How convenient is your house?

grannyactivist is certainly no Mrs Bucket.

I sometimes wish we'd moved back to where we lived years ago, Joseann but we're happy to have stayed near family. I miss the sea.

I'd be happy living in any of your houses mentioned because we make our houses into our homes, don't we? I'm one who moves around on a regular basis, at least 10 times in 40 years, and each house has offered different ways of living at different times in our lives.
I can vouch for the fact that grannyactivist lives in a beautiful area with everything close by, because I only live 5 minutes away. We came to live here from London in our 20s with children. It wasn't quite what we had expected, and in the meantime we have moved hundreds of miles, including abroad, and back to London again. Then a couple of years ago , in our 60s, where did we end up? Back here of course, in a completely different property to go with our completely different lifestyle.

A bit unkind Oreo

grannyactivist

Every now and then my husband and I discuss downsizing or relocating. Then we realise anew that our current house is really suitable for our needs and has some extra features that I suspect are irreplaceable (we have a custom built sauna for instance), but the major benefit is its location. We can walk to the river park and our allotment in less than a minute, all the buses going into and out of town are a stones throw away, as is the local Spar/Post Office. In just a ten minute walk we can be in the Lidl, at the garage, in a cafe, a bakery, a pub or at the newsagents. We’re equidistant between the town’s two health centres and along with the sea and shopping centre they’re only a five minute bus ride or twenty minutes walk away.

So, I don’t think we’ll be moving anywhere soon, and even though the house is so big we’re just changing the usage of the rooms. The ‘family room’ is now a games room/gym, the smallest bedroom is my new art room and the laundry room doubles up as a brewery (husband’s latest hobby is brewing craft ales). I do still look at properties, but can never find anything that has the convenience of our current home.

Am I the only person to have laughed at this post? Mrs Bucket springs to mind.
Was the thread started to tell all about the custom built sauna, the games room/gymn, the art room laundry room and mini brewery?
Ah well, guess some are enjoying the opportunity to join in, so here goes -
We’ll be staying put as DP is currently converting the stables for extra guest accommodation as we only have nine bedrooms in the house.Where else would we find another smallish mansion in such a convenient spot? Set in lush countryside with a view of the sea and yet a Waitrose within driving distance.
Must go, the vicar is here for coffee in the morning room.Toodleoo.

Sounds like a very sensible decision M0nica. I hope you find a home that you like. It will be quite exciting too. I loved the time when we moved here. All new and interesting.

Decisions to move are always multifactorial. We are moving because our garden is becoming too much work. I do not have the stamina to do an afternoon's work. An hour and I need a rest.

We could move locally, but we are not, the other main reason we are moving is that both our children live on the other side of the country to us, journeys back and forth are convoluted and long, so we are moving somewhere more accessible.

The current journey from us to our son involves between 4 and 6 motorways, depending on the route you use and the links between them. Our move will reduce this journey to 1. DD is currently 3 motorways away, this will also reduce to 1. The length of the journey will also be halved. Easier for them and easier for us.

I seem to gravitate lately from wanting to move from this house that is far too big for me now, to knowing that if I do move I am going to lose:
Superb neighbours;
Excellent transport services - both the frequent bus and Supertram service are on the doorstep;
Dentist, GP, and hairdresser are all in the village and walkable if necessary;
We have two - soon to be three - supermarkets within a mile of each other; one a ten minute walk away, plus a farm shop nearby;
We are surrounded by woods, farms and fields, so good walking without taking the car out of the drive (one of the criteria for moving here), plus the Country Park;
An easy drive to DD’s, and to the Peak District;
Ten minutes from the M1, so a convenient drive for DS to come down from North Yorkshire.
While I’m reasonably fit I will stay here but, of course, there will come a time……

We have also been thinking of moving to a bungalow, as the only thing our 4-bed semi lacks is a downstairs toilet. However, we are 7 min walk from nearest shops (decent sized Co-op, post office in a mini-Morrisons, hairdresser, opticians, fish and chip shop plus 2 other takeaways, 5 min walk to local buses to high street, fantastic neighbours. We have room for family and friends to stay and 2 bathrooms upstairs. We have a double garage and one small car so have space for a downstairs loo, just trying to work out the logistics of it. Also have solar panels and a decent sized garden. We're also a bus ride away from the station, with regular trains to London, 40 min away. An hours drive and we're at the coast, and most if the family are around an hour away aswell.
Weighing up the pros (lots of them) and the cons (no downstairs loo), I think we'll stay put.

