Moving from a Georgian property to an Ultra Modern property

[premm]

DP and I currently rent a one bedroom flat. It’s a floor of a Georgian townhouse in London, no garden. It’s seen better days, shall we say that. We have filled it with modern art and mid century furniture with some regency pieces mixed in. We’ve bought stuff we like, but to fit this space.

An ultra modern one bedroom flat has come up for rent in a building we love. Rent includes a gym, porter, onsite café, and the flat has a balcony with river views.

We are quite tempted to move. I much prefer to look at old buildings and feel more comfortable in them. But our current flat is always cold, needs constant maintenance call outs, and needs a refurb.

Has anyone made a similar move? From an old house with period features to something very clean and modern?

Yes - do it ! You will never look back !

only thing in modern properties is the sound proofing so look out for that

Modern flats are often poorly soundproofed and noisy af.

Personally I’d only want to live in older buildings, yes they can be money pits but I just hate the soullessness of new builds

The new one sounds infinitely better than what you've got. I would definitely move

I live in a new build and it's as well sound-proofed as a victorian terrace.

Insulation is much better too.

The flat you've described sounds like a great place to live.

I’m not sure what the crux of your decision is, though — what’s stopping you?

Wr’ve lived in a 19th mansion block flat, the ground floor of a 19thc house, a 1979 red brick house, a tiny pre-1800 cottage, and were now in a Victorian house. And yes, some furniture just doesn’t make the transition (or fit). If there are things you’re fond of, and you’re likely to move on again, consider renting a storage unit?

I grew up in a period property. My mum was a SAHP and it was a lot of work. Bits fell off it randomly. We discovered a new room after living there for 30 odd years.

It’s absolutely a labour of love. I now live in a modern house. I don’t have time to deal with the peculiarities of an old house, nice as they are. Also they are absolute money pits!

I’d move.

Victorian properties are well insulated for sound? No, they aren't.

Say more about discovering a new room after 30 years!!!

I like to look at old buildings too but it doesn’t mean you need to live in one. I would go for it! You don’t have that much to lose because if you don’t enjoy living there you can always look for an older property again next time you move. At least you will know…. & the new place sounds great.

The new room was really funny - the previous owners had made a heated airing cupboard off the downstairs loo, which ran the length of the downstairs cloakroom. They hadn’t put a light in, and so you couldn’t see the door right at the very back of the long, narrow, dark airing cupboard. This door led to effectively a corner room, which came out to the back of the kitchen pantry, but they’d put shelves up along the door as they never used that door.

You couldn’t see it from the outside as it was in a corner between the boiler house and outside loo. We found the door from the kitchen pantry when the shelves fell off.

The sound proof comes back all the time. There is literally no golden rule, some new built are impeccably insulated both from outside temperature and sounds while some Victorian terraced let you know when someone is flushing the toilet next door. I guess the old stock built for wealthier population are more likely to be those thick walls bomb proof ones while the workers house were the Barratt of the early 20th century.

Excluding the sound angle, new built is a conveniency other style deal. For instance, low ceilings make it easier to heat up but makes it hard to decorate (forget pending lights). It ll never look as good as a 3.5 meters ceiling high whatever you do to it. Inversely, you will have electrical plugs in the right place, embedded ventilation preventing dreaded damp and this cold feeling, and no lost space or weird angles.

We discovered a new room after living there for 30 odd years.

Oh my god I would love to have this happen! This is the dream!

You are renting and not buying so it sounds a great idea to try something new without much of a commitment. Sound can be an issue in both old and new properties - it's hard to know unless you know someone in the building or could ask someone who lives there - even if just lurking outside and asking a random resident!

In your shoes, as a tenant, I absolutely would move to the more modern block with better facilities. The period place sounds pretty but a pain from a day to day living POV, whereas the other place is likely to be warmer and cheaper to run (more modern heating and insulation). If you find that modern isn't for you, you can always go back to a period rental when your tenancy is up.