Do you want a new home for your new life, or would you rather stay where you are? Retirees tend to have much more flexibility than working folk, so it may be time to consider your options.
As you start to settle into retirement, do you want to stat where you are settled, or may there be greener pasture elsewhere? A relocation may be the best or worst move you may ever make, so it’s a decision to be weighed up carefully.
Family and Friends
If you are eyeing out a new location speculatively, the big questions you should ask yourself are:
- If you are in a relationship, does the new location meet both your and your partner’s needs? If one of you is unhappy, your partner probably will be too.
- Are you in reach of family and friends? A scenic place can pall if you are lonely, and as your friends may have less energy to travel and your children may be busy, being too far removed can backfire. For them travelling to you should be manageable and affordable. You may want a bigger place to host family gatherings.
- Would you be leaving behind social networks or environments that you love? Knowing your neighbours well can smooth over a lot of things. It isn’t always easy to get a feel for a newer place until you have actually lived there., so you could try renting for a while first (especially if you are relocating far from home).
Do you have good or bad memories in your current home? How would you feel about leaving it all behind?
A Great Environment
You should also consider some practical issues about the area and facilities you need.
- Would you be happy there year round? Mild winters can mean hot summers and lively summer towns can shut down out of season: consider renting before you fully commit.
- Is there a chance of extreme weather such as earthquakes or flooding?
- What are the costs of living? Don’t just factor in house prices, but property taxes and the price of essesntials such as food. It is particularly important to check if, or how, retirmenet income is taxed locally.
- What are the costs of moving in?
- Would it be easy to get part time volunteer work there if youw anted to?
- Is everything you need in reach? A two mile treck to the stores may be fine now, but you may be less energetic in a decades time. If you do have health problems, it is important to have easy access to decent medical facilities.
- Do you have reliable professional contacts where you already are? For example, will you miss having a familiar car mechanic, accountant, lawyer or hairdresser nearby?
- Some places are specifically set up for seniors. On the positive side, they may have good facilities and other retirees around, but there may also be restrictions. Check all of the ruels.
Double Trouble
If you fee you may stratech to a second home to get the best of both worlds, what questions should you ask then? Many are the same, but also consider:
- How often could you visit? How will you maintain the property?
- If you rent it out when you are not there, check what implications that will have on your taxable income.
- Finally, is it well placed so you could host family get togethers?
On the Move
In the US 64% of retirees said that they were likely to move at least once during retirement. There are the most likely reasons for doing so.
- 29% want to be closer to family.
- 26% want to reduce home expenses.
- 17% because of a change in their health
- 12% because of a change in their marital status
- 7% as a result of their children moving out.
- 7% want the cash from the sale of their home.
- 30% moved somewhere larger to make room for the family.
- 51% moved somewhere smaller (usually to free up money and reduce maintenance).
- 19% moved somewhere about the same size
