Would you move to the country?

We moved from busy Sussex to deepest rural Somerset at 65
Now 80 won't move from this idealic spot until neither of us can drive.
The lane floods in heavy rain and it certainly rains more in the west than the east
But locals with tractor phone for a shopping list and deliver to your door and Mr tesco has no problems getting through
Join committee of local Village Hall to get to know new people and have a bit of fun and we were much welcomed.
But we are fit and healthy and strong still. So it's easy for us..
Do it again?.. In a heartbeat.

I do think it is important to think ahead for `what if` when WE becomes I and believe me that does happen to most people

We live down a long track with no neighbours. My husband invested so much time, love and effort in bringing the house into the 21st century and is finding it very difficult to leave. I look out on a farm in the distance, our own lawn and sheep and occasionally cows. I REALLY miss seeing people and life going on around me. We’ve been here 13 years and I’ve found it particularly hard since retiring. It is not the place to live as you get older. You HAVE to have a car. If I had moved to a village I think I would have been fine.

I've always lived in the countryside or on edge of town near countryside,

Moved from Derbyshire to Cornwall You will love Derbyshire SueSocks.

Like Cornwall, roads get congested at times in Derbyshire. I love Cornwall but prefer Derbyshire. There are plenty of large towns and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield are so handy.

Transport good in Derbyshire and taxis much cheaper than here in Cornwall,

Don't choose a too isolated hamlet - buses are a rarity. Small villages are a better choice. Properties are expensive in the villages. I lived close to Ashover - look it up. Great village atmosphere.

Good luck and yes do move,

SueSocks
PS I moved at age of 65 - now 70 and still love driving. It will take a lot to stop me from driving.

My hubby and I are 71 and 72 ans live in a very small hamlet with no shops, regular bus service or Church. Hubby struggles with mobility, but still drives, and I am partially sighted and struggle with getting about on my own.
However, we have Call Connect - a bus service that is "on request". As a pensioner, journeys are free of charge (you need a bus pass from the local county). When hubby could not drive following an operation, I used the bus service to get into our nearest town, which is four miles away, to do shopping and to collect prescriptions (though the surgery will deliver if required). I used a taxi to come home, simply to save waiting - there are no seats and few bus stops, even in the town (though there is a bus station where seating is available), The bus station is a goodly way from the supermarket I use, though there is a closer alternative. There is currently a small hospital in the town, and many other useful businesses, cinema and theatre. I did use a grocery delivery service for a while, but experienced problems with missing items (one time £12's worth!).
In short, as others have said, you need to check out the areas you'd like to move to - and make sure it has the facilities you need.

We live in a very small village in Oxfordshire with no shop or pub. However, after living here 2 years I wouldn't want to move. It is so friendly and there is such a lot going on and the big plus of beautiful scenery.

We do have a regular bus service to Oxford and other towns (free of course) and if we get so we can't drive then will use taxis.

I wouldn't want to go back to living in town, street lighting etc. I love the peace and quiet.

We moved to Derbyshire 18 months ago, Belper to be exact.
Best of all worlds, Great transport links, good bus service in the town and surrounding towns and villages, and into Derby. Railway station, supermarkets and a high street full of independent shops and Cafes. Lovely cinema, leisure centre, WI and lots to get involved with. Such a friendly small town. Surrounded by pretty countryside. Might be worth a look.
Good luck

We moved to rural France when we were in our 60s and had 16 very happy years there. So I think Suesocks it's not too late for you.
We returned to the UK nearly 2 years ago for various reasons. eg no public transport, too much work on our large garden, family pressure, health problems, dogs cats and chickens etc.
The move itself, and time before we were properly settled here, were horrendous. I think we left it too late.
I used to love driving in the country but not here in town.
Husband still drives.

Have a good look at the sunshine hours and frost/rain stats before you think of going south coast to Derbyshire... - doable but 'be prepared'.

My in-laws moved to the country in their 70s. They quite liked it but not as much as they had hoped. Then his eyesight began to fail and she was the only driver. He was hospitalised and even visiting him was a real problem. So when he recovered they moved nearer to the city. They are in a village now but it's almost a suburb. There are a few shops, PO, doctor, neighbours etc and a bus every half hour. They are in their 90s and still live independently.

We live in another small town not too far from them and count myself lucky. The bus is almost outside my front door. If I go in one direction I'm in the city in under and hour. If I go the other way, I can be in open country in 10 minutes. It's free with my bus pass. Feeling fit, I can cycle for miles along the old railway route and can arrive at the seaside in under and hour. well possibly!

I bought a narrow boat to live on when I was 66. I live in a marina close to a village. Love living in the country and on water. Follow your dream.

I love to visit the countryside but could never live there. I don't drive so need to be near public transport, shops, Theatres. Cinemas, doctors etc. I also like to be able to walk to a shop where I can get the essentials. Luckily I live in a city that is very close to the countryside so I have the best of both worlds.

