I've lived in 13 different homes in my lifetime, and that's quite enough uprooting and re-settling, thank you very much.
Every so often Jenny and I ponder the possibility of downsizing, but we always conclude it's not worth the enormous upheaval unless there's some really urgent need.
Having lived in a fairly spacious house for 16 years, it would be very hard to adjust to somewhere much smaller. I'm sure we would feel cramped and restricted and it would take quite a while to attune to our reduced territory.
People who think those of us who live in "over-sized" houses should sell up immediately and move to somewhere smaller are missing the point. There are over 260,000 long term empty houses in the UK that should be brought into use rather than quietly rotting.
I'm staying right here until something drives me out. Hopefully it never will.
We have lived in this house for 32 years, longer than anywhere else. I get what you are saying. It is large, not huge, but larger than two people need. It also gives us our own spaces, which is very important to us. There's also the horses. They are old and the only recourse would be to euthanize them. We will move when we can't care for or support the place.
ReplyDeleteSandra: 32 years, that's quite something. It would be terrible if you had to euthanise the horses. We also have our own spaces, which we wouldn't want to give up.
DeleteHere in Canada, this summer, I moved from a micro condo (like in a BBC article) upstairs to a suite with a separate bedroom and separate den. I shoved my stuff into the den, and most of it is still unpacked. Ha-ha. I think my stuff expanded during my move.
ReplyDeleteSean: That's another problem with downsizing - we'd have to somehow get rid of a lot of our furniture that we wouldn't have room for.
DeleteWe’ve also decided to stay put until the time we can no longer care for ourselves. We will likely still have Middle Child with us. Some of our neighbors have looked into downsizing, but soon found out it would cost them more when adding in rising HOA fees for condo living rather than stay in a large home that’s paid for.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Yes, that's basically our position as well - wait until we can no longer care for ourselves. And re becoming liable for big fees, my mum was in a care home for nine months and the cost was diabolical. She had owned her own home previously.
DeleteFor several years, three of us lived in a four bedroom, three bath house and we used every room of it. Later, two of us lived for three years in a motorhome traveling all around the USA. When we moved into an apartment, it felt huge! It still feels too big some days even though it is really small. There are moving companies here that will help you evaluate what you should take with you when downsizing--we didn't need that service having already done our downsizing when moving into the motorhome.
ReplyDeleteLinda