Moving Away After Retirement

[Alex]

I've often wondered what makes oldies go off somewhere to retire, unless they have family in a place of course, as Cass has. It seems to be a dream for many to live by the seaside.
 
A couple I know moved to Llandudno in North Wales, they bought a smart apartment overlooking the sea.  Not long after moving he died, she is now in a place where she has few friends and she doesn't drive so relies on buses and trains.
 
The guy in Murcia I mentioned somewhere, had his dream come true and he took early retirement moving from Wirral to a beautiful Spanish villa with a swimming pool. I visited them a few years ago and although a little remote, it really was beautiful.  They've had 15 or so amazing years so far, but she now has Alzheimers and he has become her carer. The Spanish health service has been wonderful he tells me, but it's hard for him to get some respite.  These were two examples of the 'unlucky' ones with the way things have turned out for them, but it is a risk to leave familiar surroundings.

Would you move miles away from family and friends ?

[klondike]

Simple answer for me. No.

[Ashy]

It's a gamble isn't it?

[Diasi]

Would you move miles away from family and friends ?

I've never had any close friends, just acquaintances, & I've not lived near to any family members, apart from my wife of course, for years.

[Alex]

You've hopefully got close neighbours Phil incase anything happened to you ?

[Raven]

I'd never leave Scotland.

[Michael Rolls]

I have no intention of leaving this house - best in which I have ever lived, quite apart from the memories
Mike

[Jacqueline]

We moved to Wales 16 years ago, early retirement from Devon, where we moved to in 1982 for my husband to take a job after Thatcher trashed our industry and he lost his.  

The job that I did within Devon Social Services was ending and I was scared what I would do next, I don't drive and people were being transferred to offices 10 miles away which would have taken me over an hour each way on the bus, longer in the summer traffic jams,  Without my wages we couldn't pay the mortgage, so decided to sell up and move. 

The kids are still there in Devon and I miss them although I don't miss Devon. As an only child I don't have any other close family, although my husband has a huge one, scattered to the four winds after we all moved out of north London the worse it got.

We moved to this place, hardly any neighbours so have found it hard to get to know people, I have never made any local real friends.  All my  friends are scattered around the country, one even moved to New Zealand with her daughter.

Although I got to hate living in Devon the busier it got, all the new buildings, where we lived doubled in size as people fled from awful cities, but I have not settled here either.  

I wish I could go back to north London they way it was when I was young up to when we were first married, but now we don't speak the lingo and the population in the 2011 census was 23% white people, given away to immigrants my home has gone for good, and I am looking for a nice place to call home which we haven't really found in Devon or Wales.