My last move - where to move to, please?

Newly_retired

I can certainly recommend retirement. When I was working I could not imagine what my life would be like as I was so used to the daily/ weekly routine, the colleagues, the "status", the purpose, motivation...etc.
It took a while but now my life is so full I really struggle to find time to do everything I want to do. I do two days a week voluntary work ( catch the first bus after 9.30 so I travel free with my bus pass), am in 3 choirs, so have evening rehearsals and concerts, am involved with church - so that gives me several different sources of friends. Just as well, as to my surprise the former colleagues I thought would keep in touch with me have not done so. Work has disappeared off my radar and I do not miss it in the slightest. I would like to move nearer my family, so I think it is a good idea to do so sooner rather than later, before you get settled into your new life and activities, as one of my difficulties is finding time to visit family in between all my activities.I wish you well in your search for a new home.

Savvy_Sue

If you're going to move nearer your family, do it sooner rather than later. And then throw yourself into your 'new' life, make friends, join things, keep busy. My parents moved out of London a few years ago and I'm pleasantly surprised by the way they did this, it was my main worry even though they were moving nearer one of my siblings.

But think very carefully before you move anywhere: the one thing you can never change about your home is its physical location. Come for an extended visit, NOT staying with your siblings, have a good look round. Come again in all seasons if you can before you take the plunge ... Weston on a wet weekend in winter :eek: :rotfl:

Plus, being brutally honest, unless your siblings are significantly younger than you, have you considered how you will feel if you move down here (away from your old life and friends) and then outlive them by a significant amount of time?

Specifically on the West Country, having spent one holiday in WSM as a child and another when our boys were younger, I wouldn't want to spend more than a week there. But I fully intend to die in Bristol.

We have a HUGE range of options which might be suitable, from the 'private' McCarthy and Stone kind of development to the 'villages' where you start off living independently and can then add on 'sheltered' and 'very sheltered' support, with full residential and EMI care on the same site. Have a look at St Monica's, for example.

I have a friend of a similar age to you who has just moved into a fantastic flat owned by MHA. The development is a converted church with a new 'wing' added on. It's a mix of rented and bought: my friend is renting one they couldn't sell because it has 'awkward' windows, and it is fantastic! They've declined the warden's daily call (still working), and it took a bit of a mental leap to realise that this would give the security needed - pretty much for the rest of their life! There are several patches of garden, and although there is a gardener the residents have a gardening committee and help out, which is obviously very important to some of them.

Increasingly you will find developments like this throughout the country, I am sure they are not limited to Bristol.

I don't know if my ramblings help. My final thought is not to rush it. My parents are struggling with their house, and really need to down-size, but are past the point of wanting the hassle. My mother can't see herself in the small kitchens in the McCarthy and Stone developments, and they're not sure they can afford one anyway. If only they'd thought things through better last time they moved! They might then have bought a 'friendlier' house, one which would lend itself to mobility aids etc!

chickmug

Hi Jennifer Jane

How's it going?
Are the options any clearer? Or not?

[Deleted User]

we downsized 4 years ago to a community development in s wales. Leasehold properties and communal gardens etc. It has been very very easy to make friends with people, whilst retaining the unspoken etiquette that leads to personal space and privacy. There is always someone here to call on if needed. I am 61 and we live in a 3 bed townhouse with steep stairs but I like the exercise and I am not kidding. We pay £2000 a year management costs

We went on holiday to the western side of the cotswolds last week and it was so lovely there. Quiet roads, lovely people and cheaper houses. It went through our minds, more than once, that we could very well move there. I did the internet browses when we got back and yes we could buy a freehold property. Then I sat back and did the pros and cons: shopping, buses, energy efficiency in the property, making friends and also cost of moving

I look around me at our bright and airy property and think phew, I am glad I live here and one day I will buy in cleaners and pay for taxis if needed and I can still go on holiday to the cotswolds.

What a difficult decision for you, op. You could do with renting somewhere to get the feel and vibes of the area and the people in it

Make no quick decisions

ps: our house is new and low maintenance and we all keep an eye out for each other here and we aren`t all oldies

poet123

I agree, don't rush into anything, research the area,and take your time, make lots of visits in all seasons and then you can see what the places are like at different times of the year.

Check out the local retired groups before you go too.

Elsewhere

Though I can't remember exactly where, my godmother lived for some years in sheltered housing in the Radstock/Midsomer Norton area. Google seems to throw up several developments around there, and it is right between your brother and sister's locations.

lilac_lady

I've thought about moving too as I want to be independent and decided that a small residential flat would be the answer.

I've changed my mind because I'd miss my garden too much. I'm thinking of employing a cleaner once a month for the heavier jobs and will get a gardener when it becomes too much for me. My neighbours are friendly but not intrusive and would help me out if I needed it (and vice versa).

Who knows if it's the right decision? All I know is that I'm happy here and would hate to move to somewhere that wasn't as good.

Savvy_Sue

No point moving if you don't want to, lilac_lady, but some residential properties do let people do their own gardening!

[Deleted User]

There is a lot here about mc carthy and stone

http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/discuss/categories.cfm?catid=15

[Deleted User]

mmmm doesn`t sound good at all

M&S retirement flat now owned by Fairhold Homes. Peverel as managing agents