Bright red begonias and golden mecardonia spill from planters that line the pedestrianised stretch of Station Road in Milngavie. On a sun-soaked Friday morning in late August, café tables are filling up, backpackers pause intermittently to take pictures before heading off to start the West Highland Way, and well-groomed dogs amble at the ends of colourful leads.
Inside the upscale day-to-night restaurant Garvie & Co, friends Linda Boyle and Trish Kerr, both 81, are sipping coffees while Linda shares her disappointment at missing AC/DC perform at Murrayfield Stadium the previous night. Linda says she will have to settle for a detailed recounting from family who attended later that evening. She saw them once before, in 1991. “My first rock concert,” she adds.
Trish and Linda chatter like school friends, trading glances intermittently, hinting at private jokes. Their jewellery clinks playfully when they speak with their hands, a spirited glint never leaving their eyes.
The pair prove that in this pocket of East Dunbartonshire, retirement does not mean slowing down. They take part in clubs nearly every day, their activities ranging from theatre and outings to ‘Around the World Dining’ and walking and reading groups. Along with a few other ladies, Linda and Trish are in the throes of planning a New Year’s getaway.
“It makes you less of a burden on your family, because they worry about you all the time,” says Trish. She says she resented being the “old lady sitting in the corner” at parties with her children on special occasions like Hogmanay. Now, her family doesn’t have to worry – she is out with her friends all the time. They have developed a preference for partying together instead.
Linda Boyle, left and Trish Kerr pictured on Douglas Street in Milngavie. (Image: Colin Mearns) Start of the West Highland Way in Milngavie (Image: Colin Mearns) It comes as no surprise to Trish and Linda that Mid Dunbartonshire (the UK Parliament constituency that encompasses Milngavie, Bearsden, Lenzie, and Bishopbriggs) was recently crowned the best place in Scotland to retire. The area seems to have it all: good transport links connecting the suburb to Glasgow city centre, a new leisure centre, beautiful scenery and walking paths at Mugdock Country Park and the Milngavie reservoirs, the starting point of the West Highland Way, a pedestrianised town centre with huge supermarkets nearby, including a 25,000 square foot Waitrose and an enormous Aldi. But retiring here comes with a hefty price tag.
Milngavie’s lavish stone-built villas and semi-detached houses were originally built for wealthy citizens in the Victorian era so they could flee the city, made possible when the railway opened in 1863. The area experienced another period of rapid growth after World War Two, when a local authority housing scheme was built to accommodate those relocating from the badly bombed Clydebank. In the 1950s and 1960s, Milngavie continued to grow with new private developments, becoming a village of bungalows and semi-detached houses.
These days, a home around Tannoch Loch, known locally as “the duck pond”, could set you back over a million pounds. The area in general is home to some of Scotland’s priciest properties and is frequently touted as one of the best places to live in the UK. Last year, the average house price in Milngavie was £330,325. The majority sold last year were flats, which fetched an average price of £178,161, according to property website RightMove.
Earlier this summer, global finance group Legal & General (L&G) set out to explore what makes people happiest later in life. They found that a happy retirement was not defined by just one factor alone. “A combination of health, social connections, environment, and financial security all play a part in retirement wellbeing,” says Lorna Shah, the managing director of retail retirement at L&G. The new index used six “pillars” to score areas – housing, health, social and community, financial, nature, and amenities.
Shah explains that financial security in particular is an enabler for the other measures of wellbeing, giving people the freedom to choose where and how they want to live later in life. As a whole, the Mid Dunbartonshire constituency scored particularly well for financial security, along with social and community security.
“Financial security isn’t necessarily about having the most money, but it is measured across a range of factors, from pension income, local cost of living, housing affordability in the area and deprivation levels, which we know have a significant effect on later life wellbeing,” she adds.
The latest research, carried out in partnership with the Danish think tank, Happiness Research Institute, used large public data sets to explore dozens of measures that could impact happiness later in life, “everything from ease of accessing your local health services to the number of over 65s living locally”. Access to local amenities was also important, like chemists, supermarkets, post offices, banks, and theatres.
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Milngavie was found to be the best place to retire in Scotland. (Image: Colin Mearns) Douglas Street, Milngavie (Image: Colin Mearns) “A high ranking indicates a strong environment for ageing well. However, it’s important to bear in mind that this is only an indication and different people will prioritise different things,” says Shah. “For instance, an area might not score as highly against some measures, but because of family and friends living locally, and strong roots in the community, it might be perfect for that individual.”
