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It doesn't always pay to
downsize
 My
new neighbours up the road have done something rather
extraordinary. Instead of downsizing to a smaller
property, now that they are retired, they've actually
bought something bigger.
The reason soon became clear. Their daughter,
who lives nearby, is going back to work. Her two
children need day care, so the grandparents decided to
take it on. They were able to afford the larger house,
and felt the grandchildren would be easier to cope with
in a house with plenty of space.
We've stayed in the family house too. And oddly
enough we use all the space. We have a study each, a
television/playroom, even a small dressing room next to
our bedroom. When the grandchildren come to stay, we
can still manage to find bedspace for them.
Not everyone can have the choice. I know a
couple who bought a smaller home to free up money so
that their children could get on the property ladder.
But if there is a choice, my personal advice is: don't
do it.
Just think: you sell the
three-or-maybe-four-bedroom family house and buy a
two-bedroom flat. Then you retire and suddenly the
space seems much too small. Turn that second bedroom
into a shared study or hobbies room? You're joking. If
one of you (like me) is messy, and the other tidy,
there'd soon be grounds for divorce.
But the thing that really concentrates the
mind, and is the reason that I am writing this, is
quite another story. Some elderly relatives visited us
the other day. She has severe arthritis, he has had a
stroke. They didn't want to leave their three-bedroom
house, so their children got together and made a plan.
First, put in a stairlift. Second, add another
bathroom. Third, get someone to live in and keep an eye
on the couple.
It's working. They have a young person who gets free
food and accommodation. She does the shopping for
them, tidies up and sometimes cooks for them too.
If they had downsized, the situation would have
been very different. At the moment, they don't need
to turn to social services, but when – or if - they do,
they will be far less dependent and the chances are
that they will be able to stay in their own home for
far longer.
Never mind now. Think of the future. Since we
are all living longer, there will be more competition
for social services as the elderly population
expands.
So don't even consider downsizing if you don't
really need to. Unless, that is, you get seduced
into buying that second home abroad…
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Talkback is a
regular feature in laterlife.com run by
journalist and author Helen Franks. 
