Where to retire to?

[Howardh]

But according to a recent report the borough which contains Darwen is among the five worst places to live in the north of England! As I refused to accept the 'cookies' the Lancashire newspaper which reported this wished to place on my browser, I wasn't allowed to peruse any further than the headline, but I'm sure the report is out there somewhere.

I know Darwen quite well, the A666 says it all! No, I wouldn't say it was grotty, just an old mill town that's run down. But other than the cheap housing, if you have a want for travelling around, just look what's around you from the adjacent moors to the Lakes, Lancs coast, Bowl and aonb, Yorks dales, and not much further you're into Scotland or North Wales, Darwens pretty perfect. But naturally if you have the budget there are better places where Lytham.

 

[Howardh]

I was watching a tv news item on Gibraltar a month or two back and lots of the younger residents who've been there all their lives are planning on moving out because they foresee such trouble in getting off the Rock in future years, almost regardless of how Brexit goes. Spain's P.M. may have been warned off recently by the European Commission in order not to mess up the 'deal' with the U.K., but once the U.K. leaves the E.U. the gloves will be off!

Yes, the links to Europe are minimal, and it could be a dying place post Brexit, however if it reaches out to the retired who simply want links to home it should be ok

 

[cactustwirly]

Ah mate from where. We had family friends in Market Harborough and visited a lot but where the hell would you retire from? It's like suggesting retiring to Widnes, Warrington or Runcorn.

Hmm I didn't think it was that bad!
Well if you're coming from the SE, then you've got the temperate climate and cheap houses.
Idk what you're trying to say, never been to any of those places!

 

[greyman42]

Have you actually been to Lancaster? It's a lovely little city, a bit of a mini-Edinburgh in some ways.

The main reason that part of the world is cheap is that there is relatively low employment, and most of it is relatively low-wage, while unlike the Lakes proper where those things are still true there is no holiday home demand. The same applies to the likes of Carlisle and the Cumbrian Coast.

No I have never been to Lancaster although I have been meaning to visit it for some time. I have always imagined it to be a nice place which was why I was surprised when you said the housing was cheap. I have been to Carlisle on many occasions and was non too keen on it.

 

[Ken H]

The reduced council tax isn't a benefit. Council tax is based on two adults living in a property, so a couple paying £1000 in council tax is paying less per person than a single person paying £750, i.e. the single homeowner pays more.

Couples don't have to have children, but if only couples who could easily afford bringing up a child without any issue of putting money aside for retirement and paying for all the other things that go with living, few people would have children, which would ultimately bring national problems of its own. We would then have to have immigrants to fill the workplaces and pay taxes to fund the social services which support the large bulge of elderly people which on a population scale have high healthcare costs. Still, that won't be a problem, the UK population loves immigrants, doesn't it.

what jobs? Jobs are going to go faster as we automate/mechanise/computerise

Look at pay at pump/supermarket self scan. Low maintenance kit is coming. better business software takes lots of back room jobs.

My client takes orders online, does the credit card stuff and sends the electronic pick note to the warehouse. Once they do confirm pick all the invoicing and financial ledger posting

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Penarth - seaside , Edwardian housing of all kinds , handy train to Cardiff etc.

Without being too precious , somewhere like Jaywick would not go very far in the desirable status , but then you have Frinton just up the coast.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

But according to a recent report the borough which contains Darwen is among the five worst places to live in the north of England! As I refused to accept the 'cookies' the Lancashire newspaper which reported this wished to place on my browser, I wasn't allowed to peruse any further than the headline, but I'm sure the report is out there somewhere.

Liars, damned liars...and statisticians. Looked pleasant enough to me when I visited, that's all I can say.
Aint going to happen in my case anyway - my Missus thinks all places north of Watford Junction are inhabited by three-headed troglodytes...

 

[radamfi]

what jobs? Jobs are going to go faster as we automate/mechanise/computerise

Look at pay at pump/supermarket self scan. Low maintenance kit is coming. better business software takes lots of back room jobs.

My client takes orders online, does the credit card stuff and sends the electronic pick note to the warehouse. Once they do confirm pick all the invoicing and financial ledger posting

There have been huge advances in technology and automation since the 1980s. In the 1980s, unemployment was much higher than it is today.

