Moving house in later years.

[Gemini]

There has been discussion about Qwertys possible house move on the forum. I thought a thread about that topic would be a good idea.
So have you moved recently, are you planning to? Did you downsize?

My OH would like to upsize, but I don't want to, and we can't afford to anyway!!

My 88 year old aunt really wishes she had moved a few years ago when she was considering it. She can't face the idea of it now.

[Plantaholic]

I have lived in the same house since 1969, I downsized 18 years ago into the annexe. It is a mistake to leave it too late to move into a smaller or more suitable property, I have 2 friends in that situation, they can't face the move and their houses need work done on them and they can't face that either.

[Oma]

Best thing we did is downsize , yes it was a lot of upheaval and we were 14 years younger at the time, so to be older would be harder , but I kept thinking about getting older and being able to maintain such a large house ,
Plus we lived in a Terrace and I wanted a bit space between us .
It may be a shoe box but I love it

[Glammanana]

We made our big move downsizing when we moved abroad,at the time we had lived in a huge 4 bedroomed house with 4 double bedrooms and 2 bathrooms it was hard work trying to get rid of excess furniture/pictures/curtains/beds and garden furniture after but we managed it in 6 weeks as the buyer wanted a quick completion,when we moved on we rented a 2 bed villa which was not so bad really as the patio windows all opened up onto the pool/naya area giving the feeling of space but we still had a lot of extra possessions that we had brought with us.When we moved back we had a one bedroomed apartment before we moved here in March this year so we have got used to the differance in size over the years,just make sure anywhere you go you have loft space and a "man shed" they are invaluable lol.Also there is the £s side of it the bills are so much less for heating etc and not as much maintainance or decorating costs.

[WeeGranny]

We're considering a move, have been for several years! Plans were to move to Suffolk coast, but realised how much further from DD and have finally decided against that idea. At the moment, we're contemplating moving nearer her, but haven't gone any further than initial chats. We have a large 4 bed house, with a large garden in, what is becoming a popular area. We're in the process of getting things done e.g. redecorating,new kitchen etc. We also have hospital to consider for OH. At the moment we're very happy with his treatment here and his consultant. If we move, we have that to consider too. Watch this space, as they say!

[Mimi]

We downsized a few years ago and it was the best thing we ever did.
The cost of moving has to be taken into consideration, it doesn't come cheap especially, if like us you plan to decorate throughout and want new curtains/blinds and carpets. Not only that we brought new interior doors because each room had a different door . We had to buy 5 doors and with fitting it didn't come cheap . But over the years we had got our money back through a huge reduction in gas and electricity bills. Our council bill has gone from band C to band A, saving about £ 400 per year.

There was several reasons for wanting to move , mobility issues with climbing stairs and the maintaining of the big front and back garden . Also I had to 'help' dad move when he became unable to live in his flat because of ill health. I had to do all his decorating , picking his carpets and curtains and arranging the move its self. I didn't want any of my DC doing that for me. I wanted to move while I was still able to do things for my self.
Above all for all of this to work, you have to WANT to move otherwise the hard work and cost that goes with it will seem even harder if your heart and soul isn't in it.

[Daisy]

Our houses have gone up and down in size, depending on where we were sent for OH's job and the price of houses in that area. But we came to this village 33 years ago and bought a 4-bed 4 reception rambling chalet bungalow, which was great as my mum was living with us and everyone had plenty of space.

We managed to stay in this area - mainly because of the boys' education. You can't keep moving them around for ever - I'd worked with Army children in one school and saw how hard it was for them (and I know there's at least one member on here who had an army childhood). But my mum hated it here and moved back to Surrey, then first one son and then the other went off to uni, and one night OH and I were both working in our huge joint study. He went off through the sun loggia, the living room, the dining room, and the hall to go and make a cup of tea in the kitchen and I suddenly thought the tea would be cold by the time he'd walked back with it.

After a bit of thought, we realised we really didn't need such a big, sprawling house any more and moved round the corner - we've still got 4 bedrooms, but only 2 reception room and a smaller garden. Then both the boys, plus the girlfriend of one of them moved back and suddenly it seemed a bit on the small size. But now it's just us and the dog it's fine. But I find I can't get round all the housework etc as quickly as I used to (actually, that's not true, I had a cleaning fairy!) but OH definitely doesn't want to move. So for the time being, we're staying put. But I know if we needed to move we could get organised fairly quickly, and I'm quietly 'losing' stuff we don't need any more.

