Have you/ are you planning to ‘downsize’

There is no point in rushing but you do have to make up your mind if you are going to move to something more practical for you in years to come. My son says my move last January (2020) was an overnight decision made over five years. He's not wrong; I did at least five years research and preparation. When this flat came on the market I moved very quickly but by then I like to think I had exhausted all other possibilities both for me as a person and for my budget. I cannot imagine what the last year would have been like had I not moved it seemed so easy once I was here.

The worst thing from my point of view is the pool which my husband looks after. It is too complicated for me,chemistry was never a strong point. It is very big so would cost more than we could afford to fill in. We use it only about 2 months of the year though the grandchildren like it. It has been wonderful over the years of course but the kids who live the nearest have got their own so they are not bothered now. It takes up half the back garden.

We will be downsizing in few years, but love our big house,would like to go from a 4 bed detached to a 3 bed detached with much smaller garden and in a cheaper area, I think though when you are very used to a lot of space in your house it must feel a bit strange moving to one with less space, still want two bathrooms though, lots to think about but in no rush at all,

We actually moved 7 years ago to a house of roughly the same size, but with a much smaller garden and with easy access to bus routes, shops, medical centres etc. It has been wonderful, and we have had the room to accommodate family, including increasing numbers of grandchildren, and friends pre-virus. People wondered why we wanted 5 bedrooms, but it's been great - and during lockdown we have had plenty of space to pursue our own interests and not feel cramped. It was a new build, so superb insulation and much cheaper to run than an older, draughty house. Very easy to keep clean too. The move itself meant a 'pruning' of excess stuff, but we managed to keep most of our furniture and 'treasures'.

Seven months ago we moved from a big 5 bed house to 3 bed bungalow. Stairs were going to become a problem for DH soon. Saw this bungalow the Sunday before first lockdown in March last year, and unbelievably it was exactly what we had been looking for over the last year, and moved in 12 weeks later. On regular bus route if you don’t want to take the car, quiet, local shops, plenty of walks for our dogs, good neighbourhood, also central to our family. We have made a few minor improvements and now have it exactly as we want it. I must admit it was a big step to take but now it couldn’t be better. I would just say don’t leave it too late it is a very big upheaval and without enormous help from our family I don’t know if we would have coped.

We have always based our moving decisions on doing the right thing at the right time. It depends how you want to "play" the property market too. We recently upsized for to maximise what we could get from a booming area. We then sold at a good profit. This enabled us to buy what we see as possibly our last home. It often depends whether you view your property as a house, just bricks and mortar, or as a home.

I wouldn't think 'downsize', I would think 'life long home'.
I have written elsewhere about building our own home.

I would consider all the disadvantages of staying where you are, and how you might get round them. For instance: stairs are not necessarily a big problem if a stairlift (or even lift) can be installed easily (especially if you have a downstairs loo). A garden is not a problem if you can afford help (and indeed can be a source of joy).
However, lots of awkward stairs, or a garden that can only be accessed by steps may be difficult.
So I would survey your home, consider making any changes now - garden access, downstairs loo - easy-to-manage kitchen and see how that suits you.
If you can afford it, a house that allows you to have friends and family to stay comfortably can be a boon.

About 4 years ago the mowing became the biggest problem for us. Neither of us were strong enough to even push a power assisted mower and employing a mowing service became a source of stress as it was often raining and thus a no show. Same with a gardener. The solution was a robot mower. A perimeter wire was fitted, instructions written down as if for simpletons and we haven’t looked back! It is programmed to start every 3 days for 6 hours and there are no clippings to pick up. Anyone with a mowing problem might consider this. Ours cost circa £1000 - the mowing service would have cost more over 4 years. My husband built it a little house for it to reverse into for a recharge. Sweet.

My sister in law used to work in sales for a retirement flats company. She says the most common reason seniors gave for downsizing was the problems created by the garden.

I have acknowledged that our house is full of treasures from a lifetime of travel and living but my treasures will be considered junk by others and end up in a charity shop or a skip. In order to somehow preserve them I am photographing them in little groups and writing down their story. I think this will be a comfort for me should I end up in one room in a care home. I am using a diary app on the iPad. I might even be able to take the actual treasure to the charity shop myself when they open or maybe not.

It’s difficult to envisage, and easy to put to the back of your mind, a future where you can no longer manage as well as you do now, but it really does make sense to plan as BusterTank notes.

My mother loved her big garden and ageing house needing ongoing maintenance, and wouldn’t consider moving to somewhere more practical after my dad died.

Now not only do we have to manage the care of my mother from afar, who has carers, we also have the additional concern for the upkeep and maintenance of her house and garden. She is now in a wheelchair, with a bed in the lounge and no downstairs loo, and unable to manage a stairlift.

