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 👵🧓😂

That's not what doctors say

Our second home is a bungalow and I love how everything’s on one level. It makes us feel much closer as a family and I don’t have to ring the dcs when their dinners ready - I can just shout!

Lucky you OP. Sounds wonderful to me.

My mobility isn't great, and will deteriorate more in the future meaning I will be wheelchair dependent probably. It's not just stairs that are the issue, but room layout and dimensions that suit wheelchairs. We have been looking for a bungalow for a while now. I find bungalows, especially those built in the 70s/80s tend to have layouts that are easier to adapt for wheelchairs. They often have a wide hallway and wider door frames too. Plus I also love that the older ones are often built in amongst other bungalows so you don't get overlooked by double storey houses.

They are so hard to find though! So many have been sold and turned into double storey houses with more rooms but with tiny dimensions. New builds hardly ever build them anymore and when they do it's a bungalow with postage stamp rooms surrounded by much taller houses overlooking them. They always feel like an afterthought on the developers part.

Yes of course, that is another option for those who want to sit in a mechanical chair that goes at 1mph 🤣

And hope there isn't a power cut.

True! 🙈

Ghastly things!!!!

I'm now thinking of the scene with the stairlift in Gremlins!

My parents moved to a bungalow when I was 12 and they were early forties. I don’t think they were forward planning so much as it was the nicest house in the village with a big garden, but turns out it was a great decision because my dad now has MND.

My concern as you age wouldn’t be stairs so much as your bungalow is at the top of a steep hill in a village. When your mobility goes you won’t be able to walk anywhere, then when you can’t drive anymore…
Also when you can’t drive town amenities will be out of reach. How far is the nearest hospital? Supermarket? GP? Is the public transport good and accessible to those with poor mobility? Is it likely to stay like that?
These are all things I’d consider (and have, up to a point) before stairs when future proofing a house purchase.
The bungalow sounds lovely though. Enjoy it, but don’t think it’s future proof.

The village itself is flat with most amenities close by such as Dr Pharmacy and shop. Town by taxi is 10 minutes away. I wouldn't ever want to live in the centre of a town anyway, so being a short distance away isn't a concern us, as if we both ever find ourselves unable to drive we can always call a taxi. I think it's hard to 'fully' future proof every single eventuality. We may not even make old age, but if we are lucky enough to, being in a beautiful village on one level, with rolling field views and a town 10 mins away would be our personal preference. Of course, we are all different though, I appreciate that.

If where you live is anything like where I live, the hills are impossible to completely avoid, anyhow.

When your mobility goes you won’t be able to walk anywhere, then when you can’t drive anymore…

Her mobility might not go to the extent she's housebound though.

@Catkat - well, pretty obviously I would have thought, the logic in my argument is that if you stop using steps when still young then you could lose the ability to use them anywhere, including not when you're in your own house, earlier than otherwise. So that limits your life rather prematurely.

Better to stay mobile for as long as you can? Neither OP or my mother were elderly when they bought their bungalows so it wasn't a case of not being able to use stairs.

I, and most of the people I know, have lived in single storey houses all our lives. We are still able to climb stairs when we have to - I'm in my 60s, and have friends in my 70s. Even my DM's friends were able to climb them in their 80s as long as they didn't have arthritic knees. You are talking absolute rubbish!

Great! Thanks for your feedback @givemeasunnyday. Absolute rubbish? Ok noted.

People don’t just live in bungalows when they get old. Lots of people love bungalows, you usually get a larger plot. I don’t see how you could think it’s bonkers…? You’ve just moved to a new home and thought it’d work well for a long time to come which is what most people try to do.
you’ve not done anything out of the ordinary 🤔

That's what I immediately thought when I read the title of Op's post. So now I'm amazed that so many people think bungalows are something you don't move into until your twilight years.

'Bungalow legs' 😂People living in ground floor flats, or flats higher up that they usually access via a lift, must also suffer from a similar debilitating condition. 😂😂😂
What a bloody mad thread, but it's given me some great laughs so thank you.

None of our friends our age are in bungalows, and we have a large friendship group, so moving to a bungalow is out of the ordinary in our world.