Do you want to die in a bungalow?

NfkDumpling exactly, one sized does not suit all.

Getting, not fetting.

* henetha* my sister too lives in a Park Home and I love her place. The atmosphere is that of being on holiday but being cosy, warm and secure as well. Sending Good Moving Vibes specki hope your dreams come true. That is so true Flickety just because we are fetting older does not mean we become battery hens; well put.

I'm just fed up with the government lumping all older people into one pigeon hole. We've all had differing lives and experiences resulting in very different needs. If a person can afford it and is fit enough why shouldn't they stay in a large home? It's only annoying when they retreat to one or two rooms and let the rest of the house go hang and the garden turn into a wildlife haven invading the neighbours with ground elder and then moan about the cost.

Personally, we found the bungalow on half an acre we'd lived in for 35 years, which had morphed into a large family chalet, was taking up too much time in maintenance and was completely impractical for just two. It only came into it's own two or three times a year when DD1 came home and we had a family gathering. We moved to a smaller 3 bed house with an easier to maintain garden in a market town so a car is no longer a necessity. A bungalow would have been nice (hips and knees) but otherwise this is perfect.

If/when the time comes there's a super housing with care complex up the road. Spacious rooms to allow wheelchair access, carers dedicated to the complex, restaurant, minibus - and you can keep pets provided you look after them yourself.

That sounds just so wonderful Specki. Sending strong witchy vibes now!

YES I DO! Never thought I would but I've fallen in love with a beautiful one which is 100 metres from the River Dordogne - I want it so badly I'm hyperventilating. I've imagined every minute of my day living in it; every family meal and supper party; every sunny afternoon in it's orchard; every autumn afternoon bagging up the leaves; every snowy dawn and starry night. Could you all vibe like mad for me so I can get it!!!

Soop Mind you I feel like that about my house, DH had to reduce my beautiful Edwardian wardrobe to a flat pack to get it up the stairs into the bedroom, where it now looks very nice, that was 20 years ago, I do not think he is keen to do it again now he is not as fit as he was.

But to return to the subject, many bungalows are large and roomy and very comfortable to live in - at any age. My parents spent their retirement in a huge 2 bedroomed bungalow, DF had his desk and filing cabinet for all the administration he did for local community groups in the sun lounge and DM had her crafting table and materials in the spare bedroom, which was large enough for them to not to need to be moved or disturbed when she had visitors. The living space was large enough to host family parties of 15 or more. The dining area was big enough to squeeze 8 people round the table.

But of course their bungalow wasn't specifically built for older people, it was just an ordinary spec built bungalow. It is the size, or lack of it thought sufficient for accommodation built specifically for older people that has always bothered me, rooms too small to navigate with a walking frame and too small to have more than a couple of other people in the room with them. These tiny bungalows/flats push older people in them into more inactive and limited lives than increasing age and disability may already be causing them.

We will most certainly die in our bungalow. Having recently paid for the main window to be removed (in order to get the new sofa into our home), we do not intend going through the same palarva to take it out again.

BezYou have put your finger on the nub if the issue. The problem in the UK is most accommodation built specifically for older people, be it flat, bungalow or care home is so small, in room size.

The number of poky little retirement flats/bungalows I have visited where someone with a walking frame finds it very difficult to get about indoors, not because the flat is over furnished but just because by the time you have got a settee, a couple of chairs and a small table to eat at in the living room there is no room to move around.

When we bought our house in France the seller, an elderly widow, moved into government funded sheltered housing in the village. We visited her there and the flat was more than twice the size of a McCarthy and Stone or similar bungalow in the UK, not more rooms just bigger rooms. Most people when they reach a stage where they need sheltered housing are spending most of their time at home. Why do we in the UK think that that means you want to be housed like a battery hen?

I suppose one day I'll be dragged kicking and screaming away from my very large garden but as we've downsized from a large house to a very manageable bungalow single storey cottage, I protest loudly at suggestions of, 'don't you think the place is getting too much for you now, mum?'
We are now having help in the garden one afternoon a week which eats into our finances but my argument is it's no more expensive than a cleaner - which I don't need....yet!
Fortunately our bungalow has large rooms so we still have a feeling of space and most rooms are dual aspect so plenty of light.
Houses with all that maintenance? No thank you.

I love bungalows, - but I live in a mobile home (Park Home) which is really the poor-persons version of a bungalow. It's brilliant to have no stairs with knees like mine! There is a large garden all around and we are surrounded by countryside.
Must admit that I am glad I don't live in a flat with no outside space, - that would drive me bonkers, and even though the garden is a problem, I would rather have it than not have it.
More small homes are desperately needed, so little bungalows should be builtl all over the place, i.m.h.o.

