Have you experience of successfully downshifting

Not sure why you need to know other people's happy outcomes. More important you do your homework and move because you want to. Its a personal thing and each set of circumstances is different. If you are asking advise as to how to go about it, that's a different matter.

We have done this twice - once many moons ago when OH needed to leave work for health reasons. It was a huge wrench to leave our lovely home.

And once 3 years ago when OH's PD meant we needed a bungalow. Again a huge wrench as we were in a lovely village. And it took a huge toll on us both in terms of stress.

Make sure you have plenty of help.

Thank you Luckygirl - I think we are worried for exactly the reasons you have experienced. It's helpful to get other's perspective and experiences. I think no matter how capable one is, it is the emotional side of leaving an area you are familiar with that is hard. And as you so rightly say, stressful. We have identified a nice, country town about 20 minutes away from our daughter, and are starting to look at houses. Tomorrow we are visiting a showhome that might be suitable. We shall see. Thanks for your very helpful response and for sharing your own experiences. I hope you're more happily settled now?

There is another thread running with someone asking what to look for when downsizing. It is called House on the market you may find the posts in there useful.

Greta, we downsized a couple of years ago from a ramshackle 4-bedroomed Edwardian pile in Metropolitan Essex to a 2-bedroomed bungalow near Lincoln.

We'd lived in the old house for 40+ years and the most difficult part was de-cluttering -deciding what to chuck away; what to give away and what to keep. In the end, we found the process of just ridding ourselves of "stuff" quite cathartic and, somehow, heartening.

We had no preconceived ideas about where we wanted to move to (although quite a lot about where we didn't want to go!) and found this house by chance on Rightmove. We loved it on first sight and made an offer. The rest is history and we've never for one moment regretted it.

We did have some associations with this area before moving here but no relations closer than 120 miles away so we've had to make adjustments and work at creating new lives for ourselves. Perhaps your friends have been unlucky but, if you find your dream home to move to and are determined to make it work, then it will be a success. Good luck.

We downsized from a large detached 4 bedroom home in a large city to a comparatively tiny 3 bed bungalow in a rural location 16 months ago and its been heaven !

We even moved away from our children and grandchildren , partly to achieve what we wanted and partly because we couldn't even get close to buying what we wanted in our previous location.

It took some getting used to initially and it was the small stuff like moving from gas central heating to oil central heating and learning how to keep that working ! Our village has all the amenities we need but we had to get used to not having everything on our doorstep.

My advice would be do your research both online and in person. Decide what is important to you and what you can compromise on and most of all, do it while you're in good health and able , don't leave it too late.

We now spend less 'drop-in' time with the children but more quality time and longer visits and we all appreciate each other more for having to make an effort. We love it !

I know people who have done it in stages successfully. They first moved to a smaller house in the same area and later moved to a small flat about an hour away by train to be near to DC and DGC so the big wrench had happened and there wasn't nearly as much stuff to shift.
I am watching this as we are also very tempted to downsize, sooner rather than later .
I would be loath to move from this area with our friends and familiar places but nothing else has what appeals to me. We have a too big house but in a good central location.

As for the decluttering! Huh. I have done half an easy bedroom today. It is slow work. I'm exhausted.
Let us know how you get on.

If you are moving to an area you do not know make sure you visit the area during day time and night time hours. It can make a big difference if there is a school, company, restaurants and pubs etc. in the area.
We visited our village a number of times before we made the decision to move here.
We still live in a bungalow the same size but the gardens are much smaller which is better for us in retirement.
Our needs were to have a home which all the family could stay in at the same time as neither live local.
We are very happy and settled here, have good neighbours and the villages are very friendly. We made a good move.
Best of luck

We did it in stages Greta, first from the large family hone with loft and outbuildings, all full, been there for 35+ years, in a village and was a lovely place to live. It did help that one by one, other established people had been doing the same thing. That move was only a few miles to a modern townhouse in a rural estate including manor house, another 40 properties and management charges etc. Was lovely but only lasted 6 years before the gloss came off

Last move was to an efficient modern house that was husbands dream, I went with it, again a lovely village and half way between the girls. Dh died and I was alone isolated in this lovely community, no shops and very rare bus. 4 years later. Maintenance started to loom

I have just sold and am doing a sensible last move, to a market town and will be in walking distance from old fashioned shops and good buses. New easy to maintain smaller house. Seems a very friendly area, people always stop to talk and there are many craft groups, U3A etc

I don`t know how I would have done things differently, maybe the last move should not have been to such a small village but I have met lovely people along the way. It costs such a lot to move these days

re the age. I am 71 and started the whole downsizing process after husband died with an especially big effort all last year, ready to pack for moving. I could not have done at even 2 years older, it is utterly draining. I will not be moving again, utterly stressful

I moved to a smaller house in my 50's. It worked out well.

Yes, I admit it is sometimes a little awkward when people come to stay but I am alone 360 days out of 365 on average.

You do need to be firm about de-cluttering.

I have a much smaller garden and that is a big help to me too.

I wish you well.

I actually don’t have plans to move just yet but since DH died a few months ago it’s in the back of my mind. It might end up being an apartment as bungalows will be out of my price range here in outer London. This last week I have started on our garage which was full but I’ve started clearing it of all the stuff that I can’t take to a flat and will then start on the shed and house so when the time comes it will be easier. Good luck to everyone with downsizing.

Yes, I moved from a large 4bed house with a HUGE garden in a leafy suburb to a two bed flat with a balocony near the centre of the city. It was a good move. I honestly don’t miss the space I had in my previous house. I live alone, so two bedrooms and a large living area with a kitchen at one end is big enough, and I grow tomatoes, peas and herbs on my balcony as well as flowers. I agree it’s very mportant to know the area- I haven’t moved far and i’ve known this area all my life. I found Marie Kondo’s book immensely helpful for decluttering, from the practical and the emotional aspects.

We downsized a couple of years ago from a large city, 4 bed house with 2 garages, loft, shed and loads of built in storage.
It took a lot of decluttering.
We moved to a large very old, village 5 miles away, with loads of amenities, Drs, dentists, library, schools, independent shops, 3 restaurants, pubs and coffee/ tea rooms. In fact it’s almost unbelievable that such a small place can pack it all in! also lovely people.
We moved to an older 3 bed cottage with a large garden, as we thought we’d miss the space of the other house. We love the house and new garden. Best thing we’ve done.
Make sure you have all the amenities you need and a good bus route. Possibly rent until you get a feel for the new environment.