second homes. Truro and Bodmin, being the main towns, have supermarkets but it would be like living anywhere but with less access to the rest of the country. Penzance is even further down the peninsula.

Devon? I love Devon but so do many other retired people! It does get busy in the summer.

There are lots of lovely good-sized market towns in the country with good facilities and easier access to other parts of the UK.

Do you have any family living in any areas which might interest you?

Norfolk seems popular at the moment but I don't know that area at all.

hermitcrab we have just faced your problem and dealt with it. We have moved to St Neots, in Cambridgeshire, on the A1 and on the main railway line between London and Edinburgh. It is a town with everything in the town centre, doctors, dentists,opticians, podiatrists, Waitrose, Lidl, M&S Food, Iceland, Nationwide, Post Office, Watersones, Bon Marche, Fat Face, and Cine Centre. You name it and St Neots as it in the town centre.

There are a lot of retirement developments in the town centre and Churchills are about to build another. House prices are reasonable here. certainly lower than where we lived in Oxfordshire.

Somerset, pick a town carefully. I am in a small market town with shops, doctors, buses, train not too far away. Lovely friendly people. We have artisan shops, bakers, greengrocers etc no betting shop. Old style vibe and feels very safe, also very lovely scenery. A calm relaxed county and plenty of groups to join if you wish.

You need convenient access to public transport and hospitals.

Dorset or Hampshire might be better.

hermitcrab, lots of good advice here.
I would add my voice to those who point out the importance of good transport links.
I live in a town with a train station, with links to nearby towns, and to London for onward travel.
The buses are excellent, and frequent. I was astonished, visiting my son, to wait thirty minutes for a bus. I am in East Kent.
Good luck with the search.

A Market Town I meant.

I’ve just moved to a market town in Bedfordshire it has a good bus and train service. A Waitrose, Morrisons, Tesco, Marks food store too and various other well known stores. A market day twice a week and at least 2/3 farm shops and garden centres with coffee/lunch cafes. Population is about 40thousand but it feels small compared to London where I moved from. A market sounds just what you are looking for.

The whole country is full of great places hermitcrab! It very much depends on - budget, needs and interests as to where you'll be happiest.
I would (based on those things) look for a small market town with a big heart. A population of about 12000 or so seems to ensure enough facilities/ interests with a nice community 'buzz'.
I would be wary of a lone shop, pub or bus route closing down so would always filter out smaller villages based on possibly not driving in the future, good luck with your search

I would love to live in Cornwall as it is beautiful and my father's family came from there but I believe that medical services are lacking and public transport is not good.

The southeast is much better served in both respects but most of it is either very expensive to buy or very urban (sometimes both). I live in an urban area quite close to the coast which is well served for supermarkets, doctors, dentists and public transport.

The downside is that the traffic is horrendous most of the day and parking is very difficult.