I think there has to be a very compelling reason for downshifting. It's not for everyone. Several friends have moved to be nearer their children and have not made the right choice of property and have felt very unhappy and cramped living in smaller properties. We decided to move about eighteen months ago to be near our daughter, as she was very keen to have us nearer. We also realised that while our cottage was manageable, the large garden would eventually become an issue. Throw in some trouble with a neighbour and we knew it was the right time to move. Not an easy choice of area either, as we were in a beautiful rural area whereas our daughter is more urban. We exchanged our three bed cottage for a four bed modern house with a much smaller garden. One bedroom is a dressing room, one for our grandchild, ours and one as a craft room for my husband. We have a large lounge, good size second reception which we've furnished with bookshelves as a snug. We also have a garage, which is an extra we didn't have previously. We are near the countryside but also near more amenities, Post Office, village shop, fish and chip shop and half an hour by bus to the nearest city. About half an hour from our daughter which is a respectful distance we think. So, well worth the hassle - we feel future proofed as the garden is much more manageable, as is the house. Our cottage was hard to clean - very dusty, etc. Everything here is modern and fairly new. So the right call for us, but it absolutely does need careful consideration.