feelbritish

After spending a lovely lunch on Sun in pub in New Forest and staying overnight in Poole, we visited these two towns as an option for retirement. The area seems lovely and it is much easier to travel back to London to see family and friends. Anyone know anything about this area? Thanks

rebs

Lovely area as you say - and easy travel to London. That's reflected in house prices as it's pretty much possible to commute to London for work from there. Much, much pricier than areas to the West of Dorset or over the border into Devon.

I always think of Lymington as a touristy place (it's so pretty round by the harbour) and New Milton more of an every day living kind of place.

Not so sure about New Milton, but Lymington can get very busy - do you think that would suit you if you are looking for a quieter kind of place for retirement? I guess it's always hard to balance attractiveness and quiet - anywhere that's attractive is likely to be busy as well

Tr1boy

I worked in Poole for 16mths, (we live in Winchester), I only had to go to the office twice a week and it was on the outskirts of Poole. We did consider a move but the schools in Winchester blow anything in Poole out of the water but the main consideration was traffic, it's mental in summer.

I recently did two weeks contracting right in the centre of Poole just to pass some time, and the increase in travelling time was dramatic. My mgr lived in Lymington and it took her an hour some mornings to get to Poole (I was 90 mins).

Maybe not a consideration for you but if you are in Poole, then consider the 'trapped' effect in summer, especially anywhere heading towards the chain ferry and coming from Wareham direction.

Wessex Way is like a car park.

Having said that, it's Xmas Market time in Winchester and my car hasn't moved for 10 days

Personally, compared to Winchester, I didn't find Poole or it's surrounds that expensive at all but definitely cheaper if you go more toward Dorchester area (which I prefer as it's closer to K-Bay for surfing).

feelbritish

We were originally considering SW Dorset but since staying in touch with family and friends who all live closer to London both East and West side, and after some discussions with them all, we realise that maybe we should just be closer for access both them to us and us to them! We can just about afford a bungalow and may have to compromise on 2 beds instead of 3. Traffic where we are now (between M 4 and M40) South Bucks is bad but as we are retired we avoid the mad commuter times. I have a friend in Bournemouth who suggested these areas. We would not go to Poole much and probably in mid summer holidays would stay mainly at home and walk to shops or go very early in morning. If going up to London or over to other friends in Kent/Essex would probably leave around 5am! There are also train services there unlike down in Bridport which we could use and of course busses. The New Forest seems lovely to go walking in and if we wanted the coastline of the Jurassic Coast we could go for day trips from there. We are leaving it until the spring but are tempted to find the right house in a nice area rather than a nice area then the "compromised" house if you see what I mean.

We have no ties to any area specifically. New Milton High Street seemed ok, sure not "oldy worldy" but pleasant with basic shops. Hopefully this turns it off being a tourist trap. There are some houses in Pemberton just outside Lymington with seem nice.

We need to move anyway from our house. At moment we have no sun in our back garden as it faces NNW. It is an end of terrace and small garden and we are all on top of each other! Parking is a nightmare although we have a very large drive which we have opened up but parking in town is a no go although we can walk to shops. So this nice sun we have this morning is only coming in my kitchen downstairs and upstairs bathroom and it is depressing in rest of house. We cannot afford a bungalow here and my knees are worse in winter so the stairs at moment actually hurt me when I go up and down!

BEVS

I think perhaps New Milton and around there would be more practical for you from what you write
Lymington is very picturesque but can be a bit of a bottle neck.

BEVS
Bournemouth born and bred & whose heart remains in Hants & Dorset.

feelbritish

Thanks for input BEVS. We are going to be drawing a circle around the area and look for a house within that so dont mind where there as it all seems nice. Lots of clubs and organisations to join too. Foot ferry to IOW £11, train to London £18 return which is reasonable. Down in South or SW, or SE we are never going to get away from gridlock in summer, we just have to manage it. I feel a lot happier now. There was a part of me that was worried about being so far away from friends especially if something happened to OH and at least in Lymington I can make a life for myself even if I was alone.

hydrographer2004

I actually grew up in Lymington and bought my first flat in NewMilton a few years ago so know the areas very well.

