Are you in your forever house?

I totally hope so after having to do unforseen remedial works, though totally worth it I love the area and neighbours are lovely plus the house suits us perfectly with my husbands disability

Yes, mine is forever because I can’t afford the service charges on retirement flats, which would be much more suitable to my needs.

I’m in a nice retirement flat now, after forty years in a large old four-bedroom house with a big garden. It was a lovely house but I couldn’t cope with it any more, and was paying out a fortune to gardeners, cleaners, window cleaners, roofers…, and so on. There isn’t room here for all my stuff, obviously, so much of it is now in my son’s house, including many of my books, which I do miss.

I suppose this flat is my forever home now, but it doesn’t feel like it in the way the old house did.
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Whitby sounds lovely TheWeirdoAgain60, I bet you see a lot of goths roaming the cliffs!
I've found that as I get older its less about forever home (as you can do up or adapt lots of homes) but more about forever location which is the crucial difference for me.

The only reason I/we will move from our home of 38 years is if we see a barn conversion in this area. This house is big for the two of us, but we always seem to have a GC or two staying over.

Unfortunately despite looking on and off for the last 20 years these type of homes always seem to be in the middle of nowhere.

Not a realistic moving option, best to be near public transport and shops if we end up with neither of us driving.

I moved here to Whitby in January of this year from a 1-bed flat to a 2-bed. Both of them not the ground floor but the next one up.

I'm permanently single and live alone, no husbands/partners/kids, so I use the smaller as a bedroom but the bigger as an office.

I've only been here 6 months and have decided it's going to be my forever home! I'm 61, so at my age, I don't want to move somewhere else again, as I've had multiple moves since I was a baby.

Even if for any reason I leave this flat, I'll forever be in my beloved Whitby!

67notout

I thought I was. My husband died suddenly six years ago and I thought I would stay here. Perfect size house, really close to a gorgeous beach in Sussex, lovely village good transport, great neighbours and lovely family in the same village. Great! Roll forward six years, I am 78 this year and have an untreatable terminal illness and much as I love where I live I can’t manage the house without paid help. I have adapted the house to cope with the disease but then other bits of the body packed up too. So although in my head I am only 50 and full of can do, it’s time to be realistic maybe. Or if I only have say a year or two left should I stay here in this lovely house full of memories and the sea air? I can’t talk to the family as they each have different views or don’t want to talk about it, Right now I am propped up in my lovely garden knowing this is my last summer of physically being able to tend it, so that’s another paid help. I am good at clearing stuff out and donating or selling so there’s no clutter. Although my son in law has been caught looking at my books and shaking his head 😂
. As teenage parents we worked hard like our parents did but never dreamt we would ever live somewhere like this so that’s kind of what’s stopping me.

I feel the same. I'm sorry for your loss. This was our forever house but when I lost my husband it has become too much for me to manage in my older years. I am trying. When we were together, I always told him that I don't care where I live as long as he is by my side. That still rings true. So now, I don't care. He is no longer by my side.

No choice. I live in a council house. Could never afford to move. BUT at the moment have some lovely neighbours and my freedom pass so can get into London easily.

we are in 3 bedroom house, have been for almost 50 years, there's only the two of us now, and I would be happy to move to a smaller house,but OH has alzheimers and moving is not a choice now. I like where we live and have good neighbours, and the family do a lot for us where gardening and decorating is concerned.

We moved to the south coast 6 years ago and are happy here atm. If OH died before me I would definitely move back to be nearer family who all live 100 miles away. They all visit regularly. Most weeks we have someone staying over. But I wouldn't want to live here alone. We do have 3 brilliant hospitals within 12 miles and an excellent GP service only 10 minutes walk. But I think if I needed support I would need to be closer to sons and daughters.

I moved to my bungalow it had quite a bit doing to it but now just about finished.
I liked the close when I moved her all little bungalows with occupants of a similar and outlook to me. But as each bungalow has come up for sale the youngsters are moving in seem to like late night parties, don’t care for their gardens or are running car repairs business on the drive
The glide has now dramatically changed for the worse

I really do hope not! DH will not move, but I do keep on. It was lovely until they built a house behind with windows looking straight in with only 25ft between the 2.

It is just too far to walk to everything now, and a 4 bed is too big for the 2 of us. We do have a bungalow, but if you ae thinking of one:
- You quickly lose muscle tone in the back of your legs,
- your bedrooms are often in visible sight so you need to be very tidy (I am not)and they become part of your living space.
- If you are a night owl married to a lark or vice versa the sound will wake you
- few have 2 toilets - enough said

I think I am going to move. I've been in this huge house for 46 years.
DM bought it with us.

It's on the market! Does anyone want a 6 bed. 4 bath house, some huge rooms, a workshop and with an acre and a half of rain forest/garden?

I love it but I am ready to downsize. DH died 5½years ago so it's all up to me. My 4 DC are scattered the world over but try to be supportive.

Tomorrow someone is coming for a second viewing . Fingers crossed 🤞

I'm a very fussy buyer though and my next home must be walking distance from shops and bus stop as this is with a manageable garden and a spare room or 2.

FGT has done well.
I'm sorry 67notout that your health isn't good.

M0nica you are an inspiration as is Franbern.

Well done and good luck everyone for negotiating your way through the problem of our later years.

