I have a dream......

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Nigeyy

Legendary Member
"I have a dream..." to paraphrase a famous Civil Rights leader.....

I know many people on the board are mere young whippersnappers, but for those of us who are now realizing that retirement isn't an ethereal imaginary notion 30 years away, I'm starting to think of where I want to live when the big "R" hits. My ideal place would be the following:
  • bike path on the doorstep that makes it accessible to a town centre including supermarket, nice restaurants etc I can cycle to get all my shopping done.
  • small house located on outskirts of town so that all I can see is countryside at least in one direction
  • extensive hiking/mtb trails on the doorstep
  • little to no motorized traffic with severe restrictions* with emphasis on bike/pedestrian access for all
  • picturesque mountains one side, relatively flat t'other (well, I'd want an easy option of cycling now, wouldn't I?)
  • nice lake for watersports (non-motorized not allowed mind you)
  • train station on the doorstep that could take me to a larger city or airport if I so wished when I want to travel
  • a climate that offered decent weather (e.g. little rain, mostly sunshine, good amount of snow in the winter, not past 27'C with no humidity)
  • good and easy access to medical care (when you get older, sooner or later you'll need medical care)
There, that sounds good -I may even compromize on a point too :smile:. OK, can someone tell me where that it is? Would be interested to hear other people's ideal areas and whether they have specifically identified them as well or actually moved there as well.

* the older I get, the more I've come to despise the car culture -sadly, so much seems to be geared towards the automobile with its brutality. And when I say brutality I mean not just physical casualties but the erosion of empathy and decency in some driver's attitudes. I'd love it if there was a 20mph speed limit everywhere -well, ok excluding emergency vehicles (I am practical; clearly there's a need for emergency vehicles!)
 

Saluki

World class procrastinator
Lydd in Kent, although you will have to compromise on the Mountains.
 
Southern Sweden would be ideal, apart from the lack of mountains. It's a bit like Tuscany. It's relatively cheap and everyone speaks English.

https://www.google.no/search?q=skån...ved=0ahUKEwj_mMWb4KvJAhUGw3IKHTqDAGgQ_AUIBigB

and in particular, this part of Skåne:

https://www.google.no/search?q=oste...ved=0ahUKEwjSm9bM4KvJAhXkwHIKHYSFCagQ_AUIBigB

They have good summers with LOTS of daylight and similar winters to England.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g189839-s208/Malmo:Sweden:Weather.And.When.To.Go.html
 

Glow worm

Legendary Member
Location
Near Newmarket
Although I slagged it off at the time when I was there for work in September (a couple of people tried to run me over as I rode through the place), Keswick ticks most of your boxes OP. There were some decent cycle paths linking to the town centre, there's good rail links and it's surrounded by beautiful countryside. The car culture thing I dont think you can avoid anywhere in the UK apart from maybe Sark :smile:
 

Dave 123

Legendary Member
How about around and about the Exeter area?
Airport
City- obviously Exeter, Plymouth 40 miles away
M5
Miles of coastline east and west
Dartmoor
An hour to Cornwall
Somerset levels not too far away
Bristol airport an hour away
Haldon forest
Warm(ish) climate
And Trago Mills......
 
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