Did you (or will you) downsize to a smaller home/condo? (vacations, vacation)
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Both in our mid sixty's. We bought a condo that's in an old school building with only 15 units. The building was built in 1904 and converted to condos in 1996 so all of the mechanical systems in the building are fairly modern It even has an elevator. I was tired of outside maintenance and we wanted to snowbird. We're in the center of town that's very walkable. It's 1138 square feet with 10' ceilings so it does not feel small at all. I will be happy to live here the rest of our lives.
Soooo, do you live where you love regardless of it going against The Advice—possibly for another 30 good years—or do you play it safe by moving to someplace that The Advice says fits you but does not, possibly shortening your remaining good years due to unhappiness?
Oh, I think that especially in this day and age of dubious and often completely wrong Advice, one can't do better than rely on one's own instincts.
Apparently we were "supposed" to downsize. I guess we did in a way, since we went from two stories to one, though that one is 6446 square feet. We were "supposed" to pare down our possessions. I've gotten rid of some things, but that's as far as it will go. We were "supposed" to get rid of any vehicle over one. We've still got four cars. We are "supposed" to have generic, boring, easy-to-care-for landscaping. It's anything but. We are "supposed" to prepare all our meals at home or risk being burned at the stake as heretics. Nope, we like trying new restaurants. Like many retired people here, we go out for breakfast once or twice a week. Much to my surprise, most of the breakfast places will serve you a cocktail with your frittata, if you like. You can even build your own Bloody Mary.
I have to say this area really redefines retirement. I'm so glad we moved here.
do you live where you love regardless of it going against The Advice—possibly for another 30 good years—or do you play it safe by moving to someplace that The Advice says fits you but does not, possibly shortening your remaining good years due to unhappiness?
I expect two phases of retirement. The first phase is when we'll still be in good health and independent. We are moving to a single-story home in a 55+ community with all the amenities and social opportunities we want, close to excellent services and medical care, as well as very extensive recreational activities (hiking, biking, boating, skiing, music, museums, theater, etc.).
The second phase will be if/when we need more assistance than we can manage living on our own, or more than we can arrange to have come to our home. Then we'll choose an assisted living facility, I expect. Any further phases are likely to be short and terminal, so I'm not going to worry about those.
From a 4 bedroom, three bath, 2,850 square foot, two-story, library, formal dining room, three car garage "Executive Home" to a 3 bedroom, two bath, 1,680 square foot, two car extended garage "Retirement Home".
Approximately 7,000 sq. ft. to about 5,000 sq. ft. Suburbia.
Only specific thing was a single story. None of the other items on your list were a consideration, even though I did get some of them.
Two years later, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all the "stuff" still in boxes. In this whole process of retiring and moving to a smaller home, I discovered an unnamed scientific law. As most know, a scientific law has been proven to have no possible exceptions in the universe. You can take it to the bank.
What this law says is that, "In this life, you will be allocated a certain amount of space . . . and you will fill it!"
So I had this huge pre-retirement house and there I was by myself. I filled every room with "stuff". But it was good stuff, right? Then I retired and moved to a much smaller house. Still trying to figure out what to keep and what to toss/donate/sell.
It took me five years to downsize. Here's what I l learned:
1. I didn't need much. I needed my clothes, car, cat, computer and my books (I haven't had a TV in over 20 years -- altho' six years ago I got Netflix, and now I have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime -- you get the idea). And the family pictures.
2. I came across a saying attributed to Will Rogers: People buy more things with money they don't have to impress people they don't even like.
3. A lot of the 'stuff' I had accumulated (a lot from my travels all over) were not at all important. Not to me or anyone else. What was important to me were the pictures and the memories.
4. I learned fairly quickly that all my 'stuff' that I would leave behind when I died was not going to be important at all to my adult children or my grandchildren. I was watching my peers die; and their children would descend upon the family home, throw out almost everything into a rented dumpster, have a garage sale for the rest, and then fix the house up for sale -- and sell it.
5. I learned to put things in three piles: the pile full of stuff that I had absolutely no doubts about getting rid of; the pile I wasn't sure of; and the pile I was keeping. I also learned very quickly to just let those three piles sit for a week or two. Sometimes I played musical piles with my things.
(I did keep a complete setting for 14 of antique Haviland China (including the coffee pot). I just can't seem to give it away or try to sell it -- yet. It's totally useless. I haven't used a piece of it in years. But I just can't bring myself to get rid of it.)
When I realized that my 'stuff' was the story of my life (all those things told a story) and that I hoped that when I died someone would value it at least somewhat as much as I did -- and that that was NEVER EVER going to happen -- I finally could 'let go' of almost all of it.
For most of us -- we're not famous. We'll be lucky if our great-grandchildren remember us other than by just a name. In another generation we'll be lucky to just be a name in a genealogy chart.
My greatest (narcissistic) regret is that I can't 'will' my memories of my life into the head and heart of one of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren. If I could bequeath anything to them, it would be to have a life as great as my life has been.
Start going through the boxes. Take your time. Keep and throw what you want. This is not a test. I'll never visit you to see if you've done things the way I hope you will do them. LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL But I'll tell you -- there is nothing more 'freeing' in old age than to get rid of all that stuff that really serves no purpose anymore. If I'd known it was going to feel this good, I would have gotten rid of all my 'stuff' A LOT sooner.
I wish you well. And, again, thank you for YOUR help. :-)
We lived in an 1875 bungalow, 1200 sq ft with an unattached garage big enough for a model T if the maple trees planted hadn’t blocked the way and with two electrical outlets in a room if we were lucky. It had all the charm and quaintness I longed for as a child living in a ranch slab house. We lived there for more than 30 years and were just thinking of putting in split AC units since we has hot water radiators, but then we decided to move.
We moved into a 20 year old 1730 sq ft single story home and attached double garage, with no useable attic and no basement. After cleaning out the attic and basement in the old house, I never want to walk up or downstairs to store anything ever again. I had to buy >40 child proof electrical covers for the grandkids. All the outlets I want, central AC and a garage door opener, life is good!
The charm was great and I loved it, but it’s nice to be living with the conveniences of this century...and the past one.
Both in our mid sixty's. We bought a condo that's in an old school building with only 15 units. The building was built in 1904 and converted to condos in 1996 so all of the mechanical systems in the building are fairly modern It even has an elevator. I was tired of outside maintenance and we wanted to snowbird. We're in the center of town that's very walkable. It's 1138 square feet with 10' ceilings so it does not feel small at all. I will be happy to live here the rest of our lives.
That sound so wonderful and exactly what I'm looking for. If only I didn't have two dogs . . . but I do so I'll have to wait a bit longer.
since retirement:
One story, 1200 sf house on 1/4 acre, one tub to
Two story, 1300 sf house on 3 acres, two tubs to
One story, 1400 sf house on 2.5 acres, two tubs...
I cut 1100 sq. ft. when I downsized. My house now is 1600 sq. ft. with ample room for visitors and an office. That's about my limit and any smaller would be claustrophobic for me and my stuff and the cat. I opted for one story instead of two...no basement. I wanted no close neighbors and have 1.3 acres and one adjacent neighbor.
This is a high desert environment (5500 ft.) so no grass -- I haven't cut grass in six years. I maintain a front and back courtyard but leave the rest to nature. There's a 1500 gallon goldfish pond that takes some effort on occasion. I have a well and septic system which is new to me and I had to learn what that was about. Same with the evaporative cooler and thermal heat. I could use a little more space in the garage.
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