Retiring on £40K, where in the UK would you want to live?

[Clint]

Been holidaying in Northumberland on and off at various times of the year for over 20 years now and I’ve never encountered midges, perhaps you take them with you from North Wales

We went to Kielder forest...the air was black with them...

 

[Falco]

We went to Kielder forest...the air was black with them...

To be fair we mainly stuck to the coast so I can imagine Keilder would be a prime spot for the little b’stards

 

[Leon103]

Our stay in Porthcawl felt like home, wind, rain and all.

Not the nicest places to live though. Looking at your latest post it could be anywhere in the UK, apart from remote Scotland and a couple if areas in Wales. It saying that so much would change in 10 years it is pointless suggesting anything

 

[Beebee31]

Or buy a narrow boat and chug your way round the waterways of the UK, stopping off at every other pub.

He’s only got 40k!

 

[marshbrewer]

So here's the rub: here, when we talk about disposable income, we're talking about what's left when the taxman and bills are paid. We're talking about 40K gross. Does that paint a different picture?

40K gross means approx 31K net after income taxes. Depending on where you live, and the size of house you purchase, you will need around 2k for property tax (council tax).

We have high levels of 'stealth' taxes in the UK, such as VAT @ 20% , fuel tax meaning petrol is around £1.15 a litre at present (although in non covid times that's more like £1.40/L), soft drink taxes, alcohol taxes, insurance taxes, and so on. All of which means that something that costs $100 in the US will be £100+ here, even though the £1 is worth more than $1 in terms of exchange rates. If you look at the OECD tables, taxes are higher in the UK than the US, as is the cost of living I believe.

Don't let that put you off, but it needs some careful consideration if cost of living is important.

 

[Cwrw666]

some parts of wales are less welsh speaking than others - North west wales - The most I'd say , Pembroke and where I live the least. I can speak a bit but both my parents are english - so my learned welsh was from school and the teacher I had turned me off it completely.

I'm in North Pembs. Me & Mrs Cwrw are both English and get on fine with the locals who are all Welsh speaking. Actually the Mrs has learned to speak Welsh good enough so that she can use it at work (she's a domicilliary care worker). Both our kids are totally fluent too as they went through the local Welsh language education system.
There's only me letting the side down but I can still sing in Welsh, even if I'm not too sure what exactly the words mean sometimes.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I'm in North Pembs. Me & Mrs Cwrw are both English and get on fine with the locals who are all Welsh speaking. Actually the Mrs has learned to speak Welsh good enough so that she can use it at work (she's a domicilliary care worker). Both our kids are totally fluent too as they went through the local Welsh language education system.
There's only me letting the side down but I can still sing in Welsh, even if I'm not too sure what exactly the words mean sometimes.

yup more welsh speaking in north pembs than south pembs. For the original poster, any good pubs in walking distance because here in goweton there are none. You have to take a train (pre-covid) next stop down the line into swansea for that.

 

[darkbright]

It’s the north west for me. Good house prices, lots of countryside and access to some beaches. Weather is ok. Close to some brilliant cities. Close to north Wales.

 

[Braufather]

As I live in Kent (South East corner of the UK) it may not be surprising that Kent would be my suggestion. Great weather, beaches all round, historic attractions, good travel links, London just up the road.

You missed out great breweries, beer gardens, access to France and the mighty Gills ;-)

 

[Cwrw666]

yup more welsh speaking in north pembs than south pembs. For the original poster, any good pubs in walking distance because here in goweton there are none. You have to take a train (pre-covid) next stop down the line into swansea for that.

Not where I live but there again I'm 3 miles from the nearest village - Crymych (don't go if you don't like worthington creamflow...) There are some decent pubs around but you do have to drive, which is ok as I don't drink that much, except at home of course. My `local' is Tafarn Sinc which is a community owned pub, and yes we have shares in it. Before covid I was running a fortnightly folk session there. It's 9 miles away, but round here if you're doing anything you expect to drive 10 to 20 miles at least.

 

[Horners]

There's no way that the OP should move to the South East unless somewhere very rural which is not great for retirement if you have no support network. Cost of living insane from property prices/ rents through to travel and the cost of a pint. My semi detached 3 up 3 down plus loft conversion and kitchen extension would cost about £900k and that is only in zone 4.

Sorry edit: meant to also say, all that said the weather is consistently significantly warmer/ less miserable in the South East. having grown up in Southport and Carlisle this makes a big difference. I note that in Penrith it is 25C today which is unheard of but here it is 30C and set sto stay warm for the next 10 days. if you dont like getting wet then north west is not for you

 

[KEG_KINGDOM]

The Black Country!

 

[Rodcx500z]

for our friends over the pond Llandudno North Wales today
View attachment 32639

 

[Leon103]

Live in mid wales but went out cycling around North wales today, lovely part of the world.

 

[mickthetrick]

To be fair we mainly stuck to the coast so I can imagine Keilder would be a prime spot for the little b’stards

im with Clint on this. place is thick with them. large expance of woodland and water does attract them.
stay away from the north. "we are full! " O.P.
only joking mind. north england has some right good places. same as most the uk really but good value

 

[Braufather]

There's no way that the OP should move to the South East unless somewhere very rural which is not great for retirement if you have no support network. Cost of living insane from property prices/ rents through to travel and the cost of a pint. My semi detached 3 up 3 down plus loft conversion and kitchen extension would cost about £900k and that is only in zone 4.

Sorry edit: meant to also say, all that said the weather is consistently significantly warmer/ less miserable in the South East. having grown up in Southport and Carlisle this makes a big difference. I note that in Penrith it is 25C today which is unheard of but here it is 30C and set sto stay warm for the next 10 days. if you dont like getting wet then north west is not for you

The south east dies extend beyond zone 4 though doesn’t it

 

[Rodcx500z]

I live in the northwest, a 2 hour drive will get you to north wales, the lake district, west yorkshire, the peak district, the forest of bowland, and 22 miles away the home of the greatest city in the world and football team Liverpool, 40 miles to blackpool and the west lancashire coast what more could i ask for in life

 

[BlackIsland]

im with Clint on this. place is thick with them. large expance of woodland and water does attract them.
stay away from the north. "we are full! " O.P.
only joking mind. north england has some right good places. same as most the uk really but good value

Here in Western Washington we had the same sentiment in the '90s with Californians cashing out their homes, moving here and buying up our (then) cheaper homes, running up the prices. I guess we're thinking the same now, so guilty as charged. Our current home (which is well below the city median value), a detached with garage, is around 232K GBP, which would get us a decent terraced house in many places. But we're also considering not buying, to limit the risk of expensive repairs, and increasing flexibility should we want to move around.
Again, this is all very hypothetical, and 10+ years away. So whoever said it's pointless now, you're right, but I'm glad for all the input anyway.

 

[BlackIsland]

I live in the northwest, a 2 hour drive will get you to north wales, the lake district, west yorkshire, the peak district, the forest of bowland, and 22 miles away the home of the greatest city in the world and football team Liverpool, 40 miles to blackpool and the west lancashire coast what more could i ask for in life

Sounds like a slice of heaven to me!

 

[Horners]

The south east dies extend beyond zone 4 though doesn’t it

Of course it does which is why I qualified the comment with something rural. But the cost of living is still massively dearer.