Moving to Sri Lanka (Colombo)

Hi people. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I’m a 66 year old basically healthy Australian/British ex teacher. I am considering moving to Sri Lanka after 6 years in Thailand mainly because of the excessive heat (up to Protected content this time of the year) and the language barrier. The latter is so difficult to overcome that few really bother (Thai is a tonal language) and few Thais speak enough English to converse with you.
That leaves me with the expat population, which is quite a heavy drinking one. I have difficulty forging ties with other expats. I’m not much of a bar prop and though I have tried joining a string of groups it just doesn’t work for me. Mainly it’s a deficiency on my part but also it’s because of my unusual background (very non-domestic) and academic/conversational tastes.
I’m going to take a long trip to Sri Lanka shortly; 1, to see if I like it and 2, to explore the possibilities of long term (a good few years) leasing a small house in a smallish town with lots of green, nearby sea and a decent hospital. I would like to contact anyone (please, no real estate agents at this stage) who could make suggestions as to how I might most wisely spend a month looking for a different future in Sri Lanka. Where to go, who to talk to etc. etc.
I was born in London and, aside from live theatre, which I love in any language, I have no use for what cities have to offer. If it were not for my age and all the hang-ups that come with it I’d avoid them altogether. The environment I thrive in is in the countryside but non-tourist dependant towns are probably my best option.
Please answer if you can help ….. or even if you can’t.
Thanks
Maturin.