What's it like living on the Isle of Wight?

We are planning to move south next year to be nearer to family and would love to go back to the Island to live (we left there in 1971 and still have friends there) but the ferry fares put us off, even though there is a discount for residents. You have to arrive an hour before departure I think and that, plus the cost, would put some of our younger family members off from visiting.

I'm sure there are some IW residents on Gransnet so they'll be able to give you more up to date information.

I still spend time on RightMove looking at bungalows. The west is prettier than the east and I wouldn't worry too much about distance from the sea because on the Island everything is near!

My spiritual home is Ventnor but it would be far too hilly for us now.

Property prices are low......very tempting!

Thanks, merlot. There are some very nice houses and bungalows on the IOW. I also spend time on Rightmove, in fact I may well be addicted to it!

A friend of mine has family on the Isle of Wight. When her granddaughter was having chemo it was done on the mainland. An added difficulty, expensive ferry tickets, extra travel time added on to an already stressful situation. Just a thought to bear in mind. As we age, we sometimes need hospital treatment.

Thanks, Aldom. We have lived on an island before and although mostly the island hospital could cope, patients were always sent off to the mainland for anything too serious. You are right, it as well to think of these things as we get older.

We think we may compromise and move to the Gosport area so we are within 'shouting distance' and can visit friends whenever we feel like it.

I would not feel happy about DH being so far from a major hospital nowadays. He had his pacemaker fitted in the Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth as an emergency three years ago - we were visiting DD at the time. He had wonderful care and treatment.

As far back as 1969 we had to travel to Southampton from the island for my father's cancer operation and it was an ordeal for everyone. I dread to think what it would be like these days with the added traffic problems.

If only there was a bridge......Sigh.

Although Gosport appears to be within shouting distance of IOW it’s 2 ferry journeys away if you travel as a foot passenger, or else a very long road trip round to Portsmouth Harbour to catch the car ferry. Crossings are cancelled if the sea is too choppy so IOW can get a bit cut off in the winter and that can delay Amazon deliveries.

I had a relative who moved to the IOW in later life but regretted it. The cost of travelling to visit her was too prohibitive and difficult for her children to do very often and she began to feel cut off.

My advice is to rent out the property you now have and then rent a property on the IOW for a year. You can then see if living there works for you before making the final commitment of buying a property there.

Pinkarolina Mon 02-Nov-20 08:15:20
My advice is to rent out the property you now have and then rent a property on the IOW for a year. You can then see if living there works for you before making the final commitment of buying a property there.

I would second Pinkarolina's advice. We did exactly that, the house we had in London was paid for, we didn't let it, but did have someone keep an eye it for us. Then we rented a cottage close to where we hoped to live. Six months later, the London house went on the market, it sold very quickly, a couple of weeks later we bought the home where we are still living, right on the Hampshire/Dorset border, along the edge of The New Forest. It worked out very well.

I love the IOW - it has a fifties feel about it and reminds me of growing up near Canvey Island.

Don't live there but do like the IOW, I imagine anyone considering such a move should factor in the cost of getting to and from the mainland, so narrow that crossing in some areas, particularly around the Lymington area on the mainland and Yarmouth on the island, you could practically swim it but I imagine that's for the more adventurous among us.

I love the Hampshire/Dorset area around the New Forest Spangler that's a really nice place to live imo.

Good luck with any move should you decide to come south OP.

We sold our property in Kent and rented in the IOW for 9 months. Changed our minds and bought on the coast in the New Forest, Hampshire. Can’t believe how wonderful it is.

I used to take my mother-in-law to hospital in Southampton for cancer treatment.

Whilst waiting at pharmacy for drugs that she desperately needed, there was a couple also waiting for a much needed prescription the result was they missed the last ferry to the Isle of Wight and had to find an hotel.

I would think very carefully.

Why does it have to be on an island?I made the move to Cornwall, to find a property near the sea was my reason, Now been here thirty years.

Missfoodlove

I used to take my mother-in-law to hospital in Southampton for cancer treatment.

Whilst waiting at pharmacy for drugs that she desperately needed, there was a couple also waiting for a much needed prescription the result was they missed the last ferry to the Isle of Wight and had to find an hotel.

I would think very carefully.

My father used to say the Dolphin Hotel in Southampton did very well out of us!

My 83 year old aunt lives in Shanklin and unfortunately the services don't seem to be keeping up with the expanding population. She skinned her arm whilst gardening in lockdown, couldn't stop the bleeding, and her doctor in Shanklin was unable to see her, she had to get a taxi to Sandown. She was really upset about it.

I do worry about her as I don't think the island is set up for its aged population at all. She relies on Age Concern for various household jobs she cannot manage, ie changing a lightbulbs, and has to wait weeks. Costs for this are high too - she recently paid £20 for her lounge windows to be cleaned inside only. She thinks her friend may be suffering from either dementia or the start of Alzeimer's - it took five months for her friend to get an appointment. I'm not impressed.

You'll be in good company NotToOld as I believe Jeremy Corbyn is residing there!

I thought about the IoW 2 years ago as I was relocating. Property fairly reasonable and such a nice feel to the island. Luckily I saw sense and relocated to Hampshire and close to my daughter. Hampshire is a beautiful diverse area.

The suggestions to rent initially are a good idea.

Have you considered living on the mainland ...this side of the Solent. There are some really lovely areas here. Hayling Island which is not strictly an island as such as accessible via a road bridge at Langstone harbour. Lee on the Solent is a lovely little place, long walks right along the beach path, it appeals to retirees as not hilly, ideal for dog owners. It is part of Gosport borough about 4 miles along the coast. Beautiful sunny summers, probably as good as IOW for sunshine. Downside - not a lot of bungalows if that is what appealed to you. Also hospitals. A lot of treatments have to be done on the mainland, either at Southampton or QA in Portsmouth depending on which part of the island you live on.

We were hoping to move to Alverstoke (Gosport) next year but DH's health is not good at the moment so we're staying put in Cambridgeshire for now to be near Addenbrookes.

It's a shame there are hardly any bungalows in Lee on Solent because it's a lovely place. Quite a lot of apartments but I must have a garden.

Plenty of bungalows in Gosport. and Southsea is another option.

I agree with those who say live facing the Isle of Wight and just visit! I live in Gosport and occasionally dream of living on the Isle of Wight, but then remind myself about the ferry ( passenger ok and easy from Gosport but then stuck with no car and buses are not frequent on IOW) which involves driving round the harbour to Portsmouth.
Plenty of bungalows at Lee but rarely up for sale!