It happened again yesterday on the TV programme Question Time, when someone debating the possibility of reducing the state pension proposed that if more people downsized they could manage on a smaller pension.
He suggested that people in very spacious houses like our own could be given an incentive to move to somewhere smaller - presumably some sort of financial grant.
Well, I enjoy living in a large house and I don't see why people like us should be singled out for our preference, especially when there are thousands of empty houses around the country that could be targeted instead. And how could you ensure that an "over-large" house went to a family and not another space-loving couple like us?
In any case, even a sizeable financial grant wouldn't make up for all the upheaval and hard work and stress of moving house.
We space-lovers are being turned into scapegoats for the continuing shortage of new homes. We're supposed to feel guilty for not "making do" with a much smaller house.
And if family-size houses are so badly needed, how come so many tiny apartments are being built?
Nick , my question is why are you needing a big house. ? You can only be in one room at time , We have a big house ,but are offering most of the space to refugees and have only kept 3 small rooms about 70m2 for us. But our life was organised probably in a very different way.
ReplyDeleteIn Berlin people have great problems to find and pay a flat and I can understand that one or 2 persons do not need a home of 200m2 or more. But of course we are free to chose what we wish.
Hannah
Hannah: It's not as if we live in a mansion. Our previous house was very cramped but this one is just right for our needs. We each have our own study, there's a decent-sized bedroom for visitors, and there's a proper kitchen diner rather than the tiny galley kitchen we had before. As I said, the real problem is far too few houses being built. And even if they were built, they would be unaffordable for many.
DeleteIt is a standing irritation that certain people are so full of opinions about what kind of lives everybody else should be living.
ReplyDeleteMoving and the preparations for it are a huge amount of work, and especially burdensome to those who are getting on in years and don't have as much energy as they used to. There's also the risk of losing or damaging valuable personal items. I'd dread it and I don't blame you for feeling the same.
Infidel: Exactly. Why should we have to go through the massive upheaval of moving house because of a housing shortfall we're not responsible for?
DeleteI know of 3 couples in my neighborhood who would love to downsize but can’t afford to! All the newer small houses being built cost more money than our houses that were built in the early 90’s. Add in the HOA fees of senior communities and it’s really not feasible on a Social Security income.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: That's a new one on me, people who can't afford to downsize! That's a further dimension to the housing crisis.
DeleteMary: Indeed. We're being turned into scapegoats for the total mismanagement of housing.
ReplyDeleteHousing is a complicated issue! One of my bug bears is affordable family houses being extended and then no longer being affordable for new younger families - if you see what I'm saying?
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I wouldn't mind moving somewhere smaller - but if I really loved my house I'd probably want to stay put. In any case it's nonsense to say that after a certain age you're only allowed x amount sq. footage. I wonder how the last Queen would have felt about that rattling around at Balmoral?
I think AirBnb, and second homers have more to feel guilty about!
Sx
Ms Scarlet: Absolutely, airbnb and second homers are far more of a problem than couples in large houses. I hadn't thought about extensions creating unaffordable houses, good point. Indeed, will the King set the ball rolling by moving to a four-bed semi and flogging all the royal residences?
DeleteThree of us lived in a house with four bedrooms and three baths and we used every single room, except the formal dining room, every single day. We only used it when hosting a dinner since we generally ate in the kitchen. When we downsized it was because we wanted to get rid of stairs, not because someone else said we should. At that time. there were only two us but we still bought a three bedroom, two bath place. We actually ate in the dining room there because we turned the breakfast nook into an office with the best view in the house.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: We also use every room, except for the guest bedroom which is strictly for visitors. Getting rid of stairs is a good reason to move if stairs are getting difficult.
DeleteWe have a largish house, ideal for raising a family, a bit unnecessary now for us - except when family comes to visit or stay. Then it seems every room in the house is used. One day we will have to downsize for sheer manageability but not for a while I hope.
ReplyDeleteLiz: I hope we never have to downsize, as it would be such an exhausting unpheaval. And having somewhere much smaller would be hard to adjust to.
DeleteInterestng! I live in a house with much more space than I need now with family long since gone or living elsewhere. I've been in the process of gradually "right-sizing" as I can get to it for some time now. This consists of parting with some things so others won't have to be bothered doing so with them.
ReplyDelete