When you retire, what will the house be like? Stay put? Downsize to a condo? Get a big spread? Move to some place warmer... or colder. Move near the kids, or away from them? Mountains, lake, river, ocean?

Whenever I think about this, it makes me a little crazy. One day I think condo in town, the next a small house in the country. Somewhere I have a huge garage big enough to fit all the cars and boats. Then I think about selling it all down to one car and one small house to simplify and then I think how crazy I would be without several cars, boats houses etc.

I have good hobbies and sometimes I wonder how I will afford them when I quit working. One plan is to turn my hobbies into small businesses and just do what I love for a living. I don't car if I make money so long as I cover the expenses of the hobby. But then I need a house that will be big enough for my hobby business.

So what will you be doing? And where?

 

I am pondering the same though,Bill.
WE,(+1 and I,) live in a cold winter climate.
Would like to spend the winter months,in a warmer climate;Florida ???not so sure.
In Canada,we have free (so to speak,)Health care.
So,don't want to sell everything,and move.

Probably,keep the house,and rent a Condo,somewhere downsouth,for 3 or 4 months a year...
I also want to keep my garage,and toys,as long as I can,but one day,...will have to make a choice.

 

Liz and I talk about moving back to the city, but I really doubt that will happen. We've probably been out in the suburbs too long to readjust to the rigors of city life as much as we love the city. Besides, the way New York City prices have gone I doubt that we'd be able to afford to replace the loft that we owned, and after living in a house it would be hard to squeeze into a typical New York City apartment.

We don't want to move to an adult community. We like having young people and children around. As the years have passed we've gone from being young people raising a family, to late middle aged (or early old) people with grown kids. There has been a lot of turnover in our neighborhood and the neighborhood has gotten much younger. We like that alot. For some crazy reason, we're very comfortable being the "elder statesmen" on our block.

After living here all these years, the house is finally set up and fixed up the way we like it. We're comfortable here and everything, the schools, the stores, the temple and all of the other things that make life worth living are familiar and comfortable. We've finally gotten to know people and developed a small circle of friends. After all these years, we finally feel like we belong.

We'll probably stay put. We might buy something as a warm weather get away (no, not in Florida, at least not where my folks were), or we might buy a little apartment in the city for sometime use, but I think we're probably going to stay right where we are.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind as the years pass.

 

I like my home and my neighborhood, and I am retired, but I long for naturalness, still, like I had in Acton. I would want a huge garage or a separate building for five or six cars, plus room for hobbies. I'd like to stay in California. I would like about an acre, or more. I don't want to hear the city wake up on work days, like I do here in Orange County. I want a German Shepherd again. I'm not looking but I'm keeping my eyes and ears open.

 

All ready have the retirement house. We will retire up in the mountains of Northern AZ, but will probably sell the current house in Scottsdale and buy (or rent) a condo in Scottsdale. Life is a little TOO sedate in Payson, we'll definitely need to get to Phoenix for good restaurants, 3D movies, etc.

 

I think I'd like Payson. I was there many years ago so I'm sure it's even larger now. I like that you can go into Phoenix for the modern conveniences but they aren't in your face.

 

Unless we can't manage this small house for some reason, we are already in our retirement home.

If we needed to downsize, not sure how we would go about it, as I don't think I'd care for the restrictions that could come with condo living.

 

We made our move 3 years ago. We down sized from 3500 sqft to 2100 sqft. Went from a 2 story to a ranch. It’s a 2 bdrm with lots of open space. Enough room for the kids and grandkids to come and visit for the weekend. Very large 3 car garage. Two spaces for cars and one for the golf cart.
We are in an over 55 gated golf community in North Texas. Our kids and grandkids live here in Texas. We love the heat and hate the cold. We do have 4 seasons in this area of Texas.
Homes are on small lots and all they are all Energy Star rated (our highest utility bill so far for gas and electric has been $180). This was important to us looking forward on expenses. AC in Texas can rack up some very large electric bills.
The community currently has about 1200 homes and will be built out at about 5000. It has an incredible amount of groups to join or not. Every thing from political groups to a full wood working shop. To keep busy it has an 18 hole golf course going to 72 in the future. 3 swimming pools (1 inside), full gym w/all the requisite exercise equipment, dog parks, and are in the process of building a full soft ball field complete with lights, dugouts, fences, stands, etc.
I have about 18 months until I retire. At least that is the current goal. My wife and I have sat down and drawn up a very sane budget to see what our financial needs will be in retirement. We looked at everything from taxes, HOA dues, utilities, entertainment, travel, etc. This was a critical step in looking at where and when we would retire. Two benefit we found in the county we are in is that when you turn 65 your school taxes are frozen at the current rate. Also they give you an option to accrue your real estate taxes until you sell your house. This is a way to reduce your expense by about $8000 / yr (real estate taxes are high as there is no state income tax in Texas…money needs to come from some where).

I think that covers our when, where, and why.

 

Sudden changes in location, life style, etc. after one retires are not always the best move. Personally, as you know I've been retired 9 years and we stayed put. I've been happy with that. I have garage space for 4 of our 5 vehicles and a nice environment to play with my toys...... in fact, I spent all of yesterday in the garage playing with a speedometer (Bill, sending you a PM for ideas). My wife continues to work but will retire at yearend. She only worked to pay for her on-going expensive hobby of boarding a horse, etc. We have roots here, family here, friends here, house paid for, cars paid for, etc. Neither of us would call this our dream location but there's comfort in knowing there are no surprises with a home you've lived in for 27 years.

 

Haven't visited this subject for awhile, so here we go again! I think I've posted a few times that I love condo living, and the location of our condo, after having lived in a few nice houses over the years. The only change I've made is to move up to a two-bedroom from a one-bedroom in the same building after the +1 and I decided to cohabitate. That was five years ago. He loves it as much as I do.

The convenience can't be beat. The subway three blocks away, and many services and restaurants within walking distance. Not to mention the Navy facilities, like the commissary, being close by. We are very, very spoiled. I'm about to wrap up my last major renovation, the master bath (after having renovated the kitchen and guest bath in the past three years). Then the condo will be all set for the next 15-20 years.

I don't see us moving elsewhere. I prefer to have this place as the base of operations and travel. That works well for us, and DC is a great location for travel nationally and internationally. The airport is ten minutes away, and we have two others within a reasonable distance. I'll probably be working at my current job for another seven years or so, if I don't get tired of it first. The +1 has at least 15 more years of working left before retiring from his second career. His job (defense contracting) is definitely tied to this area. So, all in all, our decisions about life from here on out have pretty well been made, at least the ones we have some control over.