"Dorset is the best place to retire"

"Dorset is the best place to retire...The best place for a long and happy retirement is Dorset, a study suggests".

That was the title and opening sentence of a piece in The Times today (12 September, 2014)

The Mail had an article too

"For the perfect retirement, go west! Dorset ranked as best place to live in old age thanks to high life expectancy, good health and general affluence".

This Is Money

"For those looking for a golden retirement, Dorset comes out top"

AoL

"Dorset is the best place to retire in England and Wales according to a new survey from Prudential. Pensioners here were deemed to have the best quality of life in retirement based on the firm's latest Quality of Retirement Index...Dorset was found to be the most desirable area to retire, achieving an overall score of 46 out of a possible 50 points".

Yahoo

There is, sadly, another side to the picture.

See also, Joanna Davis, "Hub help for the homeless", Dorchester Life, September 2014:

"It has a seemingly wealthy veneer of chocolate box villages and low unemployment rates but life isn't comfortable for all West Dorset residents. The Hub, a drop-in centre for homeless people in Dorchester, is now in more demand than ever before".

See also, that controversial Observer 22 June article on Weymouth, by Tracy McVeigh