Where to retire to

What you describe can be found almost anywhere in the UK.

Agreed, at our age, that is the last thing you want. And it is essential to be near facilities and good public transport, as we don't know until when we will be able/allowed to drive.

For me, a market town in central England- with great facilities and public transport, cafés, restaurants, independent shops, good GP practices, but near University hospitals- is my choice. Near good train links and not too far from an airport with great links to Europe too.

Riverwalk

I think in five years' time you might change your mind about being in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours!

Yeah, too true!
If you want somewhere warmer, don’t go to the frozen North😆
If you want somewhere dry don’t go to Wales, Lake District or anywhere on the West Coast.
Think about the future if you don’t want to up sticks again.
That means bus routes, GP surgery and hospital not too far away.
Having a few neighbours around is safer and friendlier.

Bluefox

My elder son and family live just outside Salisbury and it’s a lot like you describe.

Yes, I agree the Salisbury Plain area is good. I live on a farm two miles from a village centre on have the best of both worlds, with access by choice to hospitals in Salisbury and Swindon (and Bath is further west).
But I have a neighbour that barely walks and cannot self care properly and really needs to move. She won’t and (apart from her not being very nice to any of us over the years) we now don’t help as it’d compound the situation. Imagine being isolated in that way, where no one is available to assist - that can be in any environment anywhere if you’ve been unable to make good friends.
Someone above mentioned that you’ll never be accepted as a local - I’d agree, despite being married to someone born 3 miles away, having lived here for 32 years and a parish councillor to boot!

We have family on the Isle of Wight and visit as often as we can afford to. We'd love to move there but wouldn't want to leave our son's, their wives and our grandchildren. Wherever you retire to make sure it's not to far away from people you'd miss.

My df moved from Scotland to Cornwall when she and DH retired.
They love it there. It's warm and not far from the sea.
Their DC love to visit. I miss them.

I am widowed and my house is now too big for me. However it has the best location and ticks almost all your boxes. (Except no paddock)
It's a small town well served with amenities but a half hour bus ride from Edinburgh.
There is no station so if I was choosing an area I would want to be near a station.
Dunbar is lovely and has the seaside.
Galashiels is very affordable.

I dreamed of a bungalow with lovely views. I've decided the move away from friends and my lifestyle would be a mistake now I'm in my 70s. Anyway there's a bus stop at the end of my road that I can use for the town centre and the coast. Still think of that bungalow and view though, so do it sooner rather than later supergabs1960.

I move from the Midlands to the South Coast - followed a DD down.
Love it - the weather is dryer & 2°c warmer (in general) Its classed as a village but ajoins a small town. I've joined a local group and have some lovely neighbours.
There are 2 main hospitals within 30-45 mins. drive and a smaller A&E just up the road. Doctors - in Town.
Yes places which tick your boxes do exist.

I wouldn't dream of moving when I fully retire...my friends are here....2 of children are here and 3 GC ....people are more important to me that a pretty landscape.....I will be staying exactly where I am

That sounds like such a positive lifestyle! I will be retiring in 3 years, I live in Austria at the moment (have lived in other countries as well when younger) but will move back to the UK where I was born then. I have got my sights set on the far West, St Just area. I know it’s touristy but think maybe a bit of an international vibe might be good for me. The fact that by train it is an easy 4.5 hours from London, makes this also a good choice.

have a look at the walk-throughs on youtube, just put the town in the search box. They are interesting and better than driving there in a car just for a look

Like ALANaV we also retired to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and absolutely love living here. We didn't want isolation but all the benefits of city living while still having the sea and countryside nearby.
It's important to visulise your life in years to come and consider if your dream retirement home would still be suitable or if you will be too isolated.

S Devon

Sazzl, where are you in A Devon please? Am looking at Dawlish.

Where ever you go, rent a property there for at least 6 months before you buy.

A close friend retired back to where she had been happy in her 30s, or at least a nearby town as she could not afford the village. We all urged her to rent first. She didn't.

She insisted on buying - and it was a disaster. Heaven, when she was in her 30s, working with a group of similar aged people, plenty of cash. In her 60s, on state pension only, even though she had a lovely house was hell. The friendliest of people, she never made friends, never put roots of any kind down, just surrounded by memories. She died of cancer within 5 years.

My parents thoroughly researched where they retired to. Checked where all facilities were, checked that there were organisations and activities they enjoyed that they could join, already had friends in the area, who they visited regularly. They made the move and never regretted it. My mother died 2o years later, my father lived on for nearly another 10, and to the end was surrounded by friends they had made.

