Study reveals Plymouth is the 6th best city for retirement

Retirement can be both an exciting and scary time, and many enter this new stage of life with a desire to relocate. In fact, experts at HeatingForce.co.uk found that 64% of Brits plan to move to a different UK city when they retire.* 

Eager to find out which cities in the UK are best for retirement, HeatingForce.co.uk created an index-based point system based off various social and geographical factors. These factors include crime level, annual sunshine, quality of health care, house prices and access to various leisure activities.*

The 10 UK Cities Best For Retirement:

Experts at HeatingForce.co.uk can confirm that Norwich is the best UK city to retire to with a score of 925 out of 1,000, 21% higher than its closest competitor. Scoring among the highest for the number of parks and health walks, Norwich is perfect for those looking to embrace the outdoors and stay active in retirement. This city in Norfolk also boasts a crime level of just 22 - the lowest in the UK.

Ranking second is York with a score of 767. Those retiring to York can enjoy plenty of natural outdoor space (22 natural spaces and parks per 100,000 people) and cafes (146 per 100,000 people), for which this city scored the highest. However, with only five marked walks within a five mile radius of the city centre, York has one of the lowest quantity of health walks across the board – dragging down its total score.

Bournemouth is the third best city to retire to with a score of 699 out of 1,000. Known for its sandy beaches, this city ranks highest for hours ofannual sunshine (1,767 hours) and has one of the highest average ages (43 years old).

Following closely behind is Edinburgh (696), Newcastle upon Tyne (688) and Plymouth (682), respectively ranking fourth, fifth and sixth.

The 10 UK Cities Worst For Retirement:

Coventry stands as the worst city to relocate to in retirement with a score of just 13 out of 1,000. With one of the highest crime levels (57) and lowest health care quality rankings (66), Coventry is seemingly not a suitable move for the more vulnerable.

Armagh ranks as the second worst city to retire to in the UK with a score of 46. Armagh ranks among the lowest for hours of annual sunshine(1,246 hours) and across all analysed leisure activities – both of these are key factors to consider for maintaining your mental health.

Armagh is followed by Birmingham with a score of 76 out of 1,000;primarily ranking low due to holding the second highest crime rate of 65 after Wolverhampton (66).

Nottingham (102), Newry (103) and London (122) are also among the worst UK cities to retire to.

Why are Retirees Relocating?

HeatingForce.co.uk surveyed 3,435 Brits close to retirement and found that 64% plan to move to a different UK city when they retire.* 

Methodology: 

1. 3,435 participants over the age of 40 not yet in retirement were asked if they plan to relocate in retirement and their reasons for or against relocation.
2. Top 40 UK cities based on population were analysed
3. Crime level and health care data was sourced from Numbeo.com
4. Hours of annual sunshine sourced from Met Office UK climate averages
5. Number of churches & cathedrals, golf courses, cafés and nature and parks sourced from Tripadvisor.co.uk
6. Age was sourced from bbc.co.uk
7. The average property price within each city sourced from Postoffice.co.uk
8. Data on walking groups available within five miles of each city sourced from walkingforhealth.org.uk and ramblers.org.uk
9. Number of book clubs in each city sourced from meetup.com  
10. As the factors have differing units of measurement, this was accounted for by using min-max normalisation to normalise the data. Each category was weighted (please see complete data sheet for weightings). The normalised data was added up for each city to find the final score out of 1,000.