Is it time to move on?

That's an interesting point

I intend to have and leave as little as possible....I felt sad when my mums house had to be sorted, we had to be so ruthless, time very short, that maybe some precious things in the end were discarded.

On the other hand, this good intention could well slip in extreme age! but I've always felt the more "things" one had to look after, the more time it took aways from the present.

You are right, Wyllowy, but I just wish my DH saw it that way too. He has so much stuff, and still goes on about what he had to get rid of when we downsized almost ten years ago.
We moved year after DH retired for the second time, nearer to my daughter and son and I have no regrets. I would not want to face a move now in our late seventies. We chose carefully, in easy reach of shops, buses, health centre, but just a small market town, with many activities. One important thing is that it is level around us, whereas where we lived before had a steep drive and was fairly hilly.

Oh dear Nessie, it’s very sad that your AC aren’t happy for you.
We lived in a two hundred year old, five bedroom, third of an acre garden, house for thirty years. I loved it but it was getting to be too much. We moved to our small town about ten miles away so didn’t lose friends or contacts. We are a few miles from DD. Our current house is smaller but still roomy enough for us not to feel cramped, we have a small garden on the edge of a wooded area. It’s not perfect, nothing is, but I’m glad we did it when we did. And decluttering gets easier and easier and becomes a way of life! But I could never go back to the road we lived on, luckily I’ve never had to, because the house held too many memories, can’t even say the name of the house …

Yes, we were in a very similar position about 12 years ago, when we were both 64, living in a barn of a Victorian terrace, with 3.5m ceilings, costing us a fortune to keep heated. Also large gardens, which certainly took some tending. Sadly, my widowed Mum passed away, but at least that provided us with the impetus to sell up and to move into her 1970's-built 2 bed detached bungalow. It needed some improvement, which we gladly carried out with an eye on it being retirement friendly, and we also built a large, brick garden room onto the side where a small conservatory had been, with picture windows on 3 sides. We spend most of the daylight hours in there now. The gardens are gravelled, low maintenance, with trees and shrubs. So pleased we moved when we were both physically and mentally capable of coping well with that, and now that steps and stairs are becoming a bit of a challenge for both of us, so grateful that all is on one level. All I can say from our own experience is that we've never regretted our move.