As people get older -as we all do- life shrinks a bit. It can become a matter of medical visits, carers and food deliveries. I've seen people living in just one or two rooms as they have become progressively infirm. I'm not meaning to be depressing (although it's a depressing prospect unless you're very lucky). A downstairs bathroom becomes a must as other downstairs rooms can be turned into bedrooms more easily as required.

VenusDeVillendorf

If you feel you’ve got extra space, why not offer accommodation to some refugees?
“Closing off” some of your house seems so wasteful considering.

In the past we have hosted foster children, refugees, asylum seekers, homeless people, lodgers - and as stated up thread we now host International School students during the summer months. I have never considered closing off any part of the house - every room is in regular use.

This use of rooms is an interesting subject because many of the articles about old people occupying houses with more bedrooms than they need is based on the way house use was defined in the past: Upstairs bedrooms, downstairs living rooms. That really does not apply anymore. However people do still use these conventions to describe houses.

In two of the houses we have owned one of the upstairs rooms has functioned as a study. The whole time we owned the properties these rooms never contained beds and were never slept in, but we still described the house as '4 bedroomed'

We are house hunting at the moment, which means scanning Rightmove even more than usual and one thing that has become very clear is that nowadays, both in new houses and the use of existing properties, room purpose is much more fluid.

Many new houses, seem to have rooms described as bedrooms scattered all over the house on all floors, while in existing properties, upstairs rooms are used as offices, gyms, workrooms, music rooms, sewing rooms. Even more so as more people work form home, at least part of the time.

DD, who lives alone, is currently buying a house described as having five bedrooms. It is a three storey house and two of the 'bedrooms are on the same floor as the living room. She sees the house as a 3 bedroom, 3 reception room house, with the other two living rooms being used as an office, as she works from home a lot, and a craft room, as she is an inveterate craftswoman - the only person I know who made her own stair carpet!

This is another thing about housing for older people. As you get older and into extreme old age, you tend to spend more time in your house and need extra space downstairs to be able to move around, change your scene and contain any interests you may have. Most retirement properties, invariably have just one big living room and only one or two other, quite small rooms.

Because our house is Edwardian it seems there is always a lot of upkeep - and we have found that getting tradesmen in to do the jobs is often frustrating due to poor workmanship. My husband is a really good DIYer and now does most jobs himself, including big ones like removing chimneys or repointing the house. In theory we love the idea of moving to a house that needs minimal upkeep, but having invested so much time and effort into this one I think it’s wiser to stay for now. And as stated up thread, I doubt we’d ever find anywhere to match what we have here.

I expect to die before my husband, who is much younger than me, and I hate to think of him having to clear the house and sell up on his own, but for now it really works well for us. We’ve had four of our grandchildren staying over during the Easter holidays and they’ve painted with granny in the art room, played nicely in the games room - and each had a room to sleep in. 😊

Changing the use of rooms in your home seems like a smart move. This allows you to make the most of your space and makes your home even more functional and enjoyable to live in.
Keeping an eye on your property and looking for opportunities to improve your space is a great initiative. Perhaps in the future you will find a home that combines all the amenities of your current home and adds something new and exciting.
Whether you stay in your current home or decide to move, the key is to do what makes you happy and comfortable.

I live in a village very near the one convenience store so, even when I am older, I am thirty seconds away from obtaining necessities. My house is what others think is too large (four bedrooms for two of us) but suits us fine. After a spinal operation I was able to walk my way to health with gentle ‘indoor steps’ - and that is handy also for when the weather is foul.

I am on bus routes, albeit infrequent, and am a couple of miles from a lively, well appointed town with a station from which it’s twenty minutes by train to Marylebone. I have several, beautiful, elegant Georgian towns nearby, one with a stunning riverside, within a short distance, for walks and local attractions.

Our garden is largish, lovely and landscaped for minimal upkeep. I’ll buy a robot lawnmower when the DH gives up mowing.

Best of all, the beloved offspring are nearby, the DS’s house I can see from my bedroom window and the DD is ten minutes away by car.

I feel truly blessed. This year I will have been in my beloved house for 38 years and I love it more each day.

Downsized when DD went to uni nearly 20 years ago, long before I retired. A 2 minute walk to beach, 5 minutes to GP, pharmacy, post office, ATM, theatre, cinema, Co-op, M&S, 10 to library, train station, 15 min walk to vet and hospital. Excellent bus service.

It's a two bed upstairs maisonette on 2 floors, with a large balcony. The bathroom is next to living room. My only negative is that being upstairs and on 2 floors, there are a lot of stairs.