Big rooms with not too much furniture are easier to keep clean. Living in a bungalow is the same as living in a flat without the noise of neighbours. My main problem is that DH wants to spend everything on travelling and nothing on maintenance. I have a window of a week when he goes off walking with friends and I turn the house into a madhouse with decorator /builder/window replacements etc. the garden is a worry as I now feel it is too big for us and DH feels he can mange when he can't. He's having an injection in his shoulder now and I was hoping they would do an op so I could get some work done. I don't mean to sound that hard hearted but needs must.....

I think it is the size and number of rooms that matter rather than if it is a bungalow, house or flat. Once retired you do tend to spend more time within the home and therefore I find need as much if not more space todo things and be able to change views etc.
A few years ago I was coming down the stairs of a hotel and met a woman about my age very slowly going up - she said to me ' never move to a bungalow as you get bungalow legs'. I would not let that fact put me off - we have friends living in bungalows - they are very common in France and in fact in many areas more so than houses but they are not in anyway pokey or small. Interestingly most French houses are advertised with the square meterage of the living space as well as number of rooms.

MamaCaz You get a council reduction if you live alone, whether you live in a 5 bedroomed house or a one bedroomed flat. After all if there is only one of you, you use less council provisions than two or more people. That's why you get the reduction. Nothing to do with freeing up family homes.

My OH and I live in a 2 bed Log Cabin which is absolutely brilliant. We built it just over two years ago having dowsized from a three bedroom family home.Obviously it is all on one level so as we get older, no problems with stairs, not too much in the way of upkeep, fantastically warm, just one medium sized log burner heats the whole building, although we do have dimplex heaters in the two bedrooms and sitting room just in case! so far, apart from occasionally in our bedroom, we haven't needed to use them, so our elec bill has dropped considerably. We have a nice size garden for veg (and our dog!) and all in all I would throughly recommend this form of living. We both intend to be carried out of here!!

When we were first married, our first two homes were bungalows, and very nice they were too.

I think it is the language used that is offensive - as, I think, absent said, it is about living in a bungalow rather than dying in one.

It's all very different in New Zealand because there is so much space. Loads of houses are one storey and are still surrounded by sizeable gardens, even in towns and cities. The one we are currently renting is far smaller than the three-storey, four-bedroom house we left in England but still has three usable if not luxurious bedrooms and a large living room with room for two sofas, bookcases, occasional tables, a television, an eight-seat dining table, a dresser, a sideboard – and space for eight children and two adults to dance energetically in the middle. It also has a garden – a novelty for me as I have lived in town houses with a patio/yard since my early twenties.

Having spent most of my childhood in a tin bungalow (aka 'a prefab') and all but 4 years of married life in single storey cottages, I must confess to having a problem with sleeping upstairs, especially if I am not feeling well. I feel very vulnerable, not 'grounded' - I like to have terra firma under me and immediate access to outdoors. Definitely a bungalow for me though I would, if I could afford it, have a bigger one.

we live in a bungalow; we actively sought one out when we moved here 5 years ago, having liked living in one years ago when the children were yoiung.They are great! All the ease of living on one level, but with a lovely garden front and back, a drive and garage, and nearby neighbours.It isn't huge, 3 bedrooms, one of which we use as a study, a lounge diner, bathroom and small kitchen, but it's fine, all we need.Having lived in much larger houses, the housework here is really minimal, which is a real plus, and the kitchen, though small is new and well fitted.We can live here until we pop our clogs, or until we fancy a change, or any other reason. No stairs to fall down for us or the grandchildren [in the past we have all hurtled down the stairs at one time or another.]I think there is real bias when people talk about bungalows 'huh! I'm not ready for THAT yet!' etc.
that you don't encounter in other countries, especially the US and Europe.
I do think however, that more thought could go into the design and look of bungalows to make them more attractive.

would love to live in a bungalow, DD has just moved out of her rented one and I would have dearly loved to move in it.but couldn't afford the £500 a mnth rent..we have our house up for sale and it would be my dream to find a bungalow., for OH.we live in a modern 14 yr old cardboard house at the mo..

I think it is a perfectly valid point to raise actually. Thank goodness my parents had a bungalow . In our small village we actually have 2 bungalow complexes for the over 55's and disabled. They have a waiting list!. They are by the way council owned and have 8/6 properties each.

The residents feel part of the community , perhaps because the council try to allocate the bungalows to those with family or local connections.

There is a dire need for more Social housing of all types not just for families so I Really do not see a problem in a government stating that as a fact.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Nelliemoser - I do hope your shoulder will improve, a week isn't a long time after shoulder surgery. Shoulder pain is a real joy isn't it! Worrying about Greatnan is inevitable, but try and relax as well x

I'd by delighted to upgrade to a small bungalow!!

Sorry about the double post my computer froze.

This thread relates to the GNHQ blog post

"Blogs
Don't tell me what I want."

B*** MPS trying to tell us what we want.

Mind you right now with my dysfunctional right arm I am seriously thinking I might just need a small bungalow with a modest garden. As one week on from shoulder surgery I still feel this is as good as it will get. Think positive NellieM. FGS give it a chance.

I still can't stop worrying about Greatnan though.