North Wales coastal town with 'stunning' beaches among UK's best places to downsize
The Telegraph has come up with a list of the UK's best places to downsize - see which towns in Wales made the list. (Image: Patrick Glover) This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.
A coastal town in North Wales has been named among the best places in the UK to move to if you're looking to downsize.
From London up to Scotland, and everywhere in between, The Telegraph has come up with a list of the best places to downsize in 2025.
The locations on the list were selected based on several factors including: The proportion of resident retirees
Property markets
Access to supermarkets, GP surgeries, hospitals and public transport
🏡 Britain's retiree hotspots for those yearning for an unhurried pace of life
Find out below ⬇️https://t.co/YFUsdRpUEB pic.twitter.com/dsVlk0txD0 — Telegraph Money (@MoneyTelegraph) May 3, 2025
Introducing the list, The Telegraph said: "When freed up from the restrictions of needing to live near school catchment areas or commuter stations, with a yearning for an unhurried pace of life, where might retirees choose to live?
"Among the top three locations per region, it's clear that small towns reign supreme – especially those on the edge of the greenbelt or even surrounded by rolling hills.
'Homes that sit on the cusp of urban locations are appealing… downsizers want to enjoy the best of both worlds in later life,' says Maud.
"But which are popular, and how much will it cost to buy a home there?" The UK's best places to downsize
The best places to move to if you're looking to downsize, according to The Telegraph, are: South West : Kingskerswell (Devon) and Brixington (Exmouth)
: Kingskerswell (Devon) and Brixington (Exmouth) South East : Shoreham-by-Sea (West Sussex)
: Shoreham-by-Sea (West Sussex) London : Beckenham (South London) and Harold Wood (East London)
: Beckenham (South London) and Harold Wood (East London) East of England : Rayleigh (Essex)
: Rayleigh (Essex) West Midlands : Leek (Staffordshire) and Summerhill (Kidderminster)
: Leek (Staffordshire) and Summerhill (Kidderminster) East Midlands : Oadby (Leicestershire) and North Beeston (Nottingham)
: Oadby (Leicestershire) and North Beeston (Nottingham) Wales : Llandrillo-Yn-Rhos/Rhos-on-Sea (Conwy)
: Llandrillo-Yn-Rhos/Rhos-on-Sea (Conwy) Yorkshire and the Humber : Clementhorpe (York)
: Clementhorpe (York) North East : West Monkseaton (Tyne and Wear)
: West Monkseaton (Tyne and Wear) North West : Poulton-Le-Fylde (Normoss)
: Poulton-Le-Fylde (Normoss) Scotland: Central Ayr (South Ayrshire) Why Rhos-on-Sea is among the best places to downsize
Rhos-on-Sea was named among the UK's best places to downsize to by The Telegraph, recommended for its "stunning" beaches, nearby mountains and "reasonably" priced properties.
The news outlet said: "After years of happy holidays on the stunning beaches of the North Wales coast, many from Cheshire, Wirral and Manchester decide to make a permanent move to the area when they retire." Best beaches in the UK
Zoe Cunliffe from Beresford Adams, added: "The desire to live by the mountains, our beaches and coastlines is also a huge attraction, as is the supposedly 'milder climate' near the coast,' says
'Plus there's the pull that the area is reasonably priced, given where people are relocating from.'
The bigger seaside town of Colwyn Bay is next door to Rhos, and Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park is "on the doorstep" for those who enjoy time outdoors.
The "pretty" seaside town of Rhos-on-Sea also has its own popular golf course as well as a range of independent shops.
Rhos-on-Sea was recommended for its stunning beaches, nearby mountains and reasonably priced properties. (Image: Patrick Glover) The Telegraph added: "The promenade and beach has been greatly improved by a 'Riviera look' upgrade, with seating areas and better parking."
For those who fancy a night out at the theatre, Venue Vymru is just a short drive away in Llandudno.
RECOMMENDED READING:
When it came to healthcare in the area, The Telegraph said: "It was noted that the provision could be better for complex issues."
The average house price in Rhos-on-Sea, according to The Telegraph, is £300,113.
