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 👵🧓😂

😂🍾🥂 I can't fault them!

I've only heard of this since my post! Stairmaster it is!

I like them like I like flats - they often feel more spacious than houses.

Bungalow legs they call it which you develop if you don't have stairs. Seems to defeat the object of preparing for old age if you have bought on a hill though? Hope you have many happy years ahead.

We moved into our bungalow 19 years ago when we were 50, once our son married our 4 bedroom house was too big, so we wanted to downsize.
Our aim was to future proof it as would be out last home hopefully, we extended the bedrooms and bathroom got rid of the bath (tricky knees) and installed a wetroom.
Installed solar panels and recently put in a new heating system with ground source heat pumps.
We got rid of the massive conifer hedge and put up fencing panels,replaced the old dangerous paving slabs and made a low wide raised border which runs the length of the garden.
It's the best thing we did property wise, I love living here it takes no time to tidy and clean and frees us up to spend time on pastimes and hobbies.
My mobility is better now than when I lived in a house, thanks to yoga and Pilates which I didn't have time to do before.

The trick is to move to a bungalow before you are too old to renovate it.

We moved into a bungalow a couple of years ago and I HATE IT !!!

Late 50's both of us , there is just something about it , it doesn't feel like home and never will . Been looking to move since I opened the front door after picking up the keys

It's a village at the top of the hill, so flat once you get here! Hopefully I'll still be driving, but if not the surrounding area is pretty accessible. A lot of my neighbours are elderly and are still driving - so here's hoping!

Oh dear, sorry to hear that! I hope you manage to move and find somewhere that does feel like home to you.

We did this 18 months ago - more due to circumstances than planning.
My mums died in July 2019 and lived in a fairly modern bungalow in a quiet cul de sac .
We lived in an Edwardian 4 bed large terrace house in a seaside town 7 miles away. Me, DH and adult DS and DD
DS moved out in November 2019.
Had the bungalow empty for a year as couldn’t decide what to do/also went into lockdown.
Rented it out for 18 months then DD moved out. Decided to sell our house and me and DH move into bungalow, we were 54 and 64 respectively approx 18 months ago.

Pros :

• downsized ‘early’ so physically easier, also able to declutter substantially, saving D.C. hassle later on.
• detached so no neighbours noise
• lower ceilings, smaller rooms, more modern = easier to maintain.
• more ‘pleasant’ area
• Closer to work slightly for me, DH is retired.

Cons:

• detached so colder than terraced house
• inland so colder in winter(even though it’s just by 7 miles). Bedroom is particularly cold being on the ground floor of course and 2 outside walls.
• considerably less storage which I didn’t appreciate before moving!
• miss living in a fairly busy seaside town ( not a posh one!) but nice for a stroll along the prom and always something to see.

But I can imagine that it’s harder to down size/move when you’re older so I think we made the right choice. And a lovely Young family are now living in our former home.

Just for information, My parents originally bought the bungalow as my dad had mobility issues.

😅 well hopefully your next door neighbours will be nice and you can all hang out at the top of the hill together and party in each others gardens. Very lovely to hear you have found your forever home.

If you could just step up to the podium to collect your medal OP……

My friend lives in a Bungalow, rural, detached, built 1960- it's beautiful !
Gorgeous gardens- life on. one level is excellent.

I have dodgy knee and go up and down stairs umpteen times a day.

Why not dig your graves in the garden now as you seem to be embracing an elderly lifestyle in your 40s. Not for me.

LOL bungalow legs. It's not a thing. In lot of countries people live in bungalows (houses that are in one floor) and they don't have mobility issues because they are active throughout their life.

🤸‍♀️🤸on my way 😂

So this is what happened to my aunt. Bought a bungalow close to centre of village with really good shops but top of a steep hill. Then both she and my uncle lost mobility and couldn’t get into the village at all. Had to shop online and pay a carer do the rest of the shopping and errands. You can’t get mobility scooters down steep hills.

What the hell are Bungalow legs 🤣?

My first house is a bungalow, I love it! I love being detached and having a large garden. I’m only 23 though so I guess I’ve future proofed extremely early

My first home was a bungalow. We didn’t want a flat, but didn’t need a house. They’re underrated

I used to be very snooty about Bungalows
Since seeing my friends one- I've changed my mind.

We have only moved to a bungalow - We haven't ordered meals on wheels and joined the local bowls club 😂😂😂 we still live a very young, busy, full life and work. We just live on 1 level, like a lot of people do in apartments etc ✌️

I think it's a made up but someone said upthread "Bungalow legs they call it which you develop if you don't have stairs." I would call it sitting on your a* all day 🙄

They tend to have decent plots! I'm glad you're a fellow bungalower and are happy 😊

That would make perfect sense.
I live in a hilly area anyway, and huff and puff my way around clinging onto tree trunks to gain traction since getting a dog again, so I think you are right.
Also lost two stone since getting dog and none of my trousers fit without a belt.

Bonkers? "I'm mad, me, I live in a bungalow?'
Well, congratulations on saving the price of a Stannah stairlift - but I can't see that it's much different from living in a flat.