Let’s talk house moves with Pegasus Life - £300 voucher to be won

At the moment moving to the Pegasus Lifestyle does not feature into our plans,we are a couple and enjoy the home we have at the minute.
If either of us where left on our own it is an option we would certainly consider.
The thought of having other people nearby and of similar ages who we could see as and when we wanted is inviting.
Everything in the apartments set out for ease of use and gardens etc cared for sounds inviting.
Giving our family peace of mind is another topic which we would find invaluable.

We have moved eight times in our married lives and have almost become experts.We have moved from east to west and north and south. We’ve de-cluttered every time, as it seems silly to take rubbish with you every time.
The most stressful thing about every move is the legalities. Exchanging contracts is such a a relief as. We had a couple of wobbles when buyers want to reduce the price at the last minute.
For several moves I have done all of the packing myself, as my husband had already moved to his new job. Needless to say, I got really good at it and didn’t break a thing.
I loved moving into a new home and finding places for all my possessions.
We don’t plan to move again now that we’re retired and are adapting our house for future use e.g. installing a walk in shower .
Sorry we’d never even consider an apartment, having had a taste of that in the past.

I hate moving house and I hope I won’t have to again. However I can see a time when I may need to leave my house because of the stairs.
I can’t begin to think of downsizing because I have things that I love and saved up for years for. I have never had a large income even when I was married. My husband retired early due to illness and I was his carer. There are both good and sad memories here. But they are mine !
House prices are low here and honestly I haven’t the capital to move . Apartments and bungalows are expensive.

Have you ever put off moving because it seemed too difficult? Nope.

What do you least look forward to about moving house? The upheaval (I don't mind packing).

Does the thought of decluttering when moving house fill you with dread, or does it feel like an exciting new start? Not at all, I moved to the UK from South Africa and we gave away everything we owned apart from what we could bring in two suitcases each. Incredibly liberating, and I would happily do it again.

What would make you consider moving house in the future? We plan to travel when OH retires in about 2 years time. So we will keep moving "house"!

My tip would be not to collect or hoard!

Having moved home 21 times by the time I was 21, had the usual shifting rented accommodation before I married and then moved 5 times since then, moving house doesn't really bother me. We have been in our current house over 20 years ago and I sometimes rather fancy all the upheaval and excitement of moving home again

Decluttering doesn't bother me either 1) because I am always decluttering, so there is little or no 'clutter' in the house 2) because, while we might consider moving because the garden may get too much, our plan would be to move into a similar sized house in a local town centre position with a small town garden.

We currently live in a large 550 year old 4 bedroomed Listed house and use every room in it for something or another, every bedroom but ours has several alternative uses. If we ever move we will be looking for something of a similar size, but would prefer Georgian (genuine, not repro). We are fortunate that if we needed care we can afford to buy it in.

As for retirement flats. I worked for 10 years as a Home Visitor for Age UK. I have lost count of how many retirement flats I visited, and I didn't see one that didn't make my heart sink, usually tiny cramped rooms with no space for hobbies, proper dining tables or entertaining, and none had proper storage or space for hobbies or other interests.

The one exception was the site developed by the Joseph Rowntree foundation on the outskirts of York, Hartrigg Oaks, Here the large spacious 2 bedroomed bungalows all have a straight staircase, built with chair lifts in mind, at the end of the very large living room. The staircase leads to a huge open room in the roof, that can be used for whatever you want. A friend lives there. She uses the space as a library, study and rehearsal space for the string quartet she is part of. Someone else has a full operational wood working workshop up there, others use it for crafts, grandchildren etc. She has a small back yard and a previous occupant put a small shed there. I have yet to see any other retirement development that offers anything like this amount of flexible space. My son lives in York, but, unsurprisingly, to get one of those bungalows, you need to put your name down at birth!

I appreciate all the advantages of retirement developments, security, no decorating or gardening, even being in an 'age-exclusive' development, but we would hate it.

DH will still be fiddling with some little repair job on his death bed. He would be totally lost without space for his tools, and his various projects. Both of us would be lost without our large library/study with its big double desk and book-lined walls. I want space for my sewing.

My family have a history of living to advanced old age still living comfortably in their own homes within the wider community and I see our future doing exactly the same.

Sorry, Pegasus, you are ideal for some but just not us.