Two other locations in North Wales were also recognised for being among the best places to downsize - Eastern Prestatyn (with an average house price of £236,250) and Southern Brynhyfryd (£258,383).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
The future of Edinburgh? Our series asks the big questions
Frequently when we think of Edinburgh, we think about its past. But at the Herald, for our latest series, we have chosen to look towards its future - for how it rises to the challenge of a growing population in a world in which tourism, climate, energy supply, how we shop, spend our leisure time, build our homes, are all changing, is crucial. Read more: In a love letter to "work of art" of a city, on this first day of the series, author Alexander McCall Smith, lists its special landscape qualities and architectural wonders, but also notes, 'Edinburgh risks being hollowed out by tourist-focused developments and by the mushrooming of student accommodation.' 'A concomitant of these trends,' he writes, 'is the destruction of its character as a real city, and its replacement as a Disneyfied conglomeration of bars, German markets, and big wheels. A tartan nightmare, shallow and garish, is just round the corner unless the sheer volume of tourist traffic is tamed.' The series also kicks off with a deep dive into how and whether Princes Street, once a jewel in Edinburgh's crown, and former buzzing shopping street, can be effectively reinvented. Lead writer on the series, The Herald's Edinburgh correspondent, Donald Turvill, in 'How Princes Street lost its crown — and might win it back', tells the story of how the street is being revitalised after being hollowed-out by a 'perfect storm' of loss, as department stores, from Jenners to Debenhams, dropped away, with an accompanying interactive map. Edinburgh's Princes Street (Image: Colin Mearns) Does it risk, as former chair of the Cockburn Association, Cliff Hague, has put it, 'transforming into a corridor of mid-market hotels, global fast-food chains, and uninspired retail, with diminished upper-floor activity'? Or is the future as Roddy Smith, chief executive of Essential Edinburgh, describes, very much about 'mixed use hospitality, hotels' bringing life back into the street? Donald looks at the big ideas that look set to shape the street over the years to come - from the draft strategy for the area to leading architect Richard Murphy's response . 'You can't tinker,' says Murphy, 'it has to be rethought completely. The trouble is with Edinburgh, people hate that approach. They just get so frightened about everything." But Edinburgh is about more than its city centre and attractions, and Donald also today looks at what the City of Edinburgh Council is doing to make sure that in a city that is set to grow by over 60,000 residents over the next 20 years makes sure no one is left behind. READ MORE: 'We've got a growing city, we've got a successful city and we've also got a city that faces a huge number of challenges,' says council leader Jayne Meagher. 'If we are going to continue to grow as a city, for obvious reasons we need to make sure that we can provide enough places for people to live. It's as simple as that.' Another jewel in Edinburgh's crown has been its vibrant arts festivals, which draw 4 million visitors to the city each year and are considered to be worth £500 million to its economy and over the coming days arts correspondent, Brian Ferguson, looks at the financial health of the world's biggest festivals - and the vital signs are. Francesca Hegyi, chief executive of Edinburgh International Festival (Image: Gordon Terris/Herald & Times) Francesca Hegyi, chief executive of Edinburgh International Festival, reveals to Brian that there is a multi-million pound gap in its spending plans. And, in an exclusive interview, the new head of Festivals Edinburgh, Lori Anderson, warns the festivals are at risk of 'stagnation' unless they can attract new investment. Brian also talks to Tony Lankester, chief executive of the Fringe Society, who reveals how the financial model behind the event is on the brink of 'collapse' due to the impact of soaring costs in recent years. READ MORE: This growing city, brimming with visitors, and congested with cars, also needs to move people around and we will also be looking at how its transport system can adapt to enable residents and visitors to move around – from cycle paths to buses and bikeshare schemes. Trams are at the heart of many of the plans for low emissions travel, and with a new line, from North to South, soon to go under consultation. The city still bears some of the emotional scars of the first (over-budget and over-deadline) tram build, and, as today's articles by Vicky Allan show, a backlash is already brewing against a proposed version of the new route. READ MORE: How can Edinburgh give space to cyclists, motorists, bus and tram passengers, without creating conflict, and whilst keeping people safe and healthy? But these articles are just the start. Our Edinburgh series will offer so much more than this, with stories about what it's like as a first-time buyer in the Edinburgh housing market; how the Leith Docks film studios are doing five years on from their creation; what impact the new visitor levy is likely to have on the city; the Michelin star reinvention of Leith; how Edinburgh's new culture quarter is shaping up on its waterfront; the radical proposal to relocate Edinburgh's modern art gallery; if a proposal for pedestrianisation of George Street can be saved; whether the 4.5 day school week is working for Edinburgh children and parents. The series also includes stellar writing – whether it's from Scottish Press Awards features writer of the year, Kevin McKenna, literary phenomenon Michael Pedersen or much-loved Scotland Street author Alexander McCall-Smith. "Edinburgh," said visual arts promoter Richard Demarco, "belongs to the world". But really it belongs to the people who live there, and its future is being written in their imagination right now. At The Herald, we want to be part of sharing that story. Join us for the full series, and more, by subscribing to the Herald today.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
We are the city of growth and opportunity - the future is bright
