What to look for in a bungalow? Downsizing.

youth_leader

Good point MalMonroe.  In 1969 a burgular was trying to break our back door down in the early hours one Sunday morning, and as my Dad ran out I looked from my bedroom window and saw him hit my Dad on the head with a - jemmy/crow bar? - metal bar with a curved end. Not like tv, blood everywhere, it was terrifying.  Luckily only a fractured skull, he survived and regained his sense of taste eventually.  I've always had a dog as an adult, I'm frightened of intruders.

Davesnave

MalMonroe said:

deejaybee said:

I live in a small town in the South Hams ( South Devon ), there are a fair amount of bungalows, particularly in some of the surrounding villages ( Chillington for example - although reflecting Dave's comments above, there are a LOT of old people in that village, reminds me of that old film Cocoon ! )

What's wrong with old people??? I live in an area where the population is older but they are all great neighbours, considerate, friendly, helpful and QUIET!

There is, of course, nothing wrong with old people, but as I said before, I prefer a more balanced demographic. In other words, I wouldn't want to live surrounded by people all roughly the same age as me, whatever that happened to be: old, young, or in between. It's a false situation, which never used to arise, and seeking it implies a prejudice against other age groups.

In the small community where I live, it's of concern to many of us that younger people are being priced-out of local housing, with the inevitable consequence of a shrinking population. There used to be a school here. but it's gone. The PO went too, and it took a huge collective effort by the villagers to get it back. Now the pub is under threat. If we are not very careful, we will soon be just a collection of houses owned by elderly people, with nothing to do except comment to each other about how jolly nice and quiet it is!

onwards&upwards

MalMonroe said:

deejaybee said:

I live in a small town in the South Hams ( South Devon ), there are a fair amount of bungalows, particularly in some of the surrounding villages ( Chillington for example - although reflecting Dave's comments above, there are a LOT of old people in that village, reminds me of that old film Cocoon ! )

What's wrong with old people??? I live in an area where the population is older but they are all great neighbours, considerate, friendly, helpful and QUIET! And if you remember those people in Cocoon, they started getting more sprightly and younger, didn't they? Nothing wrong with a LOT of old people at all. Older people know how to behave properly!  Oh, and OP also said "I'm older and lazy with metric . . . " so I'm sure OLD people (god help us) won't be a problem.

Nothing wrong with old people, but its better for everybody to live amongst a mixture of people of all ages. 

Oh and not all old people know how to behave properly anymore than all young people are loud and antisocial! 

Davesnave

onwards&upwards said:

MalMonroe said:

deejaybee said:

I live in a small town in the South Hams ( South Devon ), there are a fair amount of bungalows, particularly in some of the surrounding villages ( Chillington for example - although reflecting Dave's comments above, there are a LOT of old people in that village, reminds me of that old film Cocoon ! )

What's wrong with old people??? I live in an area where the population is older but they are all great neighbours, considerate, friendly, helpful and QUIET! And if you remember those people in Cocoon, they started getting more sprightly and younger, didn't they? Nothing wrong with a LOT of old people at all. Older people know how to behave properly!  Oh, and OP also said "I'm older and lazy with metric . . . " so I'm sure OLD people (god help us) won't be a problem.

Oh and not all old people know how to behave properly anymore than all young people are loud and antisocial! 

True, but some old people have slipped into an lazy attitude of mind that clashes with the facts. I don't know what others' definition of 'old' might be, and I'd guess it might vary quite widely, but I'm the wrong side of 70 now and I've changed very little since I was 30 from the POV of an outside observer. Of course, I feel the aches I never used to have, but I don't let them restrict me. "Use it or lose it" is my mantra (others are available!)

However, being lucky with my health doesn't make me blind to those who are less fortunate. It's perfectly reasonable for folk to want a quiet life in their autumn years and not to have some heavy metal freak (see sig!) somewhere on the other side of their atrociously sound-damped bungalow  wall!

seven-day-weekend

Make sure that if it is extended, it hasn't made an internal room without a window.  Our neighbour's bungalow, which started off the same as ours, had an extension which they use as a dining room.  It means that the second bedroom has no external wall (semi-detached, joined on at bedrooms) and therefore no window, although they have made an internal 'window' looking into the dining room to try to get some light into it.  It is most unsatisfactory in my view.

I agree about rooms being flexible.

maisie_cat

We bought our forever home as 2 cottages knocked together, we have 2 attic bedrooms with restricted height  and everything else, including 1 room for bedroom or additional living room is downstairs. We reasoned that if the stairs are ever a problem a downstairs bedroom will be fine. The main thing is the area, amount of land, neighbours etc. Inside, especially in a bungalow can be reconfigured to suit but you can't change the location or amount of outside space. 

KeepOnKnitting

youth_leader said:

 I moved out before the auction into a rental ten doors away from my house.  I'm finding it very difficult seeing what is being done, and do want a fresh start somewhere new. 
  
As I'm retired I chose areas based on my wishes to volunteer somewhere, initially Cornwall for the Eden project, as well as Wareham/Swanage for Monkey World, and Sidmouth for the Donkey Sanctuary.  

If you are already renting, why not move into a rented place in one of these areas just to give it a spin? Then you can try the lifestyle on for size before you commit to purchase. Rent a bungalow and see if you like it. If you don't, move to another place. I think this could be a bit of an adventure if you feel like it.

Davesnave

KeepOnKnitting said:

youth_leader said:

 I moved out before the auction into a rental ten doors away from my house.  I'm finding it very difficult seeing what is being done, and do want a fresh start somewhere new. 
  
As I'm retired I chose areas based on my wishes to volunteer somewhere, initially Cornwall for the Eden project, as well as Wareham/Swanage for Monkey World, and Sidmouth for the Donkey Sanctuary.  

If you are already renting, why not move into a rented place in one of these areas just to give it a spin? Then you can try the lifestyle on for size before you commit to purchase. Rent a bungalow and see if you like it. If you don't, move to another place. I think this could be a bit of an adventure if you feel like it.

This is good advice. Moving from Durham to the South Coast will prove to be a learning experience; hopefully a happy one, but with renting there's more of a chance to reconsider if things are not as expected. Prices aren't likely to be going upwards for a while.

youth_leader

Thank you very much for the suggestion of renting, I think I might do that once I find an area I 'think' I'll be happy.  I'm actually an hour further north than Durham and live a mile outside a very popular village.  After lockdown and its eerie quiet streets I found it  heaving with huge amounts of people today, for the first time I couldn't park.  Having second thoughts about locations, but I'll be able to explore more once I'm able to get down.  

Scotbot

Definitely agree with renting in the new area first. It is a big move and an expensive one if you don't like the new location. Plus it is more practical how will you manage viewings in the South when you live north of Durham? In practice this will restrict what you can look at.