Town or country for retirement?

M0nica can I say that I live in Oxford and it is fine by me! - especially as I live a 5-minute walk from the JR hospital... not to keen on the suburbs - could be anywhere - but the centre of Oxford is stunning, don't put all these good folks off! In fact for me, I also

Sunlover can I ask which village you live in? - sounds the ideal combination.

We moved to a small market town with a railway, good bus service, and everything we need within walking distance. I could not be happier, it is wonderful. There are several large towns about half an hour away by car for 'big' shopping but we have all we need here for day to day in the pleasant market square , and three of the big supermarkets. My advice would be - small town with decent transport and with big towns not too far away. I speak as a Londoner too - I am very much a 'townie' and some of the delightful small villages around here, which are a pleasure to drive through or stop for a coffee, would have me climbing the walls within a week - there is nothing to see or do apart from admire the duck pond or water mill and that must pall very quickly. I don't want to have to get into the car every time I need some bread!

We have moved to a lovely little village so have all the benefits of the lovely countryside. However, it’s still only a 10/15 min drive to the nearest seaside town, so we have the best of both worlds.

We live fairly close to you Monica , we don’t have any buses, our village is going to be classed as Open Countryside, so it’s peaceful, hardly any traffic, we have a well used Pub and that’s it!

However, 3 miles away we have a main road into Oxford, (should we ever want to go there) and access to 3 other towns.

Our elderly neighbours have their prescriptions and their shopping delivered, they have a car service to take them to the Oxford Hospitals, the driver waits for them, but it costs about £35. They are heavily involved in the church so they have a good social life without having to travel far.
We can get milk and newspapers delivered, but we are 4 miles from a shop.

So if you can have a country life with all its limitations, but are able to dip in and out of the town if you want, then you can have the best of both worlds.

As long as you have transport.

As for me, I’d rather be back where I came from, by the coast.

Interesting to read everyone's views.
We have friends who have really left it too late to move as he is not fit enough to cope with the upheaval. They no longer drive and have a terrible bus service, with a hilly walk to even get to the bus.
I don't want this to happen to us, but when is the right time?
I do feel like TellNo1Ok, not sure when to make the move. I do all the driving now as OH is not fit enough. Living where we are is not easy without a car. Hospitals are a distance away, OH wouldn't be able to visit me if I had to stay in hospital. Our children are about an hour away nearer facilities and I want to start looking for somewhere nearer them and the facilities, but then don't want to make the move too soon, nor do I want to leave it too late. It's hard isn't it?

I was born and brought up in London and now live in a village in Essex, yes the shops are a distance as are the hospitals, but the pros make up for the cons. I was made to feel welcome from the very first day I arrived and have not regretted one moment.

My late DH wanted rural with a river and acres of green fields a country pub after a walk down country lanes.I wanted rugged coastline with dramatic views and showing nature at its most powerful.
I won and so glad as I do not have to see my dream turning into a nightmare of housing estates and frequent flooding from houses built on flood plains.

We're in our 60s and have just moved into a brand new residential park home on a very nice site which is close to a small market town. Absolute security of tenure (legislation since 2013 ensures this), brilliant peace of mind, and everything in place should we become infirm as we get older. (Wheelchair access, "lifeline" buttons, seat in shower, etc). The actual move was hard work (you never realise how much stuff you acquire - and we're not hoarders) but the sense of relief and well-being is wonderful. We feel that we've "future-proofed" as much as we can, at this stage in our lives.

I'm not quite at retirement age, but when I was younger I dreamed of living in a village. wasn't practical at the time due to having 4 children at different schools because of different ages. Also being the taxi service for the different after school/teenage runs! Now living in a village wouldn't be practical, because thinking ahead when I'm a lot older I may need buses, if I am unable to drive. Doctors, even simple things like a supermarket. I know there is online shopping now, but part of getting out of the house is being able to go to shops, cafes, etc. Most of my friends are really close as well. If I do move it will be to a 'larger' village outside of the town I live in now. A good G.P surgery, few pubs, a small supermarket, library, community centre that has a variety of things going on...it even has its own football club! I could 'survive' quite easily down there if I can't drive anymore.

We live in a small town about ten miles from a much bigger, though not particularly nice town. There is also a lovely market town 20 minutes away in the other direction. Our local hospital is huge, but only 15 minutes drive away.