[Grauntie Mag]

A past master at moving here! When we came to this area we had the large family house, downsized to another 4 bed 🙄 and downsized again to another 4 bed 🙄🙄. By this time we were mid 60s. Healthwise it knackered both me and OH. 2 years later next door was being sold. It made financial sense to buy, move into rented and completely refurb next door which we did. Everything is new, low maintenance and properly insulated. If we had stayed next door we would have had to redo the ensuite, kitchen and drive. We had 3 bedrooms that were seldom used and I didn't like the conservatory. Too expensive to alter.
We now have 2 bedrooms and 2 ensuites, a kitchen/diner a living room and study and that's it!
The move took another bashing at my health, but we won't move again. We love it here. If the suggestion is voiced ever again someone will find themselves being used as compost under the veg patch.😬

[Nanto2girls]

I just can't imagine us downsizing. We have lived here 48½ years.When i think about what the house was like when we first came, and think about what it's like now.
Hubby has done so much work here as regards alterations.Sentimentality keeps me attached as well. 4 months after we moved in, our eldest was born in the back bedroom,
3 years later our youngest was born in one of the front bedrooms.
Maybe in time as we get old we might change our minds, but as for now,we are staying put.

[Enfys]

We downsized a few years ago, don't think I could face the upheaval now. We actually swapped properties with our DD. She and her OH had bought my Mums bungalow when she went into a nursing home and we had a big house and garden, just over the road. After our second GC was born they wanted to move to somewhere bigger and we had been thinking of downsizing so we swapped! Did it all properly through a solicitor and they paid us the difference between the two properties. It helped ur DD a lot as we let them have the house for a good price. It saved us lots of money doing it that way and we moved gradually over a few days. I love it here, we have two bedrooms in the loft conversion, a double downstairs, large lounge/dining room and a good size kitchen. We added the conservatory and the garden is just right for us. It's so easy to maintain and I don't see us moving again.

[Qwerty]

Thanks for this thread a good idea Gem , like you Nan2 we have lived here 40 yrs and youngest was brought home to this house she hasn't known any other, it a big house and it's beautiful OH has worked hard to get it where it is today, but we rattle about in it 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms 2 lounges and 2 conservatories and large gardens it's got views to die for but it's getting hard work to clean and decorate. The street is t the same no one talks to each other very snobby but I know if we moved this could happen anywhere, I suppose ideally we would liked somewhere on its own , we have renters in next door and the house is deteriorating by the day , we are stuck where we can go we want to be near the kids just not here. We have moved just the once and that was a nightmare and we aren't getting any younger and I just feel I need a big change

[Avo]

I know we will downsize at some stage as we live in the middle of no-where with a large 1 acre garden. W e hav a po/shop but no bus and the nearest dr is 3 miles away.... the problem is deciding when!

[Nana]

I was seriously considering downsizing a couple of years ago. I still look at properties now. I'm torn really because although we have a 4bed house & good sized garden I just can't keep up with all the cleaning. On the other hand bed1 is our bedroom, bed 2 is my OH's study/office, bed 3 has the 1st bed size + single bed. Bed 4 has double bed + cot (sometimes a blow up single bed too). There's also x-amounts of toys, high chair, baby walker etc etc...I think you get the idea. We have a lounge, kitchen & utility + dining room which we've made into my craft room. Downstairs loo & bathroom upstairs with en-suite to bed1.

No wonder I can't keep up with all the cleaning.🙈 It does get me down & frustrated. We have super neighbours & OH enjoys his little dog walking community. What's really put me off is the price of houses in comparison to ours. We'd get so little for our home compared to the grotty properties that we'd be looking at for the same amount of money. Doesn't make sense. It really is a puzzle what to do. I'm 66 so it might be best just to sit tight for a couple of years. Who knows?

[Grauntie Mag]

If you do sit tight Nana I highly recommend a ruthless declutter of the attic and similar places when you have nothing better to do, haha! (Ican't believe I said that to a fellow crafter 😁) It is surprising how much stuff gets put away and never sees the light of day until we move. I'm thinking of having a family give away to all DDs, Nephews and nieces, failing that the local charity shop, of stuff that came with us from the last move,went straight into the attic and will never be used by us again. There is sentimental stuff which I now have no room to display along with toys that will no longer be played with. Surplus China and glass ware etc. No point in keeping it for someone else to deal with on our demise.

[Enfys]

I quite agree GM. We were forced to declutter when we moved from the house to here, but I can honestly say I haven't missed any of the stuff we got rid of. I regularly go through cupboards etc now and have a clear out and DH tackles the lost, it's surprising what you collect 'just in case'. Now maybe I can make inroads on the drawer full of fabric I have and actually make something instead of just looking at it . (Do other sew-ers stroke their fabric instead of cutting into it 😮)