Two areas of Lancashire have been named among the best places to retire in the UK in a list by Compare the Market.

The comparison site recognised that “deciding where to settle down becomes a crucial decision, impacting everything from healthcare access to daily enjoyment.”

It added: “To help navigate this important choice, we've carried out research to discover which UK locations are currently the best set-up for an ageing population.

“To do this, we investigated 32 of the UK’s most populated towns and cities and compared them against a series of ranges of data points.

“These include the number of people of retirement age, the number of care homes, the rating of the healthcare system, life satisfaction, average weekly care home costs and the number of parks, bingo halls and fish and chip shops.”

Preston and Blackpool are among the best places to retire in the UK, according to the research.

Ranking in 6th place was Preston while Blackpool was a bit lower down in 8th – here’s how they scored.

Preston

  • Percentage of the population of retirement age – 6.7%
  • Number of care homes per 10k pensioners – 75
  • Life satisfaction score (out of 11) – 7.4
  • Rating of healthcare system – 78.9
  • Average weekly residential home costs – £858
  • Number of parks per 10k pensioners – 7
  • Number of bingo clubs per 10k pensioners – 0.5
  • Number of fish and chip shops per 10k pensioners – 17

Blackpool

  • Percentage of the population of retirement age – 11.6%
  • Number of care homes per 10k pensioners – 31
  • Life satisfaction score (out of 11) – 7.5
  • Rating of healthcare system – 71.3
  • Average weekly residential home costs – £858
  • Number of parks per 10k pensioners – 5
  • Number of bingo clubs per 10k pensioners – 1.8
  • Number of fish and chip shops per 10k pensioners – 11

Best places to retire in the UK

The research revealed the top 10 best places to retire in the UK – here are the results.

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You can see how each place scored individually via the Compare the Market website.

  1. Nottingham
  2. Norwich
  3. Edinburgh
  4. Manchester
  5. Leicester
  6. Preston
  7. Kingston upon Hull
  8. Blackpool
  9. Liverpool
  10. Reading

Compare the market explained: “When looking at the residential home cost data specifically, the research shows that the North is the most affordable, with all the top five cheapest locations located in the North East or North West.

“Sunderland and Manchester are the most affordable, with average weekly costs of £852 and £858 per week respectively.”