No. I’ve been planning by final move for years but had very elderly parents. Mum died in 2021 and dad last October, so I’m giving myself a year to sort things out before making plans!
I do have a very long list of requirements for my forever home!

Ive been struggling since heart op and not healing well plus other health problems, so was contacted recently with offer of house, shortly, with en-suite facilities, and it will be fantastic after struggle over last year, so i will at last i hope be in perfect home for me(cant get a 3bed bungalow so this is next best thing for us)soo excited.

We are both in our 70s and had lived in a bungalow beside the sea for 38 years. 18 months ago we moved into a house inland - our daughters thought we were mad! It was the best move ever- new adventures with new friends in a much more social village. Don’t feel stuck by the past - a change puts the spring back in your step!!

Yes
We downsized about 10 years ago not long before we retired, to a 3 bed semi-detached bungalow from a 4 bed detached house. Best thing we ever did, it has a bank of shops, vets, doctors within 3 minutes walk, we’re on a bus route to the hospital (10 minute journey) and several large supermarkets within a 5 minute drive plus my son lives just round the corner (close enough to be there for each other but not ‘on top’ of each other) we’re not gardeners so the courtyard garden is an added bonus

Milest0ne

We moved here to serve a purpose when we had a business. it has served its purpose and now I want to move nearer to family and friends but OH wants to stay here. He says he likes it here. It would be great for a holiday but we have no neighbours, no friends near-by and family about an hour away. All he does is sit and watch(sleep in front of). TV. Everything we do needs a car as we are nearly a mile from a bus stop. The house would need thousands spending on it to make for easier living. I can add several things to the list , starting with a walk in shower and a stair lift ,a gardener, a cleaner. etc----. We could release a lot of equity by moving but we have to struggle maintaining the kid's inheritance. Murder, divorce after 63 years or suicide seem rather too drastic but I am getting to screaming pitch.
Has anyone any ideas of how to get moving? _Please. sorry for seeming too dramatic.

We downsized and used the capital freed up to help the children move or renovate their homes. Hopefully, if we survive for seven years, we will avoid IHT on this as it is no longer in our estate. Makes more sense than hanging onto a house that was too big for us and paying IHT when we die and it is sold.

Basgetti

Yes, hope so. We recently downsized to our lovely flat. Hope it will be the one.

I'm the same as you, downsized to a flat almost six years ago and we love it here. Yes, it's much smaller than our house and yes, I'd have liked a proper garden, but I have a big balcony and am very close to two of my children.
If my daughter moved I might consider moving to be close to her again, but it would be a wrench as we've completely renovated to make our new home just what we want and need.

I'd like to think this is our forever home but am realistic enough to know if one of us passes away it would be too big for the one left.

We lived in our previous home for 36 years where we brought up our children, parents moved 60 miles to live round the corner and we had huge family parties there to celebrate all milestone birthdays, anniversaries, our granddaughters births etc but time moves on - parents passed away, one son emigrated to NZ with his wife and had 2 children, the other moved 3 hours away with our granddaughters and we retired so husband's daily commute down the motorway stopped. Friends we'd had over the years either passed away or their lives revolved around their own grandchildren. We realised we had no need to live there any more and 6 years ago moved back to the seaside town we both grew up in where we have old friends we've reconnected with and my husband's brother and his family.

We'd bought a small bungalow but knew it was only temporary and went back to a 4 bed house (although one of the bedrooms is an office). It isn't small but manageable for now although the large piece of woodland we own is becoming a worry to look after so we may have to get someone in to see to it eventually.

I always thought I'd be devastated to leave our old home but when we shut the door I never looked back so I realise home is just where you live in the present - the memories you make are in your own head and heart and you are constantly making new ones. We are in our 70's now, fingers crossed in fairly good health but if the time comes when this changes we will hopefully adapt to suit.

I know I won't move. Whilst in a 4 bed detatched the move 17 years ago was for a much better area and the house whilst 4 beds is a lot smaller than the one we moved from. 4 beds was needed for family visits as they don't live nearby. A bungalow in my area, even 2 beds would be ridiculously expensive and even the areas I wouldn't choose would be expensive. Is there no way you can have an extension to accommodate a downstairs bathroom/shower room. If you have an attached garage part of that could be accessed from a house normally and a shower room installed. Several people I have known have managed upstairs bathrooms with a stair lift. I know a 90 year old with mobility issues accesses her kitchen, sitting room (yes upside down house) upstairs with a stair lift. Hope you stay content in your home. The grass is always greener comes to mind.

Oh yes - every house we've lived in has been our forever house - then 'life' happens and we move...

Just had an offer on our 4 story house and hope to find something with fewer floors and parking plus garden! Not much around so fingers crossed.

I have been in my semi detached house for forty eight years and would dearly love to move, but the thought of all the upheaval really puts me off.
The house is really old and needs updating which I can’t afford.
Also, now in my eighties, I just don’t have the energy.

Moving nowadays is not at all simple. It’s hugely expensive for a start.

I really hope to die in this house - i love it. It is bigger than i need but it means family can easily visit. I do not want to leave here. But life is uncertain and it has to be possible that health - particularly but not only sight problems - might make me move. I think it makes it easier if i do have to sell, if I accept now that i have to go with whatever reality brings.