What Age do you consider moving?

Well my 92 year old aunt has just moved for the third time in 5 years. in her late 80s she and her husband downsized from a 4 bed house to a 3 bed bungalow, undertook extensive building work, but her DH died suddenly. She then moved to live near a son, and sadly he too died. She is now moving into a sheltered flat.

We are in our mid-70s, living in a large house with a large garden and have no immediate plans to move, but quite happily accept that it will be necessary sometime in the next 10 years.

I'm 62 and widowed and would encourage you to continue to gently nudge your husband in this direction. A smaller property with a more manageable garden nearer to your daughter sounds ideal, plus money in the bank for travel.

You could have a look at Zoopla to see what your bungalow's estimated value is and also look at property in your daughter's county. I'd also start to very quietly declutter as this was the hardest job for me, I still have the shed and storeroom to do and can't face it.

Good luck.

that was our plan but the house we were buying fell through and we cant find another we like so we're staying where we are for the present.I was told 55 is too young and 75 is too late so somewhere in the middle .On the positive side most of the things we needed to get rid of are gone so thats less to deal with when we find something else

We have recently downsized I'm 63 and DH is 72.....but its got nothing to do with the numbers its all about your health and resilience to the stress of a house move.
As others will confirm its all a bit stressful and you do have to prepare yourself and your house before taking any real steps. Being organised and making plans and lists is the way to go. Being coldly realistic is also important - house values are so subjective and the costs of the move must be considered.
That being said having settled in a smartly finished new build with a garden planned around any future limitations (?) in an area of the country we know and with children nearer and access to amenities we really feel it was all worth it. You both need to work as a team and support each other but if the unthinkable does happen and one of you is left behind in an unsuitable house with little back-up, the future can be far more complicated.

Moving nearer to one dd. got to think about the `what if` she wants to move later. I would say stay put while there are two of you, both should want the move. All the time be aware of downsizing stuff, can be done quietly

I am 71 and I timed it right, early enough to get to know my new area and make friends. Franbern is older and she is going to a flat near her dd and that is right for her at her age. I will not be moving again. I met people via saga, had moved to small Mcarthy apartments and were living the life of riley, several cruises a year. They ranged from 78-90

Depends on your health, energy and likelyhood of dd staying put. If hubby starts to get a little bit doddery, alarm bells should ring and then go for it. My neighbour was 60 her hubs was 80 and they missed the boat, now trapped in high maintenance house, should have done something before her husband reached 80, he is now 83

So much easier when their are two of you. So many people I know, usually women, didn’t push hard enough and were then left to do it all themselves.
It does seem to me that women look at these things in a practical light but men seem to think that it’s a sort of comment on their ability to cope.
Which of course it is?

We moved to something more manageable in our forties (20 odd years ago) once the children had left, with a view to doing lots of travelling and needing somewhere we could simply lock up and go. Garden is very low maintenance so will probably stay here until the end and just pay for help as and when we need it eventually, assuming good health of course.

I'm very much considering downsizing but alas this is where I part company with DH. We are both early 70s but he has a terminal illness and he would hate to move.
It will be up to me alone or perhaps the DC will take it in their stride when the time comes.
I've given up worrying but am going through clutter and making progress.
I have a lovely volunteer staying who has read Marie Condo's book.
Everyone wins when your space is decluttered and the lawn has been mind.

I hope not to move because slowly I have been future proofing my house and small garden for me.

I am 75, had bil. knee replacements but I could easily move tomorrow if I wanted to. Age does not have much to do with it- can you cope now and could you cope in 10 years time when one I would think is less active but still has one's marbles. Gardens can be a problem and gardeners cost money= even if it is just having the grass cut.

I am trying to slowly downsize but that I find is difficult.

As somebody said, it is easier to make friends when one is more mobile and not housebound.

Thanks all of you for your adventures cue and comments- m going to start the conversation and see how it goes.

nanaplenty Mr C was 70 when we moved here, six years on he is clear the renovation tasks he took on when we moved would still be possible but would take so much longer to accomplish. Did we move at the right time? Yes, we think so for us but it's so individual, I think impossible to generalise. It did take me three years to clear nearly 30 years worth of family 'stuff' from our old loft so if you both agree to move don't underestimate preparation time, it's far less stressful and we found interesting to clear things bit by bit with time to look and reminisc rather than to do it in a rush. We took photos of much of our 'stuff' and then let the item go. Wishing you well whatever the decision.

We are a bit older early 70's and late 70's and have been downsizing our possessions for a long time now with no particular intention to downsize the house but the other day we noticed there is an outline planning permission for a retirement village near us and we are now wondering if we should think about this. We have friends in their 70's who are still trying to care for elderly parents and don't really want that for our children. I can see where you are coming from and it does sound a sensible idea but if only one of you wants to do it I am not sure you can make it happen at present. Perhaps you could get your eldest DD to bring up the subject of moving nearer to her and see if that starts a conversation.

We are vaguely thinking about it. Where DD is currently looking property prices are much cheaper. We have looked at moving to the same county for price reasons.
DH is 71, I am 65 and our autistic son is 28 We could get a nice bungalow, which would be good as DH has dodgy knees and I struggle with stairs. We couldn't afford one here.

