How convenient is your house?

I downsized six years ago to a bungalow to plan for the future. I have an Aldi less than five minutes walk away. Also bus stops five minutes away and a post office too. There's an award winning chip shop too handy. My health centre is probably fifteen minutes walk away but has an in house pharmacy and the library is closed to it too.

My house is not convenient in terms of access to shops etc as it’s in a very rural area with no public transport so a car is essential. However, it’s very modern and easy to keep clean, is just the right size for us and has a lovely big garden with fields behind. So it’s convenient for us in a very different way.

"The grass is always greener", not necessarily so!
You sound as though you love your house Grannyactivist, so if I were you, I would stay. Just think of all the cost involved in moving, better to spend some of that making your home a bit more convenient, if and when the time comes.
From your description, the location sounds ideal.
You can always close off a couple of rooms if they are not being used, and save on a bit of heating costs.
I used to be looking, but have realised that where we are, is where we are meant to be. Happy!

We are in a small, 3 bed semi in Birmingham (no garage, small kitchen). We have been here for 40 years. We have a canal at the back of the house which means the only thing we look out onto are willow trees and greenery. No danger of anything being built to spoil our view. We hear the wildlife and the barges pootling by. We have quiet neighbours.

We are a 15 minute bus ride from Birmingham city centre and a short bus ride from three other towns with plenty of shops, eateries etc. We can walk to an Aldi, Lidl and Asda. We have a small Co-op and a small Tesco around the corner. We have railway station within walking distance and bus stops a short walk away. A 20 minute walk away is a country park with boating lakes, lovely walks and a farm shop.

There are lots of country walks around and a 10 minute drive away there is a lovely arboretum with miles of lovely walks and a cheap cafe. It's not really what springs to mind when people hear 'Birmingham' but it's ideal.

Our house where we have lived for over 30 years is too big for us now although the space is much appreciated when the family visit us. The garden is manageable at the moment. We would struggle to find a better location. 10 minutes walk in one direction to shops, post office, bank etc. 10 minutes walk in the other direction to the park and woodland. We’re staying put!

and the laundry room doubles up as a brewery 😁

Reminds me of when we used to have gallon Demijohns popping away in the utility room.

Every time I look at other properties online, I start wondering how we could convert them.
We're not that near the shops or surgery that we could walk there now but, if we could no longer drive, we're a reasonable taxi ride away.

Plopping ....
Autocorrect prefers popping.

Slowly over the years I have changed my house. I now have a stairlift and I have removed all carpets. I could not get in and out of the bath so I now have a lovely shower. I had mega problems getting in my front door because the step was so high. I did not want to advertise my problems by having handrails fitted outside so I had the path raised and it is now so easy.

Buses are 10 minutes walk away, my pace and there is usually a whole 3 minute wait! I do shopping online but 7 minutes walk away is a small parade of shops. If I stopped driving the surgery would be a taxi ride away. The dentist, optician etc are a bus ride away.

I had my small rear garden paved but I pay somebody to cut my large front lawn.

I could not live in a flat, I prefer my 3 bedroom house, being able to hang clothes outside and have a cup of coffee outside when the weather is warmer.

Kate1949 Having visited Birmingham so many times when I was young, and again on work trips, it wasn't until years later, on an organised trip, that I went on a canal boat trip on some of Birmingham's 35 miles of canals.

It really was an eye-opener, another side of Birmingham which I never knew existed, peaceful, tranquil and a world away from the shopping centre, New Street station etc!

Yes indeed Callistemon. The way they have opened up the canals in the city centre is beautiful with restaurants, bars, even a cafe on a barge.

It was quite a number of years ago but very enjoyable and quite a surprise!

We do try to use the size of the house to best advantage. Last year we started to provide summer Homestay accommodation again for the local International School, after a break of many years. During the off season months we often have family and friends visiting, though I’m afraid we’re past the point of taking in any more homeless people or lodgers.

And looking to the future we already have a lovely en-suite bedroom downstairs. 😊

We have lived here 10 years. A small 2 bed house with a large(ish) garden.

