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Top 5 Places to Retire in England

August 6, 2023

lifestyle

Honestly, I’ve got a while to go before I can start thinking about retiring so the thought doesn’t really cross my mind. Still, it’s nice to know that when I do eventually retire I can take my pick of the best places to do so.

The Guardian recently posted an article about the best places for retirement and why. We’ve picked out the top 5 places to retire in England, with a little snippet of reasoning.

1. Craven

Craven is a small, rural area in North Yorkshire which is centred around the tiny market town of Skipton. It has below average rainfall for the UK yet below sunshine hours per year too.

It has the 10th lowest crime rate of 324 districts in the UK and 92.43% of residents say they would look out for their neighbours.

It is a picturesque market town complete with charm, a strong sense of community and friendliness.

2. North Dorset

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North Dorset is a largely rural area and covers Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster.

Average life expectancy here is 79.9 years of age and there are a variety of picturesque beauty spots to note including the Blandford Forum’s Stour Meadows.

This is the perfect traditional place to retire; think greenery and farming.

3. West Devon

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Another mostly rural district which includes towns such as Chagford and Princetown. This district is a little more active than the first two places with 730 acres of water sports and fishing.

It also has a variety of popular walkways and areas to birdwatch.

It has a population of 53,100 and many of its towns have attractive thatched cottages and village pubs.

Purbeck

Source: ntprints.com via Amy on Pinterest

Purbeck is a peninsula in the county of Dorset popular for retirement. It has below average rainfall (an obvious advantage) and a very high amount of sunshine hours per year. It is considered to be ‘a walkers’ paradise’ with large areas of beautiful flat countryside, perfect for long relaxing walks.

Most of the areas host regular farmers’ markets and the community is friendly and welcoming.

East Devon

Seemingly the whole of Devon is a perfect place to retire!

East Devon has relatively high levels of annual rainfall so there must be something else that makes this area so perfect.

The area has a reasonably low crime rate and the majority of people would look out for their neighbours.

If you like the sea, this is the perfect seaside resort to retire in. In fact the whole of the East Devon coastline is part of the world heritage site, Jurassic Coast.

Think pebbled beaches, beautiful seaside attractions and don’t forget the incredibly healthy sea air.

There you have it, the top 5 places to retire in England.

What do they all have in common? They are all situated in rural England and all have a huge sense of community and offer a traditional quiet village lifestyle.

What else could you want than to spend your days taking relaxing walks around the beautiful English countryside followed by a roast dinner at one of the local village pubs. Perfection (and I’m not even retired).

Do you think you’d like to retire in one of these areas? Let us know in the comment section below. 

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