Down/up sizing.

We upsized. Were able to as we moved from the Home Counties to Wales. We were in our early 70s and wanted to move near family. Best thing we ever did. A large house. A place for everything. Lovely

I downsized, from a four bedroom house with a HUGE garden to a two bedroom apartment with a balcony. I got rid of all the big brown furniture and bought new modern things. I love it.

I downsized from a large 4 bed roomed house to a one bedroom cottage, absolutely love it. Got rid of so much stuff, it is lovely just living with the things I love or need, and the cleaning is so easy.

We did last year from a 17thc 5 bedroomed farmhouse to a 70's 2 bed bungalow. We had an extension built and some alterations so lived with DD1 and family ( in their big house!) for 6 months! Changed most of the furniture and yes it was very traumatic but now we live within 20 mins of all 3 DD's, walking distance of shops, restaurants, doctors ( Both now well into 70's) and are settling into local life. Well worth it!

Just about to upsize, in our early 60s! We move next week into an even larger house after selling a pretty big Victorian flat. Not really the original intention but the best we could find in a reasonable time span in our preferred location. Still, as BBbevan observes, there’ll be a place for everything...

We downsized to a 3 bedroom house with a moderate garden. More importantly we are 5 minutes walk from a tennis club, a cricket club, a golf course and a racecourse...all with bars and social events.

We are 10 minutes walk (albeit uphill, but then that’s downhill on the way home) from a small market town with numerous restaurants, pubs and coffee bars, and of course a market.

We are 15 minutes from the GP in one direction, and a first class hospital in the other.

We are 20 minutes walk away from our adult children and their families and the train station.

It’s not just the moving or downsizing it’s the nearness of facilities or what you consider important.

Despite what we all say about too much stuff, I found parting with old things very traumatic. Not necessarily things of value but things of long association - the thought of an old soup tureen, or teapot that's come many miles with me languishing on the shelves of a charity shop was too much for me. I found myself begging my DC to find homes for things and ended up bringing with me far more than we intended greatly to the irritation of DH. That was the worst part of moving. I surprised myself.

I moved from a large 3 bed Victorian terrace with a courtyard to a 3 bed 1950s semi with a big garden. The garden was the reason for moving because I love gardening and making do with a few pots just wasn't enough for me.

I'm still on a hill but from the top of this one I can see the sea .

We are about to go from a big 4-bed bungalow with very large garden to a 3-bed townhouse with a courtyard garden. Reason for moving is that we will be within walking distance of shops, pubs, restaurants, doctors, dentists, vets ...... the dogs may struggle with the change, but there are lots of nearby places to walk them, and we won’t have to load them into the car to do so. We might struggle a bit with the stairs at first, but I think that will be good for us. Lots of ruthless culling to be done, but looking forward to it.

Old Meg.....whee is this wonderous place? I may join you.

This is fascinating, for some reason.

I'm picturing all your homes.
I like homes.

I downsized 4 yrs ago from a nice 4 bedroom family house to a lovely little 2 bed bungalow, all my children had flown the nest and sadly DH had died so keeping the big house was not on. Now I've got a warm easy to run place in a quiet area, nice garden, nice neighbours I won't need to move again.

We downsized from a large villa in Spain with five bathrooms and loads of land to a compact 3 bedroom house in the UK with a smallish garden.

Trying to fit everything in that I wanted to keep was a nightmare. The lack of storage is a problem and it has taken some time to settle. However, we are finally getting there.

I do miss the space and privacy though. Also the perfect peace and silence.

Slightly downsized a few years ago.Probably should have gone for a smaller garden, but we love gardening and planting ( must stop!)
Near all our family, plenty of clubs, buses, things to do.A bit rural but not buried in the country, perfect.

Interesting thread. We downsized 3 years ago to a semi in an area we weren't that keen on but which we knew would sell quickly when the right downsize came up. It was 3 years before a 3 bed bungalow in our old area came up (renovation job so reasonably priced) and we were able to go for it as the semi did sell quickly as we'd hoped.

That was just a stepping stone move which enabled us to give up our jobs to do other things. We're both early 60s. Now we're in the throes of renovating the bungalow and it's been a real challenge. We're 60 per cent there (new roof later this week, big hole in the kitchen waiting for a new window (so please no more wind or rain till later next week).

