AIBU to wonder if my parents will regret downsizing now?

[DownsizingNow]

Personally I think no but I’m curious to know what others think after a discussion with some relatives who said that they think that they will.

They’re in their mid 60s and currently in a 3 bedroom detached home with a medium size garden. It’s a new build home but it’s getting to the stage where it’s starting to need maintenance and repairs and some has been done and more will need to be done in future. They’re finding it too much trouble, even trying to get workmen in can be a headache. The stairs are going to become a real issue soon due to injury and they aren’t keen gardeners but the garden takes a lot of maintenance and is going to need the paving changed soon.

So they’ve decided to move to a new build ground floor 2 bedroom flat. They want to futureproof and don’t intend to move again and it’s literally 5 minutes walk from a large supermarket, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers, Doctors and a health centre. There are 4 buses to take them the 20 minutes into the nearest city and a train station 2 minutes away that can have them there in 5 minutes. They’ll only be a few miles away from their current home.

Obviously there’ll be cons of living in flats but overall I think that it’s a good move for them.

I’m curious to know if anyone will think that they’ll regret it and if anyone’s parents have downsized and how they feel about it.

TIA

I’ve downsized once and will do so again.

very happy with it.

Cons: service charge and ground rent

My parents downsized to a 2 bed, then upsized again to a 4 bed because they wanted to have enough space for hosting us.

Now my mum’s died I think Dad would find a small place much easier but he won’t have it. To be fair I think the move would be a huge upheaval for him.

The location sounds great.

Why would they regret it? Is it lack of storage space or guest space? Are you projecting?

We’ve recently downsized from a 5 bed family home to a top floor flat with fabulous views of the hills surrounding the city, terrace, balcony and lift. Huge windows so haven’t had to turn the heating on yet. Lift for days when our knees or back won’t play ball. 5 mins from myriad shops, gp, cinema, theatre (of out tonight).
Its fantastic.

Personally I couldn't live in a flat, esp ground floor with upstairs neighbours. Did so abroad for a number of years, but I was young then and not at home much.

In Scotland, our flat is freehold. £150 pcm service charges, which includes water and buildings insurance. Far, far cheaper than our house was.

I’m not projecting. As I mentioned in my OP some relatives said that they think they’ll regret it due to the smaller space, losing a nice view and no garden but they don’t really get anything out of the garden now so I was curious to hear from Mumsnetters who have downsized or whose parents have downsized to hear their experiences.

We are currently in the process of downsizing from a 3 bed very old house with large high maintenance garden that needs constant upkeep and money spending on it, to a 2 bedroom new build bungalow with a small low maintenance garden. The current house is fairly rural and we need to use the car to access amenities, the new bungalow is walking distance to shops/restaurants/vets/Dr's/dentist etc etc and we cannot wait!!!!

I am pretty damn sure we will not regret it.

Location sounds nice it maybe where I live.😁
I want to downsize other half doesn't.

And a much greater risk of noise from neighbours compared to a detached house.

They might regret it for a while as they get used to having less space, but they sound like sensible people who
realise they have made the best decision, even if they do miss their old home sometimes.

Only downside would be moving away from any friends where they live now and noise. I’m only in my 40s, but I’m way too old already to listen to some twat’s bass thumping through the wall 10 hours a day.

Share a floor with two other flats, never hear a peep.

Depends why the others think they will regret it. It might be that they themselves would miss their garden, and don’t see that some others genuinely don’t care.

I’m keen on downsizing and plan to do so myself, but I have to say in my job I have been to visit people with acquired disabilities in tiny flats who don’t really have room for much manoeuvring in a wheelchair for example. Though obviously I won’t know their financial circumstances that may have prompted the move. Also most ‘retirement’ flats are built for shit, frankly. Poor use of light and in some cases ridiculously cold unless you have the heating on full blast. It sounds like they have moved to a proper flat though. If they have chosen carefully I don’t think they will regret it.

DP’s mum has been very upset by a friend being ‘forced to move to a small flat by her children, she really regrets it’. It is crystal clear that said friend is deep into dementia and allegedly caring for a phenomenally frail husband, I should think said children have been tearing their hair out. Dp’s mum is freaked out because she is unsurprisingly frightened of extreme old age and recently widowed.

Which city is this ? Sounds amazing!

Will they still have outdoor space /garden ? To have a garden then not is hard

but I’d have a small garden and can get it paved then sounds a great outcome

ground floor is good tho how is security and if they had a window open could people get in

tho a higher flat won’t work as many don’t have lifts or they break

My parents downsized and absolutely love it. Tbey moved from a huge 7 bed house with big garden to small 2 bed house with small garden. They would miss not having any outside space at all I think

So...because you're never disturbed by your neighbours nobody else living in a flat ever is or ever will be? I said risk, not certainty.

As someone who moved to a detached house to escape hellish neighbours in a terrace, I'm pretty resistant to the idea of downsizing back to a flat. Our house is already small anyway though.

Perth

I certainly think it should be illegal to build flats without a lift in this country. Makes a huge number of flats inaccessible to vast numbers of people. But the stranglehold that house developers have on all governments will prevent that being passed.

I think they are doing the right thing. Downsize now while they still can. My dad is 80 and really struggling with the current house. He's thinking about downsizing but....

I think noise is probably more of an issue in converted flats. Ours is purpose built with well designed layouts.
Our detached 5 bed was next to a large, noisy family. The peace here is lovely 😁

Thanks all. It’s interesting to hear your thoughts and I appreciate them.

The town that they’re moving to wouldn’t have been their first choice as it is more built up than the area that they’re in now but it is in the one area of the town that they liked and though it’s close to everything it’s also tucked away. And the transport is so much better.

It isn’t a retirement flat, just a regular purpose built flat but it is being snapped up by mostly older people as another part of the development features larger homes more likely to appeal to families.

I think they will regret it hugely. We’re 68 and 72 and have just put our house on the market after being here for 33 years. Estate agents keep asking us if we’re downsizing and look aghast when we say that we want somewhere at least the same size and preferably a bit larger 😆😆. Just because you get older doesn’t mean that you necessarily want to move into a much smaller property. Were used to having a 5 bedroom house and love having space.