The biggest decisions of our lives usually involve family and home. Considering downsizing or moving when you are preparing for retirement can be a challenging process. If you move where will you move to? Local or further away. Family connections are often the reason why people either stay or move. If your family resides in another state, for example, you may decide to move there. If they are local, the choice becomes more difficult especially if you are considering moving to another area or state.
Perhaps you can convince your family to move with you
Of course, if you decide to move, you can perhaps convince the family to move to the new area. I remember my parents telling me their story. My father returned from the war in Europe to Chicago. One of the officers in his company was planning to move to California as soon as he returned home. After the war, he and his family moved to California just as he had planned. For two years my father and his friend corresponded and spoke on the phone. My dad’s friend continued to tell him that there were plenty of jobs and he should at least come for a visit and look around. My father had been in San Diego briefly when he was in the Army where his company departed to support the war effort. He liked what he saw.
My mom and dad decided to pack up their car and were off on a road trip to Los Angeles for a “visit”. At that time before interstate highways were constructed, it was a journey. They arrived, looked around, my dad got a job, they rented a house. My mom transferred her job to Los Angeles and they soon bought a home and raised a family. Twelve years later they went back to Chicago for a vacation. So why not return for a vacation earlier? My mom and dad convinced most of the family in Chicago to move to Southern California. In this example, my parents moved to a new area and most of the family followed them out.
Taxes, health, quality of life
If your reason to consider relocating is due to taxes, quality of life, health, or other reasons, you may consider alternatives to leaving the family behind. You could convince the family to join you. Failing that, the digital age provides us with wonderful methods to connect. Apple’s Face Time, Amazon’s devices both audio and video, Skype, and of course the myriad social apps e.g. Facebook. You can always travel if you are retired and visit. Your family can visit you as well.
Many people who have families that live scattered around the general area they live in do not see each other as often as they would like. Work, school, activities, and other commitments and of course life (do not forget traffic) get in the way. When you do get together with family it is often for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions. How much time do you get to spend with anyone family member such as your daughter or grandson at a family event? What I mean is spending “quality time” with an individual at these gatherings. Consider if you moved and your adult children sent your grandchildren to visit for a few weeks. The visit could be considered “quality time” since you are focused on them without distraction.
Are the reasons you live where you do still valid?
There is much to think about when contemplating a move. How about the reason you moved to your present location or area. You wanted to be near the beach! So you moved to a home 15 miles away from the beach. How often do you go to the beach or even drive by? Perhaps you did when you were younger but with work and raising a family, you rarely get there. You wanted to live on a golf course but you no longer golf or find it desirable to live there. You moved to a community when it was semi-rural and now it is packed with new housing developments and traffic is horrendous. For individuals with health issues, perhaps that two-story house is no longer practical. Life happens in increments.
Examine why you are living where you are living. Are the reasons still valid? Perhaps you moved down the street from your son and his family. Your son took a job 70 miles away some time ago and your reason for being there is no longer important. Is it time to consider somewhere new to move to, a place that will give you what you want e.g. beach, trees, less traffic, lower taxes, etc? A move is not only financial, it is emotional as well. You have been in your home for 30 years, you raised a family in your house. There are height marks on the door frame to the kitchen.
If you are retiring or are retired, just think of a move as a new chapter in your life. All of us wanted to go somewhere or do something when we were younger. Few of us achieved our dreams. This is not to say you were not successful in many ways but there is that bucket list as they call it today which may contain some unchecked boxes. Perhaps it’s time to assess your situation and consider the next move. It may be to stay where you are then again, it may be to embark on a new adventure in a new area.
Consider your entire living situation
Consider where you are and where you want to be, not just in terms of geography but your entire living situation. As you retire and you are no longer required to get up at a specific time in the morning and engage with the traffic on the way to the office or place of work, your reason for living in that large house may no longer be valid.
Writers note: Read other posts about how I packed up and moved for a variety of reasons including lower cost of living, more comfortable environment, and more. I moved to Ocean Springs, MS, a great place. If you decide to downsize and/or just move, pass on all of the typical destinations and consider the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Update: I wrote this article two years ago. Since I have moved, life has been great. The family has come to visit and we have made many new friends. I have created a few new businesses (something I have not done for years). The level of stress here is far lower than it was in California. When we moved, we left the crazies behind.
The COVID experience proved I was right to relocate
Take the COVID thing and subsequent riots and devastation suffered in many areas including close to where I lived in California. None of that happened in Mississippi. What a breath of fresh air, sensible people who are concerned about their neighbors and raising their families in a safe environment.
Also, please do not consider moving to this area if you are not willing to leave the baggage behind. I think you know what I mean by baggage.
Please read other blog articles on this site. Our most popular are: “Why you need to retire on the Mississippi Gulf Coast” and “Why I decided to retire in Ocean Springs, Mississippi”.
