Thinking of downsizing.......

gilly41

Hi
I am hoping someone can give me some advice please. My husband and I are thinking about downsizing back to the town where we used to live! We moved 8 miles away to our current home 7 years ago.....long story but the house we were buying in what I call my home town( I had lived there 25 years and my husband all his life) fell through at the last minute! Well the people buying ours pulled out and we were weeks off moving! In a panic I rushed to find something and we ended up part exchanging and moving here....to a lovely 3 bed detached on a nice estate, although very "out of the way" and far from shops etc and with me not driving it has always been a bit of a hassle for shops etc!!! (I work from home)....
We are now thinking of moving back...age is a big factor as hubby is 55 and will be retiring in ten years and we want to know we are in a better position financially as we did overstretch ourselves with this mortgage......
What I am wondering is has anyone downsized and gone from a detached back to a semi/terraced?? I haven't had any noise for 7 years from neighbours(long story but the last house the neighbours that weren't attached to us were a nightmare and that's why we moved) and I am worried about buying a property that's attached again al;though as I say it isn't always attached neighbours that cause the problem!! Obviously it would be defeating the object getting another detached house as hubby wants to go part time at work (he has got a great pension already from a job he had for 30 years) and we want this mortgage debt reducing...also it makes more sense to move back with me not driving and my son and his wife live there (my husband was recently quite ill and it was very stressful getting too and from hospital etc)...The town we are moving back to has all amenities and everything to hand....
Thanks for any advice xx

Tixy

Sounds like a move to somewhere more conveniently placed would be a good option for you.

What I am wondering is has anyone downsized and gone from a detached back to a semi/terraced?? I haven't had any noise for 7 years from neighbours and I am worried about buying a property that's attached again

I moved from a detached property to semi-detached. I do occasionally hear some noises from next door but that doesn't mean I regret the decision to move.

For me the key thing wouldn't be whether a property is attached to another or not but more about the layout of the property and construction/age of the property, I live in a 1930s property, whilst it is attached there is very little audible noise and the layout means that the main bedrooms and living rooms are away from the attached neighbour.
But I wouldn't choose to move to say a semi built in the 70s/80s as my experience of those is that there is far more internal audible noise from the attached properties.

carefullycautious

Are there any areas in your town that has an older population maybe living in bungalows? I don't mean sheltered or ones with huge service charges but ones where people tend to downsize to.

It is a difficult one as at any time good neighbours can and do move and you don't know who will be next. I know that I no longer have tolerance for noisy children or adults. Loud music, trampoline jumpers and screamers are a no no.

Sorry, not much help am I, as there is no guarantee and it really is subjective to what you will or will not tolerate.

trailingspouse

Wow

1) 55 isn't old - you've got another 10 years before you even retire, and 65 isn't old either.
2) 8 miles is nothing. Really. We moved 3 years ago to be nearer to my ageing parents - they're now only 2 hours away. It's all relative.
3) Why don't you just learn to drive? It would solve very many of your problems. Why would you sell a house you like, in what sounds like a nice area, and not far (8 miles is not far) from many amenities, just because you don't drive? There's an easy enough solution.

It sounds to me as if you are rushing in to old age and limiting yourself, when really there's no need.

Tixy

gilly41 wrote: »

and we want to know we are in a better position financially as we did overstretch ourselves with this mortgage......

......as hubby wants to go part time at work and we want this mortgage debt reducing...

trailingspouse wrote: »

It sounds to me as if you are rushing in to old age and limiting yourself, when really there's no need.

Not sure if you perhaps missed these parts of the original post?

CH27

trailingspouse wrote: »

Wow

1) 55 isn't old - you've got another 10 years before you even retire, and 65 isn't old either.
2) 8 miles is nothing. Really. We moved 3 years ago to be nearer to my ageing parents - they're now only 2 hours away. It's all relative.
3) Why don't you just learn to drive? It would solve very many of your problems. Why would you sell a house you like, in what sounds like a nice area, and not far (8 miles is not far) from many amenities, just because you don't drive? There's an easy enough solution.

It sounds to me as if you are rushing in to old age and limiting yourself, when really there's no need.

Wow yourself.
Gilly has valid reasons for wanting to move & learning to drive won't solve everything. I think they are being very wise evaluating all their options.

trailingspouse

gilly41 wrote: »

age is a big factor as hubby is 55

Her words, not mine.

moneyistooshorttomention

True, it IS only a few miles.

However, I am now living in an area where I am seeing people (both incomers and locals) feeling that "just a few miles out = no problem" starting to be a bit of a problem.

Cars are expensive beasts to run and, on the other hand, there are circumstances where health has dictated that continuing to drive means being thoroughly irresponsible (ie putting other people at risk of accidents caused by a driver who really isn't up to it any more, but is doing their darndest to continue to try to....:cool:).

I know someone who seriously shouldn't be trying to drive any more and they are "keeping their mouth shut" and continuing to do so. I know someone else who got hauled off the road by the Police and told they were not going to be allowed to drive any more.

It is the case that, very often, determined drivers will lie/blind themselves/etc to the fact that they really should not be driving any more and continue to do so. I have read tales of older people having heart attacks at the wheel of a car and killing pedestrians because they had followed their own wishes to continue driving regardless:eek:

On the other hand, there are pensioners out there who can basically afford to drive, BUT have been put into a "pension gap scenario" where they are temporarily unable to do so courtesy of a gap between Retirement Age and their State Pension Age on the one hand. Others who cant afford to drive regardless of having reached that SPA (ie because their income has gone down permanently) and its only realistic to think in terms of whether they can or cant afford to have a car.

Quite some years ago I read an article, in which it had thoroughly been evaluated as to the cost of having a car, and the cost came to £500 a month. I cant afford that on normal income (not a hope in hell), never mind inflation since, and that was enough to convince me that many people literally cannot afford cars and I'm one of them:mad::( if we want them and I would think OP is being thoroughly realistic all round and congrats to them on being so.:T (That £500 figure was worked out by the AA, as I recall, and included everything...ie depreciation/parking fees/etc). Some people do take things like that into account and are factoring in car replacement come the time and not wishing to park wherever they think regardless of whether they really should or no (eg hoping to get away with parking in residents visitors car parking spaces, even if they aren't anything to do with the residents....yep...I'm looking at some people back from Home Area, as I watched them walking out of area ahead of me and nothing to do with us!).

I congratulate OP on being thoroughly realistic here.

gilly41

Thank you for your kind comments everyone......


Yes I appreciate 55 isn't old...hey I am only 49....but ten years really isn't a long time LOL!!!!
And I don't want to drive thanks......plus we already have one car and certainly couldn't afford to run two...so I would still not have a vehicle whilst my husband was at work each day from 7 til 4.30??!!!!


I was more concerned about the "noise" factor when we downsize and was looking for anyones comments and views on that....
Thanks again...I will keep reading the replies xxx

Tixy

Gilly have you also seen this recent thread discussing noise from attached properties Are modern mid/end terraces noisy?

gilly41

Thanks hun I will take a look at that xx