AIBU to refuse a bungalow when downsizing for our forever home?

Biased as I grew up in a bungalow and surely they don't have to be an old persons thing! Like any home surely you decorate it to your own tastes.

While for now a bungalow might not be needed, if you were looking for a forever home you need to consider your needs into your 70s and 80s.
I have relatives who left it too late, took ages to convince them to move from a house to a bungalow and sadly not long after they finally moved one of them died so didn't get chance to enjoy their home.

I also feel my in laws have missed the boat on this too. They were too stubborn to move, live in a large 4 bed house with a massive garden. Over the last 5-6 years both have been hit with ill health. They floated the idea of moving but didn't like the costs of some of the bungalows being similar to their current house. Now they are struggling even more and I can see reaching a point where they will have to end up being in a care home and their precious money being spent on that instead.

I wouldn't move to the countryside for a forever home. You'll be driving everywhere. That will be a pain in winter when you're in good health and a total nightmare when one or both of you have an operation and can't drive.

Buy a slightly smaller home in a town so you're future proofed. Stairs are good exercise.

This is so depressing at your age. Honestly, you are too far off thinking like this. You could be bit by a burning the meantime. Anything could happen to property prices. You could have an elderly life with great mobility. Oh my god. Just love somewhere you both like!

Yes of course

Nothing at all wrong with a bungalow - very practical. You can renovate the interior to your liking.

They are very sought after.

If you want to move anyway, I don’t see the issue with getting a bungalow

My home town is very small and lots of farming couples still retire to it. There is no public transport but there are shops and a library and most people drive. People also help each other out. The town I live in now is small and even more people retire here. Once again, no public transport, but people manage. We do have a hospital, but for complex illnesses and surgery people have to go to the city.

I would love a bungalow and I'm in my 20s 😅 but I would like to modernise it! Would redecorating be on the plans?

Barn conversions can be fabulous and are often single storey.

I would have never considered living in a bungalow, then on holiday in a villa with a young family I totally changed my mind. It was great all being on one level! Just like a flat but without the upstairs/downstairs neighbours! I’m on my third now. Yes there are granny like ones but I have always bought airy spacious ones and or extended/renovated to make them so. Call it a single storey cottage if you’d prefer.

You're looking at those bungalows with different eyes than you will when you can no longer manage stairs comfortably!
Bungalows are ok if they're big and light enough. Clever design and decorating can make them lovely on the inside.

If it's your downsized forever home, not having stairs or a stair lift in your old age can be a good idea and for sure worth considering.

@Aluna It’s exactly the same in a town. Neighbours you might not even know! Services - not sure which ones you mean, but often villages have all sorts going on. We don’t have any buses so living without a car would be difficult but friends help out. I would not live totally isolated from others but most rural communities have plenty going on.

I lived in a bungalow when I was younger, may parents were far from elderly. In fact, they built the houses and chose a bungalow. There are so many benefits to living in a bungalow, it’s ridiculous to say they are for the elderly.

For anyone thinking of buying a bungalow - parents moved into one in their 60s and one became basically housebound years later as guess what? Steps up to both front and back doors.

Well if it’s forever it’s one you will grow old in so YABU

Bungalows are often as expensive as bigger houses, so I wouldn't have automatically put them in the 'downsizing' category. They tend to be on quite big plots , so lots of garden and parking space. So your dh might find it not worth the move, if the aim was to downsize and free up money. They tend to be in demand because more people want them than are available.

I think they're great - would love to have everything all on one level.

And they’re often lonely and isolated in old age, and totally reliant on neighbours and local services which are now cut to the bone. Generally it causes a lot of hassle for their families.

A little shop isn’t much use if you can’t get to it.

Bungalows are splendid
Generally bigger plots
You can raise the roof and extend upwards
If 60s or 70s bigger rooms large windows door lights and just better styling
So flexible for living .
Usually easy to heat .
Love a bungalow

Very wise you're too young to be thinking like this. As our family grew again with grandchildren we needed the space for visitors, DILs.

We downsized from rural to somewhere more convenient at 65. Its a bungalow with a bedroom and ensuite upstairs. DH is 75 now and glad of less work around the house.

It’s fine for the age they are now. But for retirement - if you stop being able to walk or drive for whatever reason - eyesight, mobility - you’re marooned. Sure you can have your food delivered but you can’t easily get to the post, chemist, doctor etc. Getting around in taxis is expensive and difficult.

My parents village used have a bus to the nearest city. Now it doesn't and there is mk community bus to replace it. The one that was tried wasn't viable and folded after a couple of years. They didn't need the bus anyway when they moved there. 20 years on they both have deteriorating eyesight and it's only a matter of time before one or both of them can no longer drive. DM has a good social network in the village but DF doesn't and is struggling.

Knowing that people are managing in rural locations well into old age is no help to those who one day find that they can't.

Lol I spent my childhood in a bungalow so wouldn't say they were for the elderly

But if you don't want to live in one then don't. No one is forcing you

We are in our 70s and about to move into town from a remote rural location, trying to be sensible. I am eyeing up every house we view as to its suitability to have a lift installed. Then we can call any two storey house our 'forever' house, as the stairs become increasingly challenging. I never thought it would happen to me, as I have always been active, but arthritis runs in my family and I am in constant pain now and trying to avoid stairs whenever possible.

I lived in a bungalow in my 30s.

I’d happily live in one again.

you sound prejudiced and ageist

Agree with this - we spent years thinking we would move to somewhere rural but changed our minds having watched our friends deal with parents who did precisely that. They had moved 3-5 hours drive from them (Devon/Cornwall), could not help with DGC when young but expected the children to drop everything to drive down to take them to hospital appointments that were often an hour or so drive from their rural homes, because they could no longer drive or afford taxis at that distance. Also moaned because they never saw their adult kids because work, children meant they really could not take the time to visit more than once or twice a year, so they felt neglected

It’s same with large garden/grounds of these rural homes - lovely idea but eventually large gardens become a burden - when you are too old to maintain them, pensions too small to afford to pay a gardener to do it. We’ve actually bought a rather nice 3 bed flat in London for my DH’s job and DD to live it while at uni (she is autistic), and think that we’ll sell our primary home when DH retires in 5-10 years and move in there. Serviced building, concierge, multiple lifts. Perfect for an aging couple (and poss our daughter still). All the major hospitals within a few mins, along with public transport, shops and access to the arts, museums etc. No more talk of 10 acres, and raising llamas [my DH 🤦🏽‍♀️] or more spaniels [me]. And no more garden duty . Our 1/3 of an acre plot takes at least one full day a week of gardening, lawn mowing etc every week, plus annual costs of tree surgeons etc (see another thread on the cost of those).

This ^ But then we've never bought anywhere that didn't need renovating. I can't imagine buying somewhere that was already done to our fairly exacting standards.

I get that bungalows have a long standing association with the elderly, but anywhere can be made more contemporary and cool (if that's your style) with some imagination, design flair and money. They don't need to resemble a care home!

Our Georgian cottage (purchased in 2024 when we were early 50s) hadn't been touched since 1970 when the late owner bought it. The whole place was styled like a bland nursing home...but it looks absolutely nothing like that now as we're eccentric maximalists 😉

And I agree with the posters who said of course your forever home can be in a rural location! We'll hopefully be moving to ours in a couple of years 🤞