Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The focus here seems to be on one's retirement house/condo -- and whether one moves elsewhere in retirement. But, even for those who stay in the same place, retirement and attitudes towards retirement have changed significantly over the years. My frame of reference is my grandparents who retired about 60+ years ago (and lived in the same house for probably their last 30-years).
For one thing, life-spans and 'retirement' last much longer than they used to. Therefore, one must make a sustainable plan for much longer -- and work harder to keep themselves healthy and fit.
Another change is communications. Between the internet, computers, TV, social media, etc., people today are much more aware of lifestyles and choices beyond their immediate frame of reference. This perhaps leads to much more mobile and active retirement lifestyles -- and also to maintain communications with family more readily than in years past.
Careers and educations have also grown more fluid -- It's more likely that people will attend college away from their family homes (and thus, marry someone with ties elsewhere). Likewise, fewer people remain and work for the same company in the same location throughout their careers. Therefore, most have worked and lived elsewhere - and are more willing to consider retiring elsewhere.
Another factor is the ease and cost of transportation. This provides much greater access to and familiarity with other places ... where retirees are willing to move and live. Likewise, it makes distant family visits after retirement more readily achievable.
In short, today's retirement isn't our grandparent's retirement!
In my extended family, moving has been the norm. All my siblings, my parents and their siblings and even one set of grand parents. In nearly every case, the reason for the move was to live in a community which better suited their retirement livestyle. For us, this included access to medical, recreational, social, cultural and transportation facilities. Of course, nowhere is perfect. Soon after we selected our retirement destination (actually within the same city), our children all moved away but we do have ready access to freeways, airports, trains and buses when needed.
I find it odd for parents to move off away from family when they retire. Of course, some families are all factured and don't really have a "home" anyway because the parents moved chasing jobs and the kids moved off chasing jobs. My grandparents, parents, most aunts and uncles all live or lived until their death in the same houses they have had for decades and do not have any intention of moving.
I grew up having family reunions because most of our family all lives in the area they have lived in for generations and have places named after them. I have been able to go see my parents and grandparents regulary and typically weekly. When their times start coming and you start losing them, you will appreciate being able to see them almost daily in their last year or months if you know their time is coming. I can't imagine have a parent or grandparent multiple states away and knowing their day is coming in the next several months to a year and not being able to go see them regularly.
My father snowbirded for many years and finally sold the house at age 75. We didn't recognize it at the time but he already had symptoms of vascular dementia by then.
We live in a condo complex with a very diverse group of people including Asians and folks from India. What I notice from this group is that oftentimes their elderly parents are given a spare bedroom to live out their golden years. Normally the kids pay all their parents bills and other expenses out of a sense of obligation for having raised them to adulthood.
Yes! They got it right, unlike the many ingrates that Americans have coddled through their years.
Seems like their career, status, along with an inflated lifestyle reigns supreme...don't get me going on their little darlings.
Both my grandparents and parents retired in their homes that they'd been living in.
I have 2 sisters that have retired in their houses they had been living in before retirement....however, one sister would like to build a new house.
Wife and I sold our 4000 square foot house to our daughter a couple years before I retired which was at the end of last month. We bought a new build house 2850 square feet but wife isn't crazy about it and so we have bought a lot to build on. We plan to winter in Arizona and live in the PNW the rest of the year close to our kids and grandkids.
All of my parents siblings stayed in their homes when they retired and remained there till their deaths. They didn't even consider relocating or a retirement home, the same with my grandfathers and my husband's family. The only exceptions were my mother and husband's mother that had to go in a nursing home for Alzheimer's.
Today many people relocate and buy a retirement home. Have you noticed this in your family?
In general in my family (I'm 53), most of my direct relatives back to my great grandparents just stayed put and always lived in the same house. And some lived up into their 90s. I guess there was a level of contentment and probably lack of resources. Any that did have the resources, were fine staying put in their little country homes though I think its just a different era.
I have one uncle who moved away 40 years ago to Florida, and he's still there. That's it.
My parents stayed in their homes, plus many others I know of. In my all age apt community there are numerous retired women who sold their homes after their husbands passed away and chose apt living to avoid taking care of the house and property. I don't personally know any retirees who have moved in a retirement community.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
