Parents moving to London to be close to me

[frogfrogtoad]

My parents have floated the idea that they might move to London to be closer to me. They have never lived in England as we’re Scottish. They currently live in a detached house in the countryside which is too big for them. If they sell up they might afford a one bedroom garden flat near where we live in Maida Vale. We don’t have much family left in Scotland as most left in search of a better life.

Has anyone’s parents made such a drastic move? I am concerned they might hate it, what with London being so different. My mother is 64 and my father is 82.

Presumably they've been visiting you and have an idea of what life would be like for them in London.

As they've only floated the idea of a move, rather than just upping sticks to join you without further thought, I think it's worth exploring.

I'm 69 and think London is the best place in the world to live when you're getting on a bit!

Very lovely of them. Can they do a trial run? Rent somewhere first.

I can understand why they might want to do that, but I would be concerned that the reality of living in a small space, in very close proximity to neighbours (who might be noisy, etc), might be an unpleasant shock to them after living in a detached house.

That's a huge change to be taking on at 82! Can they rent an Airbnb for a couple of months in the summer to try it out?

As the others have said and IMO they will like the weather
Downsizing is a good idea even if they decide not to move.

Yes, I love the idea of my parents moving from Scotland to London to be nearer me but they’ve had 30+ years of living in a detached house in a rural location, they are basically feral when it comes to things like music volume.

In our family we have a tradition of the older generation moving to where the younger ones live. IMHO I think this is a good tradition and fairest. Like you I live in central London and don't really know how my rural parents will find it when the time comes.

I think the best plan is to either rent first as a trial or to choose the one bed flat incredibly carefully. Near a good green space if that is important to them, part of a retirement block of flats if possible to keep noise down?

I think it's more important to be close to your family than in your ideal location but a move to London will be a culture shock so it will need some really careful handling.

Do you want them nearer to you?

My parents did the opposite, moved from London to Scotland at age 60. I stayed in London. It was ok when they were 60-70 and plush when there were two of them. Now it’s just my mum it takes two days of annual leave and the best part of £200 just to get there and back to visit. It would be much better if they were newer. Better for hospitals in London too. The public transport where she is, is non existent and the nearest hospital is an hour away by car, if you have one.

if you’re Maida Vale I don’t think they need to be too. Just close enough.

Are you going to stay in London? My MIL moved to London to be near her kids and immediately one moved away!

Do you think your mum might like it more than your dad? A garden flat sounds great though. I would definitely do that to be near my child.

What kind of budget?

Could look at over 60s buildings. Unlikely to have noisy neighbours.
Communal gardens so all the joy of outdoor space and none of the work.
Accessible (lots of flats involve stairs in period properties).
Easy for them to make new friends after the move and not be entirely reliant on you for social interaction (especially given age gap between your mum and dad, not to be too brutal but she is likely to have a good few years alone)
Easy to arrange additional things like cleaners as and when needed
Obvs need to look at service charges carefully.

700k
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/new-homes/details/67054855/?search_identifier=2b9aae6bbb5e1165565a276277e0561f02c3291722f7547e9b0389865d1fd4eb