How convenient is your house?

I dislike where we live, but then never planned to stay here for any length of time - I’ve bern here two years longer than I intended and will probably be here for about another year, unfortunately. I want now somewhere walkable, with decent public transport ( including trains) giving reasonable access to a decent size city, diverse, and with good amenities and facilities, none of which is the case where I am.

If you really want to move, then you'll find something suitable. If you don't, it's impossible. I live near all the things mentioned - but use very few of them. I hardly ever go shopping, it's all delivered, don't use the library, post office or swimming pool and rarely go out for lunch, as again, I'd rather have a takeaway delivered.

Old friends and dog walking companions are dropping like flies lately, so I've not too much connection to the area and I'd like to move, just for a change of scenery, really, not for practical reasons.

My home is very modest but in a wonderful location, near the sea and mountains, I'll be here as long as I live. The boys had a wonderful childhood, two now capped for Wales fishing teams. A few weeks ago they said "We had the best childhood ever"

This house is something that I deliberate on a great deal .
It looks big from the road , but actually is one the few that hasn't been completely extended and renovated .
It has two bedrooms and a traditional bathroom suite upstairs with a tiny box shaped landing .
Downstairs : there's a through reception room and a small leaking conservatory .
There's a cramped loo under the stairs and a really awful galley kitchen , which needs replacing .
There's a nice front garden and a pretty back garden .
There's certainly room to extend , but I can't tolerate brick dust - that's a concern .
It's in a huge , sprawling suburb with a farm and pleasant parks .
It's easy to get to London .
The nearest shopping centre is limited . I used to get deliveries now I can't .
The GP surgery was first class , now it has a poor reputation .
Our local town is becoming increasingly downmarket .
Local transport is OK but not brilliant .
It's an area , which is attractive for young families as the local schools are highly rated .
The behaviour of the children the local secondary schools causes concern .

I think about an extension and
I think about moving !

My flat is so convenient that I'll never get out of it, now.

I would love to, but this one is 5 minutes from the bus route, about 7 minutes from a decent sized little shop, that isn't too expensive, and it did have a boots chemist next to the shop, attached to the health centre. (Until a few weeks ago)

Well I live in a bungalow which is convenient. But the bus services are atrocious, the nearest town is 10 miles away for shops, inside the home is extremely badly designed, the kitchen has virtually no work surface, the bathroom is dreadful, very small and poorly laid out, the shower doesn't know if it's a shower cubicle, the walls only come up to waist height so you also have to use a shower curtain, it's dark with dark tiles and a tiny window. The lounge doesn't have a wall without a window, door or alcoves in it so nowhere to position a sofa properly. But I wouldn't go anywhere else, lovely neighbours in a gorgeous village where virtually everyone speaks to each other and strangers. So I guess it's quality of life that really matters.

Our daughters recently tried to persuade us to move nearer to them although they both only live around 20 minutes away, traffic permitting. We had a trusted estate around to have a valuation and his opinion. He worked out the cost of a move to the areas where our daughters live at around £35,000, which put us all off! We love our bungalow even if it’s larger than we really need. Idea shelved.

We moved to a new build bungalow a few years ago, leaving a detached 4 bedroom house - the bedrooms and showers upstairs. Like many people, I always thought that we could get a stairlift when DH’s Parkinson’s caused poorer mobility. I realised later that if there aren’t suitable facilities downstairs ie bedroom and walk in shower, a stairlift wouldn’t suffice, as latterly, I would have found it impossible to transfer him from wheelchair to stairlift, then from stairlift to ( another ) wheelchair once upstairs. So glad that we moved to the bungalow.

My last house was massively convenient, a 15 minute walk to a very large town which had everything there, a 20 minute walk to a very lovely local high street, 5 minutes to our train station, which took us up into London in half an hour, we were very close to a beautiful Royal park and Hampton Court. The children's senior school was a five minute walk away, how spoilt they were! However, it was and is a very expensive area and in selling we were able to release some capital.

