Moving to the coast

I think you need to do some research first. Look at houses near facilities. Would you be close to railway/bus links? Shops? Would it be possible to actually get a doctor as some practices are full? Go and visit at different times of the day and visit in winter too.
I moved home and area six years ago and I am quite happy where I live, but I researched it all first. I'm walking distance to an Aldi, close to bus stops, health centre etc.

It is difficult to advise not knowing your situation fully. If you currently live a busy life with friends and family close I would stay where you are and enjoy lovely days out at the coast.

My personal preferences - I like:

Instow
Mortehoe
Westward Ho!
Bude

North Devon Hospital in Barnstaple is OK for most things, but special treatment is sent to Exeter.

Easy enough to make new friends and join things because many residents are retirees and blow-ins. Nice pubs and tea rooms around, garden centres, historic stuff to visit etc.

Good luck!

I agree with GrannyIvy.

I yearn to live at the seaside - at least in the spring and summer!

Luckily where I live is 30mins by car to the coast.
Quite a lot of our walks with U3A are
coastal and looking carefully at these pretty villages you notice that most
are holiday homes so it would be very bleak and lonely in winter.

I wouldn't leave my friends and family and all the services where to go anywhere, but especially the coast.

In summer its full, in winter empty and depressing.

Each to their own though- like others have said do plenty of research before making the move- also go for a week in the winter to see what it's really like.

There has been a thread a bit like this on this site recently.
But I couldnt tell you what it was called.
It covered some of the things you are thinking about, I think.
If I find it, I will post it.

I retired to the coast in Somerset and am so very glad I did.
Our town is like a playground for older people who enjoy hill walking, cycling, U3A, volunteering, sea swimming groups, sports clubs, local history, church, coffee mornings, craft workshops and plenty more, so lots of opportunity for making friends.

You sound to me as though a town would suit you better than a village or rural isolation. Plenty of shops and cafes, pubs and a cinema to enjoy. Choose a town where people actually live - not one that is a second home place where things can be very lonely.

Be aware that you might not have the resources you're used to, public transport is dire. Getting a doctor, vet all the essentials here was fine, probably better access than the city I lived in before. Dentists are a problem here, but I believe they a problem everywhere at the moment.

The thing you have to ask yourself is why you want to live there. If it's because you like it when the sun shines and you're on holiday, think what you will do all year round. Do you have a reason to be there? You need a reason otherwise you'll be adrift. You have to be the kind of person who enjoys the empty, quiet, winter months. I love the bustle when the tourists are here but even more so I adore the bleak, quiet, empty peace of what actually is the majority of the year. It's only really busy here for a few short months and the rest of the time it's bliss. I enjoy watching the tourists in the summer and every single time count my blessings that when they all go home I can stay as I actually live here and we have it to ourselves. Those huge empty hills and beaches in October or March are fabulous with a dog.

You have to throw yourself into things and make it work, otherwise you will always feel as though your 'real' life is where you lived before and where your family are.

The time almost certainly come when one of you will be left on your own, but you hopefully have many, many years of enjoying life on the coast. I love it and have no regrets.

I have a friend who has inherited his parents' retirement flat on the South Coast. He and his extended family use it as a holiday flat but he definitely wouldn't want to be there all the time.
It's great as a base for exploring the area but the town itself is God's waiting room most of the year.

You’re not so very old. Time for a little adventure?

It really depends on whether you could afford to reverse it if it proves to be a big mistake. If you could, what’s to lose.

I'm 68 and personally wouldn't uproot myself. Admittedly I am widowed though. I currently live on the outskirts of a major city with every possible amenity easily accessible including public transport. I drive at the moment but at my age that could change quite suddenly, and I no longer like driving in the dark. Having to drive through country lanes and therefore trying to get home before dark at 4pm in the winter, would be a nightmare. Bear in mind too that whereas once seaside towns were often full of retirees, they are now more likely to be full of empty second/holiday homes instead. It's also fair to say that it's not easy to break into a new social circle as you get older. There is also the inevitability of one of you being left alone. If you have lots of friends, good amenities and possibly family where you currently live, I would be inclined to stay where you are and, finances permitting, enjoy holidays at the coast.

I think sometimes, depending on the location, it's not always correct ylto say coastal towns are full of retirees and second homes. We do have our fair share, but where I live in Devon the schools are bursting at the seams and there are plenty of young workers - builders, decorators, gardeners etc. A lot changed during lockdown when many young families moved down to the county to work from home. For example, our DS1 came back with his family, he now works from home but also travels to Saudi and Australia for work.

fancythat

There has been a thread a bit like this on this site recently.
But I couldnt tell you what it was called.
It covered some of the things you are thinking about, I think.
If I find it, I will post it.