My parents moved to a Lancashire hamlet in their fifties to live the dream (my Dad's dream), when both were active, fit and well. Fast forward twenty years and shopping, everyday needs and health issues became a real problem. Doctor and dentist were eight miles away and refused to visit to the extent that the emergency ambulance was out on several occasions and the air ambulance twice. on one occasion, when two courses of antibiotics failed (no GP came to see her) she had to have emergency surgery for bowel blockage, resulting in a colostomy, and nearly died from peritonitis. Regular prescriptions had to be collected by a volunteer and then fetched from his house, a couple of miles away. The mobile library visited once a fortnight but they still had to walk down and back up the hill to use it. Heavy snow was a problem most winters, preventing them from driving. Clearing paths isn't a problem when you're fit. If you're not, you are house bound.

Find somewhere nice with services!

So please think twice about moving somewhere where there are no support services. I live in a smallish village (population around 1000) but (for now) we have an excellent corner shop, a pub, newsagent and a GP surgery. There is also a bus service to the next nearest, bigger village (5 miles) and to the nearest market town (11 miles). Snow can be a problem even though we are on a main A road.

This was our house -
www.google.com/maps/@43.3757357,0.4977388,3a,48.8y,285.12h,100.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sW7m41BJJ5CvqkQ2u3Foo2g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
As you can see it was isolated, and a bit miserable in the winter. We still miss it though.

If you need carers, living in the country is a nightmare. We are looking to downsize and my criteria has changed from a house in the middle of nowhere with a large piece of land to a place with a small garden, good transport links, accessible shops and a decent hospital. If we can watch the boats go by too, I think DH would be very happy but I think the hospital in Portsmouth might kill that aspiration.

My husband and I are 87 and 81 and in August moved to a retirement apartment just a few hundred yards from our town centre and library. Although we both still drive it is so nice just to be able to only walk a few steps to be amongst things.
We have a small theatre and have booked tickets to see several shows there which we would not have bothered to do at our previous address which was in the same town.

Glad we made the move ???

Strangely I also live in a small town on the south coast with a lot of development nearby. However I never want to live anywhere else. I am in my 60s and hubby 70s and although I agree a nice quiet hamlet sounds idyllic the reality as you get older might be not so. I have several friends who moved away from what they knew in retirement and it wasn't successful. It doesn't mean it won't be for you but be sure it is the right move as it may not be possible to move back. Good luck.

well you can't say you haven't been warned!!
From the experience of friends and family, I think if you find a place you love then go for it. Chances are when it does become a burden, there will be younger people wanting it too so you will be able to sell it.

A couple we know had a holiday cottage on a Scottish island which they let through an agent, keeping it available for themselves when they wanted it. They loved it but eventually even that dream became jaded. Tenants trashed it more than once, despite cleaners coming in. The journey was long, the family grew up and got bored with it, and it's hard to live in two places. They had no trouble selling.

I grew up in London, and am a townie through and through. I now live in a small town with a market, station, everything I want within walking distance, but with wonderful scenery and peaceful rolling hills within a five minute drive. London is an hour away. I could not cope with some of the houses friends have moved to - a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, with one shop (now closed) and a twenty minute drive to civilisation. They now don't know what to do each day as anything involves a car journey - ok while you can drive...

As much as country living can be a choice for many, it’s not for me at this stage in my life (I’m in my mid 70’s and husband in early 80’s.) For what we planned as our ‘forever’ home when we moved here four years ago it’s ideal for our age and stage in life. We are now within walking distance of a doctors office, a dentist, large grocery store, swimming pool, recreation centre with an active seniors group and a library. There’s a bus stop is st the end of the road for when we aren’t able to drive anymore. It gives us peace of mind to enjoy each day without too much concern for what the future holds. We are happy to have made this decision to move here.

I would move this afternoon, if DH would only agree, but am very well aware it will take hard work and perseverance to get integrated into a new (to me) community.

I’ve always lived in London. I think I’ve only moved 25 miles from where I lived as a baby. I can just about tolerate the country for a couple of weeks holiday but then I start to long for pavements, buses, shops, art galleries, cinemas. Need I say more?

There is country and there is country. It all depends on the country you want to live in.

The first country, small remote, unserviced villages, where the nearest town is 10 miles away, I would consider to be not the best place to be if you are older and have no family nearby.

The second country consists of larger villages, edges of small towns, where amenities are within easy reach and public transport is available but the peace and quiet of rural living are at hand. We currently live in a large village in Oxfordshire. In the village we have a busy Co-op self service shop, several pubs, an Indian restaurant and a sandwich bar. Regular bus services to all the local towns and the railway station, which is on a mainline to London.

As I said, there is country and there is country. We have lived in the second kind of country very comfortably for nearly 25 years.

Posted too soon!
We often drive to the country or coast for a hike.
The big downside is crime.
We have had a nasty targeted burglary and though I’m aware rural crime is high, city living makes you more at risk.