A subject I’m sure has crossed all of our minds as we get older

We’ve lived here for fifteen years, five years longer than anywhere else, and five years longer than we planned.

It’s way too big for our needs, but at the same time it suits us

We’ve got six grandchildren, three living close by, so the garden is full of play equipment, my other daughter and her family, live much farther away, so need extra bedrooms , sometimes in the school holidays I have four or five staying, and they would all be most put out if that had to stop

Plus, we’ve got so much stuff, big pieces if furniture, hundreds of books, oh I can’t bear the thought of having to part with anything.

Realistically though, I know in the next five or so years we shall have to give it some thought , but I am not looking forward to it at all

Thought we would downsize to bungalow smaller garden etc. As arthritis has got a hold!!! People that wanted our house couldn't sell theirs, so after spending what felt like a lifetime cleaning the house in case of viewings, we decided to take house off the market and sit tight. Need to move eventually but doesn't seem to be the right time yet. Our local friends keep telling us not to move and that makes me sad if we lose them but it will be our last phase in our life for 'adventure'

We made what I call a sideways move in January. We had lived in our previous house for 25 years. We moved into a new build with more bedrooms and bathrooms but a much more manageable garden and house in general. The new house is about 20 minutes drive from the old. Our old house was 250 years old. The thinking was that it would be an ideal house for our children and their families to stay in when visiting. (Having said that none of them are married yet and there are no grandchildren in the offing but there is nothing like being prepared). Packing up a house after 25 years was hateful and jolly hard work. Do not underestimate how stressful it is, and our sale and purchase were relatively straightforward. I lost count of the number of charity shop and tip trips we made. I am not a hoarder but my husband is and I still feel we brought too many garden tools, ladders etc. with us. We envisage staying here about 10 years depending on health etc. We are 63 and 64. I have always had a dream of living by the sea but I feel that dream is slowly slipping through my fingers. Maybe, one day.

At almost 82 and now on my own I am staying put in the house that has been my home for 42 years.
Firstly I could not contemplate clearing out the contents of a four bed, two reception roomed house with a conservatory.
It would be beyond me.
My D and GC live away so I need room for them to stay.
My S is temporarily living here as he is in a dysfunctional relationship where he and his partner, both with depression issues, need time out occasionally.
My GD spends time here regularly and I enjoy that.
I have room to live downstairs if that becomes necessary,with a shower room.
I can afford help in the house and garden.
I think too much pressure is put on people to downsize when in fact, they are very happy where they are with friend close by.

Hi . We live with the attitude age is but a figure. !! we have moved so many times in our lives . We lived in eastern europe for 7 years but with pressure from the kids who know little about the wonderful country of Bulgaria - we moved back to the UK. We have regretted it since we made the move a year ago. Our kids by the way are in Canada !! So we have just bought another house (back home as we call Bulgaria) and going back very soon . We are 64 and 73 . So never stop what you want to do ... age is merely a figure.

Downsizing during the `mature` years is not just for us and for a potential move, surely it is also done for love of our AC, in the great scheme of things. Older ones should be passing first and what then? Leaving a house, shed, garage full of accumulated stuff, just when AC would be coping with grief and probate. Those of us who have suffered widowhood, we know what it was like and most would not wish that on those we love

Craftyone

I became very aware of this after my mother in law died, even though she had downsized a couple of times, she had so much stuff that she had horded, every time she moved we’d try and sneak things off to the tip, but she wasn’t having any of it, and when she died, it took us all ages to sort through it.

I instantly ordered a skip, and we spent a weekend sorting through our loft and garage (to be fair, half the stuff in the loft was the children’s anyway) and I regularly sort through drawers and cupboards, we’ve got a lot of stuff , but at least there’s some order to it

I have given so much away since being widowed, if anyone said they loved this or that and I was not that bothered, I would say take it. I now have one spare bedroom with nothing in it as all that's gone, just the carpet and curtains remain. If and when I make the move I will get rid of the current furniture and start again. The next place will be smaller so there will be some cash left. Trouble us I can't find anywhere to move to that I love.

It’s easy to say age is just a number, but so many people leave it too late and only think about a move when they are really too old to or have developed health issues.
The time to think about it is before you really need to, but most of us don’t .

Be wary of moving too soon into sheltered housing. I know people who have downsized too soon and now regret it.
De clutter of course and future proof as some of you have done. A stairlift and downstairs cloakroom.
My in-laws have been 10 years in their smaller house which has these things and they are in their mid 90s.

The problem is, you know you could do with downsizing, but when it comes to it, you don’t want to give anything up!

I quite often think I’d like to live in an apartment, because I don’t want the bother of the garden, we have a gardener once a week, but that’s an expense we could do without. I still work, so my weekends are largely taken up with cleaning, there’s always something that needs doing, maintenance, decorating etc. But I love my home, and think I might feel like a caged animal in a little flat, not to mention the fact, that we both like our own space

It’s a hard decision to make