Is downsizing the right move as you get older?

I AM glad Libby Purves and her husband like their smaller home (Mail). But it is not right for all pensioners. My husband and I are retired and live in a large detached house. One adult son lives with us. We considered downsizing, as our needs will probably change when we get old. But we have been here for 60 years so we decided to have a utility room and downstairs toilet built. Pensioners should not be bullied into moving to solve the housing shortage. They are entitled to live the rest of their lives in the homes where they are happy.

Mrs ANN MARTIN, Ickenham, Middx. DOWNSIZING is very worthwhile. We recently moved from a three- bedroom, two reception room house in England, having lived in it for 40 years, to a one-bedroom villa on Lanzarote. We had to dispose of three-quarters of our belongings as the villa was small and furnished. It was hard at first, but once we realised the benefits and what was waiting for us, it got easier. We started by moving into the 21st century, neither of us had owned an iPod or Kindle, but as it wasn’t possible for us to transport the hundreds of books and CDs we owned, it was an absolute must to download the CDs to the iPods and to learn how to use both pieces of equipment. It was fun finding new shops in Playa Blanca and buying one or two essentials that we couldn’t ship over. Unfortunately, some of the antique furniture we had left in storage for our son was ruined by the recent floods in the Rochdale area, but we all know others lost far more than us. In our new home we now know where everything is and can lay our hands on whatever we want without having to rummage through the hundreds of things we will never need, before finding what we need. NORMAN and DEE WARWICK, Playa Blanca, Lanzarote, Spain.