We moved 3 years ago some 30 miles outside the M25. Now I do have to drive to get into our nearby market town but it's only a 5 minute drive away and several of the main supermarkets are there, Waitrose, Sainsburys, Marks with an Aldi under construction. Plus lots of shops including John Lewis, M&S many restaurants and an Everyman Cinema, theatre and a train station, it's an hour up to London now. Locally, a walk away, there is a Co-op, our doctor's practice, Boots mainly for prescriptions, a charity shop, a hairdresser, card shop, Indian restaurant, a very popular coffee shop with an outdoor area, loved by dog walkers, an estate agents, a lovely smaller local library, larger one in town, I use both. A very nice cricket club open to locals for a minimal fee to enjoy sitting on the terrace for a drink in the good weather. Plus a super country park with a coffee shop looking on to a lake which has various water sports, such as kayaking in the summer.

We moved to get out of London essentially it's far less heaving where we are now, beautiful countryside on our doorstep, the coast is a mere 15 minutes away and we have a good sized garden. Our last home was a town house on 3 floors, another reason to move all the stairs! we had a small courtyard garden opening on a couple of acres of communal gardens which led down to the Thames, where quite a few of the residents had a boat moored, not us though! Ours wasn't so much a down size, more of a side move, with more square footage than before, that wasn't intentional we'd been planning to move out for quite a few years and had been scouting various areas, but the timing was never quite right. It was kind of serendipitous in finding a house we really liked and simultaneously selling our house in a week, when the market peaked. The kids kind of kept us tethered there, even though they'd left home they're still prone to moan about missing their home town, although they like coming down to us here too.

After my husband died I did think about relocating elsewhere but to be honest I had no idea where. I live in a lovely area, but have a bus route that I cannot rely on anymore, no stores, no post office, no bank, no chemist or GP surgery so I have to pay for taxis to get where I want to go. I also decided to do everything online due to the lack of amenities and do online banking, online shopping, in fact I have got it all down to a fine art that I have now no reason to leave my home if I don't need to because if I am ill, I cannot get a GP appointment anyway so I just take to my bed and wait to get better. I now only go out for a few hours a week and make a day of it, have lunch and afternoon tea and a look around the shops. I get a taxi there and back and to be honest, I really enjoy myself until the next week. I do have sons who have their own lives and I don't see them often and I don't pester them as I am still fit and healthy and thankfully can take care of myself. I have a large detached property with massive gardens all around and do pay for a gardener so in my own little way, I love my home, my late husband and I moved in after our wedding in the 1960's and I will have to be carried out feet first. I did use to meet up with friends for lunch but they are now all, like myself, in their mid 80's with medical problems and cannot be bothered anymore. My home is my sanctuary until I pop my clogs.

Hi, I read your post with great interest. A bit different story for us but I would like to share with you. We have a 5 yr old new house …that we have made pretty good for our retirement, spent quite a bit of money too since we bought it and its actually perfect. Lovely garden , great drive for cars, so peaceful. Beautiful small village.
Quite a few village social things going on that I don’t particularly get involved in, but have made a few good genuine friends and we get together occasionally, and have a laugh. We also have peaceful genuine neighbours immediately round us.
During lockdown we were all. ‘really friendly’ in the street, some overpowering, but I think thats because it was a new estate, but thats settled down to a healthier level , if you know what I mean. What I want to say, is please be careful re moving . We moved from a small town where we were actively involved in many things but after 32 yrs we needed a change as we were in a bit of a rut and we wanted a different life style for retirement. On reflection there are many times when I wished I had stay in my ‘old’ house as it was pretty ideal, although my husband definately prefers where we are now. If I had my time again I wouldn’t move, maybe it was just emotional attachment but be careful with your choice. I think sometimes we need to change how we feel and our thought process rather than change home. I still keep up with my friends from the town (its only 6 miles away) and some wish they could be brave enough to declutter and move to a new or smaller house like we did….but I miss the view from my garden mostly. I am now on a mission to enjoy my new home as the constant looking at ‘for sale’ homes was stopping me living my life to the full and affecting my mental health. So love what you have, today is what we have …have no regrets x

Our home is extremely convenient for family and friends. We are very close to London Gatwick so frequently have some staying here overnight before catching a flight. They get car parking while they're away, dinner on the evening they arrive, breakfast next morning and a lift to and from the airport. All free and happily given. We won't be popular if we move from here.

