Finding a house where community may exist

Downsizing means just that,fewer bedrooms smaller garden. No lawns to cut or hedges to trim. Don't buy a house with extra bedrooms, in case visitors want to stay, if they want to see you they can stay at a local b+b!
A local shop is essential also on a bus route.
It s surprising how you get used to a smaller house but a ' shed' or similar a good idea for DH !

Dear Azie09; I think I can identify where you live. I might be able to help.I'll try to contact you via Gransnet administrators. If it's the town I think it is you should not give up too soon but try to get more information from the Town Hall about clubs, societies etc in the area as people are surprisingly welcoming. We bought a house in one of the villages and have been delighted to find that many outsiders have arrived here over the years and are very welcoming to other incomers. The housing is varied and because the village is not big at present it is easy to get to know people. Two estates are planned at either end of the village, which may change this, but it's worth thinking about. If we manage to meet, however, I may suggest looking again at the town where you are, especially if you are not a car-driver.

You can send Azie a Private Message, Jenro by clicking on the tab on her post.

I would go for a village every time....very friendly, especially in the South West, lucky you.Estates are for families, I wouldn't want to live on one as we are retired.Good Luck.?

Ha ha Jenro, thanks and do message me. It's not far from Cheltenham!! I suspect it's not wise to say more publicly. I am appreciating the responses though, very interesting. Yes rosesarered, as far as I can tell from school collecting time and from the local Co-op, it absolutely is all families around here and of course quite rightly they'll all be wrapped up in immediate concerns and have wider family living nearby. There are some older folk who have been friendly in passing but they are all born and bred as opposed to incomers.

Having downsized twice & moved areas I agree with the advice already given. My 1st move was November 2011, from 4 bed large house, large garden, inside M25, near Heathrow to Somerset. We moved to a Hamlet, no local shops & scant Bus Service, very friendly area. We bought a Park Home & Residents were very welcoming.

2nd move came after I was widowed, I moved to be nearer DD & her Family. I moved to another Park Home in a small (tourist)Town near Dartmoor, SW Devon. Many Residents introduced themselves when I moved in. Town has Tesco, Co-op & Spar plus Deli, Greengrocer & Butcher, several Pubs. Lots of Clubs & Societies to join, I'm planning joining WI.

There are frequent buses & good road network. I have a Post Office & General Store within walking distance. Doctors Surgery has a Volunteer Driver Service for those without transport which also covers local Dentists & Hospitals.

Advice regarding not being on a hill is a bit difficult in Devon!! but if you have nearby transport links it's ok. I have milk etc delivered, groceries delivered & my newspapers. I was 10 months when I was not allowed to drive (DVLA Medical reasons) but I survived, Pharmacy also delivers.

Every-one at least says hello & people are very friendly, a good mix of Devonians & incomers. I love it, my last move, my forever home. I believe you will know the right house when you see it. I moved without anywhere to live (cash buyer) but within 2 days I had viewed, made offer & had it accepted this was Feb 2015 - I could have hunted for months but this was meant to be. So good luck

Think about what it will be like in 10 years time to live in any property you are looking at, will you still be able to climb the stairs, drive, tend the garden, do the shopping etc etc etc? Then decide if it's for you or not.

My long standing OH and I recently moved, and I must be honest, having neighbours about wasn't on my list of priorities. Neighbours can be an awful burden if they are too intrusive, noisy, lively or slobbish, etc, etc, etc. To some extent you take pot luck with the neighbours you get and even the nicest can move away. We have elderly pensioners either side of us now and have offered both our telephone numbers in case of any emergencies. Not what I'd planned for us exactly but both sets of neighbours are pleasant. Our priorities were decent sized garden as OH loves gardening, a bus route, shops and medical facilities not too far away and reasonable access to children and grandchildren. We've ended up in a great little market town with a cinema, theatre, leisure facilities, lots of parks, flourishing societies, all the above on the list and we are a ten minute drive from open countryside. We absolutely love our new home. My fiancé would be in his element if there was a pub within staggering distance, but you can't have it all. I think neighbours cannot be one of your first concerns, although I will admit to scanning gardens and house frontages in the road in which the house we fancied was. Very Hyacinth Bouquet I suppose, but that was my only concern about neighbours. I am perfectly OK with being on smiling and waving terms only with my neighbours. I don't want it much friendlier than that as I'd rather join clubs and societies and socialise on my own terms. We're all different so working families making up a neighbourhood wouldn't be my first concern. Good luck. I hope you are as lucky as we've been in finding your forever home.

I have been lucky enough to have made and remained friends with two former neighbours despite having moved away. I've lived in places where no one spoke. At a minimum I think one needs to know neighbours well enough for simple passing of the time of day as we all come and go plus a bit of mutual taking in of parcels/cat feeding/noticing what's going on in the sense of realising a burglar is about or if you've not been seen for a while/appear to be away. The latter stemming the development of obnoxious smells in the neighbourhood!!!

Of course there is a balance to be found between managing people who are intrusive or bossy and developing some level of relationship with those one is living beside. I have lived in several places where there were vibrant Neighbourhood Associations and where campaigns needed to be fought over developments, flooding and loss of amenities. It was very rewarding working with others on these matters and definitely better than a neighbourhood where you never see people from one day to the next. Given British reticence I reckon it's better to try for a head start if you can by finding out as much as poss about the neighbourhood in question.