According to the individuals responsible for ensuring this growth is carefully managed and inclusive, Edinburgh's future is 'bright' as long as those most in need aren't left behind. Edinburgh, they say, must 'move forward in a way that's going to enhance our success rather than cause further problems'. It is no small task, and one which many rapidly-expanding cities around the world have struggled to overcome. In the first of an exclusive two-part interview for The Herald's series looking at the Future of Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh Council's leader Jane Meagher and chief executive Paul Lawrence discussed the challenges facing the city and the solutions being explored. 'We've got a growing city, we've got a successful city and we've also got a city that faces a huge number of challenges,' said Meagher, who stepped up from her previous role as the authority's housing convener just five months ago after former council leader Cammy Day resigned over allegations of inappropriate behaviour. 'If we are going to continue to grow as a city, for obvious reasons we need to make sure that we can provide enough places for people to live. It's as simple as that.' Read more from The Herald's Future of Edinburgh series: When it comes to the capital's continued economic success compared to most UK cities, the figures speak for themselves. A new and as yet unpublished Scottish Cities Outlook report by the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) shows Edinburgh accounts for around 18% of Scotland's economic activity, more than any other city, and recorded strong average GVA growth of 5% between 2017 and 2022 - significantly outperforming the Scottish average of 3.7%. It also shows workers in Edinburgh produce more value per hour than anywhere else in Scotland — £49 an hour, compared to the national average of £38.50. Furthermore 82.2% of Edinburgh's working-age population is economically active, above London (78.6%) and Glasgow (73.6%). The capital's 2.6% unemployment rate is the UK's lowest and its median hourly pay of £17.70 is the highest outside London. Highlighting huge innovation growth in artificial intelligence and life sciences, Lawrence likened Edinburgh to the Oxford-Cambridge corridor which, while attracting major investment, has resulted in pressure on infrastructure, particularly transport and housing. 'The challenge is to ensure that growth is inclusive not exclusive,' he said. 'If you look at innovation cities around the world, particularly in western economies, often the most innovation strong also have significant amounts of poverty and inequality as well. We need to ensure that innovation-driven growth, which all the stats show is unarguable, is accompanied by an inclusive approach to employment.' Edinburgh's BioQuarter health innovation hub, he said, has the 'largest concentration of stem cell scientists in the UK with growing companies in life sciences, a world-leading cluster of healthcare and life sciences academics'. But he noted it sits between some of the city's most deprived neighbourhoods. Edinburgh's population is growing three times faster than any other Scottish city (Image: Colin Mearns) 'The challenge for us is to make sure those jobs of the future at the BioQuarter provide meaningful routes to high-quality jobs for the people of Niddrie, Craigmillar and Moredun, as much as postdocs from San Francisco or Singapore,' he added. The Forth Green Freeport is another key driver of the city's growth. Meagher said the council is making it clear to any potential investors that 'local people should not be left behind'. She said: 'What we're doing is drawing together not only investors and potential employers, but also the colleges and universities so they can make sure things like training are happening which equip young people that, for example, will be needed at the Forth Green Freeport so investors go ahead with the development that their planning. 'Then we need to start thinking now about things like apprenticeships, about what kind of college courses are going to be put on so that, in the interests of the company, they've got on their doorstep the right kind of people to make their business a success.' Meanwhile, one of the largest urban extensions in the UK is planned in West Edinburgh, where planning permission was granted for 11,000 new homes in the last three months of last year. 'Here, you have two huge motors of economic development,' Lawrence said, 'one being the airport and the other being Heriot-Watt University, and you have areas of significant deprivation on the other side of the bypass. 'Edinburgh airport is the fastest growing airport in Scotland, Heriot Watt has amazing plans, a big part of the City Region Deal with the National Robotarium. So what does that mean if you live in Wester Hailes? And is there a meaningful route to a meaningful career, not just at entry level but right through the employment spectrum? 'So that allying of Edinburgh's growth with the people who historically have been excluded from it, whether it's in Leith, West Edinburgh; that's the challenge. And to make sure the city, while all that growth is happening, and obviously we see the public saying this, the city doesn't come to a standstill through the growth in car use and public transport not keeping up. 'Transport is a huge part of that. Employment and wider infrastructure to mean that growth is for the city's good, rather than things that for the city's continued division, polarisation if you can call it that, and that the infrastructure needed doesn't keep up. We see examples all around the country where there's been a lot of housing growth and members of the public saying to their elected representatives 'but what about the public services that are needed to support this?' 'It's the challenges of growth that Edinburgh has historically faced into, historically we've actually done pretty well, but those are big challenges for us to address.' But in a climate of increasingly underfunded local government and gaping holes in budgets for housing, transport and education, is the city really up the challenge? The short answer, Meagher said, is yes, 'but only in partnership'. More on The Future of Edinburgh: She said: 'If we're going to take forward these big issues we can only do it with the right people on board. I think there are lots of strands that need to be drawn together and some of them lie in the hands of the Scottish Government, and it's important to keep them in the equation because that's the only way we can make sure that not only do we need enough homes for people to live in, we also need the right types and tenures of homes. 