It’s all going……..ready for a new life.

We have a four bedroom Victorian semi, too big for us now, was up for sale all last year thought we had sold it but were let down twice and lost the bungalow of our dreams near the South Downs.
Still hoping to move but can’t do much till we get another offer on our place.
Not loving the experience. Have moved 5 times in the past 46 years and this is the hardest time. But onward and upward 🙏🏾

We've recently moved 250 miles to be near our children & grandchildren.

Left a large detached, 100 year old house that was so solidly built it never creaked or groaned.

New house is only 20 years old and doesn't stop creaking and groaning.
They don't make 'em like they used to.

Best thing we ever did as had no family left where we lived.

Once we'd made our mind up to move we took 6 months to slowly declutter. Hated having to do it and actually doing it but so glad we did.
Congratulations on the move
Good Luck.

we decided that it should have a new family

We did exactly that Romola. Our brilliant family home felt underused with just the two of us rattling around so we found a biggish bungalow on the outskirts of town. So glad we did.

Do hope it works out well for you too Sago

Twenty years ago, after 26 years in our Victorian family house, we decided that it should have a new family. The AC were both married, with mortgages, and it was time to go. The right 1980s house came up nearby and we made a new home, still energetic enough to make it our own.

We did this last year...moved from a lovely big 4 bed house to a much smaller 3 bed 10 minutes walk from a lovely high street, new build, everything done, no regrets. I thought I would miss my old house so much but never even think of it! Very sad that we couldn't fit a few bits of really nice furniture in, but soon got over it! I don't spend my whole time cleaning and it's so much cosier! Good luck!

When we retired 10 years ago we sold our 400 yr old farmhouse and moved 4 miles to a modern bungalow. No regrets!
My OH has been ill with encephalitis and cancer for the last 2 years and we could not have managed in a house and would have had to move while he was in hospital which would have been a nightmare!

I would move from my three bed semi tomorrow but the smaller homes two up and two down in my World Heritage Site town are more expensive than my home because they are mostly purchased by landlords to let out as holiday lets.

We moved from a 6 bedroom Edwardian semi with 4 floors where the garden was accessed from the basement. It was a fantastic house to raise our family and multiple pets.We now have a 3 bed 2 bathroom bungalow so we can still accommodate visitors and now frequent stays of grandchildren. We sold or gave away a lot of our furniture and bought some new far more suitable but did manage to keep an old settle and blanket box that are lovely pieces and have sentimental value.We were only in our 50s .The only downside in the future is the large garden which I currently love doing.If we get too old or infirm and the expense of getting more help with it is too much we would consider one more move.But we have lovely neighbours and a lovely outlook so would be sad to leave.Good luck with your move !

Sago everything crossed that the contracts are exchanged soon. Once that's done you can breath easier then it's just completion and move to your new home.

Marriedalongtime I moved from large 3 bed semi to 2 bed bungalow a move of over 100 to the north west..
I found decluttering my house decluttered my mind and let go of things I had held into for far to long .When my husband died I no longer had a home it was just a house . Moving to my bungalow gave me back a home . I did all my own packing as I decluttered I packed boxes of things I was keeping . I set myself a target of 2 boxes a day .

I love living here and found I love being clutter free, mind you I did bring things with me that I realised I didn't want. I marked it box what was in it and numbered the boxes but I must have had a blind spot for toilet rolls as when I unpacked I had 9 large packs of toilet rolls. 😆

I have wonderful neighbours who care if they don't see me . Healthcare here is brilliant . And I am living my life to the full. Doing things I never thought I would do . Plus I see my daughter and family often . Even my estrangement from my son and family his choice I had no say hasn't marred how I feel living here . I am happy a feeling I never thought I would feel again.

I miss my husband everyday and my grief gets worse as the years go by. But I know he would love my bungalow and I even brought myself a greenhouse and grow veg . My husband said I had a black thumb turns out it's green .

All who are moving it's a wonderful adventure and you are moving forward to a life full of positivities no matter how old you are . My mom always said older never old.

DH had died!

I did it 18 months ago but under totally different circumstances.
My DH had furs recently and my only living offspring lived 5 hours away. I decided that it was imperative to be nearer.
It was very hard to move from a 3/bed 3 reception house to a tiny flat.
I’ve done it. It was a necessity.
Enjoy your move.

Hope it all goes well for you, sago

It must be an upheaval, however much its the right thing to do.

A lovely new build.

