Moving location in mid-life

Many people move areas throughout their life for a variety of reasons, ranging from a change in work or school, being nearer people and as you want a change in lifestyle. There is evidence that as we get to midlife and beyond, the majority want to live in more peaceful locations, usually more rural than the busy cities that many worked in, in their twenties and thirties. The benefits can be varied and are dependent on how you want to live your life.

“46.6% Of England’s rural population are 50+ and nearly a quarter (24.3 percent) are 65+”

Reference: Age UK

Benefits of moving area

Release equity

‍If you are moving out of urban areas or moving abroad than in the majority of cases, but by all means not all,  you will be able to afford more space than you can in cities and therefore could get a similar size property and release equity or pay off your mortgage decreasing your outgoings and adding to your investments.
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Match your lifestyle and activities  

If you love walking or surfing, horse riding you may want that to become more central to your life. As work becomes easier to do from home, having hobbies you can do on our doorstop may be the deciding factor to a move rather than where your work head office is. 
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Social ‍

Cities can be anonymous and favour those with existing social networks. By moving to a new smaller area you could have a closer sense of community. 

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Caring

Many people look to move closer to parents or grandchildren to either care for  them or to gain support from others to care for you or your children. 
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Health

For many the idea of moving areas is closely associated with a healthier environment; more green spaces and living closer to nature. 

Things to consider when moving areas

Value of property may not increase as much

Although this differs depending on the area you move from and to, if you move from an urban to a rural area the majority of properties will not increase at the same rate. This is not a problem if you stay in that area, but if you do not want to return it can be much harder as you get priced out of the market.  Also if you are factoring in to your pension pot equity release you may want to take this into consideration.
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Will your reason for moving change ‍

If you are going to move for a caring reasons, a hobby, or a job, think about what you will do if those people move or if the job no longer exists. Ensure there are other benefits to your move to or be prepared to move again, which is financially expensive, emotionally draining and can be a social upheaval. 
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Social events/activities

Make sure that the activities/hobbies and community events you expect are local, try and meet some of the people before you move so you can be sure your expectations are met.  
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Green spaces

Being in nature contributes to better mental health and  may also encourage you to exercise more, and do so more cheaply. Being outside also gives you the benefit of increased vitamin D which is a really important ingredient for your physical health. 
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Hospitals ‍

As you get older even the healthiest people will likely have more hospital appointments, ensure they are easy to get to (especially if you could not drive), check waiting lists and ratio of doctors and dentists surgeries to patients. There is evidence that the further you are from a hospital the greater you chances of dying of a heart attack are, a sobering thought but something to think about if you do get diagnosed with heart disease. 
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Health (Radon)

Is found in high concentrations in some parts of the country and there is evidence that it can increase a person's chances of Lung cancer. However it is only dangerous if it is found to be in the house. There are testing kits which will monitor this, and you can ask for this at purchase time. New properties are required to limit your exposure to radon, but older properties may give you moderate exposure which is still dangerous.