Originally published in 1977 and based on a survey of 1,000 retired people in two 'retirement resorts' – Bexhill and Clacton – the book also quotes extensively from interviews with local government officials, doctors, and social workers. The topics discussed include the scale of movement of retired people to the cost and the choices open to retired people once they have made the decision to move. The book discusses social life in the seaside resorts, contact with family and friends, leisure activities and the financial position and housing opportunities of the retired. It concludes with an examination of some policy implications of retirement migration, including hospital facilities, the availability of suitable housing and residential homes and the adequacy of health and social services – topics which are still pertinent today with Britain's ageing population and housing shortage.