Moved to a Bungalow early!

[WinterVibes]

We are a couple late 40's early 50s. We've taken the plunge and moved to a lovely bungalow in a quaint village with beautiful views. We are still close to a lovely vibrant market town and have 2 lovely country pubs within a 2 minute walk.
Bungalows seem so sought after and hard to come by (and mostly overpriced due to this fact, especially in good area's). We decided to take the plunge now, rather than wait until we are a lot older. I've witnessed so many older family members struggling to afford one but now have health/mobility issues etc. and would be much better off on one level. My elderly Mum is terrible on her feet and I really wish her and my Dad had moved to a bungalow years ago, but she feels too old to uproot now which I understand, plus the area's she would prefer are out of her reach price wise now.

This will be our forever home and we've done quite a lot of renovating to put our own stamp on it, its all open plan living and kitchen with a lovely log burner so even heating will be cost effective as only one main room - I feel like we are ahead of the game now rather than having to face the transition when we are old and it's much harder for us. It's great for us now, but equally I could happily see us here when we are old and frail - if we are lucky enough to reach old age 🙏

Do you think we are bonkers?
Over-Planning?
Has anyone else done this to be ahead of things and future proof?
Bungalow chat a-hoy 👵🧓😂

omg we bought our first semi detached bungalow when we were 25!!

then our second detached one at 37!

I didn’t realise we were too young, we just liked the space and solidity of the properties.

It sounds right for you but I think it’s bonkers: you are wishing your life away. There’s one thing saving money for end of life but it’s another living that life to save money. I would personally rather go and maximise my ability before I no longer can. Eg an inner city town house with excitement and life all around me and only live an elderly life when one can no longer live a youthful one.

How is living in a bungalow living an elderly life? They don't come with those giant single foot slippers pre-installed, you know.

THIS!

I personally think there is nothing as dull as prematurely preparing for old age, life is for living not preparing for when you get old!

Personally I love stairs and climbing the 'wooden hill' to bed 🛌

No one seems to bring up this bungalow legs / knees thing when people talk about living in flats?

I know quite a few people who were brought up in bungalows. I thought it was quite normal. And now as an adult who lives in a City, some people have 4 storey townhouses, some have flats… homes come in all shapes and sizes.

This thread is hilarious!

bungalows aren’t just for OAPs. I have never ever thought like some pp on here.

it’s just a house! In a nice area with big garden and solid construction. Plenty of young families live round here.

We just live in a single storey property which we absolutely love now, but will be advantageous in years to come too. We live a very full life, travel, go out with friends, city breaks etc - but equally we are loving village life too. We have a great community here, lots of events are held in the village which we embrace. We certainly aren't living like 2 doddery old pensioners which is how you make us sound 😂
Australia is full of single storey houses, but I'm sure the people living in them also live full, exciting lives. Planning ahead for older years by being on one level is all we've done.

Why does everyone assume we are living like 2 pensioners just because we are on one level 😂👵🧓
We have a really good sized plot, great garden - but 1 level, which we will hopefully be grateful of in later years. Bonkers how people think bungalows are just for the over 65's!

Why does everyone assume we are living like 2 pensioners just because we are on one level

I think because of the way you have worded your original post, it’s all about preparing for your old age when you are only in your late forties so people are assuming you are living the pensioner lifestyle now at a young age.

Yeah I lived in a bungalow as a child. Didn't realise they were for certain age groups only

Not everyone wants to live in an inner city townhouse. Or even in a city at all. I spent 10 years living in London in my teens/20 s and hated it Sod all to do with age

Surely it works the same for people living in flats then

As mentioned above, the main issue is that bungalow estates are (due to the very large plot size of each bungalow) very large and sprawling and usually built on the edge of town, there is likely to be very little interesting within walking distance (due to the lack of walkability and the fact that it's an estate full of people who like to be "at home" "quiet" etc.), and people often end up going out very little and using the car every time they do go out. That is probably why moving to a bungalow early correlates with losing mobility and becoming very "old" at an early age, whereas living in a flat does not; flats are usually built in more built-up areas with higher densities, with more shops and services nearby, and people tend to get out more and do more walking.

If that's not the OP's situation, no issue.

I do think, however, that the UK should make sure that planning rules allow bungalow plots to be redeveloped into multi-family housing, like the Kiwis are currently doing with a lot of their single-storey housing; we have a housing crisis going on and it's not really very sustainable for one couple to have so much space to themselves.

Bungalow I lived in was under 2 mins walk to the clock Tower which was centre of the village. Under 10 mins to station and 5 mins to river library etc. So near everything

Wasnt on an estate merely down a road. Not all properties there were bungalows

Sure. Some bungalows are standalone houses, not part of an estate where it’s nothing but boring bungalows as far as the eye can see. In which case, it’s unlikely to make you less fit. Just explaining why there might be an overall statistical correlation between bungalow living and lack of fitness!

Some bungalows are standalone houses, not part of an estate where it’s nothing but boring bungalows as far as the eye can see.

As opposed to "boring terraced houses as far as the eye can see", which is how they look to those of us who live in countries where what you call bungalows are the norm.

Well, to be honest I wasn’t talking so much about the architectural merits of the buildings as such, just about the fact that very sprawling low density areas on the edge of towns generally don’t have much going on there (whereas streets with terraces and flats are much more likely to have shops, services and “third places” (= public places where people mingle together) dotted in among the houses or within walking distance. Just basing this on the bungalow estates that I have seen. I’m sure there are exceptions.

Her inability to manage steps in her 80s is unlikely to be related to not having stairs in her house 🙄 it's because she's in her 80s and her joints are wearing out. Having not spent 30 years putting more pressure on those joints by endlessly going up and down stairs will have probably helped her remain mobile not reduced it!

Your post is far too sensible for MNers who insist that "bungalow legs" are a thing. I actually mentioned that arthritis is far more likely a cause of stiffness in elderly people than not having stairs several pages ago, and yet still this nonsense persists. You are quite right that not having to negotiate stairs is more likely to have helped than hindered her mobility.

This. If you'd started a thread 'in praise of bungalows' and hadn't wanged on about old age, I think some people might have responded differently.

Great move. Just look at the amount of bungalows currently being built - NONE - any have a pat on the back for securing a happy retirement.

Stair lifts are wonderful.