Should I move?

I think the fact you’re just focusing on a bungalow is limiting your options. I’d start looking at houses as not all stair cases are steep. Also you don’t want to get what they call bungalow legs where you loose muscle because your not walking upstairs. 🌷

Took us 5 years to think this through. Illness forced a rethink. Loved my large Victorian semi and neighbours and 44 years of roots. Luckily all the places we bid on fell through and we suddenly found a unicorn! A compact more modern small house only one set of stairs, tucked away nearby. But the most useful thing was five years of decluttering.

My son and his girlfriend who have been living with me for years moved out in December, I took equity out of the house to give them a good deposit to buy their own place
I have now converted (when I say converted I had the whole house interior painted new carpet in the upstairs lounge and secondhand furniture but new bedding and mattress toppers)upstairs into a lounge and two bedrooms for my daughter and grandchildren when they visit, last year they went to Woolacombe and paid £875 for one week
I moved downstairs a few years ago ago to enable my son and girlfriend have a lounge and the bedroom upstairs, this works perfectly for me,I will not move from this house. It’s just five minutes walk to Tesco’s.(I don’t drive) And if necessary, I will get a stair lift, but I do exercises to try and keep myself fit (Plenty of exercises for over 70s on YouTube I do them daily. I also do kettlebell swings 100 of those every other day plus other bits of exercise.) I do realise that some people are very limited on what exercise they’re able to do.
The bungalow is the last thing I would want the stairs keep me fit. I don’t think some people realise that if it’s possible to go up and downstairs it’s a great boost to your fitness….
Anyway, each to their own and good luck….😁

La Crepescule - you're in a fortunate position because you're in sufficiently good health to tackle the move, or at least a change but you may not be in a decade from now, and you may need to do that.

Two suggestions: look in the area for a flat in a small low-rise development. Go for a top floor flat which has a nice balcony(ies) and good green views. In a modern development there will be a lift and stairs and the stairs won't be steep in the Edwardian style.

Second option is to re-configure your ground floor to become your own apartment, and either rent or sell the first floor and loft.

One of the houses I lived in in London was a beautiful Victorian terrace with three floors and decent gardens front and back. Two of my neighbours had done exactly the second option. Both had sold their top two floors meaning they were more than adequate for a family And they themselves lived on the ground floor with the number of rooms they wanted and of course light from the gardens and immediate access to them. One of these neighbours only stayed for a couple of years and ending up selling her bottom flat but she did it because she finally found something else that suited her better.

Warning: if you do decide to divide your property, ensure that you have adequate sound insulation between your ceiling and the floor of the upstairs flat.

I would love a bungalow, hoping one day to buy one, with a small to medium garden.
In answer to a previous poster, they are more expensive because there are less of them around than houses.

I'd pick the best local estate agents ( by reputation) , find the name of each manager, send each a personalised letter listing your wishlist and price range and what you're looking for. Ask them to contact you if they are offered one to sell.

The keen ones will probably contact you to discuss the sale of your own property, offering to come and value it and ta;l to you. Accept; developing a relationship with local agents is to your advantage both as a buyer or seller.

If you're lucky you might get first dibs on a newly marketed bungalow.

When we were looking to downsize, (moving closer to son in an area we barely knew) we spent an extremely helpful afternoon with him, as passengers in his car while he drove us very slowly around the area. We had a streetmap on which we either ticked or crossed out neighbourhoods ; later having selected likely target areas we narrowed the field by ticking or eliminating certain roads and streets. Very very useful excercise.

You might find it worth your while to get someone local ( even pay a taxi) to drive you slowly around those little backwaters ; so that you can concentrate entirely on looking at the area, and marking your map.

The main thing that has so far kept me from moving is the thought that if something in a chain goes wrong I would have to put my belongings in storage and try to find somewhere to rent. The idea of camping out in any old place for an undetermined length of time when on my own just terrifies me. My late DH and I have moved house and countries probably at least 25 times but doing something together is much less of a challenge than on my own.

I have a 4 bed detached 17 year old house so rrelatively modern. Whilst 4 beds it is by comparison to the one before it is small. Neighbours are all really good, very willing to help if need be. To move to say a two bed bungalow anywhere near where I am would actually be well above the selling price of current house. Quite a few people I know are in the same boat, such a demand and they are just not being built. I'd stick where you are, goid easy access to amenities and there is no guarantee you'd like where you moved to.

