This "charity" that has dreamed up this idea about us and our family homes!

NanaAnna - I apologise, I had not read your post when I started my rant and I must seem very insensitive to your situation.What do I have to complain about? Good luck my dear.

I'm joining the angry brigade of g/n - how DARE they (whoever they are)? I am sick and tired of being told how to live my life and how lucky we are. I would say that the harder we worked the luckier we got We do so much to help our children and our grand-children and having somewhere for them to come is so important. We found that we had to up-size when our grand-children came along, it's great that when they come to visit they have a room of their own and space for their toys etc. If that makes me selfish and uncaring then so be it - I will make the decision when I move and it will probably be when we can no longer afford or cope - I would certainly not want to be a burden on my kids. Sorry if this sounds like a rant ..... ooh I think I need to go for a run and come back my normal calm self

NannaAnna - apologies from me too...x

so sorry NannaAnna!

Sorry NannaAnna. I have nothing to complain about either. Just ranting.

No one has the right to tell where you should live and how many bedrooms you should have.
I hope to move to somewhere smaller in the future but at the moment we still have our son living with us so we need the extra bedroom, what would they have us do , chuck him out?
We have a 3 bedroom house and at the moment we use only 2 bedrooms , it is a big house with a big garden at the back and a smaller garden at the front, soon it will be too much for us to cope with and also I have a problem with my knee ( I have been told it will get worse as I get older ) so we would want somewhere without stairs.I would be happy to move but it has to be where and when I want !!!!!!

one thing that is always forgotten when our generation is criticised for having had it easy, it is that we didn't have the Bank of Mum and Dad, nor usually the emotional support from our parents. Once we left home, that was that, except for REAL emergencies. I remember one of my friend complaning to her Mum about her marriage, and her Mum said: Does he beat you? no. Does he drink? again no. does he beat the children, again a no. So leave him if you want, it's your choice, but don't think you can come back to live here!!! This seems to have been rather typical of our parents' attitude. But things have changed, we may be the Baby Boomer generation, but our kids are the boomerang generation, no sooner are they gone, they are back, with partners or children or both in tow!!! We need our houses!

No need to apologise ladies
I have a lot of good things in my life:
*Three wonderful daughters who I am very, very close to.
*A new and totally adorable grand-daughter
*My health and well-being
*Even if I say it myself, I look great for my age
*.... and, after many, many years on my own, I have a wonderful new man in my life (who has written me a song!)
* I am eternally positive and optimistic and thankful for every day (well - 95% of the time ) and there are plenty of people with far far less in life.
I was just putting the other side of the story to get things in perspective really.
Cheers

nannaAnna you're a star. You put me and my moaning in perspective. Thank you

NannaAnna - I've just looked at your picture and you are right - you do look great! Young enough to be your own daughter. Have you got a portrait ageing in the attic?

Who funds the 'charity' and which Government department set them up to open this can of worms? This idea is worthy of a totalitarian state but not here (yet?). Mind you, lot of space in Buck House and they have got somewhere else to live.

I just think the politicians and others that think these things up should practise what they are trying to preach and give up their second, or even third, homes. After all, they did try to get us to pay for them!!

I would just like to point out that it was not suggested that anyone be forced to sell their home, only that incentives should be offered for those who wished to do so.
My sister has lived in a three bedroomed council house since her divorce, when her four sons were all at home. They have now all fled the nest, and she was in some fear that she might have to give up her home of 18 years. She is partially disabled and has a good network of friends around, and she has spent a lot of her own money on the house and garden. I can understand the argument that families need houses, but my sister would be devastated if she had to move, and she would not be able to have her sons and grandchildren to stay with her. Fortunately, it looks as if the rules will not be applied to pensioners.
I happily sold my half share of the family home after divorce and split the proceeds between my two daughers to get them started on the property ladder. I now live in a one bedroomed flat in what is possibly the most beautiful area of Europe - the French Alps. I travel extensively so I was glad to be rid of the responsibility of the house and the pool. There is room for me to stay with my daughters in England and New Zealand and eventually I will sell my flat and emigrate to New Zealand where I will live in a 'cabin' in my daughter's garden. Horses for courses.

So agree with comments ...granbashing in vogue again ...punish those who have scrimped and saved all their lives!! ....both male and females!!

