house move downsize maybe

Bury St Edmunds...

Bury Sr Edmunds is lovely.

Oops, sorry... that should have said M0nica

I've always admired the Span developments but agree with you Monica re the rules being off-putting. We looked at one of the developments designed by Eric Lyons in the 1970s and looked again recently at a different development when planning to downsize. The houses had stood the test of time and 21st century 'essentials' had been introduced without detriment to the original concept. But the 'rules' were not for us!

Yes we looked at a development in Kent back in the late 1960s. It was built by an architectural practice called Span, but with the lovely modern designed houses came all the rules. 'no hanging washing out on Sunday' is one I remember. We waklked away with reluctance, the houses and estate desig were just our taste,but all the rules were not.

Acciaccatura

If you want all facilities on the doorstep, have a look at Poundbury in Dorset. It has been designed to have all you need within walking distance.

We, before I was widowed, looked at poundbury. The houses were lovely but there were too many rules about this and that and the vibes were stepford. We never looked back as we left

hermitcrab what a wonderful archtypal diatribe. Just such as older people have been doing in every generation since Noah beached the ark.

You have many illustrious predecessors, including Malcolm Muggeridge.

Barbadosbelle

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I'm claustrophobic and need to be able to see out of a room, so I hate frosted glass.

Everywhere we've moved I've had clear glass put in all the bathrooms (not in downstairs cloaks though). No problem with vertical blinds for during the day and the addition of a roller blind at night or when the lights are on.
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Me too, I always have those wooden slatted venetian blinds, but I like to be able to seeout.

sorry susie been there done that and got the t shirt hospital there ok but aroud b and q things started to get dumped the first few signs of run down and lack of respect.
poundby just vastly expensive because of hrh and not much more.as for before 2024 IOMGran i believe the saying is your wearing rose tinted glasses but then i digress . i noticed a long while ago that all the folk in charge are mediocre and pathetic.we said our sons generation would be the last who were not pathetic but aprt from a very few younger ones who arent and it is easy to see who they are we are all fighting the tide of liberal mediocraty.it comes from children being told no winners and loosers just runners up and children are wonderful and marvelous and have all the rights.but do not get me started.luluaugust housing market slow ok but not devastated but just wait for the stamp duty figures !!!! ps what in the name of all thats holy is my AC.pilgrimandrew some of those are viable but dependant on cost for buying and at this moment everything nice is off the market as with our area.nanaplenty just the meare thought of london makes me want to build a trump like wall round it i cannot think of a more appauling place .a total desert island with just dogs is more my scene .

Chichester, West Sussex is beautiful. Near the coast, south downs, marina. Lovely cathedral city. Brilliant bus routes, train routes. Fabulous restaurants. Not that far from London. Lived there for over 20 years

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I'm claustrophobic and need to be able to see out of a room, so I hate frosted glass.

Everywhere we've moved I've had clear glass put in all the bathrooms (not in downstairs cloaks though). No problem with vertical blinds for during the day and the addition of a roller blind at night or when the lights are on.
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SunnySusie

Absolutely love Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Its a market town with a really good selection of shops. Beautiful cathedral, lovely old buildings and the wonderful Abbey Gardens, always so well maintained. The market itself is still thriving and there is a modern shopping area. It also has three theatres, a brewery and loads going on. There is a station within easy walking distance of the centre and fast road links.

Yes, Bury St. Edmunds is lovely.

There is also a Sudbury in Derbyshire
So there is! And yes, I have been there, there is a Museum of Childhood there, fascinating. I wondered why it sounded familiar. Of course, that's even further from the coast than the one in Suffolk.

Allira

I'm confused.

Not being quite sure where Sudbury is, I looked it up. It looks lovely, but the description of the pier, sandy beach etc was confusing as I thought it was inland?
www.visitsuffolk.com/destination/sudbury#:~:text=The%20town%20has%20attractions%20that,indulge%20in%20fish%20and%20chips.

There are at least three Sudburys that I know of. Sudbury, Suffolk, is indeed inland but is a lovely market town near the Suffolk/Essex border. It has a railway station and a reasonable bus service. It has the major supermarkets and l think it would make a much better retirement location than the West Country for many reasons. There is also a Sudbury in Derbyshire, which, l believe, is also home to a large open prison and one that used to be in Middĺesex but I am not sure which county it is in now. There may be more.

Allira
As you know where I live and know what I’m like, can you see me living in Poundbury 🤷‍♀️
Plus it doesn’t have a pier or airport.😄

Absolutely love Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Its a market town with a really good selection of shops. Beautiful cathedral, lovely old buildings and the wonderful Abbey Gardens, always so well maintained. The market itself is still thriving and there is a modern shopping area. It also has three theatres, a brewery and loads going on. There is a station within easy walking distance of the centre and fast road links.

petra

Pounbury. It always looks like Gods waiting room or somewhere they could film Stepford wives.
And your forbidden to have frosted glass in your bathroom 😂

It always looks like Gods waiting room
Poundbury has got schools so families must live there! 👨‍🏫👩‍🏫

Pounbury. It always looks like Gods waiting room or somewhere they could film Stepford wives.
And your forbidden to have frosted glass in your bathroom 😂

If you want all facilities on the doorstep, have a look at Poundbury in Dorset. It has been designed to have all you need within walking distance.

I'd look for good NHS services and a flat walk to a decent supermarket, probably on the edge of a large town or city with regular busses. The countryside can be very isolated.

Ashtead in Leafy Surrey - a lovely village, plenty going on if you want it, great community and easy access to all the necessary shops and amenities as well as easy access to London /The Coast by train or road. Beautiful countryside .

hermitcrab

no sudbury does not have a pier or sandy beach not unless they moved the place to the coast after we moved . i said move maybe because starmer and his wallys have just about ruined the country very little on the market and most have taken their houses off sale , nothing has sold since the cheap stamp duty free ones were sold at the end of march 6 months and counting.someone has said the last and only chemist around here is closing so its a 20 minute journey one way in one direction or a 40 minute journey the other way both there and back.as far as medical services thats 40 minutes in one direction so we dont hold our breath here for help you are on your own mate.

Sorry, was it actually good before July 2024? My memory must be playing up as I remember it being a revolving door of increasingly mediocre PMs and a general air of desperation.

There are fabulous towns in Devon with excellent facilities - Tavistock, Dartmouth, Moretonhampstead, Teignmouth, Torbay, to name a few. Sure, it gets busy in the summer but that's really only for 6 weeks of the year. The pace of life is relaxed, so if you're unlucky enough to be diagnosed with only six months to live, it'll seem like six years!

The housing market has always slowed down as we glide towards Christmas and the new year. I think you need to put a lot more thought into where you want to be. Would you be better nearer to your AC or is that not an option

no sudbury does not have a pier or sandy beach not unless they moved the place to the coast after we moved . i said move maybe because starmer and his wallys have just about ruined the country very little on the market and most have taken their houses off sale , nothing has sold since the cheap stamp duty free ones were sold at the end of march 6 months and counting.someone has said the last and only chemist around here is closing so its a 20 minute journey one way in one direction or a 40 minute journey the other way both there and back.as far as medical services thats 40 minutes in one direction so we dont hold our breath here for help you are on your own mate.