Moving out

N826

Hi, I’m a wheelchair user and I want to move out of my parents but I have no idea what my options are. I’m in the middle of getting a social worker but my family don’t know yet I want to move and they are planning for all of us to move to a bigger city. I know already I want to move out and I’ll need a carer but I also want a roommate as I get too nervous on my own at night but I don’t know if this is all possible for me. This is really affecting my mental health so I would appreciate some advice thanks 

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @N826

I'm so sorry it's affecting your mental health. Have you got someone to talk to? 
Do you have any friends who would like to be roommates with you? or have you thought about seeing if there are accessible shared houses? 

The social worker should be able to help you with a referral for a carer The NHS has a website on Social Care Support if you wanted to look at what you could do once in a new home. 

N826

Hannah_Scope said:

Hello @N826

I'm so sorry it's affecting your mental health. Have you got someone to talk to? 
Do you have any friends who would like to be roommates with you? or have you thought about seeing if there are accessible shared houses? 

The social worker should be able to help you with a referral for a carer The NHS has a website on Social Care Support if you wanted to look at what you could do once in a new home. 

Hi, 

I do have my therapist but she thinks I should talk to someone who can actually do something which is why she is arranging for me to get a social worker. I’ve asked but no one wants to. I actually don’t know anything about moving out as a wheelchair user. Thank you for the link

Hannah_Alumni

I'm going to tag my colleagues @Richard_Scope and @Alex_Scope in case they are able to shine a light when next in  

Alex_Alumni

Hi @N826 what's worrying you most about your move? As a wheelchair user myself, I do also have experience of moving to live somewhere new, and searching for an accessible flat came with a few challenges!

The sites a lot of people use like zoopla or rightmove don't often feature 'step free access' or 'wheelchair access' as a searchable option, or nothing comes up when you do, which can make things quite difficult.

Do you have a location and budget in mind? It's important to nail these down first of all, then your next step would be to enquire with any estate agents in area you wish to move, and explain exactly what you're looking for. In my own experience many offered to contact me with a tailored list of properties that would potentially suit my needs.

You also need to be prepared to do plenty of research on the area yourself, think about whether or not the routes to amenities like shops, supermarkets, and public transport are all accessible. What are the pavements like? Can you navigate them as independently as possible? How close by are doctors surgeries, pharmacies, banks etc.? 

I hope this is helpful as a starting point, but please ask if you'd like to chat about anything in particular  

N826

Alex_Scope said:

Hi @N826 what's worrying you most about your move? As a wheelchair user myself, I do also have experience of moving to live somewhere new, and searching for an accessible flat came with a few challenges!

The sites a lot of people use like zoopla or rightmove don't often feature 'step free access' or 'wheelchair access' as a searchable option, or nothing comes up when you do, which can make things quite difficult.

Do you have a location and budget in mind? It's important to nail these down first of all, then your next step would be to enquire with any estate agents in area you wish to move, and explain exactly what you're looking for. In my own experience many offered to contact me with a tailored list of properties that would potentially suit my needs.

You also need to be prepared to do plenty of research on the area yourself, think about whether or not the routes to amenities like shops, supermarkets, and public transport are all accessible. What are the pavements like? Can you navigate them as independently as possible? How close by are doctors surgeries, pharmacies, banks etc.? 

I hope this is helpful as a starting point, but please ask if you'd like to chat about anything in particular  

Hi, the fact that there’s so much work to do if I want to move as you said research it just seems like there’s so much work to do that it doesn’t seem worth the hassle. It’s quite annoying too because as a wheelchair user I have to do all this work and research whereas for non wheelchair users it seems a lot easier for them. I know I want to move to London but I don’t know about anything else so I suppose this is where a social worker would come in handy

Alex_Alumni

Hello again @N826, there is a lot of work, but that's not to say I didn't have the help and support of my partner and my family in researching the areas that might be suitable for the move

Have you spoken to family about which areas they think could be ones to look into?

I think even for a non wheelchair user, there's still plenty of research they have to do to decide if an area is right for them, that's just part of living independently. 

Hopefully you can some help from your social worker soon as well, let us know things go for you.

N826

Alex_Scope said:

Hello again @N826, there is a lot of work, but that's not to say I didn't have the help and support of my partner and my family in researching the areas that might be suitable for the move

Have you spoken to family about which areas they think could be ones to look into?

I think even for a non wheelchair user, there's still plenty of research they have to do to decide if an area is right for them, that's just part of living independently. 

Hopefully you can some help from your social worker soon as well, let us know things go for you.

Hi, 

I have sort of talked to my mum about me moving out. I am feeling a tiny bit more optimistic about me moving out and I have been doing a bit of research so hopefully I could get some help, thank you for helping me with your words I really needed it 

durhamjaide2001

This has really inspired me as I'm hoping to move into supported living but again I'm nervous about not getting a carer on a night as my mum doesn't think I need one as I'm very independent but if I became ill or the duvet came off I would have a problem because I usually need help with this and I would feel bad to ask a roommate to do this for me. 

Alex_Alumni

Not a problem @N826, moving out can be incredibly daunting, but also something very exciting, so I wish you the best of luck I'm glad you've had a chat with your mum about it too. 

I'm pleased to hear you're feeling inspired too @durhamjaide2001, maybe you could talk to your mum about your worries around a carer at night?

N826

durhamjaide2001 said:

This has really inspired me as I'm hoping to move into supported living but again I'm nervous about not getting a carer on a night as my mum doesn't think I need one as I'm very independent but if I became ill or the duvet came off I would have a problem because I usually need help with this and I would feel bad to ask a roommate to do this for me. 

You are not alone 

L_Volunteer

This is really powerful @N826. Thanks for sharing this message with us