How many of you are positive about flat living in retirement?

iris

We bought our new detached bungalow 13 years ago and we love it. Everything is easy to look after, we don't need a gardener as we have made our garden easy to look after and we have no grass to mow. We don't need a window cleaner as the windows can be cleaned without steps. Decorating is also easy. We can walk all round the outside of our bungalow, so neighbours are not a problem, although the current ones are very nice and have never been a problem. Our doors are wider than normal (for wheel chair use), our light switches and plugs are also wheel chair friendly. We like having a garage to store everything in (what do you do with all your 'stuff' e.g. paint, tools etc in a flat?), including our car, which is on our own land. I also like to dry my washing outside.

We did buy a new flat about 20 years ago in a small block of 12, thinking it would be the answer for when we got older, but we hated it and eventually sold it on at a loss.

Perhaps if I was on my own I might consider a flat, but hopefully that is a long way off:D

cattie

I moved from a house into a ground floor flat last year & despite the flat needing an awful lot of work, I love it here. The neighbours are so friendly & welcoming & the grounds are lovely. I appreciate the fact that although I have direct access to the grounds, I don't have to do any kind of gardening!

The development I live on has always been very well regarded & whilst there are no age restrictions, such as for 0ver 55's only, the majority of people who live here are like me, downsizing from a house into what is a spacious flat, so do tend to be retirees.

I've been a bit of a serial mover over the years, but this is it for me. I've lived in houses where I never really knew neighbours, maybe just to nod to if we passed on the street, but here even people you've never seen before say hello as they pass & perhaps stop for a chat, asking which particular block you live in.

I've always liked the development I now live on & am only sorry that I didn't decide to sell up & buy a flat here much sooner. I think the fact that flats only tend to become available here when somebody dies says a lot. It's very seldom that a flat here comes up for sale for that very reason.

missile

We moved from a detached house to a top floor flat seven years ago.
There are pros; great view, great location in parkland but with no garden to maintain.
There are cons; management fees, no garage, high turnover of residents and anti-social tenants.

whitesatin

I couldn't do it. I don't like communal anything, not least because I am a light sleeper. We are in a detached house now and will stay as long as we can (I'm 62, husband 55). If and when the stairs become a problem, we will look to buy a small, detached bungalow with an easy to look after garden. I know that many people enjoy living in flats but it is not for me. At this moment, nor would be any kind of retirement places, I can just imagine me worrying all the time if my little grandchildren were visiting.

Never say never, but a house for me every time.

Leblanc_2

missile wrote: »

We moved from a detached house to a top floor flat seven years ago.
There are pros; great view, great location in parkland but with no garden to maintain.
There are cons; management fees, no garage, high turnover of residents and anti-social tenants.

It would appear that those who like us opted for flat living are experiencing the same negatives. It is such a pity that the baby boomers can't downsize to the obvious convenience of flat living without the angst.

It is a bit of a conundrum. I believe that builders are missing out on a potentially huge untapped market of the 50+ generation in not providing more appropriate and less institutionalised accommodation.

I would love to see for the 50+ the availability of close to city centre flats that are spacious with good sized kitchens, have generous storage, lifts, balconies and patios, garages, and are well insulated and soundproofed, without rip off management fees etc.
They don't seem to exist.

I in no way wish to insult those who have moved to 50+ flats but what is generally on offer seems to fall into the 'god's waiting room type category'. They have pull cords, usually small kitchens etc and provide communal lounges and so on. I want continued independence in a chic city centre flat and not tucked away in some sanatorium type environment, which is what seems to be on offer in my area.

The problem is that the social mix of young and old in the current city centre apartments does not really gel due to declining respect and poor design and construction etc.

To try and create your personalised flat in an older smaller property is expensive and difficult in terms of thermal and sound insulation. A bungalow with good proximity to the city is too expensive and becoming increasingly more so here.

I am still trying to find away forward which has been largely unsuccessful so far! I am still looking for ideas.

pollypenny

What you say, Leblanc, is spot on. The has been some building in our market town on the site of an old brewery and a bus depot.

However, neither has balconies or any green space.

missile

We are surrounded by lots of green space with mature trees and a stunning view. We are very close to the city centre and have good amenities close at hand.
We don't really fancy any of the 50+ accommodation available here. They have far too many rules and regulations, high service charges and are all out of the centre.

Leblanc_2

missile wrote: »

We are surrounded by lots of green space with mature trees and a stunning view. We are very close to the city centre and have good amenities close at hand.
We don't really fancy any of the 50+ accommodation available here. They have far too many rules and regulations, high service charges and are all out of the centre.

Apart from the green space and mature trees we seem to be in a
similar position. However, the social mix and consequent problems tends to detract from a more ideal situation.

What is the answer?

missile

Leblanc wrote: »

Apart from the green space and mature trees we seem to be in a
similar position. However, the social mix and consequent problems tends to detract from a more ideal situation.

What is the answer?

I don't think there is a right answer. Life is full of compromises, none more so than when choosing where to live. One can have excellent neighbours who own their own flat (or house) then they sell to a BTL investor and the tenant from hell moves in next door with a rotveiller:eek:. What do you do?

I try to be tolerant :A and remember I was once a young tenant who had noisy parties. When I bought a nice little bungalow in a quite street,, I doubt my neighbours liked their peace being disturbed when we had young kids.

[Deleted User]

we `downsized` in 2005 from a 4 bed large detached in 1/3 acre in village and we went 4 miles away to a new townhouse in a leasehold development of 40 properties developed from a manor house with new builds close by. Amenities were good and lots of acres to walk in. Gardeners, window cleaning etc included. It was supposed to be a dream potential community. Then landlords invested and 1/4 were let to `couldn`t care less` tenants and our communal facilites were many times abused. Then we took over the management and bought the freehold, all well and good, except it only takes 2 little hitlers to block everything that we wanted to do for the community. Suffice to say that stress took its toll. Add this to noise from the house on one side and the 3 flats on the other and the ever increasing energy bills, tenants were stealing energy to heat their flats

We got out, never ever again to return to that sort of communal living. Now we are detached in a lovely calming eco house, cheap to run and with sheep and an orchard behind us, neighbours nearby but we cannot see them from the south side, which has all the large windows. We are in a village but are self contained and don`t worry about getting older, we can always get taxis and internet shopping and there are people about but no-one in our face any more. Stress has all gone, so no flat for us, ever

edit just to say that we sold at a big loss but it was worth it, just to get out