I did wonder why this "charity" is having a go at us and not those with *holiday/2nd homes" ...but then no doubt those who have come up with this idea have a holiday home ...after all ...that's why so many rural communities are dying ...holiday homes have upped the prices!!

I downsized after divorce but now have no space for family visiting with grandchildren. Any 4 or 5 bedroom house here costs over half a million, how many young families could afford that?
I do think single old people occupying housing association 3 bedroom houses should be moved to make way for families. I'm surrounded by these and the only ones ever available to families are those which were bought for next-to-nothing then sold for huge profit.

Ah, thank you Annobel No portrait in the attic - think it's just lucky genes
I'll be 60 at Christmas, and don't look a day over ??? (Think I can get away with early 50s)
GoldenGran - no harm in the occasional moan if it releases pent-up frustrations. Can be healthy in moderation, I reckon.

NanaAnna - hope you don't mind but I have also had a wee look at your profile and you are gorgeous - as is your tiny grandaughter.

The other thing I am about is that you have Capital Letters in your name - how did you manage that?

I have been rather surprised to see the reactions to this suggestion. OK I don't want to be told how to organise my life, but it is a subject worthy of serious consideration. Given that most of us will need to downsize at some time for purely practical reasons Do it while you still can. I did it four years ago, having taken three years to sell the house, and it nearly killed me. I certainly
couldn't do it now. But at least I did it, and didn't wait till it was beyond me and a job for the children. Both my DDs have young children and run their own companies, so it would have been an intolerable burden on them.

I do miss beautiful Devon, but we now live on the edge of town so I can pop into town on my free bus pass (for how much longer?) and cinemas and theatre are easily accessible. Elder daughter lives half an hour away, and we can still manage younger and her two, so in fact we all see much more of each other, which is great.

I guess it's horses for courses isn't it. We just don't need a Charity, or anyone else, telling us it's what we should do.

We are still compos mentis.

Ganja I doubt many of us here are against downsizing per se. And I agree that the sensible time to do it is while you are still relatively healthy. I think what we are mad about are the motives of that organisation and its attitude.

Many of us here who have saved are probably helping our adult children and our grandchildren because we love them, recognise times are hard and don't want them to struggle more than they have to - I know that we could be considerably wealthier if we hadn't helped our family, for example. Many of us are probably doing voluntary work and helping the country in that way.

I don't think I am alone when I say I worked all my life even when my children were small and at a time when I didn't have the cushion of maternity leave or maternity pay or flexible working. I've always paid the full stamp - no married stamp - I didn't retire until I was 67 and when we were young we helped my widowed mum-in-law by paying half her mortgage. I was (literally) in tears sometimes if my shopping bill was a few shillings over my budget and was juggling bills to cope. Eventually the hard work, with sound investments, paid off so, yes we lucky: but we were lucky because we worked for it.

There was nothing special about want we did - that's why I'm saying it. There must be many over 60s on this like myself but who had it even harder.

This organisation, with its suggestions, is showing a total lack of respect for older people: it reflects the attitude that we see in the recent report on how some NHS hospitals care for the elderly.

When we got married the mortgage interest rate was 15% and the payments were every penny of my monthly wage which meant when I stopped work DH and I had to struggle. When I had a baby to look after DH drove a taxi at night after doing a day's work. I will stay in my house until they carry me out we have earned it and what if some rooms are not used every day, still my house to do as I will.

Thank you Granny23 You are very kind [Thanks]
As to the capital letters ... I don't know really - I don't remember it being an issue to insert caps. Perhaps ask the forum admin?

Whatamess - the scenario you describe (being in tears trying to juggle your budget to pay the essentials) sounds like me right now!!

Seems life goes in cycles, and I am thinking that maybe tough times hit us to make us appreciate the good times much more. We so often take what we have for granted, and it's only when we lose it that we really appreciate what we had.
All I can say is - I've had enough of learning this lesson thank you! Universe, bring me an upturn of fortunes soon
(I have really, really learnt to appreciate the small but precious things in life though)

whoops. Obviously [Thanks] with a capital T doesn't turn into a bunch of flowers
Here we go ...

This article by Joan Bakewell reflects many of the opinions on this thread:

www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/joan-bakewell/joan-bakewell-next-well-be-told-to-hurry-up-and-die-2372928.html

I like Joan Bakewell.

Good link Annobel