Change is hard! Moving after 27 years?

[Tom52]

DW and I were both born and raised in a small rural Iowa community (approx. 10,000 population). We still have a lot of family back in our home town. We moved to a very nice but expensive Chicago suburb 27 years ago to pursue better job opportunities. Our one DD lives in Chicago and has a secure position and loves living in the city. She has made it clear to us that she will not have children so there would be no remorse about living further away from non-existent grand children.

We have been retired now for three months, loving it by the way, and our plans were always to move somewhere less expensive in retirement. We have no love of the high taxes and overcrowding in the Chicago burbs. My Dad passed away some months ago and his house was left to my Sister and me back in our hometown. DW and I are ready to move but we are not totally convinced the right thing to do would be to buy out my Sister and move into Dad's house.
We are trying to justify this purchase. Here is a list of Pro's and Con's

Con's
1. Smaller town than we are now used to, have to drive out of town for decent shopping/dining.
2. Still in the snow belt, we would prefer a milder climate, but we find that it just seems too risky to move even further away from family.
3. House seems to have good bones but it would require remodeling and updating. I estimate all remodeling/updating will be in the range of $100,000.
4. House is about 1,800 sq. ft. plus a full unfinished basement compared to our existing home with 2,775 sq. ft. This is both good and bad. Bad because the master bath and closet are dinky compared to the custom built master suite in our current home. This would require an extensive remodel to enlarge master closet and bath. The rest of the interior needs painting/flooring and general updating including new appliances in kitchen.
5. Only has a two car garage, we currently have 4 car so we would have to build a separate shop/garage.
6. House is on a 2 acre lot so I would need a fairly significant garden tractor/snow blower.
7. DW and I like to bike/walk but the area is not as "walkable" as our current large neighborhood. It is located just off a fairly busy secondary blacktop road with practically no shoulders for biking or walking.
8. Considering purchase price and some extensive $ for repairs/remodeling we would probably have more money in it than it would be worth, maybe about $50,000-$70,000 more than it would be worth.

Pro's
1. There is a definite pull for me at least, much less so for DW, to move back to home town.
2. House is on a two acre lot about a mile out of town. The lot is very desirable because it has a pond in back for a nice view. Lots of mature trees so it is a park like setting.
3. Located in a small neighborhood, maybe twenty homes total, we already know many of the neighbors and they are all good people.
4. Plenty of room to build a new shop/garage
5. I could fish right in my back yard, I could shoot my guns in my back yard. I see deer and wild turkeys most every day.
6. Even though house is outside city limits it has a brand new neighborhood septic system and rural water, (no well).
7. House is all brick so outside maintenance would be less than my current home
8. Property taxes are $2,500 compared to the $6600+ I am currently paying.
9. Even after buying out Sister and paying $100,000 in upgrades, will should still be able to add about $200,000 to our retirement investments.

I guess I am not really asking any specific question as I know this is a decision only we can make. I would be interested in hearing experiences from others that have made these relocation decisions in the past.

 

[Unpaintedhuffhines]

We moved after 15 years in a large home (3,500 sf) to about 1,600 sf. While the purge was difficult, it was truly fantastic moving to a smaller home, as everything is easier. Painting the house will be cheaper, electric is cheaper, I can wash all the windows in about 30 minutes (versus never in my old three story house), we don't have to furnish a larger home, and property taxes are less. However, living in Texas means that we went from $12,000 property taxes to $8,000. Still ridiculously high, but apart from moving away from Austin, Texas, I don't know how we'd reduce those.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[Happyrick]

As long as you both are in strong agreement it can work. Our experience was slightly different as we have grand-kids in the area we moved to. We don't miss the traffic or the crowds. We do miss the ready access to bike paths and some of the benefits that a big city offers. The one thing we did not properly consider was the amount of work to remodel a house and get the property we moved to into the shape we want. Even after 4 years there are still projects underway but for me that has been part of the adventure. If I had to pick one thing that would have been the best indicator of success it would be the people, friends and family will make all the difference. Best of luck.

