To move or not to move 😐

[Stumpy54321]

We had always planned to put the house on the market, move out of the city to a quieter market town around 15 miles away. This would mean me giving up work as the commute would be too far, and depending on the house we found possibly wouldn’t need to find another job. We have had an agent round and the value of the house is a little better than we were expecting. We have been looking online and there are some possible houses that could work for us But would mean a slight downsize. As always the perfect house is slightly above budget which would mean I would have to work for a few more years to cover the extra mortgage payments. When I think about all the stress involved in moving I get so anxious and change my mind in a daily basis. We like where we live and our house offers us all we need but would just like to be in a smaller town. I worry about finding a house and not finding a buyer or finding a buyer and not a house. I know this will always be an issue for anyone but I just cannot decide what to do

How old are you both?

Mid 50’s

It's not a great time for moving

valuations are all over the place , people seeing price drops so staying put, economic uncertainty

Downsizing in a falling market is usually not advantageous

You will know when the time is right

You have time to wait and then find something suited to being "older" with potential health needs on the horizon.

I'm the same age and don't want to repeat the mistakes of parents who purchased for how they were late 50s rather than how they are now only 70.

You make a valid point. TBH we have been considering a bungalow for that reason but feel we aren’t old enough but you never know what life throws at you

TBH stairlifts or even lifts these are an option it's more about location- close shops, Drs, public transport or a could taxi service. Not taking on a huge garden, somewhere easy to heat and keep clean.

In laws bought a great house, you could a bedroom downstairs in the office/dining room and it has a downstairs shower room. BUT it's in a hamlet and you need to drive, no pavements, no buses, nearest proper shop quote some distance etc.

Thank you. Although that’s a consideration my main issue is just all the hassle and stress that goes with moving. Having only moved 4 times, once after 15 years and this would be after 10 years I just find the whole thing sends my anxiety levels up. Wondering if we are doing the right thing, the costs and just generally starting again.

We (50s) did a move recently to a place we really wanted to live

It has been the right move and we love it but the year of stress before was horrific

Thank you. Glad your move was all you hoped. It’s the actual moving part that I find so stressful. The last time we moved was 10 years ago after being in the same property for 15 years. We had definitely outgrown that house so knew it was the right thing to do but I still found it so stressful and was so anxious I couldn’t eat anything, not good when you have a busy day ahead of you, but this time the move is because we want to rather that because we need to.