Are you in your forever house?

I moved from the family house back in 2003. Purchased a lovely inner-terrace 1930's house, less than a mile from the original house. ( was in my early 60's. Spent the next few years having work done to this house to make it totally mine in every way. On the day I moved in, I told my children I would be there and only move out in my box.
Eighteen very happy years there, and I had to admit it was all getting too much for me. Use to view the stairs each night as if I was mounting Everest! Looked into stair lift - but not a good answer when living by yourself, no good for taking things up /down stairs - no suitable space for through ceiling lift. So, sold and moved into flat. Good sized one. No worries and payment for garden, balcony is lovely and large. Lovely, good sized Living/Dining room, en-suite shower room, separate bathroom and second bedroom. All on one level, kitchen door right opposite my bedroom. Garage at g round level, keeps my electric wheelchair and mobility scooter and all sorts of rubbish!!! I have, over the past six and half years, had new kitchen, new bathroom new en-suite, new flooring, etc. etc.
I think /hope this will be my final home. All paper work is kept carefully in a file to ensure ease for my children when they come to sell it.

We've moved house over 30 times and this one was meant to be if not forever then for a very long time. Now I'm on my own I've thought long and hard about moving but this is the longest time my late DH and I have ever lived in a home and there are just so many memories everywhere. It's not suitable for when I stop driving as it's rural with a couple of miles to the nearest local shop and almost non existent bus service. I do look at the houses for sale in the nearest town but they are few and far between and don't think I could cope with all the aggro of moving on my own at my age. The thought of a chain falling through and having to live for goodness knows how long in some sort of temp accommodation is a major concern.

Addendum I did consider a flat but the ever increasing service charge totally put me off. I viewed a lovely flat with an all round balcony that I was sorely tempted by, but the service charges were bigger than any mortgage I ever had, £680 pm.

I've done a move from my 5 bed family home to a 4 bed more manageable home. I realised that I couldn't go down to the number of bedrooms I really needed as the ground floor would be far too small for me, I love space! I could have bought a bungalow but I'm a bugger for having open windows at night, and even having a shutters would not allow me to rest easily. So I am in my forever home and am accepting of a stair lift in years to come.

Who knows? I love this house but it is far too big for two of us and if either of us is going to be alone it could become too big. I now have help with the cleaning and the gardening.
When DH was in hospital before Christmas I had a stairlift installed as I didn't think he would manage the stairs again.
He can still go up and down stairs but it is there if needed. I use it to bring the washing down stairs.

Both AC live a distance away but as one is going through a painful divorce I won't be moving there. The other is married to an Australian and they may go back there when he retires.

I have lived in many houses in my life so I am pretty adaptable and I don't look too far ahead.

I think this has to be my forever house as I have neither the energy or the money to move. It's lovely here, luckily, but I have itchy feet and don't like staying anywhere too long.

Moved into my house after divorce nearly 20 years ago. I'm not sure it will be my forever home. I love my area and community so not likely to stray too far if I move at some stage. Downsizing to a 2 bed flat when the house and garden gets too much is a big possibility- it's knowing when the time is right....

We moved to our (well my) dream home 22 years ago, a smallholding in the countryside. I've always been an animal lover and especially mad about horses, but we lived in the Home Counties and anything with land was ridiculously expensive. Luckily my husband wasn't really tied to where we had to live with his job so we upped sticks and never looked back, and hubby loves it here too (we're both now retired). It might need constant maintenance but I couldn't bear the thought of moving. However it is a lot of work which I still do mainly, I don't have plans to go anywhere else but health or circumstances will probably eventually dictate otherwise. The thought of having to clear out all the junk I've accumulated is quite daunting! But making the most of what time I have here while I'm still relatively active.

Interesting thread. We downsized seven years ago, it’s a two bed semi, perfect in lots of ways but a bit too small at times too.
I’ve never felt it’s my forever home though , and I can’t put my finger on why that would be. I suspect time will tell.

I’ve been in this lovely semidetached bungalow for 55 yrs and will be staying here forever, in fact my twin and I were born here 77 yrs ago we moved away , lived elsewhere for a number of years moved back in when I got married I love it here ive so many happy memories over the years lots of laughter and definitely lots of tears, I’ve extended large parts of this home over the years, we had 3 dogs and a cat the cat and 2 lovely dogs are buried in the garden. I intend to stay here until my last breath ❤️

Who knows? It depends. I am between one dd in Wiltshire and one dd in Wales. I like my house very much, perfect for me, a well-constructed new build in a close of just 12 houses. A permanent dedicated sewing room, a wellness room, a spare bedroom and my bedroom

I like stairs, I like being 1/4 mile from shops and facilities and a 3 minute walk to buses. I like the nearby countryside, the rooftops of this ancient market town, my garden privacy. I like all my neighbours and being in a mixed and caring community. I hear church bells, cows, horses and I have an allotment

I too can make a house a home, it may not be forever, if Witshire dd moves to Wales, I will be back there like a shot, both dds want me close. It might happen, it might not. In the meantime, this is my happy home, maybe not forever, who knows

I hope so, downsized five years after a divorce from a 4 bed detached, to a 3 bed semi, about 600m distance between them. Stability for my children with school and friends.
I’ve been here 27 years, MrJ 25, it had been extended before I moved in.
My children both live within a 20 minute drive, we see them regularly.

