Where are the happiest retirement hotspots in Scotland?
Live in Scotland and looking for the right place for you during retirement? We reveal the happiest retirement hotspots in Scotland.
After decades of working hard and building your pension pot, it can be exciting to finally reach retirement. If you’re considering a change of scenery, you may be interested in retirement-friendly areas.
L&G’s retail business has conducted extensive research on 632 parliamentary constituencies in Great Britain, including Scotland and Wales, to discover the happiest retirement hotspots.
It looked at six factors that measure a good quality of later life, including:
Housing: Access to residential care homes and the percentage and availability of senior housing.
Health: Access to GPs and dentists, NHS waiting times, and the percentage of over-65s in good and poor health.
Social and community: The proportion of residents aged 65+, life satisfaction levels, reported levels of happiness, and distance to the nearest train station.
Financial security: Average pension income, the cost of living, housing affordability, and lack of deprivation.
Nature: The number of reported ‘summer’ days, air quality, the percentage of addresses with private outdoor space, and the average size of this space.
Access to amenities: Access to pharmacies, supermarkets, post offices, banks, libraries, theatres, museums, historical sites, and gardens.
All areas that were explored were given a score out of 100 based on the above factors.
Where are the top happiest retirement hotspots in Scotland?
We’ll now reveal some of the happiest places for retirees to live in Scotland.
| Ranking | Housing pillar | Health pillar | Social and community pillar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh North and Leith | Edinburgh West | East Renfrewshire |
| 2 | Glasgow North | East Renfrewshire | Mid Dunbartonshire |
| 3 | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Edinburgh South | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| 4 | Glasgow North East | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross |
| 5 | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh | Edinburgh North and Leith | Argyll, Bute and South Locaber |
| 6 | Dundee Central | Aberdeen South | Orkney and Shetland |
| 7 | Livingstone | Mid Dunbartonshire | Central Ayrshire |
| 8 | North East Fife | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West |
| 9 | Argyll, Bute and South Locaber | Gordon and Buchan | Dumfries and Galloway |
| 10 | Edinburgh South West | Stirling and Strathallan | Dumfrieshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale |
Now we’ll explore some of the top retirement hotspots.
Mid Dunbartonshire, situated between Glasgow, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, came top as the happiest constituency in Scotland.
It also came in eighth for retirement social life and community, and ninth for retirement finances.
The second-happiest constituency in Scotland is Stirling and Strathallan. It also ranked 13th for retirement finance and 18th for its amenities.
Stirling is known for its castle and beautiful medieval architecture, and the constituency also boasts the Trossachs National Park.
The third-happiest constituency in Scotland, a popular rural area south west of Glasgow known for its small lochs and moorland landscape, also ranked fourth for retirement social life and community.
Coming in at second for retirement finances in Scotland, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine is also the fourth-happiest constituency in the country.
The area encompasses sandy beaches along the North Sea coastline and is the gateway to the Cairngorms National Park.
Remote Na h-Eileanan an Iar, at one of the northernmost tips of Scotland, otherwise known as the Outer Hebrides, is the fifth-happiest constituency in Scotland, according to the research.
Encompassing the Isle of Harris, Lewis and Barra, among other islands in the archipelago, it scores 13th for retirement finances and 18th for amenities.
Get expert financial and mortgage advice
If you're planning for retirement in Scotland or considering a move to one of these happiest retirement hotspots, expert financial advice can help you make the most of your money.
Unbiased can quickly match you with a qualified financial adviser who can help you decide on the best way to access your pension, plan for the cost of living in your chosen area, and ensure you don't run out of money in your golden years.
You can also be matched with a mortgage broker who can help you find the right mortgage for your needs, whether you're downsizing, relocating to a new part of Scotland, or looking to access equity in your home.
We’ll find a professional perfectly matched to your needs. Getting started is easy, fast and 100% free.
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