God's waiting room

Exeter Quays, Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license

Although it seems like only yesterday I was at a student at Huddersfield Polytechnic walking down the hill to Newsome for my morning lectures (I was a good boy), I am getting close the point when I can retire from 'work' as a teacher (although as a geographer, and thanks to all the projects I have done, I doubt that I will lack interesting projects to get involved with for quite a few decades - hopefully).

Retirement for many means downsizing, or moving from somewhere they have lived for years to a place where they feel will meet their changing needs: children moving out, steps, near doctor's surgeries, not needing a car etc.

Estate agency Savills, in conjunction with The Telegraph, recently produced a list of the 10 best places to retire in the UK to try and make that decision easier.

Here are their suggestions.

The research looked at key metrics, such as the number of hospitals, GPs and dentists per 10,000 people and the availability of shops and green spaces nearby. 

Crime levels, other than fraud, were also considered, before the figures were cross-checked against average property prices.

You will find lots of these lists online. It would be interesting to see which places frequently appear near the top (and bottom) of the league.