Not sure if this was the thread I was thinking of, or not.

www.gransnet.com/forums/house_and_home/a1331700-Still-Homesick-Two-Years-After-House-Move

We retired to the North Yorkshire coast six years ago in our mid sixties, this put us further away from our family which was not an easy decision. I believe we all should live our lives as we feel best, I’m very close to my son and we use FaceTime twice a week and see each other a few times a year, I should add we have no grandchildren. It’s quite honestly the best thing we could have done, very healthy and totally beautiful scenery. I do think of the future but we none of us can secure that. Go for it!

My sister and brother in law were about your age when they moved to the coast ten years ago. They have never regretted it and enjoy every minute of it . However, they are very gregarious and still very fit and healthy so they are able to visit all their old friends and entertain them at their house. They did only move about fifty miles from their original home and they are the type who give parties and invite all their neighbours . They are very young at heart and not at all set in theirs ways.
I wouldn’t contemplate such a move as my family and friends are all local and that means more to me. Personally I don’t really see the attraction of the coast unless of course it is your home.

I have just read the link fancythat posted.
Such a very sad update by the OPs daughter. I am in tears for her.

My DH and I live by the sea. Not Devon but a seaside resort with a big famous tower. Both of us brought up here and have a flat facing the Irish Sea. I drive but there is a good tram service opposite us. We don't have many friends and I find many let us down. I have 2 daughters one lives not far who I could rely on if I was on my own and my other daughter would be there if needed but lives about an hour away. You would love it by the sea and there would probably be over 60's clubs etc. There are several ladies in my block who are retired and on their own but are happy enough and always in an out somewhere. I hope you come to a good decision. Good luck in your quest. xx

My inlaws moved to Torquay several years ago. They bought a lovely upside down house to take advantage of the sea views over Meadfoot beach.

They lived in a posh cul de sac where everybody kept themselves to themselves except on bin days when they put out boxes and boxes of empty alcohol bottles. They were all retired people who seemed to do nothing but drink and fall asleep for the rest of the day. 🤣

After a couple of years my FIL became ill and passed away. MIL could not drive so moved back to the Midlands.

HelterSkelter1

I have just read the link fancythat posted.
Such a very sad update by the OPs daughter. I am in tears for her.

Oh gosh.
I had forgotten about that update. My bad.
Am wondering if I ought to remove the link.
I will ask GNHQ to do so.

Crikey, that thread is very sad. I hadn't read it, I think it was during my suspended/couldn't access GN days.
I hope the OP of this thread is discerning enough to realise that not all moves away end up like that. The lady in question might have had emotional goings on in her mind, maybe not all related to her move.

Yes I think that would be a good idea. So sad. Poor woman and poor family.

As I have put on several other threads, having moved 19 times both here and abroad, for what its worth, my suggestions are
1. when you have picked an area that you think will suit you, then look around and see if you can stay bed and breakfast or rent a flat . But the idea is to try it out in a couple of different times to see how you manage overall. so try staying in late january/early february, when it will be probably at its quietest and the weather might be quite rough and cold. Then try and do the same in the middle of the holiday season. That way you have spent some money trying it out, both busy and quiet and see how the traffic might affect you.
. If you do the B/B then if you like where you stay, the owners will probably be able to give you a lot of good ideas and tips both for good areas to look in and what are the best grocers etc etc, plus they will probably know all the clubs that are worth looking at.
2. Start now by ordering the local paper from one or two possible places. This is worth while as you get to see what goes on in the places you fancy, also reading the court news etc you can then see if there is a particular road or area which would not suit you and can make a note of that when you come to look at properties .

So it is sort of a little project. You might each make a list of pros and cons about moving, and decide whether you want to keep them private in the beginning or share them. When you have tried visiting places you can then come back to look at your list. Sometimes we can be thrilled about one particular aspect, to the extent of forgetting to look at more mundane things. So I would think it important to see what public transport there was and ease of getting to train station etc, should you end up unable to drive.
So I see this as a very practical idea, where you may find somewhere you absolutely love, or alternatively having tried somewhere you might decide to stay where you are but plan to visit to resorts for a bit longer at a time, whilst still keeping all your friends and contacts where you are. Whichever you find suits you it will definitely be cheaper and less heartache than actually moving and regretting it, I think. Good luck and hope you find the answer that suits you

Thank u for all your messages we are going to rent a caravan or cottage and explore the areas and buses and trains. Also
The town centre I don’t mind winter too much just the same as being at home really, have been to Exeter and Torquay and Newton Abbott has good rail links we feel if we wait much longer it won’t ever happen. Some good advice on here but due to stamp duty gone up and fees that move we couldn’t afford to
Come home

Oh that poor lady and her family. Life can be so hard sometimes.

I know north Devon well and just want to warn you that public transport isn’t very good. In recent years many bus services have been scrapped and the train only goes from Exeter in the south as far as Barnstaple. The other parts of Devon have far better public transport.