10 minute walk and we are at the train station and bus station.. 25-30mins on train to Birmingham which is free with our Senior pass. 12 minute walk into town. 15 minute walk to Doctors and Dentist. Less than 10 minute walk to the gym we plan to join.

Few minutes away from lovely countryside for walks, or along the local canal

Your house sounds ideal grannyactivist and I certainly wouldn't move from there, especially considering the costs of it all.

We moved to a very conveniently located and decent sized flat just before I retired. I'm so glad we did. I always remembered my Dad, a GP, worrying about elderly patients who'd left it too late to make a move from either large and hard to manage houses or ones far from services (shops, GP, hospital etc). Events can suddenly precipitate you into a life of hospital appointments and problems shopping or getting necessary help. Sounds like the OP is ideally situated.

No utility, games room or sauna! - but a fair sized 4 bed with plenty of room for family to stay, small garden, fantastic (free!) public transport, corner shop a 10 minute walk, town centre a short bus ride away, everything inc. GP and hospital more or less on the doorstep, not to mention a pedestrian entrance to 2000 acres of Royal Park a 5 minute walk away.

So no thoughts of moving at all, but if I were on my own I’d consider a flat near here, as long as it had a good balcony. I’d go mad in one without.

grannyactivist - I would just stay. The house and it’s location sound ideal. I was reading somewhere that the total cost of moving is about £20000+. Most older people move to save on heating and maintenance costs of a large house. That’s what I did. I moved to a much smaller 4bed house, with a small garden in front and hardly any garden at the back - all paved. You really don’t recoup the moving costs, unless you live for 20 years or more. Good luck !

I live a mile from where I was brought up in a house built in the 80s. It was originally farm land and meadows the council have sold land now it's mainly built up. We live two minutes away from a country park that stretches for miles. Buses and train station ten mins walk away shops over a mile away. We have village pub and restaurant a mile away. Our house is detached four bedrooms I have a large raised veg patch and a lovely sun house. We are mostly surrounded by trees which allows for privacy. We are happy here our friends all live nearby. We discussed moving but don't see the point now so we have renovated to suit our needs.

We live in a small hamlet.
, 5 mins walk to the sea. Ten minute walk to village, with coop, doctor, dentist, cafes, library etc. Bus stop to town 5 mins walk. Also a 10 minute walk to the station. Our house is large but we have a downstairs bedroom with an en-suite, in case we can’t get up the stairs. Only downside is an enormous garden which may become a problem in years to come. At the moment it just keeps us fit.

My house is too large for me but I have my S and GD living here for the foreseeable future.
We are 15 mins walk from Drs, dentist, M&S simply food, Asda,
20 mins from Sainsburys and 10 mins from a bus route.
Unfortunately I can’t walk that far now but don’t mind using taxis when needed.
For anyone else it is ideal.

I would never leave a home that has a sauna. A sauna to me is one of the best things one can do health wise! I have looked at the possibility of installing one at home. I used to have one at the gym but fear of catching covid there has stopped me doing so.

Forgot 14 mins walk to the railway station with very regular trains to Manchester, 15 mins, one way and Buxton 30 mins the other.

I think most people here are agreeing with the programme with the title that answers the question "What are the three most important things about a property? ". The programme is called "Location, Location, Location"
It seems that most of us can overlook the shortcomings of our home for the place in which it is situated .

So convenient, I could literally walk every where - to 2 convenient shops, zumba classes, hairdresser, dentist, surgery, supermarket.

Bus stop just round the corner, 10 minutes to the town. Train station and coach station 10 minutes away and hospital 20 minutes away. Furthermore, taxis are cheap here.

Makes me wonder instead of downsizing to a bungalow or relocating - although it will not cost us £20k to move, I should make changes downstairs and just stay here.

Downsizing might be too stressful for my husband because of his age and we have so much stuff.

I'm not moving!

Our home is a converted Victoria Board school, so right in the middle of the village. Our village is more of a small town nowadays so we have a bus service, trains to bigger towns, a coop, doctors, dentist, florist, library and numerous eating establishments.

It is really active village with lots of clubs and activities and nu.erous opportunities for volunteering.

Our house has large, flexible, rooms and a small garden. And we have just refitted the kitchen.

Added to which, our children would disown us if we left.