Help me decide whether to move

I would wait and see how you feel when you have actually retired Olderthanithink you will have more time to consider and to look at other areas. There seems to be no pressing need to move and now is not the time to make such a big decision. Enjoy a bit of time in your retirement before making such a big change.

Thanks @sodapop.
Although you're right, we don't need to move just yet, I do need to make some decisions about finance (pensions and investments) within the next few months, which is the pressing need. I am semi retired now, so plenty of time (maybe even too much time) to mull this over.
If we don't move, I would invest for income, but if we are moving, that money will need to stay in cash.

Also, our IFA has rightly advised we need to decide about moving house ahead of anything else. I knew this in my heart, but she's come to that decision too.

We moved to the coast just over 4 years ago and were surprised at how affordable houses are here OlderthanIthink so it does depend on the area.

Mr. S. retired nearly 3 years ago and I remember the time spent making financial decisions about pensions and investments. It's not easy and I'd focus my attention on that for now.

I agree with sodapop and wait until you've retired before making a decision.

You need to be near your GP, a local hospital not far away and supermarkets etc are fairly close by. You also have to factor in not being able to drive for whatever reason so transport must be reasonable and close.

I do need to decide very soon as it relates to a decision about how to take my pension - I can't wait until after retirement and the pension decision can't be altered afterwards.

I agree with sodapop - don’t do any more to the house right now , wait. You may find (post covid ) you are away a lot more than you think you will be and spending most of the time by the sea or somewhere lovely. We retired a few years ago, having also got our house just the way we wanted it and enjoying it and the garden. But we found we were away a lot more than we thought we would be and actually didn’t want to spend so much time in the house or the garden! If not for covid we would have moved - for us into something smaller and nearer family so we didn’t have to travel to see them, spend too much time in the house and garden and could just enjoy ‘gallavanting’ . Also isn’t it exciting to think of a new start ?! I think you will want to move in the end.

@charleygirl5
Agreed. We have to drive everywhere now, but the upside of the new buildings is that transport links will get better. Also, if we stay put, our disposal income would allow for more taxis.

@marymary62 Yes, if it wasn't for the pressing pension decision, we would delay thinking about this.
But, even if we don't move immediately, I need to make a big, non-reversible decision about my pension very soon, and that hinges on whether we think we will move.

We have decided to not move from where we live leafy borders of Liverpool. Our house is too big for us so is our garden we decided to get some help for big jobs so that’s good.

All our friends are scattered locally we would miss them if we moved. Our son lives about seven miles away our daughter lives over sixty miles away. I wish she didn’t but it was for their jobs. We were going to retire on Anglesey to our cottage but decided to sell that. We couldn’t decide where to move and since retirement two years ago we haven’t changed our minds. I also think laziness on our part is responsible too the thought of moving no it’s not for us. I know you will get some good advice from gransnet. I hope whatever you decide will be good for you.

You don't say where you are thinking of moving to. I would research online, look at things like neighbourhood plans, local groups and so on.
Then as soon as you can, choose a likely place and go to spend some time there. Go to places like libraries, community cafes, leisure centres and look at noticeboards. Think about how you would spend your time if you did live there.
I know this is a difficult time - we don't know how things are going to look, but you can at least compare to where you live now.
When you go to look at likely dwellings, for example, park you car nearby then behave as if you lived there.
This is not wasted time - when we built our house we spent some years doing this with plots. You learn a great deal about what to look for, which helps make your decision.

As you have done here, ask lots of friends - you'll get all sorts of opinions, but you'll know whose is closest to yours.

You don't say where your family are, or how far you are thinking of moving. we knew that we needed a house big enough for more than just one set of visitors. However, if family are nearby you may be happy with a smaller place.

And when you've done it all to death, you can do the time-honoured coin flip - and see how you feel in your gut about the way it comes out!

I downsized to a much smaller house in my early 60's. Dismissed out of hand any idea that the stairs etc would ever be difficult for me. Did a lot to that house and it was in an area in which I had lived most of my life. One of my adult children still lived nearby.

By my mid-70's was finding those stairs becoming more and more of a problem, and I was needing to pay a gardener. It is easy to talk about stairlifts, (as I had always done), but when I looked into these, felt that they were expensive, had limited usage, and definitely downgraded the property.

Eventually, I made the decision to move 150 miles away to the coast, where another of my adult children had made her home and brought up (was bringing up her family. Took a long time finding the correct property - needed to be close to public transport, both buses and trains ( no idea how long I will be able to drive), close to shops, beach, parks, theatre, cinema, chemists, GP and Hospital. Took me nearly four years and I viewed flats in just about every purpose built block in this town. I was very choosy.

I did get a gorgeous flat, 2-bedrooms, large living/dining room, workable kitchen, en-suite shower room and separate bathroom, good sized balcony and my own garage, plus parking for visitors Purpose built block of flats, with lift. First Floor, so I can use the stairs on the occasions I feel that I can.

