Selling long term family home.

[Agggghast]

I live in a beautiful but isolated house on a sea road. My late DH and I bought it when it was derelict ( one cold water tap for the first 2 months) and gradually turned it into our dream home. All three of my DC lived here all their lives but are all now at university and none of them intend to return to this lovely but isolated area to live full time. Gradually over the past years all the houses close to mine have become holiday homes.

During the terrible weather over the winter I became increasingly aware of how isolated I am and the past few bank holidays,when the nearest houses have been occupied, has highlighted this. I now feel I would like to sell up and move on but when I mentioned this to my DC they were visibly upset. I entirely understand their feelings but I just can't get my worry about the location out of my mind. I also remember the moaning about the location we heard before they passed their driving tests!

WIBU to move despite their wishes? Part of me feels this is the past not the future but the other part feels I would almost be turning my back on the happy memories of my marriage/ their childhood.

Another one suggesting you sell. Yes they will be a little sad, but they will have happy memories, and you will be helping them to get their own places to lay down other memories.
I always wish my parents had sold the family home on the open market.They chose to sell to my brother, and I have always felt resentful, as it is no longer 'my' home, although I recognise that IABU and haven't voiced my feelings

The best thing about memories is that they are portable - they go wherever you go.

OP, it seems like you've seen your DC's upset at the thought of selling, and are taking from this that they wouldn't want you to sell. I do think you should ultimately do what is right for you, it's not turning your back on the past, it's carrying the memories of it with you into the next stage of your life.

DP and I left a wonderful home after 22 years; it was such a wrench, much more than I was expecting, but it was the right thing to do and has enabled us to move onto an exciting new stage of life; I don't regret it at all. We had a farewell get-together with family and friends that had spent time with us there, which was lovely, although when friends left and said goodbye to the house, I could have collapsed into a wet heap. But that's life, things change, we move on.

You seem to have a great relationship with your DC, can I suggest that you talk to your them about it? Maybe a weekend afternoon, reminiscing over food and drink, laughing, crying, and all of you making exciting plans for the future.

Could you let it, and you also rent, or do you need to sell in order to buy?

Options:

Sell it.
Let it out.
Let them buy it off you between the, (properly, not a half hearted buying it off you)

I can understand why they feel this way, but you have to think about you.

We have just downsized my mum from our wonderful beautiful big childhood Home . It was the right thing to do for her since dad died regardless of what we wanted . We cried and cried and cried about it and especially leaving but A it haemorrhaged money and B it was remote and huge and she was on her own . I dealt with the sale myself and it was truly awful showing twunts round who were as nice as they should have been but as I said earlier it was the right thing to do for her and that's all that matters .