Downsizing

Go with your instincts, Luckylegs

You're right. Things will not get easier so do it whilst you are still in charge.

Good Luck. I'm sure you won't regret it.

There's a thread somewhere about sharing your home with somebody else who wants to downsize.

That's another option I suppose.

I am in a similar position Luckylegs. I am currently fit and (reasonably) healthy but I live in a small village with no public transport, have no immediate family of my own and although I have good neighbours I know I can call on in an emergency I rarely see any of them. I have been thinking about moving into a "retirement" home or village but am being discouraged by the stories of increasing ongoing costs

I am assuming you both own your own homes so would have to consider all the costs of moving. It was pointed out to me recently that it might be cheaper to pay someone to come in and do the tasks which are too hard than to sell up and move into somewhere easier to maintain. If you love the home you have lived in for so long this could be a consideration.

When we retired we down-priced but up-sized! I simply don't bother to go into the rooms we don't use until someone is coming to use them!

Hello Luckylegs, it's a common problem and I think you are wise to consider moving now rather than leaving it until later.Buy a smaller home and have some extra cash, and a place you can take care of easily.
if you want to make the move a final one, consider a flat or bungalow, no stairs to worry about.A ground floor apartment with small garden or bungalow with small garden or courtyard.You need a large village or small town really, with regular bus services and some amenities nearby.
if you hate rain, move to a warmer and dry county.Lots to think about about, but we did this just a few years ago and so glad we did.

roses where will we find " a large village or small town really, with regular bus services and some amenities nearby." not sure there are any left! Unless of course you mean by 'regular' once a day or once a week!

I would say its good to plan ahead and not wait for a crisis occur which means a hasty move. I would do a through option appraisal having first got my criteria for a new home clearly written out i.e. what are the essentials, what are the 'be nice to haves' what are the 'under no circumstances' - that kind of thing. DH and I discuss this all the time and hope we can spot the right moment to make our next move. We don't say final move.... never say never. Good Luck I hope you find something lovely.

We have the dial-a-ride community transport service in Cambridgeshire and my mother used it all the time before she became too frail to go out. It's invaluable for people in rural areas with mobility problems.

There's a lot to consider when you start getting old

I live in a pleasant little market town which is being swamped by retirement homes. If you're 60-plus and own a home to sell, you have a choice of hundreds of apartments to buy, average price about £250000. There are no affordable homes for young people and most of the council houses were sold long ago.
So sell up, move to a cosy low-maintainance flat where there's a warden to help and free your house for a family to buy.

What sorts of things didnt you like in the house/bungalows you looked around?
Minor things or major things?
I dont have any experience of this, but you do need to feel comfortable about where you move to.

If you live in a university place, lucky, you could think of sharing with a student.
I have read of homeshare where a younger person lives rent free for helping with tasks such as gardening and cleaning.
I think the latest I read was in the Independent.

www.diversitygroup.co.uk/homeshare-scheme-for-young-and-old/

I'm thinking of downsizing myself, but would hate to have to share with a stranger.

There is also the problem of maintaining a large house, especially an older one. Having a lodger wouldn't touch the sides of that sort of expense.

Even if you downsize, you still have problems with maintenance, lucky.
I live in a two bedroom bungalow, and yesterday woke up to the sound of running water, and it wasn't raining. The tap in my garage had sprung a leak, and the only way I could stop the flow was to turn off the water supply.
Fortunately a son lives in the same village, so he managed to replace my tap in the afternoon. It only cost me £14 instead of the £70-80 I was envisaging if I had to call out a plumber. Unfortunately, as you say, you do not have family to help out. A house share could be a way to find out what you want without selling your home.

At one time we moved into a house which was shared by a couple and his parents. The parents lived downstairs and the couple lived upstairs. It worked for them. It also meant we moved into a house with two bathrooms and two kitchens, which was useful when one of our sons moved in.

We had to move into a bungalow because my husband kept falling down the stairs.

I would love to downsize:- from 14 stone to 10stone

A town centre flat with lift, maybe a balcony with astro turf, plastic plants and a chair. Near buses, museums, GPs etc. According to the weekend supplements a lot of people are moving back into town where there are plenty of things to do and lots of transport. Then you just lock the door when you go away.

As I said earlier, it can be a problem maintaining a larger house, especially if it's an older one.

What seem like trivial renovation projects to a younger person or couple can be both daunting and expensive when you're getting on a bit, especially if you live alone.

I wish you all the best in finding a suitable new home, LuckyLegs

I keep thinking about this too although I am a little younger than Luckylegs9. I do live in a village with a good bus service - every half hour in both directions; one goes to a larger town and one to a smaller one although I still drive at the moment. I have come to realise that this matters more than being "in walking distance" of shops as what is walking distance to a young estate agent, me now and me later on all differ.

The think what worries me most are the stairs and the garden. The thing that worries me most about a retirement flat are the possible increase in service charges.

We all know we would have to compromise but perhaps you just have to keep looking until it is a compromise that suit you.

suits

Nonnie, my own large village fits the bill. For what I was talking about which is why we moved here, after living in a hamlet before that.we made a check list before buying another smaller house in the right place.the bus service between two large towns is every half hour, not bad these days for a village.Good idea to do a bit of research before falling in love with a house or place though.

roses don't suppose you want to tell us all where that is so we can all move in?!?

We have an excellent bus service to a small city but have to drive to the retail park to get to it!

If the time ever comes when we think it is worth leaving this house we love which has room for the family to stay, then I have my eye on some flats within walking distance of Waitrose, the library and the theatre. I would so miss my garden though and don't much fancy the idea of a shared one.

Nope, am keeping quiet about that Nonnie.[ grin] of course ! things can always change and buses become less frequent and shops and pubs do close
So you can't predict everything, but our large village is set to become much larger with lots of new house being built, and talk of a second primary school and more shops so hopefully nothing will close.

Though we have always fancied living in the middle of a good sized town, not a village, and did consider Cirencester , as it has some nice shops and pubs etc. May do that if we ever want a flat.

Think carefully moving away from your roots . Maybe a flat or small house in the same town would be better . I'm not in my 70's yet but we are just having an extension done to enlarge our tiny kitchen and to put in a downstairs loo and shower . I think this will enable us to stay in the area we both love and would be sad to leave . I agree,bshut up any rooms you don't need and get a gardener . Or as my older neighbour has done she offered her garden to a younger person to grow fruit and veg in exchange for maintaining the rest . They have become good friends and they also help out doing odd jobs for her too.
It is hard but if you do decide to move away do whilst you are in good health and able to make new friends .