How did you decide where to retire?

If you are coming from London I would be surprised if you would love a village.
We returned from Holland to a smallish market town.
We are on two bus routes, near enough to two large hospital trusts, on a train route to London and our DC. Close enough to a motorway although I am happy to drive on it.
We have beautiful country side nearby in fact can walk from our house to a local beauty spot.
We are also near two U3A groups, 3 Women's Institutes and a lively NWR group.
These are all things to consider when you move. It is not as easy to make good friends when you are older.

We had no pre-conceived ideas as to area but we made a list of the things we consider essential to a happy life (for us - others will have their own criteria). These included comfortable walking distance to doctors, dentists, essential shops, local restaurant(s) and real ale pub; a frequent bus service to and from the nearest major conurbation; railway station with train service to adjacent major towns; fast broadband; relatively flat terrain because OH's mobility problems mean he can't deal with hills without pain. There were a few more but those are the principal ones I recall.

We then started sifting through houses of the right type, size and price on Right Move until we found a few that ticked all, or most, of our boxes. In the end, we bought the first one we looked at and made the move from Greater London to a little town just outside Lincoln. Never regretted it but consider it was well worth the time we spent doing our advance homework!

Dolcelatte I agree Canterbury and surrounding area are lovely.
Unfortunately the road networks in Kent are terrible. I wouldn't advise anyone to move to Kent, in fact even though it's my home county I'd move tomorrow.
Things to consider. Devon and Yorkshire are hilly. Which ever area you decide on, make sure GP surgery is handy, there is at least a small shop near by and a bus stop within walking distance.
Good luck

If you have kids I would definitely factor where they live into the equation. Check that areas have decent bus/train routes and that good hospitals are not too far away.
Look at what kind of social activities are around. MIL has moved to a place where there is a busy U3A and she is v happy there.
We moved from a busy suburb to a village but I have realised that I am more of a townie. Villages can be v quiet.
Maybe consider moving to a different kind of property rather than a different area?

It was easy for us to decide. We lived north of London in an increasingly built up town. Our quiet street was virtually a grey dirty car park.
My daughter had married and moved to SW Wales. So we sold up, went to live with her for a while until we found a house. Absolutely lovely area with wonderful friendly people. Clean and green to.

You will have to narrow your search birchermuesli otherwise you will never make a decision. Make a list of your requirements and what you are prepared to compromise on.
Good luck

Your needs as you age, and what you like to do matter more than where you live.

Suburbs are often under rated but many of the amenities of the countryside or village can be found in well planned suburbs. And if you don't want to drive it's a lot easier to live next to a good bus stop in a suburb than in a country village where there might be no public transport at all.

Have you thought of South Gloucestershire? Has some lovely little market towns with free parking, good bus service and excellent train services especially to London (Bristol Parkway). Motorways near by give access to Wales, South West, North West and locally The Cotswold and the Forest of Dean. I moved to be near my grandchildren, stressful move, but happily settled and have become a very useful and experienced babysitter!

We moved from Essex to Norfolk almost 2 years ago and don’t regret it for an instant.

BUT we are now 100 miles from our family ( which is nothing , we both drive and expect to drive for some years yet) . Bear in mind Norfolk is mostly small towns and villages, we drive much more than we ever did when we lived in a city .

Not every village has the amenities you will require and bus services are often either sporadic or lengthy .

I think you really need to experience your shortlist of areas , you’ll be surprised at what in terms of pros and cons .

Good luck

I would definitely say not to retire to "the country". Transport etc will become a nightmare for you.

How about a town like York - very accessible, plenty to do.

Canterbury, beautiful city, so much to do and see, compact so you can walk everywhere, high speed trains to London take less than an hour, excellent bus service, near to the coast and Europe.

We are still in that dilemma - I retired (made redundant) at the end of last year and husband officially in March although he is still doing some work as self employed. We have lived where we are for the last 33 years and have no family round us. Trying desperately to decide whether to stay put or move back to our home town at the coast where we have a small property.

As you are the only driver this has to be one of the foremost things to think about where you settle. As you live in London you'll be used to public transport on hand and the bustle of the city - would you miss that if you moved to a more rural area? Do you have family in other parts of the country who would want you to move closer to them? There are some wonderful areas in this country but you need to be sure it's the right area for you to spend your retirement years in. Perhaps narrow your search down and maybe rent a holiday place for a short time to thoroughly check the area out before you make a final decision.

You seem very undecided indeed there is such a big differance between Yorkshire and Devon isn't there.
We retired back to our homeground on The Wirral where we have good easy transport to Liverpool/Chester and good access to Countryside for days out.
Make sure you choose somewhere which has good shops nearby for you both and that you can get to Doctors/Banks etc.