We haven't downsized yet but we've set the wheels in motion: we've bought a 1 bed retirement flat in the complex my Dad lives in.
We're renting it to the manager for the next three years at least, then we'll decide if we're ready to sell our house and move in.

The rooms are a good size so apart from our dining table, our furniture will fit although obviously we won't need all of it.

Beware of the garage! We didn’t have the next house when we moved, so we guessed what we’d need erring on the too much side. Everything went into storage.
When we eventually moved in anything that wouldn’t fit/ we didn’t want, went into the back of the large garage.
Several years later, this Autumn we’ve cleared it out! Out of sight out of mind!

We got rid of a lot of furniture when we downsized. We moved from a very traditional house to a very contemporary one so bought some new furniture which suited the new house. A very different way of life and I’m glad we did it.

We did it three years ago from a huge house to a large bungalow. We did take most large pieces of furniture with us but have gradually reduced those while here, realising we could do without them. I’m still getting rid of furniture now. Eventually we will have to move even smaller so it makes sense to do it now while we can.

Well done! and wishing you all the best for your new life Sago.

We moved out of London 4 years ago down to a lovely market town in Sussex, just over the border from Surrey. We do sometimes go up to our old neck of the woods, about 30 miles away, we lived there for over 35 years so I miss it slightly, but not so much. The area was lovely, close to the Thames, a couple of Royal parks and a very large town, good for shopping a 15 minute walk away. Up to central London in about 25 minutes by train, London is now a good hour away. The downsides, that whole area is now heaving very heavily populated and the 20 mile an hour restrictions everywhere, resulting in journeys that are slow and sometimes gridlocked. We were intending to downsize but side sized unintentionally, in square footage our house now is larger than the one we moved from, but that house was on 3 floors......so we were determined to lose a floor when we moved, it was one of the objectives for moving, that and to find a town with a slower pace and a larger garden. We love it here, the countryside is gorgeous, we're close to both the Surrey Hills and the South Downs, the coast is also about 15 miles away. The people are friendly, particularly the dog walkers, we live in a very doggy area, I don't have one but I like to have a little chat with people who do, they're always happy to talk, I've become more interested in dogs since my son acquired one. The only gripe my husband has, and it's minor, the soil here is quite clay like when it rains, as it does, it's quite claggy, so for his hobby, golf, it's not ideal, a few miles in either direction though it's quite different he tells me.

Yes we downsized 5 years ago from a 3 storey new build to a 2 bed semi. I hated it at first couldn’t make it feel like home, even now if we could afford something different maybe a bungalow I’d be off like a shot.
I like it in summer, the garden is a decent size and south facing. Cosy in winter just a squeeze when the DGC are here. Good luck.

I hope it all works out for you.

Luckygirl3

It did feel a big move - but I was selling to pay for my late OH to be in a decent nursing home, so it had to be done and I had to do it on my own.

Looking back, I do think that having this declutter and move to manage helped me through a difficult time in my life, even though it felt very traumatic and stressful at the time.

Luckygirl I remember some of your posts at the time.
I’m glad it worked out.

Declutterring is cathartic.

It did feel a big move - but I was selling to pay for my late OH to be in a decent nursing home, so it had to be done and I had to do it on my own.

Looking back, I do think that having this declutter and move to manage helped me through a difficult time in my life, even though it felt very traumatic and stressful at the time.

Me too. From a big detached with land in the country to a two bed terrace in town. Oh I loved that house though I’m no longer there.

I put everything out on the verge with a “Free. Help yourself” notice. It pretty well all went. The only thing I took with me was a bed.

Oh the freedom😃

We made the move about 12 years ago. I remember the early days in our new flat. It was great fun starting over in a new place. I remember the novelty of going along to bed rather than up to bed. Silly really.
We took only what we really wanted from our old home of 30+ years. The children took what they wanted and we got house clearance to take what was left. 30 years accumulated stuff! Amazingly I haven't missed any of it.
Once you get through all the worrying legal side of things and can really focus on the new house you'll be able to enjoy this new chapter. Good luck with it all. You'll be glad you did it.

Go for it and good luck. I wanted to do this 10 years ago but DH resisted. We are now still here and due to DHs Alzheimer's Disease a move is out of the question!!
I wish you well.

Thanks Smileless.

Our estate agent said exactly the same thing to us. He said if there’s anything you can’t make your mind up about, put it in the new garage and decide over the next few months.
We are selling to first time buyers who are living in rented accommodation so we’re hoping they might to take some of the stuff that we absolutely know won’t fit in.