Retired, downsizing, relocating...

[mahonia]

We are a retired couple wanting to downsize and relocate from Cardiff. We would like to be within about 2 hours of London/south-east area and favour smaller market towns. Possible options are: Cirencester, Witney, Thame, Abingdon, Wantage, Wallingford. Anyone have any advice or thoughts about these areas (or others) for oldies? At our stage we need to look for areas with good health facilities and good public transport. In the meantime whilst still active we'd like somewhere with access to nice walks, and entertainment and leisure facilities/activities. Thanks in advance.

[welshlibranr]

why are you wanting to leave Wales mahonia? maybe your family live in England, or you are from there originally, was just thinking that there are so many lovely places to retire here in Wales!.....

[mahonia]

You're right, welshlibranr, there are many attractions to Wales which we've enjoyed for the last 15 years, especially the Brecon Beacons, but we are both originally from England and have family there - feels like time to go homewards.

[jubieanna]

What about Chepstow, you got the best of both then. still in beautiful Wales and close to England! lots of lovely walks- not so sure about the entertainment tho!

[welshlibranr]

Ok mahonia, if that's where your roots lie, then I wish you happiness!............

[TonyV]

mohonia - will all be about £'s (how many you have to spend) and what you want to live in? take a look at rightmove or a similar site

[starone]

I am English and live in England but I think Wales is the most beautiful country I have seen. It's just over the bridge from Bristol so easy to get to for a visit. My brother lives there up in the mountains, It is lovely.

[Buenchico]

The places you've listed aren't exactly noted for low house prices, Mahonia!

What about joining us here in Suffolk? Yes, there are some very expensive places (e.g. Southwold, where a tiny beach hut will cost you at least £80,000 and a mid-terrace seafront house costs around one million pounds) but there are much cheaper areas as well.

Bury St Edmunds is a really pleasant town, with rail connections to London via both Ipswich and Cambridge. Woodbridge is smaller but equally pleasant (with rail links to London via Ipswich). Felixstowe used to be 'stuck in a time warp' but, while still retaining much of its charm, is now rapidly becoming 'the place to be seen in'. (It has good transport links to the county town of Ipswich, with the train taking only 25 minutes and offering connections for the 70 minute journey into London).

Chris

[buildersmate]

None of the places you list have rail connections which, as per Chris, would certainly be important to me. I have never looked at any of your suggestions specifically in depth for the purpose you mention, though agree at a superficial level they are all possibles (my personal 1-2-3 would be Wantage, Witney, then Cirencester - I know them all pretty well).
Visit the local libraries in each to assess the depth and breadth of entertainment / leisure facilities and perhaps local groups such as U3A.
You might wish to add Hungerford and Sherborne to your list as possibles.

[bednobs]

the places mentioned (except for chrises as i don't know them) are all pretty far from hospitals if that's what you mean by Health facilities

[Buenchico]

Another East Anglian possibility for you:

Diss lies on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. (It's just inside Norfolk). It's a lovely market town, which is about 1½ hours from London by rail. Going in the other direction though, you can be in Norwich in under 20 minutes. (Norwich has got loads of cultural activities, excellent shopping and plenty of great places for eating and drinking). Houses prices in Diss are MUCH lower than in most of the places in your list. A house in Diss will probably cost you around half of the price of a similar property in somewhere like Abingdon.
http://www.disscouncil.com/

http://www.visitnorfo...ore-norfolk/diss.aspx

Chris

[mahonia]

Thanks to all for taking the time to respond. Your contributions are very welcome and have provided plenty of food for thought.