Suffolk, Norfolk or Essex.

Big counties with many varying areas, like chalk and cheese. Cities, countryside, the sea. Poverty and wealth. Some parts well served by public transport, in others it’s non-existent. And big variations in prices. I think you first need to narrow down what you’re actually looking for and what you can afford. We considered parts of these counties and ended up in a small village in north Norfolk. Close to the sea. Not close to a hospital. No facilities in the village. Need a car for everything. But we love it for now. The time will come when it’s no longer practical.

If you are looking for a forever home then you need to look out for good transport links, and close to buses, trains, shops, doctor, hospital. You don't want to be in a village with a bus every hour that may be discontinued. And being by the seaside is always good for older folk to take a walk on the front. Failing that, a nice leafy local area for walking.

My Brother in law and sister in law moved from their gorgeous North London house, to a smaller, but also beautiful ion in Suffolk some six years ago. They were then just into their 70's both with good physical health

They both stated they were looking forward to the peace and quiet of the countryside. My BiL still had a few private clients that he could continue to ervice, working from home.
Superb modern 4-bedroom house, (they still had my SiL's Mother living with them at the time). Very large kitchen/diner, under floor heating, etc. etc. BUT, in village, nearest bus, once a day about a mile away to the stop, No shops locally at all.
Both drove their own cars, and when I commented that it was rather cut off from facilities, they both swept this aside and said if they could not drive anytime, they always use taxis.
It all changed frighteningly quickly. Elderly Mother neve coped with the move, and after three horrendous months eventually went into a home.
House was really too far for people to visit very often - so that wonderful large kitchen/diner was rarely used for the large family gatherings my SiL had envisaged. Her very special g.son for whom one bedroom was carefully furnished, decorated and arranged became a teenager and was not interested in visiting for days at the time.

My SiL has now developed early stage dementia - can no longer drive. Hates the place she is living. Still calls London home. My BiL was most reluctant to ever admit that he could have made a mistake, but eventually last year did admit that they would be better off back in the areas they both knew so well.

So, house now on market - but vastly over-priced, so no takers. My SiL is worsening each time I talk to her. It had been hoped that a move back to 'home' would have slowed down the condition. But that is not likely to happen.

Do think we all need to so much more careful, particularly in our later years about our moves. What is lovely and ideal in your late sixties/early seventies can be a nightmare within a very few years.

So....we do need to future proof. Local and easy public transports is a must (try to work out how you would manage without a car at all), shops, social facilities (theatres cinemas), hospitals, GP surgeries. A 'view to die for', may seem brilliant, but local facilities may keep you from dying far longer!!! Beware of split levels, too many (or any ) steps both inside and outside in any garden. And, that garden - At 65 you may see yourself as a market gardener and want acres of land, By the time you are coming up to 80, all you really want is somewhere to sit in comfort and look at some lovely flowers.

Location, location is so much more important than anything else.

a very wise post Franbern. We all think that time will stand still, but it is our responsibility to future proof where we move to if that is the decision. Firstly, why are you thinking of moving? If the current home is too big, maybe downsize to the same area, or consider paying for help to clean the house or care for the garden. If the reason is due to some romantic notion of living by the coast (mine), or in the middle of the country, rent a house in the middle of winter before you make a permanent move; some coastal towns can be bleak in the winter, stay somewhere without using your car and see how you cope.

Not wishing to be negative, I live in one of the areas you are considering, but we have lived here for years and our current home is future proofed as best as it can be. We have a GP, excellent local shop (chain, with Post Office inside so not going to close when owners retire), hairdresser, pub with good restaurant, excellent bus service into nearest town, all these are necessary, to my mind, for a successful move. I do wonder how all these people on 'Escape to the country' are faring 15 years later, how the half an acre and a thatched cottage are working out, how resentful their adult children feel when there is an emergency.

I moved last year and wrote a list of must haves, nice to haves, and definitely don't wants.

I was considering about seven areas and eventually narrowed it down to two, I was helped by friends on Gransnet and realised a railway station within easy reach was a the deciding factor.