 

[radamfi]

You will probably find that climates with winters mild enough to not require central heating tend to have summers which are hot enough to require air conditioning, so you gain in one season, and lose in the opposite season.

Retirement gives you the option to move around Europe to live in the optimal climate for the time of year. This also has the benefit of avoiding immigration restrictions by taking advantage of visa-free periods. So you could spend December to March in Spain, then move to a warm non-Schengen country, say, Montenegro from March to June, then to a less hot country from June to September, for example the Netherlands, then back to Montenegro until December. Obviously with a bigger budget you have the whole world to choose from.

 

[trash80]

I'm staying in this country when i retire, its where i was born and the country i love. I'm not bothered about the cold that much, i've grown up in a house with a barely working central heating and my own which doesn't have any so being cold is pretty normal for me lol.

 

[Ken H]

Retirement gives you the option to move around Europe to live in the optimal climate for the time of year. This also has the benefit of avoiding immigration restrictions by taking advantage of visa-free periods. So you could spend December to March in Spain, then move to a warm non-Schengen country, say, Montenegro from March to June, then to a less hot country from June to September, for example the Netherlands, then back to Montenegro until December. Obviously with a bigger budget you have the whole world to choose from.

some find a 3 month hotel stay somewhere like teneriffe is cheaper than heating their home in the UK.

 

[radamfi]

Going back to the original post, good buses to get around town were requested. That's a tricky one if you want to stay in the UK. Obviously British buses are dire compared to most places Brits are about to lose free movement to, and likely to get to get worse with commercial withdrawals and increasingly poor funding for buses. Most of the few places known for good buses (London, Oxford, Brighton, Edinburgh) are high cost places to live and so unlikely places to retire to. Nottingham is the only other really well known place for buses, but not an obvious retirement location.

 

[deltic]

Thanks lots of interesting ideas. Declining bus services and loss of local shops as well as centralisation of health services is a concern as you get older which means larger towns or well connected suburbs seem a better bet than some of more rural locations people have mentioned

 

[radamfi]

Thanks lots of interesting ideas. Declining bus services and loss of local shops as well as centralisation of health services is a concern as you get older which means larger towns or well connected suburbs seem a better bet than some of more rural locations people have mentioned

If you live near the station you might be able to get away without needing buses. I live near the station so I rarely need buses except in London.

 

[trash80]

I'd always live near a station, for various reasons

 

[Basher]

Just a note for the young to consider:-
people who left school at 15yrs old in 1950 retirement age 65= 50/49 yrs NI contribution
People leave school 2000 at 18yrs old + 3 years university= 21, retirement age 67 = 46 yrs contribution
So to be fair and equal retirement at 71 would give the same level of contribution

 

[radamfi]

Just a note for the young to consider:-
people who left school at 15yrs old in 1950 retirement age 65= 50/49 yrs NI contribution
People leave school 2000 at 18yrs old + 3 years university= 21, retirement age 67 = 46 yrs contribution
So to be fair and equal retirement at 71 would give the same level of contribution

You used to be able to take a personal pension at 50. I'll have to wait until 57 (or maybe 58) and today's youngsters may have to wait until 60 or later. For that reason, you need to save in ISAs so that you have money to live on until you reach the personal pension age.

 

[Howardh]

You used to be able to take a personal pension at 50. I'll have to wait until 57 (or maybe 58) and today's youngsters may have to wait until 60 or later. For that reason, you need to save in ISAs so that you have money to live on until you reach the personal pension age.

My fading memory seems to recall many teachers at my secondary school retired at 50 and must have taken their full teacher's pension (??). However my mother was a teacher - but started late - and retired around 60 so didn't have her full pension (as she started late).

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Speaking as one who retired in 2010, both my good lady wife of some 77 years vintage and I, a mere stripling of 73 in comparison, could not have chosen a better place to enjoy our retirement than in our secluded rural residence in the Cheshire East area.

 

[Busaholic]

Speaking as one who retired in 2010, both my good lady wife of some 77 years vintage and I, a mere stripling of 73 in comparison, could not have chosen a better place to enjoy our retirement than in our secluded rural residence in the Cheshire East area.

Prepare to repel boarders!