I was going to move about 3 years ago but I lost the 'house of my dreams' so I decided to stay put and build an extension instead and adapt my home to suit old age with more downstairs accommodation and shower facilities. I can't think of anything worse than living in apartments full of old people even when I'm one of those old people! I like to be detached so I can be noisy and not have to worry about complaints. I have always had good neighbours and the only thing which would make me move is if I acquired bad ones.

Having always lived in a house the thought of moving into a flat/apartment does not appeal to us. Although an idyllic canal or house boat would be lovely.

I agree with quizqueen I can think of nothing worse than being surrounded with people my own age. I much prefer a mix of ages.

I have lived in houses for the greater part of my life and love my small garden for hanging out clothes and enjoying a coffee when the weather is more clement.

Pets are rarely allowed soit is a no-no for me.

Service charges are an unknown quantity and only go in one direction- up.

Oh god. Decluttering... 20 years here, 5 lofts, a whole family of hoarders...

We have moved just twice since buying our first house in 1981. Both times we had to move because of issues with neighbours forced us out. We have helped our son and daughter move numerous time since uni rentals and now family homes. I will never move ever again. It is exhausting and so so stressful

for me its, changing address on bills, online banking and such. seems a big task.

We have living in the same house over 20;years. The thought of de-clutter is daunting but it has to be done soon. We are gradually sorting things out and hopefully move to a new place in ten years time. Still prefer a house if we can cope.

Since I left the house I grew up in, the family home, to go away to university, I’ve lost count of the new places I’ve lived in. Some have been grotty rented flats, single rooms, some detached villas. It’s a caravan when we are in Spain and a flat in Scotland at the moment. With the exception of the family home, I haven’t felt any emotional attachment to any of the places I’ve lived. I was upset though when my mother sold up a few years after my dad died. I try to avoid driving past it even now. To me now, the location of a property is more important than the actual building itself. Is it near shops, on a bus route? Near family and friends?

I am probably different to many on here, not being funny, but most on this site seem middle class & well off?? Anyway, having been poor most of my life & no family or other help/support, I have lived in rented places all my adult life. Now in my late 50’s, son grown up, I have still continued to move around a lot. This has mostly been for varied personal reasons, financial problems & a huge amount of neighbour problems. Many friends & people I know cant believe how much hassle & bad luck I’ve had in housing & I & my small family never gave anyone cause to complain. We were very good at moving & did it all ourselves, but the changing of addresses, more bureaucracy meant that part got more & more time consuming & problematic.

Unfortunately I developed a disability/long term chronic ill health about 10 years ago & this has caused a lot more complication in housing. Most places (especially rented) are not designed with any kind of disability in mind, which is pretty shocking in the 21 St century, in a supposed first world country. I am in a very small, no storage, ground floor flat, in a not great area, with a wet room, because I cant easily get in & out of a bath. I desperately want another place, as I’ve had major damp problems & other issues with this place. I was almost offered a new build one bedroom housing association flat, in a block, but couldn’t accept, as there was a bath (cant be changed) & the bedroom was ridiculously small, once bed was in, I would be unable to move around easily. As I often get up in the night & stumble, due to poor balance, that was a no go. I was so upset, as I had built my hopes up, had started more decluttering etc.

So I likely will move again, but think I will have to wait for a minimum aged 60, sheltered accommodation☹️

What weekly magazine do you older ladies read? I can't seem to find an interesting one. I have no real hobbies and have limited mobility but am young at heart and have a fully functioning brain. Suggestions welcome.

Have you ever put off moving because it seemed too difficult?
No. The only difficulty is selling our present house.

What do you least look forward to about moving house?
The legal paperwork which seems to take forever.

Does the thought of decluttering when moving house fill you with dread, or does it feel like an exciting new start?
Having a reason to declutter would be fabulous. We have a garage full of stuff that never sees the light of day, ditto many cupboards throughout the house.... bring on the boot sales and trips to the dump!

What would make you consider moving house in the future?
We are downsizing in the very near future as our nest is all but empty. We want to release money so that we can travel while we are still able.

Perhaps you have tips for moving house that you’d like to share?
The internet is a wonderful tool for research. Find the nearest takeaway to your new address as you'll need it on moving day.