It’s a nightmare at times, and has concentrated our minds on planning to prevent our children having to do similarly if in the future we are unable to cope.

10 years,ago we moved toour current addres. We intended to downsize. In the end we relocated to a similar sized property.We have not regretted it. But everyone's situation is different so what is good for one is nightmare for another.

I have considered downsizing from already downsized.
my dh and I downsized about 20 years ago, then he died 14 months ago, and some people asked if I should think of going into sheltered type accomodation, like a flat. no garden!
corridors... etc..
I visited a friends place, so I have tried to imagine me living in that accomodation and she has a lovely living room, etc.

but no, I am in a small 2 bed house, with small garden, and I want to stay here as long as I can, despite lots of work, mostly decorating needed... I am getting on in years.

I can still manage the stairs and think that helps me keep going

I am fortunate with having good health , especially for my years... I think a stair lift if ever I can`t manage.

I do get a bit lonely, as the neighbours, well o.k. but not "neighbourly" as I was brought up to.. but hey
we can`t have everything.. I am thankful that I can use technology a bit.

Just don't leave it too long.
Its an exhausting business sorting everything out and the legal delays are pretty stressful, as is the move itself - don't wait until you really need to move and can't manage it.
You should be able to find somewhere that has some garden and/or green space in the local area.
We've done it recently and miss our lovely garden but are relieved to have a very low maintenance home with a big bright balcony which is a different gardening challenge and not overlooked. We also have a lovely park locally and landscaped communal gardens.
We found somewhere that we can renovate to our own spec and are looking forward to taking on this challenge whilst we can.

We sold our 4 bed home 2 yrs ago and bought a 3 bed det bungalow with ensuite/walk in shower, nice garden and garage. We have made some improvements, but our move was the best thing we have done. We had a strict list of considerations, near shops, quiet, safe, in good condition, access to public transport etc. As long as you stick to your requirements you can have a successful move.

We downsized from a 5-bed large house to a 2-bed bungalow - a best move we have ever made - plus when we go the children will not have tons of stuff to sort out

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.

We down sized from a big isolated house to live in a small town.
The most important hing is to clear out everything you don’t actually need. We made a lot of charities very happy, although I cried buckets. It was worth it as we could NEVR have fitted all our “stuff” and that of our three children in the smaller house.
Be prepared for tears and arguments about what to keep, but go for it!

We always said we would be downsizing at around our age (early 60's) but the lockdown has made us realise how much we love our house and garden with all the space that we have. We have now agreed we will stay for several more years but I do feel you have to make the move before you get too old.

You’re in Australia I believe nanna8 so more able to make the most of your outdoor space than many of us are in U.K. in the winter. My garden is very soggy at present. I feel I should downsize at sometime but I think I’d have difficulty finding something else in such a convenient position to all the essentials that will be needed as I age - shops, doctors, opticians etc.

We moved to a bungalow with a small garden over two years ago and we love it. If you’re happy where you are then stay put because I can’t stress enough how stressful the whole experience was! I’m so glad we did it when we could (just about) manage.

If you like where you are have a stair lift fitted and when the time comes get a gardener . Start putting thing in place , where you see there could be a problem ( like a walk in shower ) . Also start to go through your belongings to watch is actually junk and what is worth keeping .

If we find the stairs a problem we intend to live downstairs. We will have the living room, kitchen, a walk in shower room/lavatory, and just one bedroom. Much better than the faff of moving.

We have discussed it, the choice would be a detached bungalow or a new retirement apartment. But there’s nothing wrong with the semi detached we’ve been living in since we married. The stairs can always be remedied with a stair lift, we already have a very practical walk in shower, we like the low maintenance good sized garden which we wouldn’t get nowadays, we like the location. Besides we would have to spend more to have less. So for the time being at least, we are staying put!

I like having space around me. My plan is live in Carers if I need them so space is necessary. I don’t need to clean the rooms we don’t use very often.

We love our house. We have lived here over 50 years. If our daughter didn’t live in the converted loft I’m sure we would have already moved to somewhere smaller but its not the size that bother us. It’s the steep drive and the 12 steps up to the front door and a large garden which don’t we use. My husband uses the dining room as his office and I have the small bedroom as a study and the spare room doubles as an art studio. I have my eye on some modern houses just down the road, on the flat, but my husband isn’t keen. I don’t think he can face the upheaval.

DH and I were just discussing this yesterday. But I love my current house and garden even though it’s too big for just the 2 of us and costs a lot to heat in the winter. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else at the moment
The other thing is that the DGD like to stay over and when the restrictions allow it I hope they’ll stay again, so we’re staying put for now!