UK IFA

Essex, driest county in Uk :-)

Perth

Will take this in as soon as I get the chance! Have been on google maps of late locating our old house in South Kensington (London). It's really neat to be able to show my daughter my route to the tube every morning. What really struck me about these photos is how clean London looks!

Perth

Really? First thing I tried to look up and came up with Kent!

UK IFA

according to the following:-)

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...7120422AAZljep

East Anglia and Essex win apparently:-)

Pistolpete2

OP is looking four years down the road.

UK already has extreme drought conditions in certain areas and climate change calls for extremes of dry/wet/hot/cold/windy/calm. I'm not sure that driest is a selling feature when Kent is on balance a fairly amenable place to be weather-wise, particularly near the coast. I went to school on the edge of East Anglia and boy was it cold in Winter, because the area is so flat and the chill winds came straight in from the Urals.

Like the OP, looking to retire and wanting plenty of things to do relatively close-by without the use of a car, there are other items that seem to be much more important.

One particular issue also is that Canterbury is now just about daily commutable and as we have seen it has decent access to London (and the Continent) by various modes and yet property in general is not at this point priced as though London is commutable, though it is not cheap either.

Perth

Someone just recommend Brighton to me. I LOVED it when I was a 20-something year old but not sure about now. Any idea how it is for us older folk wanting a slower pace of life? How does it compare to Canterbury? Seems like you could tick a few of the same must-haves, such as no car, decent weather, commute to London, things to do. Any idea?

Okuda

My home town!

I'd be more concerned about Sturry road/Vauxhall road/Reed road estates, than whincheap area to be honest. You couldn't pay me to live up Sturry road way. Ever. Whincheap is fine. Thannington, (a bit further up by Morrisons) although still a bit rough has come a long way from what it used to be 10 years ago.

There's a great greenway that goes from toddlers cove thru the marshes parallel to whincheap all the way to Chartham now too, it's a great little walk/bike path. 3 or 4 miles long.

As much as I love it and we are moving back, some points to consider:

Traffic in Canterbury has always been and always be, God awful. Small city, ever expanding and the roads can't cope, hense the park and rides. If you get a car, take advantage of the park and rides. The ring road gets locked up big time during the rush hours/school run times.
But really? There is really no need for a car, as previously mentioned, everywhere is accessible by bus, trains, taxis. If you need to do a big food shop, most supermarkets have a taxi phone inside the door rather than having to lug the bags home.

Curlytops: Nice pic of the Buttermarket Makes me homesick!!

Sally Redux

My Mum lives in Eastbourne which is cheaper for housing and has a slower pace but is not far from Brighton if you fancy the buzz. Last time I was back and picked up a property magazine for Brighton, the prices were out of this world.

Perth

Hubby wants to be closer to the ocean, so we could go there on a whim (hence someone mentioning Brighton). I think we will be close enough in Canterbury, but not sure. Must be able to live without a car, so not sure Eastbourne would fit the bill Another place mentioned: Chichester? I'm still partial to Canterbury myself, but we must both be happy

Sally Redux

Eastbourne is right on the beach as well.

Perth

That's about as much as I know about it, Sally Although I just read that it is the sunniest place in the UK. True?

How about living there without a car? Cost of home rentals (flat or small cottage)? Cultural offerings? Hubby plays Irish music on the concertina in jam sessions here and wants to find the same there. I sing in a choir and also looking for same. Clubs to join? Friendly people?

Things have changed slightly as far as plans. Will not move for another 5 years, instead of 4, so that I can maximize US SS and voluntary pay into UK pension. So in that regard, will not be looking to work once I get there. We will both be retirees. So job front not a problem, although will most likely want to volunteer at a charity shop.

So any advice as far as whether it may suit us is most welcomed!

Sally Redux

I'm not saying it's fabulous, but it's a pleasant enough place with a seaside vibe, it used to be very much a place for retirees but I've seen it get much hipper over the years, I'd be fine about living there myself. Seems friendly with plenty of clubs and activities. My Mum doesn't have a car, there are plenty of buses, you've got a train station and the taxis seem to be very good and plentiful because I think a lot of the older folk use them.

Have a look on Rightmove for rentals. They have a new art gallery which is pretty good (Towner), a lot of the theatres cater to the tourist trade but you will be able to find entertainment, pub music etc.

Perth

Sounds charming, Sally, but I am still partial to Canterbury. If we can hop on a bus to the sea, that should be close enough. We'll be coming over in the next year or so for a good look around. Will set up base in Canterbury but I think hubby would like to head over to Eastbourne for a day or so. Sounds like a plan.

Sally Redux

Good luck!

Okuda

Loads of buses all the time to Hernebay/Whitsable/Margate/Broadstairs and so on!