The purchase price was less than half the selling price of my 1930, terrace house.

Have been here now for nearly eighteen months - obviously not the best 18 months there has been. Have managed to have work carried out so it is now just to my liking. I will be 80 years old in another couple of months. Do hope that I will have a good few years to enjoy this. It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I cannot believe how much easier life is in a flat - all on one level. Everything within such easy reach. It has gas so I have continued to have my normal gas CH and combi-boiler. There are very many things to consider in a later life move - and the first thing to do is to make out lists of For and Against moving, and also a further list showing Must Have, Would like to Have in any new property.

@Redhead56 Thanks. Whatever we decide, we will make it the right decision! The thought of the disruption of moving is a deterrent, but this has never been the location I imagined I'd stay forever either.

@franbern
Thanks for sharing your experience, I hope you have many years of enjoyment in your flat, it sounds perfect.

We went through a similar dilemma about 15 years ago, but after working out the total cost of moving, Estate agents and Legal fees, removal company, New carpets for a new property, and the risk of potentially ending up next door to someone we did not like, we decided to stay put.
The money we saved by not moving, was more than enough to pay for a new kitchen and bathroom, the Carpet money bought us not only new carpets, but paid for the Hallway and Downstairs cloakroom to have a new tiled floor laid, and new Sanitary wear installed into the cloak room.
The ongoing maintenance costs on such things as painting and decorating is much the same in a similar sized house no matter where you live, and we were grateful that we kept our extra two bedrooms once the Grandchildren came along, and also when our daughter returned home from University after four years upon her Graduation.
I learned a valuable lesson in watching my late father follow his dream of selling up and moving into a small rural village after he retired. It was fine at first, whilst he was able to drive and get around unaided, but due to the lack of local facilities, once a day bus service, local shop closing down, and finally the Withdrawal of the local care agency from the area, he was given no option than to move into a Care home after suffering a nasty fall. Had he have stayed at his original Property, he would have had more community and services close by, people who knew him and dropped by for a Cuppa and a chat, a Choice of Care services, and a GP and neighbours he had known for years.
It’s rather a case of the old saying, ‘The Grass is always Greener on the other side of the fence until you actually get there”!

@Nannarose Excellent advice - it may come down to a coin flip!
@Grandma11 One of my concerns is that we may end up with neighbours we don't like as our neighbours are all very elderly so it's inevitable that younger families will be in the neighbouring houses soon. And although it's a large 4 bed detached, our house doesn't have enough land to insulate us from prospective problems. New neighbours will also want to do a lot of work as our neighbours haven't upgraded internally for decades (one does now have a stairlift).
But, new neighbours might also be fine of course and I suspect I'm over thinking this.
The areas we are thinking of moving to would still be near to our children and I'd hate to live somewhere very rural.

If you like quiet, low population villages then you probably need to look for something else.

My small, quiet village experience as a teenager was a horrible one and villages are often even more lacking in facilities now. There is no way I would want to live again in a village with none of the usual amenities found in a small town - a library, food shops, a post office, regular bus service, cinema, etc etc.

@eloeethan With the new buildings going up, we will end up with the worst of all worlds. No longer low population and quiet, but few facilities too - driving distance to cafes and restaurants for example and double the number of homes.
The surrounding roads will be much, much busier.

I think that once the seed is planted about moving home, you won’t settle, use the time you have between now and retiring to get online and start looking, you will be aware of what to look for (good hospitals, doctors, shops and bus route) and hopefully you will be in your new home before you retire.
Good luck!

@Oopsadaisy I fear you're right. If it hadn't been for the pandemic, we would have been scouring possible locations, spending time in the cafes and libraries etc. We wouldn't be moving far, 10-15 miles away at most, but just to a different sort of place.

Set against that is that our house has everything we need, and it's actually not hugely far from anything essential (although we do need to drive, cycle or take a bus/taxi) to the nearest town/big shop.

If we settle on not moving, we'll have more disposable income and can spend that on travel etc, so not actually being in the house very much!

Thanks for all the comments, it's all excellent food for thought.

older that’s fine if you stay, but just remember you will be stuck there with all of the problems you spoke about earlier. If you move you might not want to travel so much.
TBH if you don’t move now you never will.

It sounds to me as if you have already decided you want to move. Your negativity about potential new neighbours is a huge red flag. However, if you move you will have no idea what your new neighbours are like anyway.
Good luck to your financial advisor investing your money for income !

I live near the coast, about 10 minutes in the car, and I would not be anywhere else now. I adore being able to go to the promenade whenever the fancy takes me. It never fails to lift my spirits. There are trawlers still going out to sea from nearby, and our area is full of maritime history. I paint, and enjoy constant inspiration from the landscape.

@rendella That sounds wonderful. We are more like 30 minutes drive from the coast now, so not a huge distance but ideally I'd like to be able to walk or cycle to the seafront.
@vickymeldrew
Our existing investments have done okay and fortunately stocks and shares aren't our main pension income.