Bungalow or house

Or a flat? The right one an be ideal for downsizing. We love ours. It's a bonus that we can go on hols and not worry about it.

We moved from a large farmhouse to a cottage style bungalow in 1998 when we were in our fifties. It was previously a farm worker's tied dwelling and needed renovating but we never regretted downsizing.

Maintenance is so much easier but my only word of warning is it doesn't take long to develop 'bungalow legs.' when you're not going up and down stairs everyday.

Couldn’t live in a flat Jane10 we have 2 dogs and 2 cats so would really have to be a house or bungalow, there are some wonderful flats aren’t there

Thankyou so much for that Merlotgran, that was something that never entered my head, I was thinking more of everything on the same level etc etc .

We moved from a semi detached house to a bungalow. Similar age to you. Brought up in a bungalow until 13.
Love our bungalow, as you get older just makes sense to be on one level. How many people have to install stair lifts as they age?

I don’t think ‘bungalow legs’ should put you off. Try and keep active, walking, using stairs in shops instead of escalators. As I mentioned in my previous post, people in houses who now have to install stair lifts, living with stairs hasn’t saved their legs.

Would love a bungalow but I always remember my 85yearold friend, who, when I suggested she moves to a Bungalow, said the only exercise she gets is going up and down the stairs. So I think I'll stay in this house, and I'm not there yet .

We did the same thing in our 50s. Best thing we ever did. If you can, have a reasonably sized detached bungalow. The yearly maintenance in a flat will more than cover the cost of getting a gardener and upkeep of the bungalow. Many flat dwellers tell me it can feel very lonely and shut away from life.

Am loving living in a flat, so nice after my house. When I downsized from the family house when I was 62 years old, I was told that I should go to a house as the only exercise I might eventually get was going up and down stairs.
Sadly, as the years past, this became very difficult for me, particularly later in the day, when my small staircase would begin to like Everest.
So lovely in a flat, and as I am on the first floor, always try to use the stairs to go down instead of the lift.

I should have put a after my comment about bungalow legs.

Yes, it's infinitely preferable to having to install a stair lift.

Love my bungalow. Moved in to our first one in our middle 40s, not anything deliberate, it was in the right place at the right time, but when we downsized in our mid 50s, we did move to another bungalow and set about future proofing it with the intention of staying. The garden is possibly bigger than we may be able to manage in the future, but ok at the moment, and I do like the space and light.

This post proves we all have different opinions, flats, bungalows, houses, and why not, it would be awful if we all wanted the same thing.

I've been living in bungalows for 20 years now and no bungalow legs here as luckily I am fit, do lots of activities and walk daily.

I love living in a bungalow, they're easy to maintain, usually with decent gardens. Mine have had no houses with upstairs windows overlooking my garden...so private.

Also no stairwells to decorate...which are awkward, dangerous and a pain to paint or wallpaper.

I also can keep the fascias, soffits and guttering clean and in good order...and clean all the windows not having to leave upstairs ones.

bluebirdwsm exactly right! Easy to maintain, gutters can be sorted, windows and sills cleaned without risking life and limb

We are thinking about moving to a bungalow but the one thing which puts me off is the thought of sleeping downstairs. I like the bedroom window open slightly even in winter and in summer often have them wide open if it’s hot. I can’t see how I could safely do this in a bungalow and am wondering how bungalow lovers cope with this.

It also depends where you live. Bungalows are both rare and expensive here.

I like going upstairs to bed ,so we have a house. However we have a large downstairs bedroom. This is very handy when an aged aunt comes to stay. She loves it as it is warm and has its own en-suite. We might need it as we get older. So best of both worlds really.

That's just what I was going to mention Grandma Moira.

We started off married life in a bungalow, and are now in a biggish semi. I think I would like to go back to a bungalow, but they are scarce here and also expensive.

We love our UK flat, but we could not live in it. No dogs allowed, nor cats, and storage is always limited in a UK flat (no cellar or attic as on Continent) - but if we had to for a short while, we would rent a storage unit.

Yes, I like to go upstairs to sleep- so house. But we are organising a large bedroom and easy access shower-room downstairs, for friends and relatives with mobility issues - and for ourselves, if ever ...

I would love to live in another bungalow. Our previous bungalow was lovely, but we moved into this house after DH had a transfer with his work. We do have a downstairs bedroom and two upstairs.
I really liked one floor living.

My parents went on a pre-retirement course before DF finished work and they were advised that if they bought a bungalow they should go into a local town several times a week and find a shop with an upstairs and walk up and down it several times.

Like BBbevan I like to sleep upstairs. When my parents had a bungalow you couldn't open the window fully because there were special stays on it to stop it opening enough to let in an intruder. The allternative is to have those concertina security grills. A friend has those and it makes her house look as if it is a drug dealers den.

We moved from a large, rambling terraced house to a detached and very compact bungalow when my OH's knees were finding it hard to cope with stairs and it's all been positive.

Yes, I do find I don't get as much exercise now I'm not running up and down stairs and along the rambling hallways but I do endeavour to compensate elsewhere and to eat a bit less.

As regards open windows at night - our house has those narrow openers at the top which even a toddler would be too big to climb through so we don't worry about it.

we got around the window issue by having a small side window, about 30" by 10" with an opening hinge; we can leave it open all day and all night as we wish, with no security worries. We do also have a very large window which opens on to the back garden, and has a top opening section should we need it. The other bedrooms have windows which can be opened at the top for ventilation without worry.

TrendyNannie6 I lived in large 3 bed semi in the West Midlands. I moved into my 2 bed bungalow in Crosby Liverpool in August. I'm 61 and have been a widow for nearly 16 years. I love my bungalow . I now have a small garden front and back which I can look after myself always had to have a gardener before due to large garden.. I moved here to be closer to my children. My neighbours are lovely and have joined a few activity classes .

If you read the thread started by Craftyone about the stress of selling and moving you will see what has happened to some of us moving and what the problems are associated with it.

Start decluttering as soon as you decide to put your house on the market because it came as a shock how much stuff I had and needed to be very strict about getting rid of things. Brought things here that I don't need or have room for and now having to get rid of them.

Do you know where you want to move to?