Downsizing in Retirement
You may have read my previous post outlining points we considered before deciding to downsize in our retirement.
Our journey
Well we are now 12 months into our downsizing journey and we can honestly say we don’t regret anything at all.
We initially were purchasing a 2 bed apartment in the same block as we are now, however the vendor pulled out at the 11th hour and we ended up purchasing a 1 bed apartment. I’ve got to admit I worried I couldn’t cope without a second bedroom as I’m not one to travel light through life as I love clothes, shoes and handbags!
However, with optimising our storage options and learning not to need as many possessions we are blissfully happy in our fabulous, compact, comfortable and secure apartment.
Many of our friends and family were dubious about this process of downsizing but I think secretly now some ae even considering for their own lives.
6 benefits we found from downsizing in retirement
Here are 6 benefits we have found to downsizing in retirement:
- We have futureproofed our life, its a more manageable sized property needing very low maintenance, suitable for 1 of us in the event of a partners death. – I know that is a gruesome thought but an important consideration as we get older.
- Equity release to fund our lifestyle, while still owning our own home.
- Security – we can now lock and leave with no security worries while we travel frequently.
- Benefits to our health issues, as we were getting older health issues impacted on our ability to care for our previous homes large garden, for example arthritis was making weeding difficult and painful. Yes I know we could have paid someone to do this for us but as we live in Manchester the weather here really doesn’t offer many days for enjoying and entertaining in the garden. It takes huge effort to maintain a large garden for little reward, especially as we are not gardening lovers. Our apartment block is in fabulous secluded well maintained gardens with plenty of space to sit and enjoy.
- The next benefit is something all of us want and that is much smaller monthly bills! That’s a huge result and as we start our second year here, our bills have become even smaller.
- We have become part of a friendly small community with great neighbours who look out for each other. There are 40 apartments so a really nice sized community.
Just for interest – we are not being selfish doing this as we do not have any children to leave everything to, although we will ensure our nephew and nieces get something!
I hope that by describing our journey we may have helped you seek some clarity of you too are considering downsizing in retirement.
Please let me know what you think we love to hear from you, also we welcome any questions if we can help you.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us by email: thebuzzingmancs@gmail.com
Elaine