Could you happily retire to South Korea?

I usually find my mind drifting to the east coast, in particular to Sandsend near Whitby, where I spent many happy family holidays when my children were young.

But as I’m not married to Elon Musk there is not a remote hope, as even garden sheds in this so-called property hotspot fetch eye-watering sums.

And if I am honest, Sandsend is not like it used to be. When we went it was still a thriving community, populated by locals, with only a handful of holiday cottages. Now it is almost all second homes.

I’ve never considered it before, but maybe we would be better off joining the growing number of pensioners leaving the UK.

South Korea, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Vietnam are among the fastest-growing places people are choosing for retirement, a report claims.

The Pensioner Exodus Report, produced by online finance guide Investing Reviews, also placed Georgia and the Slovak Republic in its top ten.

My friend’s son lives in South Korea and loves it, but he’s in his early twenties and when you’re that age nothing phases you.

Whereas me – I’d find it all too much. If I retired overseas I would want to learn the local language – too may Brits living abroad don’t bother. My nan lived in Majorca for years and neither she nor her British friends could speak more than two or three words of Spanish.

I was never good at languages – my old brain couldn’t cope with a new one now, which would immediately throw up problems. It takes me long enough to understand our local bus and train timetables here in Yorkshire – I’d never get my head around the Korean or Lithuanian equivalents.

And then there’s food. Could I get Tetley teabags, Aldi’s Benefit cereal and Longley Farm yogurt in Estonia? I remember my mum packing up tea bags, Marmite and all manner of stuff to post to my nan in Spain.

One of the benefits of retirement is not being tied to a particular place through work or schools. But, as you grow older, new needs take over. Having lost my parents over the past couple of years, I fully realise the importance of living near a doctor’s surgery and a hospital.

Retiring overseas, you’d have to dig deeper and look at the entire healthcare system. Is it comparable with our own? In all eventuality it’s probably better. I read this week how superb the Ukrainian healthcare is. Despite the war, you can still see a doctor when you need to – refugees are even going back for treatment.

Maybe our broken health system is one reason retirees are fleeing abroad. Or it might be the cost of homes. Selling here and buying in Vietnam no doubt leaves you with a huge surplus.

You may be able to swap a suburban semi with a swanky Grand Designs affair with views across a secluded palm-fringed cove. But there’s no point having a view to die for if the nearest shop doesn’t sell your favourite Hobnobs.

I have known people who have relocated to a picturesque place in the UK they visited as tourists, only to return when it didn’t live up to expectations. It’s a lot harder to come back once you’ve moved to the other side of the world.

I’d rather be close to family and friends. My daughters live in London and I rarely see them as it is. I couldn’t imagine them hacking up to Latvia or across to Poland for weekends.

People say Britain is on its knees or going to the dogs, and sometimes it feels like it is. But I still wouldn’t want to live out my days anywhere else.