We’ve been in our house for 30 years and I love our house . It’s a 5 bed detached (although the fifth bedroom is an office ). With a large garden .
Our AC have left home but aren’t settled in terms of partners or property, and come home regularly, so they still have their bedrooms .
Although we’re rattling around in our house , it’s very convenient.
It’s a 5 minute walk to our GP, library, pharmacy, post office , co op , coffee shop, hairdresser, chippy and two restaurants. Also 5 min walk to bus stops and train station, which is 1 hour to London. And close to heathland for dog walking .
We’re a 10 minute drive to a market town with a small shopping centre , banks , cinema, more restaurants, 3 large supermarkets and a fast train service to London . Plus a large university hospital .
We’re just inside the m25 , good for airports and easy to get taxis including Uber .
And more importantly we have lovely neighbours and lots of friends nearby .
We won’t be moving yet .

PenJK50 very good point about thinking about yourself in 10 years.
Lovely cottage. Obviously meant for you!

For Kate and her description of Birmingham. So many folk have grim thoughts of the city, from various TV shows, and lots of stand-up jokes over the years!

But, as you say, much of it is far better, the museum and art gallery are great, and the number of parks and green spaces is a surprise.

Only a couple of areas are really like the Citizen Khan sitcom, when it seems that Karachi has come to the West Mids!

We didn’t intend to move from our large 4 bedroom house although the children had moved out years before. However by the most extraordinary coincidence I noticed a cottage on my way to our business which really appealed to me.

Having shown it to my dear husband he was so taken by the look of it that he rang and made an appointment for us to go and see it that evening! We then went over to our younger daughter and started to tell her what we’d done and when we said that it was in the free monthly local magazine our lovely SIL said “it isn’t this one is it?” He had been telling our daughter that he’d seen the same details and thought of us! Suffice it to say that we adored the cottage and made a quick offer, despite it needing plenty of work done on it. The feature which sold us this gorgeous home was the pergola which is still one of the best features. We have Waitrose, Marks & Spencer Food Store, Boots, W H Smith within about 10 minutes walk and a bus stop, train station and the M25 a mile away. The garden is completely secluded and we’ve had the help of a wonderful woman to transform it into a mini version of a National Trust style cottage garden. So glad we did this when we did as since we moved I’ve been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and suffer from anxiety as well as lots of other symptoms.
Anyone who finds a property they like should visualise life +10 years. We’ve been lucky as we were able to afford a stair lift and other adaptations which we continue to do as the need arises.
I seem to have written a rather long stream but I just loved the change and surprised myself . I forgot to say that both our lovely daughters and their families are 1 mile away from us. I have tried to attach a photo showing the pergola - hope it is able to be seen.

Do you have a lift Frenchgalinspain?

Our attic flat is in the heart of the City of Madrid, close to uncountable major shops, all within 5 to 10minutes by foot, Retiro Park, El Corte Ingles, Pharmacy if needed, Restaurants / bars,Buses, Hotels and the underground.

NOT moving.

That sounds ideal, Croatia1.

You could always get someone in to cut the lawns in the summer and perhaps do some pruning, heavy work occasionally.

I moved about 18 months ago.
I wanted to do it while I was able. I moved from a 3 bed, 3 reception room mid terrace to a 3 bedroom bungalow. The positives are the village location is a lot nicer than the busy town I was previously in. I now have a garden and garage. I have a post office and shop a minutes walk away and a bus stop 2 minutes walk a way which takes me to a choice of towns or the city. It's a lot smaller and easier to clean and more economical with regards to gas and electric.
The only negatives are the garden is a bit bigger than I would like although I intend to make it easier to maintain with careful planting/landscaping (I was so excited to have a garden , this escaped my attention until I had moved!) The only other negative is I seem to have developed 'bungalow legs'. I find climbing stairs harder now as I am out of practice!!

Our house is totally inconvenient in that it's in the middle of the countryside down a very long drive which comes off extremely narrow country roads, 3 miles from a main road. Having said that, it's only 12 minutes to a large retail park with Sainsburys & Lidl , Home Bargains etc. All the supermarkets deliver here and most of the delivery firms though Evri & Amazon are a bit hit & miss so anything from them goes straight to our son's. He lives in a village nearby. Our house is 400 years old with a recently added garden room & downstairs shower room. Our stairs are steep and windy but we could use the current front room as a bedroom. We have a bore hole which we've recently had issues with and the plumbing in the house has mostly been done by DH & is a bit Heath Robinson. I feel there's a limit to how long he'll want to be in the roof space, fiddling with ball valves - he's 72 now. We absolutely love it here, we have a beautiful garden & stunning views & we'd hate to move, although we do talk about how nice it would be to walk to shops & restaurants or use the bus - we're way off any bus route. DH moved here when he was 4 & I've lived here all my married life - 43 years.