Trish first moved to Bearsden from Dumbarton around 12 years ago with her late husband so they could be closer to two of their daughters. “We did everything together. He was a great husband, it was a good marriage,” she says. “I didn’t really know a lot of people, apart from a few people at the church.”
A few months after losing her husband, a neighbour suggested Trish come along to the local U3A (University of the Third Age). The nationwide organisation is made up of independent local chapters and acts as an umbrella organisation for each area’s clubs and groups. It was created for people who are no longer in full-time work, providing access to interest groups, monthly meetings and other events. It is where Trish met Linda, who joined under similar circumstances.
Linda was with her partner for 17 years before he died. She knew about the organisation but had not taken the plunge and got involved. “But then he wasn’t here anymore, so I put myself into it and met fantastic people,” she says, looking at her friend Trish across the table.
Linda and Trish were introduced by a mutual friend. “A lovely lady who is sadly not with us anymore,” says Linda. They formed their own little group and signed up for any clubs that caught their eye. “To me, it was just amazing, making new friends and being able to go out nearly every other day,” says Linda.
“It really solves the problem of loneliness, there is no doubt about it,” says Trish. “I would just have sat in the house, I think.”
“Honest to god, it has been a lifeline,” Trish adds, her voice catches with reflection. “I never thought for a minute that I would live this long after my husband because I thought I couldn’t live without him. But the people I have met, the clubs I have joined…” Her voice trails off.
It’s the sort of community where you might be planning to attend one club, but by the end of the week, you have plans to take part in something different every day. The pair have made friendships outside of the organisation as well. Trish says that there is enough going on in East Dunbartonshire that “you wouldn’t have to be lonely if you didn’t want to be”. But taking the first step to socialising in the community, especially after losing a loved one, “takes courage”.
The Milngavie area in particular is “friendly and blossoming”. “You’ve got the beautiful scenery all around you and you would never be stuck for somewhere to walk or go if you felt like going out,” says Trish. The area is, however, “better off than other areas”, she adds. It’s why she thinks the East Dunbartonshire organisation is so vibrant. The membership for their organisation is £14 a year, but activities like going to the theatre or out for lunch are paid for separately.
One of the greatest struggles facing older people in Scotland is isolation, with almost half of people over 50 experiencing loneliness all or some of the time, according to the latest figures from Age Scotland. It can affect anyone, no matter how financially secure they are, but struggling with the cost of living is a major contributing factor.
Milngavie Town Centre in the late summer sun (Image: Colin Mearns) Mid Dunbartonshire ranks top place to retire in Scotland (Image: Colin Mearns) Trish Kerr in Milngavie (Image: Colin Mearns) Tricia Kerr has a busy life (Image: Colin Mearns) Milngavie is a wealthy part of Scotland (Image: Colin Mearns) Nearly one in five older people has a household income of less than £15,000 a year in Scotland as of 2024, and 61 per cent of older people say the amount they receive from the State Pension isn’t enough to cover basic living expenses, according to Independent Age. The number of pensioners in poverty in Scotland has increased by 25 per cent over the last decade.
Milngavie is home to about 13,000 citizens with a higher-than-average proportion of retirees (according to the last census, nearly 28 per cent of the population). The affluent areas of East Dunbartonshire, like Bearsden and Milngavie, are places where pensioners can expect to live good, long, healthy lives – but the area is aspirational. “The flip side is that most people in Scotland, when they retire, won’t be in that position at all,” says Adam Stachura, director of policy at Age Scotland. “A lot of what makes a good retirement happens well before retirement.”
Much of it comes down to financial security, Stachura says. Having paid off a mortgage, accumulated a good retirement savings pot, and a decent retirement income should stand you in good stead. These are a lot easier to tick off the list for those who have enjoyed a “robust, secure income” throughout their working life.
People with good financial standing are also more likely to be in better health going into their later years. From the outset, they are less likely to be carrying different conditions that age will exacerbate, and they are more likely to have better access to medical services. “We know there is huge inequality in terms of life expectancy and health expectancy across Scotland,” says Stachura. “That can be down to health or community services, employment opportunities, education, and the disparity that happens as a result of that.”
“Scotland has fundamentally failed on reforming and modernising social care,” he adds, referring to the Scottish Government’s decision to scrap its flagship plan to create a National Care Service (NCS) in January.
Introduced under Nicola Sturgeon, the vision was to deliver the “most ambitious public service reform since devolution”, consolidating social care under a national body and replacing fragmented local council oversight.