When we retired my husband wanted to move to the country (it’s actually only a short drive to the country or the coast, whichever is preferred) and he suggested just about everywhere we went on holiday, including Slovenia! They were all beautiful places, but I had no intention of isolating myself from everything familiar, including facilities, family, and friends. I had already done that over 40 years ago when we moved 250 miles away from our parents and all that was familiar then, and it is not an easy thing to do, it takes a long time to feel like home. Plus there is all the driving in order to keep in touch with family and friends left behind. Also as you get older, how will your children cope if you need help and support if you are so far away?

Think carefully before isolating yourselves from all that is familiar.

Don't move away from friends and family. It is not easy to make new friends in later years.

Our funds determined our choice.

...but it resulted in an excellent bus service and three public libraries within walking distance.

I love my set-up. Rural and pretty with all the needed facilities and the big city with all it's facilities only an hour away in the (free!) bus. It is so important to give huge thought to the prospects of potential lesser mobility and a car perhaps not being an option. Quite a hard thing to do when one is fit as a flea. I rather liked the sentiment I read before which said something to the effect 'prepare for the worst and hope for the best'. Pretty much says it all. Wish I had thought of it.

We actually did move to a very rural area at 64 and love it.
Now almost 80 and discussing our future.
If we have to stop driving we’ll move into town... question is should we move within the next few years and enjoy a new area whilst still strong or wait and then look for sheltered accommodation... that’s still under discussion... we so love it here. Both prospects have pluses and minuses... ah well... just toddle on till descision forced on us...

We live in a tiny village (hamlet really) and love it! But there are no facilities (pub closed after we moved here, no shops, no buses, only a church and village hall.)
We have discussed that when we are older and driving becomes difficult we need to move to a town with public transpirt, shops we can walk to etc. But not just yet!!

I once used to think I'd like to move to the country - until we started visiting friends who lived in rural Devon. Lovely for a visit, but they needed the car for just about everything - village shop open for very limited hours was still a half hour walk away, up a steep and very narrow lane. They had to drive even to take the dogs for a walk anywhere they could safely let them off the lead.

Best of both worlds IMO is what my sister and BiL have - right in a small town in the Dales, tucked away in a quiet location, but still only a 2 minute walk to shops etc., and a 5 min walk to open country. If they had to, they could manage quite well without a car.

Personally I wouldn't move to any location where we'd be completely dependent on the car, but then we're rather spoilt here with fantastic public transport which we use a lot - no faffing around parking, and at least locally we don't need a non-drinking driver!

My DH would love to live by the sea, but I'm not bothered. I like wherever live at present. It's a small town of about 4000/5000 residents, we have two small supermarkets, chemist, hairdressers, barbers, Chinese and Indian takeaways, 2 fish and chip shops, cottage hospital. Our nearest A&E is 17 miles by road, and takes about 25 minutes to drive there. We have lovely walks right on our doorstep, plus the Hadrian's wall path just a couple of miles away. It's ideal really.

A dilemna of so many and yes having lived in both I think there are "horses for courses" and in the end as long as you consider a few essential "pointers" it is down to individual choice.

We lived for 25 years,including part of our retirement in an idyllic coastal retreat, right on the edge of a beach and bay,the coastal footpath (of world renown these days) and an ancient bluebell wood.
It really was picture perfect,with peace,the lapping of the waves and bird song.

We could actually walk across the beach to the main shops, Doctors Surgery,Chemist,Bank,P.O. Hairdresser and yes, bliss was the word.
Then this resort started to change as Tourism gathered pace,the small Hotels had massive face lifts,all around were people taking advantage with B& B`s,every available habitable space became a Holiday home or let, and from Easter to mid september you could honestly start thinking this Village was no longer ours.
Traffic,noise and folk with no real regard of those actually living therein.
Time and circumstances changed,it got so busy ,so it got us thinking that the peace of the countryside would be far more ideal to rest our weary bones for this last chapter of our lives!!!.

We bought a very nice bungalow,making sure it had a downstairs bedroom/bathroom for later eventualities, but if anything it was the pastoral green setting,just ideally placed 3 miles from our main town with all the needful facilities, and 3 miles in the other direction was a plethora of lovely smuggler type coves............this ideal half way between town and coast position really sold it.
The added bonus being the bungalow sat on almost an acre of virgin soil............. land that had never been touched.
As now avid gardeners and for the first time having the time for both of us to work alongside one another, this was indeed a great draw.

