It was praised for its affordability and overall wellbeing.
The East Lothian town was previously named the best place to retire in Scotland(Image: East Lothian Townscape : The River Tyne at Waterside, Haddington by Richard West, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Deciding where to retire is a major decision that depends on many factors. Affordability, amenities, and scenery are just a few things to consider.
One destination in Scotland that was previously named the best to retire in Scotland is Haddington. The East Lothian town placed at number one on a list of the “best places for older adults to retire in Scotland” by Lottie.
Haddington is the main administrative, cultural, and geographical capital of East Lothian. It is situated around 17 miles out of Edinburgh.
The experts assigned Haddington a score of 23 out of 32. They singled out the town’s affordability and wellbeing.
According to property site Rightmove, homes sold in Haddington over the past year had an average price of £308,078. The experts state that most of the properties sold in the town across the last 12 months were terraced properties, which sold for an average price of £226,163.
Haddington features a wealth of picturesque green space. Highlights include the Amisfield Walled Garden, which is among the largest walled gardens in Scotland, and St Mary’s Pleasance Garden.
Amisfield Walled Garden is one of the top green spaces around Haddington(Image: Photo © Richard Sutcliffe (cc-by-sa/2.0))
Meanwhile, the town is home to a number of popular restaurants, cafés, and pubs. Top food spots include Ozy’s Bar & Kitchen and Dino’s fish and chip shop, while The Golf Tavern and Tyneside Tavern are among the many bars around Haddington.
Lottie also singled out a number of care homes near Haddington. Among those praised by the experts were the Strachan House Care Home and the Archview Lodge Care Home.
Lottie stated: “Haddington offers beautiful countryside, coastal adventures and historic streets filled with quaint cafes and tearooms. Google searches for ‘care homes in Haddington’ have surged by 126 per cent.
“It’s no surprise that demand for later living in Haddington has increased in popularity. When it comes to investment, affordability and overall wellbeing scores, Haddington is a great investment for your later years.”
Elsewhere, Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire was named as the second best place to retire in Scotland. The coastal town was assigned a rating of 22 out of 32.
Following behind in third place was Glenrothes, one of the largest settlements in Fife. Lottie gave the town a score of 21 out of 32.
Glenrothes placed third on the list(Image: Andrew Mitchell / Getty Images)
Rounding out the top five best places to retire according to Lottie are Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire and North Ayrshire. Completing the list of seven are Airdrie in North Lanarkshire and St Andrews in Fife.
Lottie added: “From safety and security to wellbeing and affordability, there are lots of factors that determine the perfect location later in life—and this is different for us all. For example, locations increasing in popularity with older adults offer great opportunities to socialise and build friendships.
“Being in an affordable location can help make it easier to live comfortably on a fixed income, whilst good investment prospects can help your pension pot to go further—particularly important during a cost of living crisis.”
To put together the list of the top destinations to retire, each location was evaluated based on popularity, investment and affordability, air pollution, crime rate, and well being. Each one was then assigned an overall score out of 32.
The full list of the seven best places to retire in Scotland can be found on the Lottie website.