Lymington is lovely, charming market on a Saturday, beautiful shops and a nice community feel. There are great restaurants and overall there is much more happening in Lymington.

New Milton on the other hand is drab 1960's style and has a large council estate which impacts the area and thus has higher crime. Other than a couple of rubbish pubs there is no restaurants at all and no night life what so ever.

Lymington is much pricier but you get what you pay for....

feelbritish

Thanks for your input. That may account for the reason there are fewer houses for sale in Lymington as apposed to New Milton. We may look at some of the villages around there and also at Barton and Milford. Christchurch seems very busy and congested but maybe in some of the villages around there too? I think our best bet in Spring is to go visit every Estage agent in Lymingon and hope to get something just listed before it goes on Rightmove.

hydrographer2004

If you are looking at neighbouring villages there are some really beautiful ones around:

Milford on sea - this is a really pretty little village and for such a small place they put on some great village events - every summer they put a mini festival on the village green and it is a great atmosphere.

Sway - Again a pretty village in the new forest inbetween New Milton and Lymington and well worth looking at.

Christchurch the traffic is indeed a nightmare - this morning it took me 40 minutes to drive 5 miles to work!

However I would really recommend Mudeford which is a village near christchurch. It has the beautiful Mudeford Quay, Hengistbury head - with the most expensive beach huts and land in the world (google it), It is really beautiful in the summer and there are lots of nice restaurants in walking distance.

It really depends if you are after more rural or seasidey villages - Milford on Seas is probably the perfect in between match.

Hope that helps!

angie_329

I agree with hydrographer2004 ,.knowing that area myself. Apart from the new forest villages, if on a budget it's worth looking around highcliffe, as also good for retirement, as flat, no hills ... lymngton high street is hilly, althogh highciffe highstreet is not as quaint as milford, barton, mudeford and lymington, there are more shops and a good doctors surgery used to older people . The cliffhanger cafe has fab views. Lots of estate agents in the high street.
Also there is a good selection of flats and bungalows. It is less pricey than Lymington which has more old houses, less bungalows.

Hengistbury head ( eastern end of bournemouth) towards christchurch has lots of bungalows but can be pricey. I would avoid new milton as some problems with 'yoofs'.
christchurch station good for parking, for trips to london, if in new forest use brockenhurst.
Its worth driving along through all those spots and picking up agents details on your way.
The other point I have been made aware of, is which main hospital would you use depending on where you live. There seems to be a preference for bournemouth- I was told this recently by people who moved for that reason- rather than southampton. I think( but check ) east of new milton it's southampton.

feelbritish

Thanks for all this info. Will put this into place in spring. I really appreciate Brit. Expat for info we get.

feelbritish

One question, Pennington seems to come up as in Lymington but we have been warned off that too. We are not big restaurant goers nor out for lots of evenings, preferring walking and pub lunches. We have major traffic problems here especially during them school run and early morning and evenings. Having to sit in traffic does worry us. We know in summer holidays the same but we accept that. Which roads in New Milton to watch out for as some people have told us more bungalows available. Our budget is around £400 000 and Lymington does not have much at that price. Any more advice?

angie_329

Are you able to go down to the area for a coupe of days and drive through the places mentioned? They are all different in their own way so you might get a sense of what you prefer. You could also decide if to go for a new forest village or somewhere along the coast.
I would start from the east of bournemouth, hengistury head and onto christchurch and so on via the by- the- sea villages, until lymington going on the small coast roads. Then into the new forest on the way back or vice versa.
Premier Inn have some branches there. They are well priced off season and have parking.
I would then chat to locals in pubs and ask re traffic. etc. The new forest via lyndhurst is busy during summer, for example. Also would you typically be driving at peak times?

feelbritish

Thanks, yes will go down for a week and really give it a good look. OH has joined a local forum and we are getting quite a lot of info that way too. We now need to get the future plans the llocal councils have for housing and new builds because some of the areas are going to be really targeted with housing estates. Hordle is one and it seems so is Pennington. We do not need to drive when it is busy. As retirees we leave after the rush and try get home either before or after.

rebs

Off topic, but it's perhaps no surprise you prefer Winchester to Poole - it's just been judged as the best place to live in the UK

Winchester is best place to live in the UK, study reveals | The Independent