'When is the right time to downsize?' Our CEO, Steve Bangs, shares his thoughts.

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to moving home, and especially when it comes to downsizing. Our residents come to us from all walks of life, with a variety of different drivers that bring them to our door: change in health circumstances; desire for less maintenance; wanting to be closer to family.  - but one thing we do hear time and again from those who choose a Pegasus Home? 

I wish I’d done it sooner.

At Pegasus Homes, our communities are designed for the over 60s. For this generation, downsizing can seem a daunting prospect - but, if our residents are an example (and we believe they are) it is one to be embraced, not feared. For those who come to visit a Pegasus community and are contemplating the move, the advice we give is, if you feel ready, make the move whilst it is still something you choose to do, rather than something you feel you have to do. The Sherlocks, residents at our Lichfield Bonds community, speak of exactly that:

“All too often people making a move at this later stage of life is down to a negative trigger,” Jane explains, “but any move we made had to be of our choosing, not because we were pressured to. We wanted that element of choice.”

If you know you are not using your spare bedroom for anything more than storage, or have to pay expensive gardener fees to maintain your outdoor space, considering downsizing as you notice these changes in your lifestyle will make the move much easier. Leaving it until it no longer feels like a choice can make what can, and indeed should be an exciting new chapter feel like a negative upheaval. Our partnership with Aprico, a specialist downsizing and removals company, means the logistics of the move are taken care of - meaning our residents and their families have added comfort during the process:

“Mum was downsizing from a three-bedroom detached house to a one-bedroom, so it was a real challenge. The Aprico service was absolutely brilliant, the team were great and it worked really well.”

So to answer the question of when is the right time to downsize, particularly with regards to later living - the answer is really individual to the person and their family. But what is universal is that the fear of downsizing ‘too soon’ can actually lead to making the move too late - by which point it is a far more stressful process. Spending too long worrying about what that next chapter might look like, only takes time away from that chapter - and the abundance of opportunity it brings.

Steve Bangs, CEO of Pegasus Homes