Unfortunately neither Devon or Kent offered suitable properties within my budget and I've ended up staying in Northumberland - which is somewhere you might like to consider, Alnwick is a good sized town with everything you need.

If you can, write your list, decide which of your three counties is preferable, sell up and rent there?

You can live in remote areas or built up areas in every county same as poor areas or affluent areas, every county has plenty of both do you want a village, a market town, a small town or a city? Do you want countryside or seaside?
It’s what suits you wherever you re moving to and it might sound harsh but why how come you didn’t do your homework before you sold might be a rush now

I have no desire to move I have the sea and beach on my doorstep a bus stop with 20 minutes buses to town or my nearest city opposite my house, a small shopping area if I can’t get to town, a good hospital a few miles away and a doctor and dentist within walking distance (a longish walk)
only downside is I don’t have close contact with neighbours (might even be for the best eh )

Blimey each to their own franbern but being not too far off that age I certainly don’t want somewhere to sit and look at flowers !!! Goodness forbid ‘

Suffolk is good. Striking distance of London / Norfolk / Essex / Cambs. Driving distance toa whole range of large cities and beaches.

Stowmarket is an affordable and friendly area (can you tell I'm looking myself?).

If you are in Kent assume you will have made a few trips through the tunnel to explore the areas you mention.
Some years ago we spent many a pleasant weekend in Suffolk looking around the villages/ market towns for a house. Prices at that time were much lower but this has levelled out a bit now.
North Essex is attractive, Norfolk too, but it can take hours to get there. Friends live in the north and it takes us close to 3 hours each way from the tunnel.
I would have liked to move, probably to Suffolk, still would, but we didn’t in the end.

I am in Essex, we have a mainline station at the end of our road approximately 1 3/4 miles away, down hill so easy to walk if you are able.

There is another mainline station in next town (about 7/10 minutes drive) which goes to a different London station.

On a traffic free day we are 10 minutes from the coast and 10 minutes from the countryside.

We have two University Hospitals in easy reach by public transport, along with GP surgeries nearby, local restaurants, small Tesco’s Express, Sainsbury’s Local and a small but well stocked Co-Op along with an Aldi within walking distance. I want to move but DH constantly reminds me of all these advantages, along with three of our AC and families in walking distance.

Only downside is soaring property prices.

We are in North Norfolk. It’s lovely but takes ages to leave it. If you want to visit friends and family then it’s not the easiest county.
We are in a village without any facilities , we do have a bus stop round the corner which used to have an hourly service but no longer as frequent so am thinking about moving to be nearer a bit of civilisation. Norwich or Sheringham perhaps.
It seems to me that one can leave it too late to make changes so go for it while you still have time to make a new life.
I looked out of the window the other day and remarked that the gutters need doing again. DH informed me that the gap between the gutters need sealing.
My response was to snap- “and that’s something else I won’t be able to do when you are dead!” ?
He, like many others, thinks he will be extremely healthy and fit until he dies peacefully in his sleep. I hope he is right

I love the N Norfolk coast to visit. I think Sheringham has all the important things mentioned in the posts above, except a hospital which is in Cromer.
A few questions - where do family live? How important is access to London? What social things do you want access to? (Theatre, craft groups, choir etc). And the difficult one, have you thought about how you'll cope when one of the 2 of you is left alone?

I live in North Suffolk. Norfolk and Suffolk are rather "out on a limb" compared to Kent. You have a lot of driving before you get anywhere. Consider where friends and loved ones are, how often and how easily you could visit them. Is public transport easy if you couldn't drive?

There are so many more NT type places to visit in Kent and Sussex, and the weather is warmer. The East Coast can be very cold.

Would Sussex be a better option?

The North East Essex Suffolk border is lovely and I would move back there tomorrow if we haven't priced ourselves out of that market. We moved to East Cheshire to be near our daughter and its not how I thought it would be.