'We need social rented homes and the way the figures stack up at the moment, one of the ways we can achieve that is through grant funding from the Scottish Government. There are other ways we can work out what kinds of financial mechanisms that we can use in order to attract increasing investment and not to rely entirely on government funding. 'We're not saying we need to go to the Scottish Government with a begging bowl, but we are saying we're looking at all different kinds of financial mechanisms.' Lawrence said there is 'no question' significant public funding is required for the housing and transport infrastructure needed to support Edinburgh's projected growth. Some of the figures on this, he added, are 'pretty stark'. The council's plan to deliver 11,000 new affordable homes in the next five years faces a gap of £665 million, while it's estimated a north-south tram extension from Granton to the Royal Infirmary will cost £2 billion. 'A new tram line will need direct investment from the government, there is no question about that. You will not be able to build that at scale otherwise,' he added. 'There are parts of the UK where they've used something called land value uplift where you can say 'this land is currently worth X because it's not being used', transport infrastructure goes in, as a result the value of the land increases and you can capture some of that. That's more difficult to do in a dense, already urban built city like Edinburgh. So while there are mechanisms we can look at, there is no question that for us to take the tram forward will need some very tough decisions from the Scottish Government to prioritise mobility in a major city like Edinburgh. 'What's happened over the past 10 to 15 years with large scale house building outside the city is a lot of people are living outside the city, because frankly house prices are cheaper, but are coming into the city for employment. So we have to plan that together and something like public transport expansion, whether that's tram or bus - and bus is extremely important to that - that we do that as a region. 'We are the fastest-growing region in Scotland and that means that infrastructure investment in public transport needs to keep pace.' He said the Growth Accelerator Model (GAM) used to deliver the St James Quarter 'has got a lot more potential' in Edinburgh. 'This was effectively a way of recycling tax uplift which wouldn't have happened if the development hadn't happened, and then partially reinvested it into the development to support viability and the quality of the public realm. 'That was a partnership between the council, Scottish Government and the private sector investor. It took us a long time to design and deliver that but it was done very successfully, we see the public enjoying Edinburgh St James. We think there's more like that can be done where it's not just us with a hand out, it's also creating mechanisms that we think will work.' Jane Meagher has been City of Edinburgh Council's leader since December 2024 (Image: Gordon Terris) Meagher added: 'If you think about the benefits to the Scottish economy as a whole, it's an undeniable fact that the central belt is what, at least in part, drives the whole of the Scottish economy. 'If we're bringing in all these jobs then clearly that's going to increase revenue in terms of taxation, etcetera. We think this is not just for Edinburgh's benefit but for the benefit of the whole country. 'The future is bright provided we don't leave behind the people and parts of the city who suffer most from things like poverty. 'We've got major challenges to address in order to move forward in a way that's going to enhance our success rather than cause further problems.'
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
In China, ‘The Great American' burger is now made with Australian beef
At his restaurant in Beijing, Geng Xiaoyun used to offer a special dish of salt-baked chicken feet — or 'phoenix talons' as they are called in China — imported from America. With prices climbing 30% from March due to tariffs, the owner of Kunyuan restaurant had to pull the Chinese delicacy from the menu. 'American chicken feet are so beautiful,' Geng said. 'They're spongy so they taste great. Chinese [chicken] feet just aren't as good.' Geng can now source chicken feet from Brazil or Russia but said they just don't stand up to the American ones. He keeps a small stash for himself but hopes to serve his American phoenix talons once again. 'The price of American chicken feet will come back down,' he said, 'as long as there are no big changes in the world's political situation.' But the 90-day tariff pause agreed by China and the U.S. in Geneva in May is now under threat as both sides have accused each other of breaching the terms. On Monday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry responded to President Donald Trump 's claim that the country 'totally violated its agreement.' The ministry pointed at recent U.S. artificial intelligence chip export controls as actions that 'severely undermine' the Geneva pact. As the world waits and watches, American agricultural products have been vanishing from Chinese stores and restaurants and losing ground to other imports. U.S. Department of Agriculture grade beef has been a draw for years at Home Plate, a Beijing restaurant known locally for its American-style barbecue. However, staff said the restaurant stopped serving American beef last month. Dishes like 'The Great American' burger are made with beef imported from Australia. Australian beef has zero duty under the terms of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, though China does maintain the right to a safeguard limit on those imports. Liu Li, a beef supplier at the Sanyuanli market for three decades, said the tariffs have disrupted supply, hiking the price of U.S. beef by 50% compared to before the tariff fight. 'U.S. beef is fattier and tastier,' Li said. 'It's a shame we're in a trade war. The high price is just too much to bear.'