If you want to move somewhere you do not know, you need to do a lot of homework. and live there before you commit to buying.

Having lived in a small village when the kids were little and I drove - great. But once you retire, you have to plan with public transport in mind. And frankly bus services can change in the twinkling of an eye.

South Devon where we moved to 3 years ago. Five minutes drive to the coast. Ten or fifteen minutes to fields, country park, shops, 4 supermarkets, parks, woods, GP, etc. 10 miles from large city of Exeter. Love it here.

Come to Northumberland. We live in South East Northumberland not far from Morpeth.
Fabulous scenery, coast , castles . Lovely villages and towns.
Friendly people .
Good local services compared to where we lived in Hull.
Marvellous community spirit
Housing relatively cheap ( though prices going up a bit )
Loads to see , do
I find almost everyone I know who has moved here loves it .
We are so happy here.

We've gone back to the Big Smoke, to a large maisonette on a well-managed estate so no maintenance issues,
excellent local buses, allocated parking,
supermarket within easy walking distance and a more local corner shop. There's a doctors surgery within walking distance now (but a bus service for when we're less able) and a large hospital 10 minutes away by bus.
Our large balcony looks over the Thames to Kew Gardens and we can get a reasonable season ticket to the parkland 100 meters away.
The rural life is great for some, especially if you know what to expect, have lived in the country before and have local friends. However transport, loneliness and house/garden maintenance can be a bugbear for many. I know this is not the life for me.
The outskirts of a small country town could be lovely however especially if you already have friends there.

picking up on something hellis said, re the last bus. My last village there were 3 buses a day and the last one back was at 5. There are many more buses here where I now live in somerset but the last bus back is around 5.30, which I believe is pretty usual nowadays, unless you live in a big town or city

We moved from south London to the centre of a small market town in southern England. I never thought I would like living in a town but we love it - we’re just five minutes walk from so many useful and interesting shops along with doctors surgery and a station.

Do you have any family or friends that you’d like to be in striking distance of? Forgive me for stating the obs but I’d do it will get harder to travel to see people as you get old. No neighbours and rural might not seem as perfect if you have to drive to get a more facilities too.

I relocated 18 months ago. Little country village. I can walk to a GP and village. Sometimes the pharmacy is out of stock of certain meds. They don’t do prescriptions on the prenisus so it can all take s while. Sometimes you have to go on an expedition if you’re in a hurry for something.

I'm also interested in where you live now, as your list has an urban / suburban feel. On reflection I realised that some of the things you list may change as your lifestyle changes - assuming you want it to.
I live in a village near to the one where I spent my childhood. Out of interest, here's your list as applied to me:
Affordable - below national average
No field of our own - these are not always easy to come by, but we have a garden and look over meadows.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - it is low-key here, but suits me. We do have neighbours, and they are lovely, we help each other out.
Close-ish to a good GP, but our bus service has been badly cut. What do you mean by 'near a hospital'? Most rural, and many urban areas aren't that near to one. I can't realistically get a bus to the hospital, but there are voluntary transport services, as well as informal lifts that are part of the give and take of village life.
Broadband is OK - can't stream films without 'buffering', but most internet use is fine. Poor mobile signal - I use a bank and credit card that enables confirmation by email.
You may well find that a different way of life means you don't need supermarket deliveries, although I see vans in the village.
Our greengrocer (who stocks local dairy products as well) and butcher both deliver. I bake my own bread, but a local baker sets up outside the pub twice a week. Eggs at the farm 100 yards away.
We share lifts to our local wholefood co-op to stock up every month or so; and our local Co-op is 2 miles away.

I hope this has given you food for thought.

Not Devon, if it is rural here your internet will be dreadful...if it exists - some peoples till use dial up or Internet with a dish. Dr's will be miles away and forget getting takeaway delivered. Towns and villages are a little better, but Internet is a permanent issue, and food delivery difficult. Consider Gloucestershire, but prices can be high.

I live in a small market town, a popular place to move away to and indeed retire to. They are currently building hundreds of new houses on the edge, particularly bungalows. The trouble is there is no dentist taking on patients around here, in fact not within 20 miles and the Gp surgery cannot cope with the number on its books already. The nearest town with a hospital, railway station, affordable clothing and shoe shops, cinema etc is 16 miles away and buses are hourly at best, last one being 6pm. Like others have said, thats all ok if you can drive. I would say, do plenty of research into any places you like the look of, checking out local Facebook neighbourhood pages. There are often questions on ours from new residents unable to access services locally asking for advice. Too late once they have already moved in