My neigbour, and good friend, and I moved back from Spain at the same time. She and her husband were in their mid seventies and lively, social people that enjoyed a wide circle of friends.
They bought a really beautiful house with fantastic views in Suffolk. I envied them but, shortly afterwards she became disabled and, to cut a long story short, they ended up completely isolated never seeing anyone. The only person they saw in the week was their cleaning lady.
They have just moved again (in their eighties) to live in a city near their adult children.
What seemed an idyllic rural dream turned into a nightmare for them.
I agree with what others have said. You need to future proof your dreams. In your early seventies everything seems fine then, poof, age catches up.

I lived in Suffolk for over 20 years before moving to France. It has changed a lot during the intervening 12 years but it is still a beautiful county. I would suggest that rather than go to village, chose one of the towns that's on a railway line. I lived in Woodbridge for the last 2 years and thought that it was an excellent place to live. There is a cinema and I lived near to the river where there are some lovely walks. I could also walk to the shops and there was a health centre and a good pub (Adnams) near by.

Moving further north there is Saxmundham, Beccles and Halesworth, all on the East Suffolk line. The trains don't run very late on this line.
Moving eastwards Bury St Edmonds is also lovely.

Lots of good advice on here Dorset. it is very important to plan ahead and not just think about the here and now. We did a lot of research before moving to the countryside. We did not want to be in a remote village without any facilities, we looked at where the nearest Doctor's surgery, Dentist and hospitals were and was there a bus service. How close where shops, cafes, restaurants and theatres was also important to us. We were in our early sixties when we made the move, within two years Mr J was diagnosed with cancer and now also has other unrelated health problems which curtail a lot of our previous activities. So having a hospital not to far away and shops etc nearby has worked for us. Do think about your needs and perhaps future needs so that you make the best choices that you can. Good luck with it all.

Beccles is a lovely little town

Chardy

I love the N Norfolk coast to visit. I think Sheringham has all the important things mentioned in the posts above, except a hospital which is in Cromer.
A few questions - where do family live? How important is access to London? What social things do you want access to? (Theatre, craft groups, choir etc). And the difficult one, have you thought about how you'll cope when one of the 2 of you is left alone?

Sheringham has really gone down over the years unfortunately. As with so many seaside resorts, everything is open during the holiday season but in the winter it’s miserable and dead. I go there purely to visit the optician and beat a very hasty retreat!

Norwich is a lovely city, lots of individual shops, theatres, quite buzzy. And easy to get to north coast and the Broads from there

A couple in a group I go to are moving to Suffolk, apparently they have some family near by but not their children. This led to a lot of discussion amongst the 15 or so at the group and the majority decided they would either be staying where they are or downsizing in the area. We had all had examples of people who had started off well but found themselves cut off from friends of many years and family sometimes found themselves driving miles to visit and sort out problems. One lady said her mum and dad had insisted on moving to the sea, they lasted six months. It needs a lot of thinking about. I am also in Kent and I know how busy it is.

I have so enjoyed reading EACH of your comments, such kindness and excellent advice and tips. We are looking around Bury SE/Beccles/Saxmundham for starters, Really I cannot say thank you enough, tips that can be added to my list. ?

BigBertha1

The North East Essex Suffolk border is lovely and I would move back there tomorrow if we haven't priced ourselves out of that market. We moved to East Cheshire to be near our daughter and its not how I thought it would be.

That's where I live. Essex Suffolk borders

I do think that it depends upon your age. if you are in your early to mid sixties then go for it - the are all sorts of groups that you can join, depending upon your interests. If you're much older, it might be more difficult.

We live in the countryside, outside a small village with a couple of bars and a shop and a baker but there is very little by way of public transport. We're planning what to do next once we cannot cope with our house and garden. One friend, who sadly is a widower who lives in a nearby town has met several people because he walks to one of the local cafes for a coffee and has met people there. Once people have seen you a few times they start to say hello and you can move from there, if you wish.

I’m in North Essex and there are some lovely villages here. Myself and DP love visiting Suffolk and I do wonder if we will end up there one day. Our favourite places are Woodbridge and Southwold.