My gran was mithered by her adult children to move to a bungalow. She was becoming frail and had health problems. She eventually agreed to go on the council waiting list.
In the meantime, she had heating updated throughout the downstairs of her house and converted her front room into a bedroom. She still had to walk down to the end of the garden to use the loo and had a bath in the kitchen (yes, that’s where it was!) but it suited her no end. Her friends and neighbours all lived close by and some of her family. The house was part of her and she was part of it. Could that work for you?

mithered

I haven't heard that word in a long time! 😀

We had a 4 bed detached house in a 1980’s estate where we brought up our family, but knew it was never our forever home, and the stairs were getting ‘steeper’ for me to get up, so just before we retired we moved to a 3 bed semidetached bungalow which actually cost us more than we sold the house for, however we have no regrets our new home is perfect for retirement, it has within a 5 minute walk a local minimart, doctor’s surgery, vets for the cats and pharmacy, it is also 140 yards from our youngest child’s house, just round the corner from us with their family making it easy for us to support them with childcare when needed. We are also on a bus route to our local hospital 15 minutes away should the ned arise in the future.
I have absolutely zero regrets about downsizing

I would google
how to improve an edwardian terrace house uk

You want a project.

Location location location
So I wouldnt move.

You say that you want to move and make a new start, so go on looking for what suits you.

Try to find something on a bus route, as the day comes to us all when we no longer should drive, and perhaps cannot ride a bike or walk any great distance. Also, find a house near your doctor and a chemist.

I don't drive, but do still ride a bike and I have found that most large or bulky things can be bought online these days and either delivered to my address or to a pick-up point.
For me online banking is a must, as well.

I cannot second the advice to chose a dwelling without stairs. My parents made precisely that choice and within two or three years after retirement, neither could easily walk up or down stairs when they had to - and I was liveing at that time in a first floor flat in a building with a lift.

So I would suggest a bungalow is only a good idea if there is some building nearby such as a public library where you at least once a week walk up and down stairs, or otherwise that you do some form of physical training to compensate for the lack of stairs.

LaCrepescule I moved 14 months ago to the property of my dreams, I was 69, I retired at the same time.

Being retired from a senior position in the NHS wouldn’t have worked if I’d stayed in London. Life is different but on the whole much better 🌷

I think I'd see if you can live on the ground floor, with adaptations. Moving is always a lot harder and more stressful than expected, in my experience. You can use the upstairs rooms as somewhere for family and friends to sleep over, and one or two of the rooms to store treasures (and clutter) you don't have room for in your newly compacted living space

Be careful with flats most are not sound proofed and you could end up with a war between your neighbours if they are noisy

Definitely start looking. It may take years to find a good place to downsize to. You can keep in touch via Zoom etc, and make new friends too.

Bungalows and 'future-proofing' make me shudder! Stairs are excellent exercise. 'Use it or lose it' - focussing on decline can encourage it. Do what makes you happiest.

If you are planning to move, do it in your 60s

crazyH

If you are planning to move, do it in your 60s

I agree.

undines

Bungalows and 'future-proofing' make me shudder! Stairs are excellent exercise. 'Use it or lose it' - focussing on decline can encourage it. Do what makes you happiest.

Yes, but you can lose it even if you live in a house. What then?
You have to pay someone to clean, garden, decorate, that is if you can find anyone.

undines

Bungalows and 'future-proofing' make me shudder! Stairs are excellent exercise. 'Use it or lose it' - focussing on decline can encourage it. Do what makes you happiest.

Ps how old are you? You don't have to answer 😀

I agree that if a move is on the cards it is best to do it while you are fit enough. We found a bungalow that had been refurbished just 5 minutes away which was a perfect location. Also just 5 minutes from our GP, optician, pharmacy, hairdresser and barber, butcher, bakery, dentist, and Asda.
I was 72 and dh was 68. We are now 77 and 73. .We packed up a 3 bed semi with overflowimg garage. Feeling capable. We hired removal van and they were helped on the day by 2 strapping sons, 2 of their friends, 2 brothers. Unpacking the boxes was up to us and we ploughed on day after day after day. To 10 pm every night. For several weeks. Husband fell overstretching and tore his rotator cuff, still suffering 4 years later. My iffy back.played up and for 3 years now I have suffered severely with sciatica involvimg a 3 week stay in hospital. Discharged home to a hospital.bed and a care package twice daily which still continues. This meant installing a new walk in shower.

Please make sure you do not overdo it. Please know that outlays will be more than you anticipate. We have spent money like snow off a ditch upgrading refurbishment that on closer examination had been done to a very poor standard.

We have employed workmen to do jobs that before his injury, my husband could have done with his ehes closed. We now have a cleaner.
It gets harder as we age. I love the bungalow. However, It's advantages became necessary sooner then anticipated.
I just wish we had moved.ten years earlier.

I feel you will know when you are ready to move. I moved to New Zealand to be near family. I am so lucky. Take your time ,good luck and much happiness

Allira

undines

Bungalows and 'future-proofing' make me shudder! Stairs are excellent exercise. 'Use it or lose it' - focussing on decline can encourage it. Do what makes you happiest.

Yes, but you can lose it even if you live in a house. What then?
You have to pay someone to clean, garden, decorate, that is if you can find anyone.

I agree Allira, the future is out there and I'm gonna' be ready for it