Wendy and David are loving retired life at Mickle Hill!

Wendy and David Wright aged 72 and 80 respectively, David a retired Architect and Wendy a professional Tennis player, moved to our North Yorkshire retirement village, Mickle Hill, in December 2021 from a 4 bedroomed house with a large garden in the historic city of York.

Wendy says “I was sitting looking through a lifestyle magazine and I stumbled upon an advert for Rangeford Villages, for properties at Mickle Hill in North Pickering. I had been thinking for a while about how we might manage in our current house and its large garden in the future, so I said to David we should go and have a look at Mickle Hill to see what was on offer there. People often find themselves alone in a big house and didn’t want that to be the case for either or us, I would advise people to make the move whilst you are both fit and able.

“When we visited the village, we were shown a lovely two-bedroom dormer bungalow with a small patio area, which we immediately fell in love with. It had a really nice layout, with plenty of storage space and beautiful fixtures and fittings. We were also impressed with all the onsite facilities on offer at Mickle Hill, as well as its easy accessibility to York and the Yorkshire coastal town of Scarborough, there are also lots of beautiful walks and scenic spots nearby. We both still drive but liked that there is also a very good bus service, should we decide to take advantage of it in the future.

“The sales team, particularly Yvette, was absolutely brilliant throughout the whole buying and moving process, she was really patient and was on hand to answer any questions and to help with any initial teething problems after the move – all of which were taken care of and responded to very quickly, making the whole transition a much easier smoother process.

“I know a lot of people might find the prospect of downsizing pretty daunting, but I think it’s more a case of rightsizing, I would say to anyone considering a similar move to see it as an adventure, a chance to declutter and really start afresh. The key is to plan ahead, get as much help as you can, but also to prioritise what you actually need or want, you can accumulate a lot of things over the years, but I would say to only keep something if you find it useful or beautiful.

“We got rid of lots of items of unwanted furniture and ornaments at a local auction house, so we also made some money in the process, as well as giving some items to charities close to our hearts, such as the British Heart Foundation. It was nice to think that someone else could benefit from our unwanted items.

“My top tips for making a move like ours would be to get your paperwork in order first, sort it into 4 categories, paper to bin, paper to keep, paper to shred and paper to action, I sorted all mine into pop up linen boxes and then just boxed up and labelled the paper I was taking with me. Labelling is really a key part of process, make sure you clearly label everything for the removal company, so that know exactly what's in each box and which items of furniture belongs where. Also measure up before you move in, we went back a few times, to make sure that all the furniture that we wanted to take with us fitted in perfectly – there is nothing worse than getting to moving day and realising that something doesn’t fit! I also had some fitted wardrobes made to measure accommodate all my clothes before I moved in.

“It’s the lifestyle at Mickle Hill that really appeals to us though – we are completely independent and don’t need care or assistance at the moment, but we love having a base to explore everything around the area and knowing that our future is sorted should our needs ever change.

“We’ve only been here for a few months, but already we are taking advantage of the excellent range of facilities on offer here: David has joined the gym and does regular keep fit classes; there is a cinema; a lovely Bistro where David goes to read his paper and enjoy a morning coffee and where they hold fabulous, themed nights, such as Spanish and Belgium nights. There is also a really nice bar and social area where we attend the regular Quiz nights, we even won the quiz the other day! It gives us a great opportunity to meet other people and to build up a social life. We also make use of other amenities, such as the Hairdressers, we really do have everything we want right on our doorstep.

“One of the major advantages of course to a smaller property is that it is much easier to clean and to maintain, leaving us more time to enjoy the things we love. We were slightly apprehensive about the move, but now that we are here, there is no doubt that we have done the right thing, for anyone considering a move like ours, I would say go for it!”