 

[NoiseBoy]

What will you and your spouse do all day in a small town? What are your hobbies? Will you be happy gardening, working in your garage/shop, etc. Basically being together from dawn to dusk? Can you try it out? Move back for a month or perhaps the entire summer? Have you ever spent a winter in your home town as an adult? Is there a gym in town? A college or university? Good hospital? How long to get to an airport and what are your options once you're there?

For me, your #7 would be the deal breaker. Every time I pass an interesting rural property that is on the market, I have to remind myself that I'm a runner and I don't like sharing the road with 60mph traffic.

 

[mpeirce]

> 3. Located in a small neighborhood, maybe twenty homes total, we already know many of the neighbors and they are all good people.

Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold.

 

[MRG]

We could never go back. After 35 years in a metro area there's no way. It's not about the area, more about the people and small town attitudes.
Everything that occurs is a conspiracy. The preducices that live on. The lack of any food that's not from there. OK I'll admit I'm a bit of a food snob, but Taco Bell is not Mexican food. Asian food doesn't have Mac&cheese as a featured entry.

I guess for me it's about the attitude of the people. We moved on, that town didn't. I still have fond memories of growing up there, but I couldn't go back.

Yes it would be less expensive to live there, it's not worth the sacrifices, for us.
MRG

 

[RE2Boys]

It sounds like the quality of life issues, such as how you fill your day, would be the primary driver. We moved ten years ago from a much more diverse community of quarter million to a small city of about 100K (my home town) and from a custom home of 2700 sf to 2000 sf home with interior circa 1970.

Took us three years and maybe $30K to remodel. Much we did ourselves, contracted some out. At first the house seemed confining and we really need to de-clutter but in may very well be our permanent retirement home, even if the winters can be brutal (snowiest city in US this past year.

But in our case, we had young sons (5 and 7) which helped us get involved and integrated with the community. Volunteering with scouts/school/soccer filled a lot of days (and 3 months of the year employed as a back office tax preparer) gave good diversity to our activities.

 

[Bestwifeever]

You live in a very nice but expensive Chicago suburb in a big house with a 4-car garage and pay $6600 in taxes? Don't move, those taxes are a steal.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think you should look for your ideal spot to retire, not just what is easily at hand in the short term. The place you listed has a lot of cons and $100K in upgrades sounds like a lot of work and maybe not the best financial investment in a rural area.

Hold out for a warm and sunny, walkable place with bike paths, like the cows in the Happy Cow ads -

Rent a place or two that you think will be your personal paradise and if you don't like it you can always move to Iowa to some other house that needs less work.

 

[bbbamI]

We seriously considered moving back to our home state of MO last year. Most of our friends and family live there...scattered across the state. We poured through real estate listings for a few months, then drove to MO to look at a few properties.

Our dream was to purchase a decent size house on two or three aces. It was a blissful feeling.

But then....we realistically looked at the cons of living there. Having a larger property would mean more maintenance. Not too far in the future we would not be able to do it ourselves and would have to hire someone to tend to the property. The winters last several months with ice and snow. Driving would be treacherous for us. Medical facilities were nearby, but the larger hospitals were two hours away.

Quite honestly the biggest factor of not moving was we simply didn't feel the 'burn'. If we had, we would have disregarded the cons and made the move.

I think emotions and realities battle with each other at times.

 

[Brat]

Personally I wouldn't go back to a small town.

I suggest you look at cities with direct air connections to Chicago as a retirement location. Plan on renting for a year or two to make sure that your expectations and the community are a good match.

I know the west coast pretty well. Portland Metro is nice but I live there so am opinionated. We moved from Bainbridge Island, WA only to move closer to grandkids, nice town a ferry ride away from Seattle. The communities west of SEATAC, along the Sound are worth looking at. All of these locations have moderate temperatures and ready access to cultural and outdoor activities. Most of the California towns that have good air service are very expensive. NV and AZ cities too hot .

 

[NW-Bound]

When I bought my 2nd home in the mountain boonies, I thought it was going to be our retirement home. It turned out that we missed the conveniences of the suburban home, with the nearby Home Depot, Trade Joe's, etc... And then, the advanced medical facilities that I suddenly needed in 2013 would not be available in anything less than a metropolitan area.

