Do you want to die in a bungalow?

Oh but bungalows are lovely - they really appeal to me. Gally - what are you waiting for!? Bungalows are not just for the elderly!

Mishap, are you really saying that the sort of bungalow that the politicians are promoting would appeal to you? Small kitchen, small lounge, one bedroom? Oh, and they have also said that the elderly should move into towns, to be near the services they need, so you can probably add "no garden" to the list.
No, they haven't actually spelt that out, but their reasoning doesn't leave much doubt!

I lived in a bedsit when I was 19. It was a single room on the attic floor of a Victorian house in Manchester. I had no fridge and I had to cook on a Baby Belling. I shared a bathroom and toilet with the other inhabitants oif the house - there were 9 flats altogether.
I loved it - the feeling that it was mine, I could do exactly as I wanted in it, and it contained all my possessions (except, of course, the stuff I had left at Mum and Dad's.)
Although I have no wish or intention from moving from our 4 bedroomed, spacious Dutch bungalow with large gardens front and back, and certainly not at the behest of any government minister, I can see that at a distant point in the future the simple life may once again appeal.
At the moment, that distant point feels like 30 years away, when I hope I'll be 94

Having just read through all the posts for and against smaller properties/bungalows I am still of the opinion that we made the right decision to move to our one bedroom apartment,our family home which we sold before we moved abroad was massive with 4 downstairs living rooms and a huge kitchen 4 beds and two bathrooms thats without all the outside land that was attached,yes we did find it hard ajusting but £ for £ the bills are a 1/4 of what we paid in the family home which by the way had 3 empty bedrooms except for 1 week at Christmas and possibly during summer,we don't have to pay for the upkeep of the outside every 2 years and the enormous window cleaning bill every 2 weeks.
Every room is decorated to modern taste giving a light and airy feel and there are no old carpets that need to be replaced every few years as we laid clean and attractive wood flooring,all I would like now is to move from 1st floor into a bungalow two Roads away from me and to decorate in the same style but so many people want them I feel I will never be lucky enough to get one. (oh and we are allowed our little JR dog in our apartment & in the bungalow's we are interested in )

This is the most amusing thread I've read in ages! What on earth is wrong with a bungalow?! Where I'm originally from, "bungalows" often have 3 or more bedrooms, double garage etc. And large gardens. And usually more than one bathroom or toilet. Oh yes and wrap-around verandahs.

What a funny old world this is. I now live in a tiny 2 up 2 down and I miss my bungalow.

Planning authorities are trying to achieve higher densities not lower ones these days. Developers have to meet their demands and also make a profit No chance of a minister-inspired outbreak of bungalow building under these circumstances.

"Do You Want To Die in a Bungalow" - I can't see any of the major house builders adopting this as a sales slogan, can you?

I am also reminded of the nickname "Bungalow Bill" - not too much upstairs!

Surely suggesting that more pensioners want to die in a bungalow is counter productive. Pensioners are no keener on dying than anyone else. Suggesting that they might like to live in one would be more encouraging. These politicians are all fools, bores and loonies.

Quite right absent.
I yearned for one of those 1930's bungalows, surrounded by an easy to care for garden - it's a fantasy where I live, unless you have very much more money than I do. We decided to stay put, improved and extended our own home. We're a minute away from the bus stop, have a library, supermarket, good GP on the doorstep. We put in a downstairs shower room in case the stairs are ever a problem. I hope to stay here for ever.
Aka, no rule I know of preventing dogs in bungalows, but very few elderly people's homes will allow dogs. We took mum's dog in to visit her in the nursing home assessment unit, 3 days before she died. That reunion is something I re-live, often. I apologise if I confused bungalows and dogs. It's just I'd have loved a bungalow, and never want to be separated from my dogs.

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.

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.

Sorry about the double post my computer froze.

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

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 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.

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..

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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 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.