Ray51

I failed to mention that I have been residing in SE England , more precisely : SW London and Surrey , for the last 2 years+ .No doubt , the neighbourhoods ARE affluent and there can be/IS much of interest , to commend theplace .
Would I retire there , by choice ?
Naah , far too uncivilised , often : outright dangerous , medical services are the standing laughing joke of EUrope , money-maddness prevails , the (total lack) of customer service is endemic as is illiteracy and stiff-upper-lip ignorance deluxe ( of languages , geography , history , Bon Ton and just about everything else about Celebrity-freakiness and lager & footie & bad pop music ! ).
Gimme BeNeLux any hour of any day of any week , rather !

JB80

I think those fears are likely to pass unfounded for me.
Sure I am a ways off retirement at the moment so my perspective is likely to change over time and experience but I can't see Belgium in my future at all, for much of the same reasons you mentioned although I'll give the healthcare and transport systems here a nod because they all in all operate fairly well.
At the moment we are trying to raise a young family and now the kids are a bit older we want a better lifestyle for them than what Belgium can offer. I'm originally from Oz but we would consider moving to the UK purely because the weather would be better, maybe not retire there though.

For me though lifestyle would have to play the part and of course everyone had different ideas of what they want but I just would be happy to be warm every once and a while or all year and more importantly to be able to enjoy my main pass time which is astronomy, something not easy to do with kids and a job etc... and made even more impossible by living in Belgium.
Which is why the allure of clear and dark skies would play a huge factor come retirement and why I would be drawn to places like the Canaries, Crete, Southern Spain or even the mountain regions in France, Italy, Swiss.

At the end of the day though I think each person has different ideas and needs and you have earned the right to find the right place for you.

Ray51

Since you mentioned that you are from Down Unda :
good friends of mine moved to Sydney a few years ago ( I do know any number of others , done the same : Perth , Melbourne , Brisbane , Canberra...) . He is on a huge salary , CEO , she runs the , far too-big house in suburbia , children to schools by 4x4 etc...often they share/whinge how much more they'd liketo be in Herts or Berks. here , weather notwithstanding !
It is the lovely English people , of 40-5-60+++ age/s they miss the most , the customs , the politiness , the manerisms , the civilisation , the inherent decency , ethics & morals ...and the countryside , history , art and fun .
Sadly most of the good aspects are quickly disappearing , right i.f.o my very eyes and senses and warenes , so , IF I can manage : 4 me , SLOvenia/Spain/Benelux...rather , it might yet be my Solution !
Cheerz , mate , regardz to sub-bleached Sheilaz !

Mike and Janet

Clear skys,amazing stars,four proper seasons,long hot summers,lovely people and great coffee,the answer is N.E Slovenia.

liveaboard

I was in Slovenia to visit a friend; indeed a beautiful place, and I really liked the people I met there. We were up late laughing and swapping stories.
Property is [was] cheap.
But the winters... not for me.

Ray51

IMHO :
a fab , warm , microclimate , extra-mild pleasant snowless winters , nice people , in the summer the tourists pass through onto Croatia mostly , great food , good heavy red wine REFOSHK ! , minutes to Italy by car , hour/s to Ljubljana and pictoresque Bled and Austria , tennis in Umag , world's v. Best coffee ( Illy ; all over ) , manageable summers ( short sleeves ) : 1.May - end October ...gotta be SLOvenija Primorska !

One revolting proverbial fly in the ointment : a resonable property , to own or rent ? = more difficult to find/get than anywhere in the whole wide world , what a Pity !

Nora77

I would choose south of France

Buying a racing bike and trying all those tracks from Tour de France :P

Ray51

Thanxxxx , for the lovely artwork !
a ) signed : ACHATELAIN ? Place Le Chatelain BTW is a popular smaller city square of bourgeois nature , in Bruxelles' Commune of Ixelles , code postal : 1050 ;
a number of good to fine restaurants there and/or in vicinity , bistroes , wine bars , interesting quirky shops , excellent open-street market Wednesday afternoons , all year 'rond , jolly life at its best - how very different from grey unspeakly-boring boredoms of GB's jumped-up suburbiae !
B ) to live and/or retire in France has , for many years now , been a Dream of many , for too-many a reason , dear to their heart/s and mind/s !
( Well-documented and much-discussed , too ! )

Sadly , personal situations , not least of financial nature , often can and DO override such passions , do read on rampant socialism , Francois Hollande , bureaucracy , taxation ...
...enough to make any half-sensible person ill to their stomach/s !
On the positive side : transport , medical care , education , joie de vivre , food'n'drink , social responsibility , childcare , weather ( in parts , like Provence , Cote d'Azur , Aquitaine , Langouedoc-Roussillon ...) , fashion , markets , supemarkets and hypermarkets ...
...are all light years better than anything we in GB can hope to ever experience " in our home country .
they have far-too-many Maghreb/African and similar emigrants , but we have far-too-many & far-too-much-too many of them from East Europe , Asian sub-continent , Balkans , African-anywheres etc etc ...
only my 05 ( devalued , again ! ) pence worth' , of polite remarks and comments , see ?
For possibly more sensible retirement plans , in practical terms & for me :
- SLOvenia , Belgium , Espana , Gibraltar , some swear by Portugal , too !

Domino

if wanting/needing to work then Forget It..
unemployment is a way of life in these countries.

If wanting to retire then with the transferrable medical and pension may not be so bad. But remember that if you do go south that although it can be 1000+ miles from UK (straight line) you are only getting warmer for about 6-7 months. The winters are freezing and Winter Fuel Payment can take the sting out of the cost of keeping homes warm

but the med diet, the wines, the people so friendly (and inquisitive)

kovachitza

Dear Member ,
I am Belgian living in Bulgaria since 8 years and never travel back to my country!!!!!!!
Do you know that you can buy a house with 1000 m2 ground in BG for 10.000 pound or even less !! Sure this kind of houses need renovation works but you are young and before your pension you have plenty of time to make it perfect.
In my village are already a lot of citizen from UK who have a property !!
Sun ?? 8 month's a year up to 38 degrees in July and August. Costs of living here 50% cheaper than in Europe . If you want more information , pictures let me know , I will help you for free.
Sincerely yours
Philippe
P.S Look the pictures from my property that I am renovating at this moment

Ray51

Domino !
was one of my favourite songs , as performed by Van The Man , many a midnite ago !
Was it on Astral ....?

Domino

the lyrics don't seem to make any sense.......

also a character in a James Bond..........

and.........

dingodog

I've loved Austria ever since I went for a skiing holiday in the 80's. I visited Carinthia a few years ago and really liked the area and the people. I would love to spend some time there but can't afford to buy so would have to rent on a long-term basis. Do you know of any agencies that I could contact?

Many thanks