My question is, how long did it take you to settle in to your new homes? I can't wait to unpack and get organised. We've been more or less camping since May and I dream of 'a place for everything and everything in its place'. I won't be happy until I have my things around me and everything is organised. I haven't had a cooker for 4 months and my patience is gone. We're doing most of the work ourselves so it is quite tiring.

I'm glad we're doing it now though, and didn't leave it until we're older. The idea is work hard now (we could still be working full time after all) and it'll all be done by the time we are actually worn out, then hopefully we can relax and enjoy it.

I know that sometime we will have to leave our three storey home that we moved in to a week after we got married 50 years ago, I am in my 70,s and reasonably fit , DH is late 80,s and not so fit, Problem is we are both very attached to this house and it's memories, We brought our three children in to the world in this house, all three got married from this house,

We have got such a lot of stuff we would have to get rid of, We love our garden and hate the thought of another family sitting in it, Neither of us seems able to say,,right lets put it on the market, My worry is how will we manage the upkeep, heating , the stairs when we become really old and infirm, I would like us to look for a smaller place together while we can but with my DH support, he is more reluctant than me to move, I just wish one of us could make this difficult decision and just do it,

Diana 54 , that sounds just what I would like , a warm easy place to manage., knowing you won't have to move again, I dread the Winter in this house , we have the heating on a lot , whereas a smaller house would hopefully free up some money that is spent on heating as well as being easier to keep clean and maintained, I hope you will always be happy in your new place, it sounds lovely ,

Lilypops, I feel for you and I'm not sure in your position that it would be right to move now after all that time.

As you are happy where you are with so many happy memories it's worth bearing in mind that just moving costs at least £20,000 so could that money not be mentally put in a pot to meet costs as they might arise, like for a gardener or home help or stairlift if that day ever comes that one might be needed?

Moving is the easy bit. The decluttering before you move is very time consuming (took us years) and then getting your new home organised is another mammoth task that can take another year or more. For everything to become familiar and feel like home, well that takes time too.

Sorry, I don't mean to put you off but that's my experience.

I downsized when my children left home and it turned out well. Actually, I found the de-cluttering cathartic.

It was a good decision although I admit that, just occasionally, I miss the space I used to have for people when they came to stay.

You can't have everything. On the whole, my life is easier in a smaller place with a smaller garden in a more urban setting.

Twelve years ago we married, retired and moved to France. There have been some ups and downs and health scares but we have been really happy. We are in a very rural location with no facilities within easy reach. All the things older people are advised not to do.
I'm trying not to worry too much about the future especially Brexit
( sorry to mention the dreaded word )

When we moved, everyone said “are you downsizing?” Well, no, after looking at fairly pokey bungalows and small town houses in the price range we could afford, we ended up going further out to the edge of the city and buying a fairly new four bed detached that was well within our budget, surrounded by lovely countryside but handy for town and shops. Okay, we don’t need all the space, but the house is very well insulated and our heating and water bills are lower than the last house. I can’t see us staying here forever, but I hope that the time when we can’t manage this place is a good way off yet.

When I tell people what I have on my doorstep ( walking distance) they say No!
Behind me is a big park with adult exercise 'thingys' that you can use.
My dentist, Dr, Optician, hairdresser ( there are 2) chemist, 3 charity shops, co-op, 2 other small supermarkets, Indian takeaway, wool shop, and a cafe all in a 300 meter strip!!
I can walk to an ASDA supermarket. I can walk to a, be it small, a swimming / leisure centre and library.
I can walk to the beach and I'm only 20 min drive from Southend airport.
10 min drive to a station where I can get to London in under an hour.

Lilypops, my daughter and her husband bought a slightly rundown Edwardian house from the estate of a lady who had lived there with her little daughters since the Second World War, when her husband was away fighting. They were only the second family to live there. Her daughters were sad to see the house sold as it had so many memories, but delighted that my daughter welcomed her first baby there two years after they moved ( they have kept in touch via their next door neighbour.) So the house has a long history as a family home, from its beginning as a home for an Edwardian family. If you can think of your house as a nurturing home for many generations to come you may be able to leave it and start new memories in a new home.

We moved last year , but just round the corner , to a granny flat in a new build at my DDs house , I was lucky enough to ensure that the rooms are a generous size , I found that more important than the number of rooms . My eldest GS conspires with me and we retrieve bits and pieces from the old house as and when ! so I am very lucky , my very old furniture fits and looks good , just new bedroom stuff . We hardly needed the heating on for ages last year , but I did put it on this week !