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Moving? 8 Decisions to Make for the Best Location Choice
When my husband retired in 2015, we were living in New York State (Upstate – snow country!) To that point, we had each lived in many other locations around the country and the globe (my husband retired from the Air Force after 20+ years – looong before I met him!). We spent the next winter hanging out in New York, and each time it snowed or got extremely cold, we discussed the possibility of moving south, as many from New York do. (Does this sound familiar?)
By mid-2016, we had sold our home in New York, sold much of our accumulated stuff (we’d gotten married, then merged households in 2006, plus my parents had died…) – bottom line, we followed the call of the Southern climes – and found ourselves living in Florida. (Does this sound familiar, too?)
There are many reasons to move in our later years
We go where our children / grandchildren are. We move to “downsize” or “upsize” our space and our budgets. We move to one story from many to save our knees. We move to be closer to friends or loved ones. We move to a lake or beach or golf course because they represent our “zen.” More and more frequently I’m hearing, too, that all people, not just older adults, are choosing to move to escape problems wrought by the changing climate. Many reasons.
To plan well, answer important questions
From retirement to moving… it can sound quite simplistic. And for some, it is! But unless you do some planning ahead of time, you can create all kinds of problems for yourself. Here is a list of things we considered before we moved:
Do you need or want to live close to anyone important? Kids, grandkids, parents, others?
What sort of climate do you choose – or want to avoid? Maybe you love the heat, or you like to ski in the winter? We learned that Florida is warm and comfortable some of the year, but it’s horribly hot, humid, and is at huge risk of hurricanes for many months, too. You may want four seasons, or somewhere in the middle…. Just be sure to factor in your climate preferences in your decision.
If the the cost-of-living is important to you: We compared the different states we had interest in to see what they taxed (Social Security, pensions, real estate, sales taxes, state taxes in general.) We also looked at general housing costs. Today homeowners insurance costs can pack a punch, too.
Will you have good access to good healthcare? While we are both generally healthy, we each have medical issues that need to be watched. It’s important to make sure you’ll have access to good healthcare using your health insurance, too. (One Florida friend had moved there only to learn that his retirement health insurance was valid only in the state he had retired from.
Can you find the housing-type you want? We spent a lot of time determining that we’d like to live in a 55+ active community. Generally, these types of communities have the types of homes older adults seek: 1 level living, homes to own or rent, attached or detached, etc. maybe you prefer a condo, or an apartment, or even an RV! This is the time to think seriously about what sort of home can take you into the future.
Will you be able to do the things you enjoy doing? We love to travel, play golf, and eat in great restaurants together. My husband wanted easy access to bass fishing whenever he felt the urge. I wanted access to high-speed internet, and easy access to a major airport. Our new location choice fulfills all those “requirements.”
Will you be able to make new friends? An important part of happy aging is being social, and a new location will mean a new social circle. Since our choice was a 55+ community, we knew there would be people our age that came from other places, and that has proved true.
If you are a church or temple-goer, you’ll want to check out your worship options. That may also support your need to find new friends.
So how did our move work out?
We spent (yes – past tense) 8+ years in our Florida home when we finally decided it was time for another move. There were a number of reasons, with climate (hurricanes!), healthcare (extremely difficult to find good doctors), and politics (Red or blue didn’t matter. Nothing happens in Florida without politics being shoved down your throat.) Most importantly, we were too far away from family. The older we got, the more we realized that having our loved ones within a few hours would work far better than a few days’ distance.
So in 2024, we did it again! We packed up our dog, and our worldly goods, and moved to Virginia, making us “Half Backs.” 🙂 While many of the choices we made for our Virginia home are identical to those we made in Florida, we find the aspects that didn’t make us happy are no longer relevant. We’ll be staying here as long as we can. (Or as my husband claims, “They’ll drag my cold, dead body out of this place!”)
If you decide in your retirement years to make a move…
… then give it some deep thought, and answer those questions above for yourself.
Don’t make the mistakes we made!
Answer those questions above for yourself. Once you’ve satisfied yourself that your newly chosen location fulfills your wishes, then you owe it to your INDEPENDENT self to make the move.