Before you move: the questions worth asking first

Views get people to visit. The questions below help you decide whether to stay.

Moving somewhere smaller, quieter and closer to the mountains is a big decision at any age. After 55 it deserves a slower look, not because it is risky, but because the best moves are the ones you have already practised in your head.

Start with an ordinary week, not the postcard.

Ask about the everyday

• Where would I buy groceries, fill a prescription and see a doctor?
• How far is the nearest hospital, and what happens in a winter storm?
• How will I get home from the airport?
• Where do my family and old friends live, and how often will we see each other?
• What does the quietest month of the year feel like?

None of these has a wrong answer. They have your answer, and it is worth knowing before you sign anything.

Visit in the season you will like least

Anywhere is lovely in its best month. Plan one visit in the shoulder season, when the crowds have gone and the weather is least photogenic.

The postcard sells the place. The shoulder season tells you the truth.

If you still like it then, you will like it.

Try it before you buy it

• Rent for a month, not a weekend
• Shop where the locals shop
• Walk the streets at the hours you would actually be out
• Talk to someone who moved five years ago, not five weeks ago

Then give yourself a deadline, and one honest question to answer by it: what do I want the next ten years to feel like?