Esmay

This house is something that I deliberate on a great deal .
It looks big from the road , but actually is one the few that hasn't been completely extended and renovated .
It has two bedrooms and a traditional bathroom suite upstairs with a tiny box shaped landing .
Downstairs : there's a through reception room and a small leaking conservatory .
There's a cramped loo under the stairs and a really awful galley kitchen , which needs replacing .
There's a nice front garden and a pretty back garden .
There's certainly room to extend , but I can't tolerate brick dust - that's a concern .
It's in a huge , sprawling suburb with a farm and pleasant parks .
It's easy to get to London .
The nearest shopping centre is limited . I used to get deliveries now I can't .
The GP surgery was first class , now it has a poor reputation .
Our local town is becoming increasingly downmarket .
Local transport is OK but not brilliant .
It's an area , which is attractive for young families as the local schools are highly rated .
The behaviour of the children the local secondary schools causes concern .

I think about an extension and
I think about moving !

It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for someone who wants to renovate. What a dilemna for you.. you could go away whilst the renovation is being done . Or you could move somewhere completely new as I did to Brighton which is such a great place to live.. loads of things going on, inclusive, whacky, friendly and by the sea.. it took a while to make new friends but now I have a few.. I have a small terraced house on a hill with a bus stop at both the top and bottom of the street and easy access to the sea, shops, etc and a small mediterranean style south facing yard with French doors.from both the kitchen and living room. I never regretted moving..

I live alone, since husband died, in a fairly large, old Welsh farmhouse. At 89 I have considered moving as, being very rural, there is no public transport, but I still enjoy driving - which is a necessity. I now rely on gardeners to keep all the grass and large garden under control. However, despite travelling around looking at properties, I have decided that looking out onto fields and woodland, with the canal and country walks nearby, nothing I have seen would give me what I have now. I have to drive between 1-3 miles to a lovely, friendly town where there are countrywide events that take place annually, parks, sports activities etc, N.T. and Country Homes to visit, so I have decided to stay put. As I have rescued cats and a dog, I also take those into consideration, none would have any road sense if we lived where the roads were busy, as they are so used to just going out into fields and woods.

We downsized from a 5 bedroom to a 3 bedroom house in our nearest town 8 years ago. There is a bedroom downstairs if it becomes necessary, big living room, kitchen utility, 2 bathrooms, garden room and trees which are not our responsibility at the back of a small garden. I’m not sure I could have moved to a new area, we moved around quite a lot when DH was working, but we didn’t have to and we have all the advantages of a small town and free bus service to the nearest city.

After my husband died I wanted to downsize and I have now bought a park home. It is an older model and I am having it updated before I move in, new kitchen and bathroom, and replacement double glazing units. My daughter gave me a checklist for any new property and this ticks them all.
Quiet
Near a frequent bus route
Health centre nearby
Shops nearby
Even a chippie!
Hopefully it will “see me out “ as they say.

The question should be then: Why are you considering moving? It sounds perfect where you are. Everything’s in easy reach and you re-purposed your rooms. You’re near the sea which is an added bonus.
Are you just seeking a new adventure after many years in the same place?

Our house is a large detached and we too use the rooms for different purposes including my art studio. We live 5 minutes walk from a train station and bus stops and around the corner from an M&S food store, coffee shops, and 2 supermarkets. We are 10mins drive from our very large SSI park and our dentist and GP surgery is a 5 min walk. Country walks easily accessible too. Not planning to move anytime soon!

Our house is too big for us really but we love it. Total privacy, can’t hear or see the neighbours from any of the windows and it is very hard to get that now unless you are on a farm. We can walk to shops but it is a half hour walk so we take one of the cars.

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.

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.

What happens when family come to stay?

Exactly.

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.

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!!

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.