The first 9/10 years were a peaceful haven,although we had not really taken into account the nearby road was now
slowly getting much busier!
However the setting may sound idyllic for retirement, but there is a big but.

The amenities,including our Hospital may only be 3 miles away, but the fact a car is needed for each and every journey is not ideal.
No longer the cheap and healthy walk to and from across a beach!
Again whilst we can drive it is not too great a problem.However already I can now no longer drive so it only takes something to also halt my DH..... and we are well and truly "snookered" .....no two ways about it.
This thought,and the maintenance of now an almost mature fully established LARGE garden is simply playing havoc with my mind.

I have no peace that is for sure.
We have boobed.

Taking that into account a few years back we put our place on The Market and started sorting out exactly where we should move to and making certain this ..........hopefully final time........we get it right.

Yes the beautiful Villages mentioned.....church,Village green,pond and quaint cottages is absolutely what dreams are made of...........however most idyllic villages within our area of Wales no longer have a shop,P.O,bus service ......the basics.... and so as one gets more and more decrepid with need increasing, this is not a wise move.
In fact, almost all our villages have had the elderly move into town for those simple reasons...........they are virtually full of second homes nowadays.

Sadly this final move, it has to be a town......offering every amenity one may need........and although perhaps not ideal in its setting, it is a time that it really has to cater and work for the pressing needs of two vulnerable folk whom are growing older and needier by the day.

When the sale appeared imminent we eventually opted for the next stage.
Ideally it was a simple 2 bed/2 bath Apartment in a retirement Complex, and the one chosen offered every amenity right on the door step...........plus the most magnificent bay and beach view from all its windows.
There would have been a certain "community" around us making up for the family we no longer have,and there by it offered a safety net, yet allowed us to live our own lives independently.

Sadly our sale fell through and so did these great plans.

So back to the drawing board and start all over again!

However yes,it will still be a similar Apartment in a Complex within a Town setting.................more by need than perhaps totally choice.

Personally I would always now say get your priorities and needs met before choosing the exact spot.

Having lived and worked in both we decided for retirement that a small market town works for us. Just enough facilities, surrounded by lovely countryside and a short commute to a city when required. Transport links are very good here and the climate is good for us. House prices are very good too. East Midlands).

Absolutely-definitely plan for the worst, as the saying goes, and hope for the best. Don't move away from everything you need, for example, when you can't drive, shops, decent transport, GPs, dentist, hospital, church, pub etc

We live in a small town but our local hospital is that in name only (not even a Minor Injury Unit) so our nearest hospital is 20 miles away - forty minutes there and an hour to park, too.

I think you have to think about the possibility that one day you may not be able to drive to the hospital, to shops etc and, if public transport is infrequent, you may need to use taxis, so having facilities not too far away could be a good idea.

We live in a country village in the leafy suburb that is South Oxfordshire. Co-op Self Service, 3 pubs, 1 Indian Restaurant and a snack bar that feeds office workers and passing lorry drivers and delivers to the big high tech estate a mile away and lots of buses.

We are 4 miles from 3 small towns with shopping centres with a good selection of shops and medical facilities and one has a mainline railway station.

BUT all serious medical problems have to be taken 15 miles to Oxford, a busy student and industrial town with appalling traffic conditions. The hospital has recently said that patients should allow an extra _2 hours- to get there. 1 hour for road works and 1 hour to find a parking place.

I would HATE to live in Oxford (if we could even afford it!), but if circumstances dictated I would consider moving into any of the 3 small towns. My preference, however, is for our current village.

We had plans to retire to the coast until our grandson arrived and then we couldn’t bear the thought of moving away from him. We live in a large city and seven years ago we moved from a inner suburb, with lovely woods and parks, to its outer reaches, where we are surrounded by lovely countryside with miles of country lanes to walk, and two country parks. We don’t live “in the country” in the strictest sense of the word, but it is a farming area and so has a very rural feel. We also have very good public transport links to two major hospital and a dental hospital, and the city centre for shopping and entertainment. I think we have the best of both worlds.

We live in a very small village, all good for now, however I do worry about the future, public transport forget it, I say 'one bus a fortnight' which is, of course an exaggeration, but you get my drift

We moved last year to a small town near the end of the Metropolitan line. Our flat is 5 minutes walk from the station, Waitrose, coffee shops and pub. We have numerous country walks closeby. Best decision we have ever made. Love being able to wander into town do a bit of shopping and grab a coffee. We can jump on the tube and be in Central London in 40 minutes.