I love my house we moved here in 1988. I have lovely neighbours and a beautiful garden. I really hope I will never have to move.

We did the opposite to many and upsized over a decade ago ( from a 2 bed semi to a 3 bed centuries old house in a semi rural location. My parents ( who lived into their 90s) were becoming increasingly frail and we have a disabled now adult child. It’s fine at the moment but will need rethinking if circumstances change - as inevitable they will.

We love our house and don’t want to move but who knows what will happen as regards health and capability as you reach your 80 s? It is a big house, we had a big family with a bedroom for each one and it is full of artworks, and various items given to us over the years. We have been here many years now. I still like to garden but have a bit of help now . It is a very private house surrounded by trees in a cul de sac, the edge of a forested hill. Lots of birds and native animals. Our little heaven. No, don’t want to move.

Tuliptree, that sounds perfect, see there's quite a few of you that have done similar. You must have been great parents. I often wonder where i went wrong, i did my best, they had a good home and were loved, one doesn't see me, the other does
but i feel its duty.

I’m hoping to move into my forever home very soon. My DD and SIL ( 2 dgc) are selling their house, I’m selling mine and we’re moving into a lovely house together where I shall have a ground floor ‘suite’. It will be designed so that if necessary a live in carer can be accommodated as I want to avoid a care home if at all possible. I’ve lived in my present home for 42 years and it’s no longer safe or suitable for me. We’re all looking forward to multi- generational living.

Bellasnana, I echo FGT post. So sorry your husband died, thats hard enough without moving home. Your new home sounds perfect for you and I hope the future is good to you. I rattle around in a house I have been in all my married life, too much for me now find garden is going to pot and things need doing. I love my area always have, I am on my own most of the time now but the house is my safe space. I have to move but would not like to see this one again it would be too hard so will move to another town, my friends are dwindling, two have died, one is very ill so it can never be the same.

We moved to our bungalow 21 years ago. My sister said at the time ‘Is this your forever home?’ I said I didn’t know.

I love it here, but if one of us died, it would be a bit big for one person. And I’m not a keen gardener, that’s DH’s area, so if I were left….

Also, we are a good 10 minutes walk from our market town centre, there might come a day when we can’t walk far.

DS lives a few minutes away, but don’t see them very often as always busy.

We shall have to see how life pans out.

Quote Bellasnana Sat 13-Jun-26 15:37:23

Please don’t apologise for the length of your post Bellasnana I found it a very interesting read. However I’m sorry to hear your husband died of his cancer. It’s a hard stone to swallow.
💐

I left a,small house a few years ago to a bungalow. I thought I'd always have a car but have given it up a,while ago like a previous poster and am finding it hard to get about without taxis.
The bungalow is lovely and I've had the g garden landscaped to easy mainte nance. I don't think I could cope with another move but I am mainly surrounded by couples in houses out at work all day and don't know anyone. A little voice inside tells me I may have another move in me but I would have to consider everything very carefully. I'm even considering a flat in a over 55s set up but who knows

Yes, Doodledog, it suits us perfectly. Took some organising and planning and a fair bit of legal stuff to cover all eventualities but we’ve never been happier.
Would urge anyone hoping to move to their forever home not to leave it too late, the upheaval is tiring and best over and done with sooner rather than later.

Yes, I hope this is our forever house. We moved in 24 years ago, just before we got married( 2nd time for me, 1st time for MrLP ), together with my teenage children.
Children have long since moved out and have their own homes, but this place suits us two. I used to walk past on the way to the park when my children were small, and always stopped to look and think how lovely it was - a corner detached cottage with a wraparound garden. Never thought that one day it would be mine!
It appeared for sale just when we started looking for our " together" house ( we both had one to sell), and we acted very quickly as there was a lot of interest.
I was camped on the estate agents doorstep the morning after our viewing , before they opened- good job, as the chap behind me was also after it!
We didn't really think about the long term future at the time, we both just loved the quirky old house (built in 1878 ), and the garden had possibilities for improvement.
Now, 24 years on, I can appreciate the advantages. Everything on one level ( apart from the staircase into the loft ), and easy access ,flat garden - which we are still "tweaking"!
We absolutely love this house and sincerely hope we never have to move.

We bought my MIL's house, so DH has lived here his whole life, other than a few years of living with roommates in his 20's.
I've lived here for our 43 years of marriage. Good location, great view of the harbour, and comfortable. But there are 25 steps from the street to the front door, so eventually that will be hard!

At some point there will be the need to downsize, but most likely not for a while. I have told DH that it would be a good idea to do it before we are 70 since it gets to be overwhelming if left for too long.

We're still in the detached house we bought when our youngest was 7, he's now 41.
It's not our forever home though as two years ago we bought a retirement flat, which is currently rented out.

When our house garden is getting out of control I console myself thinking one day this won't be my problem, as when I'm living in my nice little flat I'll have someone doing all these jobs for me 😁