We will be moving when we retire. It will be less difficult than when we last moved, as we had small children then, pets and horses to consider. Now we have a 4 bedroomed detached house with not too much junk and rubbish to get rid of. One place I would never consider is a retirement village or complex. I don't want to live in a ghetto of people of a similar age and background, i want to live in a place where there are young people, families and couples, of all ages.
I certainly don't want to exchange my paid for freehold house for somewhere with service charges and a payment to the freeholder when I die. I want to chose my carers not have whoever the retirement village foist on me.
I don't want to socialise exclusively with older people in activities laid on, I want to do what I want to do, not what someone else arranges. And worst of all I don't want anywhere where the communal areas have those dreadful plastic upholstered chairs that assume I'm incontinent. No Pegasus, however nice you make it I don't want to live in a place like that, I'd rather die in a ditch - on my way home from a piss up with like minded rebel geriatrics and their friends.

It truly doesn’t bear thinking about, I’d need to tackle the spare room full of clutter first, which doesn’t really bear thinking about either ! ?

The problem about moving house is the thought of sorting and de-cluttering first & the time this takes.

So ideal for us would be a complete package of someone coming along & helping with the whole process from start to finish. For example we choose a lovely bright, relatively spacious retirement home & then the package would start too. Someone who can view the new home, look at all our stuff & give sensible ideas on what to take, what to do with all the old books and bookcases we don't want to take etc.

Ideally this person would know all the ins and outs of this and have contacts in the local area we are currently in to pass possessions onto someone else etc.

This person would be professional and confidential & work in our house to go through things & organise and arrange delivery of what we do want to take with us and perhaps help choose & arrange for new furniture & also a bit of food for the fridge as well, to be delivered to our lovely new home.

After that the rest is easy I would say.

Have never moved house because we felt like it - but we've had 3 moves enforced by work.

The more we move, the more we learn about what to look out for.

The decision about whether to sell first and then hope to find somewhere you like, or find somewhere you like and then hope to sell is the first difficulty.

Then the legalities and the waiting for links in the chain to move are the next problems.

Provided there is plenty of time, I don't mind the packing, it is the unpacking that takes my time - there are boxes around the house for months, sometimes years after the move.

Pegasus does sound tempting - so who knows.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Have you ever put off moving because it seemed too difficult? We want to move but have put it off because of the difficulty of selling. There are five houses for sale in our neighbourhood two of which have been on Rightmove for more than two years. We live in a small village with hardly any amenities and poor public transport. We would ideally like to live in a small town with a railway station and lots of busses. It seems impossible as things stand. It was fine living here ten years ago, but I no longer drive and my husband doesn't enjoy it, so it’s becoming a problem.

What do you least look forward to about moving house? I don’t mind the actual moving having done it lots of times but I would miss the friends we’ve made here and worry it might be harder to make new friends as we get older.

Does the thought of decluttering when moving house fill you with dread, or does it feel like an exciting new start? I love decluttering and have already emptied the loft and partially cleared the garage. We hired a skip and had a grand old time! All this was done in preparation to move, but now it’s on hold.

What would make you consider moving house in the future? The housing market bucking itself up, which should make it easier to sell, and a better choice of properties to buy. I guess it all hinges on Brexit and what happens next. (Sorry to mention the B-word)

Perhaps you have tips for moving house that you’d like to share? Hire a skip and get rid of any/all the junk. Don’t forget to clear the garden of broken pots, old garden furniture and so on. Colour code you boxes ie, boxes with red labels go in the kitchen boxes with green labels into the dining room and so on. It saves chasing around behind the removal men or moving everything once they've gone.

Have you ever put off moving because it seemed too difficult?

Yes, we stayed far too long in our large home, with all the 'memories' we had accumulated over the 30 years we had lived there.

What do you least look forward to about moving house?

The total upheaval and disruption to your life

Does the thought of decluttering when moving house fill you with dread, or does it feel like an exciting new start?

If left me with dread for years, then when we finally downsized by selling for £££££'s donating, recycling and disposing of our possessions, it was remarkably cleansing.

What would make you consider moving house in the future? Perhaps you have tips for moving house that you’d like to share?

I would consider moving into a granny flat near to my son and his his children, to help, and be part of a family again.

I am really happy in the home I've been in, raised my children, saved hard to pay for, created memories, had wonderful summers in the garden, spent priceless Christmas days there, cosy and warm, I could not bear to ever leave.

The thought of not ever returning to my home ever again fills me with such sadness.