To Downsize or Not ?

Daveinlincoln

Have any of you done this/know anyone who has?...if so how did it go?

Ok, so I think ahead about most things but that's what I always do and it tends to work out well.

So the next big thing for me is to decide if I want to carry on living in this house or downsize to release some travel funds,be debt free and make a new start....but I want to get this one right.

I live in a nice 4 bed house on a well-to-do estate...not bragging,i just do. But I don't need a big place when the ex moves out in April and son heads to uni next year. Houses sell quickly on this estate when they become available and im thinking of heading into the centre of the city and getting myself an apartment right in the middle of life.

I found a block id like to live (at least from the outside) and ive booked a viewing for next week, I wont buy it but now but itll give me an idea of what its like and what I want, its an ultra modern flat opposite the uni where I go to jazz nights and my favourite coffee shop is around the corner....its a very cool place to live and I think I can see myself living there, the vibe is young and ill be a short stroll from everything...comedy clubs,cinema,craft beer pub,restaurants.

Another option if not an apartment would be a small semi-detached or cottage as these wont attract maintenance fees every month or ground rent.

Yet another option is to remain where I am but i'll be paying a mortgage until i'm 70 and my self-employed job wont last until then and I want to take a year out and travel so that'll never happen if i'm on the hook for large monthly bills u ntil im old (Mortgage here is £800)

The downside is ill lose the garden (not such a big deal) my neighbours here have become friends and its quiet,leafy and the birds sing.

I don't need to make any quick decisions but I do need to make the right one....have any of you ever moved to a smaller place out of choice?...did it work for you or did you regret it?

carefullycautious

We moved from 3 bed house to 2 bed flat and had years of hell from neighbour. We then moved to 1 bed to escape that problem and this was a step too far as we have no storage space and feel claustrophobic. So we are now looking  to move back to 2 bed house. Iwe don’t regret downsizing and decluttering as it proved we do not need much to live adequately. 

Bossypants

I think downsizing in general is often sensible and useful for people in situations like yours, but going from a 4 bed house (detached) to a flat might be too much of a shock to the system? In your position I would be looking for a smaller house or bungalow. You'll have more flexibility (storage, accomodation for guests/pet projects/future grandkids/etc) while still not having the cost or hassle of maintaining a family home.

FtbDreaming

I wouldn't go for a flat but a smaller house or bungalow maybe nice?

 We lived in a city centre apartment pre kids and were the first ones in. All was good for the first 2 years then there was a baby boom (including us) and a lot of the couples moved on. In their place moved in students and gangsters... the lifts were getting !!!!!! in every weekend and the whole place turned into a dump in the 3rd year.

We moved out once dd started crawling as the balcony wasn't safe with a baby but I don't think I would ever want to own a city centre apartment because of the neighbours, noise, mess, broken lifts etc.