Over time, ballooning costs and delays led councils, unions, and social care providers to claw back support. Fears of over-centralisation and a lack of clarity abounded, and cross-party support dissipated. The entire concept of a National Care Service was abandoned, and the watered-down proposals were repackaged as the Care Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Stachura claims that a national model would have had a huge impact on the quality of care, but the country has been left with the “patchwork” model. He worries there won’t be space for “big picture thinking” or “conversations between local authorities”. “It’s postcode lotteries,” he says. “Local authorities or IJBs (Integration Joint Boards) have a lot of unaccountable control and decision-making.”
“We have missed the biggest opportunity in a generation to do something significant with social care, and the parliament as a collective has failed on that,” he adds.
The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 was unanimously passed by Parliament in June. It contains a handful of modest reforms like guaranteeing care home residents the right to see essential visitors and giving unpaid carers the legal entitlement to short breaks. The Act also strengthens access to independent advocacy and creates a new national chief social work advisor. “This is a significant step that will strengthen the rights of people living in care homes, support unpaid carers and social workers while improving experiences for the many people who access social care across Scotland,” said a spokesperson for the Scottish Government.
Douglas Street, Milngavie town centre. (Image: Colin Mearns) Flower planters in Milngavie. (Image: Colin Mearns) Stachura thinks a major part of the problem was that the Scottish Government “never got to grips” with social care because it’s never had the responsibility previously – it has been “devolved so far down to local authorities that there are big challenges on scrutiny, accountability and funding”.
“I worry about the state of social care for the future,” Stachura says. He wonders what it will look like in ten to fifteen years. “I think it will look very different from what it does today, and it doesn’t look particularly great today.”
“We are working tirelessly to improve the outcomes of people who either need or receive social care to fulfil our commitment to deliver the sustainable change that people urgently need,” a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said in response. “The 2025-26 budget includes over £15 billion for the Local Government Settlement and almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25 per cent by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.”
“The essence of a good retirement is about your quality of life and the fulfilment of it, that you’re able to do things you want to do, and live with security, have connections, and contribute to society and your community,” Stachura says. But, he cautions, we can’t “take for granted” what retirement looks like now because of factors out of our control, like public spending or policy changes.
Trish thinks East Dunbartonshire Council does a great job with health and social care. Her neighbour’s husband, who has dementia, gets picked up once a week and taken out to a day care facility for a few hours. “Within three weeks of her asking, it was all lined up,” she says. She claims other people she knows in different council areas can wait up to a year for the same service.
“They have to be commended, really,” she says, referring to East Dunbartonshire Council’s services for adults and older people. “The facilities for people with dementia are also phenomenal.”
“East Dunbartonshire HSCP (Health and Social Care Partnership), our frontline staff, our third sector partners and local volunteers work hard to support older people to remain as active citizens in their local communities,” said a spokesperson from East Dunbartonshire Council. “There is a range of community assets and high-quality services delivering socialisation opportunities and support for older people across our towns and villages.”
No matter where someone lives in retirement, they should have equitable access to high-quality services that will keep them living well and independent. “I think that is the least we should expect for everyone in the country,” says Stachura. “Even if we are looking at it selfishly for ourselves in the future, we should still expect that level of access for anyone who needs it.”
“In my mind, retirement issues are younger people’s issues,” he adds. Changes to pensions, retirement and health and social care will affect every generation in the future.
For now, he thinks Scotland will continue to be a place marked by retirement hotspots, rather than a country where every community is ideal for older adults. “I think it’s because there is, at times, really good, localised work that happens, but it is not joined up across the country.
For Trish and Linda, it is the social aspect of the Bearsden and Milngavie areas that has made their golden years shine. Without their new friendships and clubs to keep them busy, they agree that losing a spouse could have left them feeling lost and alone – regardless of financial security.
“I think at the end of the day, you have got to be willing to go out and meet people, to take that first step, to travel somewhere, to take part,” says Linda. “And once that is done, you won’t look back.”
Trish and Linda part ways for the afternoon, ambling among the growing clusters of other retirees on Station Road whom they nod and wave to. Full of energy, it seems that retirement is keeping them more busy than ever.
Marissa MacWhirter is a columnist and feature writer at The Herald, and the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. The newsletter is curated between 5-7am each morning, bringing the best of local news to your inbox each morning without ads, clickbait, or hyperbole. Oh, and it’s free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1
