While the mantra for purchasing a home seems to be “location, location, location”, I have found that in Retirement Transition, the decision on where to live it is more “location, location….lifestyle!”.
There are as many assumptions about retirement ”where to live” as there are people. Some assume they will move to Florida or Arizona or some other “retirement mecca”. I received the Where to Retire magazine for a few years that was built of this premise. Some assume they will move to where their kids live (and then follow their kids’ career moves?). Some assume they will stay in current location, but downsize, maybe into a condo or retirement community. I know a few folks who resized bigger to accommodate grandkids visits! Some assume they will simply stay in place. So what were our assumptions? Were we going to downsize? Stay in place? Relocate? Resize?
When we started this conversation, hubby assumed we were moving to Florida upon retirement. (Yes, a surprise to me!) As we got into it, we found there were quite a few considerations for making the where-to-live decision for this next stage of life. It started, as many of these things do, with a case of really “knowing yourself” (as well as knowing your significant other). Some of the things we thought about:
- Big consideration – connection to family and friends. There is a big difference between someone who has lived in one place for 25+ years (me; and hubby has always lived here!) and someone who has moved every 5-7 years for their job. Do I have the skill set to move and easily make new friends? I find “military kids” have that skill well developed. Me, not so much. I have spoken to a few retirees who moved to another state and then really struggled with establishing a new set of friends. What about family? Do we want to be close(r) to relatives/ aging parents? How do we see our connections to friends and family in the future?
- Another consideration – What lifestyle to we want to live? Does the location provide us access to activities of interest and/or job opportunities for that lifestyle? Do we want to be closer to the urban core for our activities or closer to nature and the outdoors?
- If we are relocating, what about access to health care? Access to transportation – airport for travel or local infrastructure as we age? What climate do we love or hate?
- Are there financial considerations on cost of living, taxes, capital tied up in real estate? If you are looking into 2 locations (like we are), does one become an income producer and how does that fit into your lifestyle vision? One retiree I spoke with has a beach condo, but needs to rent it in-season to help pay for it, so she is never there in the “good months”. Another couple worries because they have heard stories about renting and the place getting “trashed”.
- Is this a 10 year plan or the final move plan? This was a big mindset shift for us as early-retirees. Our next where-to-live did not need to address possible physical limitations of aging (i.e. stairs).
- This final one was a mind-opener! What really does your home “mean to you”? Is it:
—> your job? You are the caretaker, housekeeper and/or groundskeeper and that is personally rewarding. —> your project? Home improvement and renovation is personally rewarding. —> your storage facility (warehouse for your toys)? Or your display cabinet (showcase your collections)? —> your community center (need entertainment spaces for food and conversation) or your bunkhouse (beds for visitors)? —>your base camp from which to explore the world? Or your private retreat for privacy and serenity? We have friends who view their retirement home as a base camp – just someplace to rest their heads between their travels and activities.
So having looked at all these considerations and talking together, we do have a 10-year location plan that meets both our needs. “What is Home” for us as a couple? I want a home that is a community center, while he wants a storage facility. So our vision for our next home has become a “resize” from our current one with its small kitchen and garage. And we are not moving full-time to Florida, but will become part-time snow birds, avoiding the cold, snowy mid-west winters (where we never leave the house anyway), but retain our (wonderful) mid-west friendship connections. And that part-time in Florida will focus on creating friendships there as well.
Now just to action this plan, which starts with some house hunting and serious decluttering!
retirementtransition 
Once again, thank you for thought provoking reflections. You are right about the mind-opening power of considering how you think about your home. It stopped me in my tracks to think about just what I do think about our home.
We downsized about six months ago to a smaller home in a neighborhood where we can walk to just about everything we need, including my wife’s work. You’ve given me a wonderful topic to discuss with her this evening. I see our home as retreat center, recharging station and as base camp from which we can venture from time to time and to which our kids can return when they’re able. I’m interested to see what Diane thinks.
Thanks so much!
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Pat, you are such an inspiration. I love reading your blog. The information is well thought out and presented. Keep up the good work. Kathy Wesley
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 22:29:08 +0000 To: mkathywesley@hotmail.com
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Kathy – so great to hear from you! Hope your retirement is going well. Thanks for your kind words. I am having fun with it, which is what retirement is all about, isn’t it?
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We would like to try out some places in the winters. Rent for a few years (while son is in college) and maybe buy something down the road.
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We met folks who took this path and really defined what they wanted to buy. Living in place/house for 3-6 months gave them a good sense of location and lifestyle both. He loves to grill and going to the common-grill in a condo space made them realize a house with a patio for the grill was a must-have!
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The only way we could retire early was to pay off the mortgage. It feels so good to live somewhere that is paid for, the thought of taking on another mortgage (since we wouldn’t have that kind of cash) is nowhere in our plans. We are already in Florida (Florida people think about a log cabin in the mountains); please look me up in Jacksonville Beach when you migrate down here for your Florida season!
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I will need to look up Jacksonville beach! We are in the Tampa Bay area. I don’t yet have the house paid off and that great feeling, but hoping to as we resize (which will be less house even if more kitchen!).
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Have gone through the same thought process. Like all else in retirement, it’s okay to try and reevaluate. So we do plan to “practice” by being snowbirds probably trying out urban living, suburban living, etc. We currently are keeping our home/property but maintaining the property continues to become more challenging as we age. Retirement means we no longer “have to” clear the driveway of snow and ice promptly which helps. But the day will come when we will have to hire someone to maintain it or sell. I suspect we will try to have a “5-10 year” approach to whatever our next homestead rather than here’s where we will live for the next 30 years. The next “homestead” might be a rental instead of ownership. I’m thinking retirement has to be viewed in chunks, what do I want to do/capable of doing in 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s. This will affect activities as well as where to call home. Allowing for reevaluation will be essential.
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Agree about re-evaluation. That shift in thinking came after reading a few bloggers doing “one thing” and then shifting to another. It was very liberating to look at just the next 5-10 years. A big shift in thinking for this career girl….30+ with one Company, 25 years this city, 15 years this house!
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I love the idea of a 10-year plan. It makes the selection process a little less overwhelming. There are so many options!
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Pat, I really enjoyed reading your well organized and thought inspiring post. My hubby and I are a couple years ahead of you and we are still trying to figure out the answer to several of these questions. We did agree that traveling the world was a mutual huge priority so we have jumped into that with both feet. In the meantime we use our tiny mountain cabin as a home base (sold our home June 2013) whenever we are not on the road. I look forward to reading more down the line and wish you all the best with this new chapter!
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We have also considered two home locations: our current one with a lovely climate but a bit too crowded (summer & winter); another home in a more rural area so we can enjoy a more relaxing, less congested local (spring & fall). Who knows what we’ll decide but it’s good to discuss and fun to dream.
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