So, that 2nd home will remain a get-away place, while we still enjoy it.

 

[KB]

Your Dad's property sounds wonderful. If you decide to move there and it doesn't work out for you, you can always sell and move again. Personally, I would do it. Good luck with your decision, though. It is a big one, though it doesn't have to be a permanent one.

 

[Brat]

I suggest you look at cities with direct air connections to Chicago as a retirement location. Plan on renting for a year or two to make sure that your expectations and the community are a good match.

Personally I wouldn't go back to a small town.

I know the west coast pretty well. Portland Metro is nice but I live there so am opinionated. We moved from Bainbridge Island, WA only to move closer to grandkids, nice town a ferry ride away from Seattle. The communities west of SEATAC, along the Sound are worth looking at. All of these locations have moderate temperatures and ready access to cultural and outdoor activities. Most of the California towns that have good air service are very expensive. NV and AZ cities too hot .

 

[walkinwood]

Is it telling that you listed the cons first? Don't people normally say pros & cons?

 

[Tom52]

Is it telling that you listed the cons first? Don't people normally say pros & cons?

I wouldn't read anything into it. I am leaning more towards buying it than DW and I think she is on the fence.

 

[Tom52]

What will you and your spouse do all day in a small town? What are your hobbies? Will you be happy gardening, working in your garage/shop, etc. Basically being together from dawn to dusk? Can you try it out? Move back for a month or perhaps the entire summer? Have you ever spent a winter in your home town as an adult? Is there a gym in town? A college or university? Good hospital? How long to get to an airport and what are your options once you're there?

For me, your #7 would be the deal breaker. Every time I pass an interesting rural property that is on the market, I have to remind myself that I'm a runner and I don't like sharing the road with 60mph traffic.

We are pretty much homebodies anyway. Wife's primary hobby is gardening and I help her quite a bit. I like tinkering in the garage and working on my old classic car. Our main hobby is traveling. We have considered getting a motorhome to travel down South during the winter.

We are best friends and enjoy each others company so being together each day has never been difficult for us. We do our exercising at home so no need for a gym although they do have one at the community center. The U of I is one hour away and we do follow their football and basketball teams. Town has a new but small hospital but we would be only an hour away from the University hospitals in Iowa City.

There is a 15 mile bike path/walking path the encircles the town. I can access that about 1/2 mile from my Dad's house, however, I would likely have to drive to it due to the previously mentioned road.

I think we have already ruled out moving to warmer climates. We would not know anyone and we would rarely be able to visit family. If we move it will be back to Iowa and if not to our home town, one close to it.

 

[Brat]

Follow your heart.

 

[WinterHaven]

I wouldn't read anything into it. I am leaning more towards buying it than DW and I think she is on the fence.

Is there any way to do a trial run? Say, live out there (although sparsely, most likely) for 2-3 months? That may do wonders for DW's fence sitting...

 

[Midpack]

We planned to move from a Chicago burb to the Triangle are in NC 2-3 years ago...we still haven't moved, so we get 'being in the fence.' Like you mention, we all have different wants & needs, so you're the only ones who can decide what's right for you.

Our ideal is to live with an hour of a major city (like we do now), so we have the best of both worlds - easy access to big city amenities with a lower COL & less crowded at our home. Winters are the biggest driver for us to leave Chicagoland (80" of snow for our winter just past didn't help), unless global warning changes things here.

You can buy just about anything online these days which helps a little, but like others, we could not live in a remote small town. Whenever we move, we'll do our homework, but we'll rent in the new area for a year or so to make sure before we sell the old house and buy new. Even if you've lived in the proposed new town before, a lot can change in 27 years (the place & you).

Good luck, you'll know when/if it's the right call.

 

[W2R]

Don't let your memories make this decision for you. Every place in the world changes with time. The happy times you had there will always remain in your memories but they just might not be duplicated if/when you move there.

I would suggest either of two approaches:

(1) Using logic to make this decision, instead of the heart (write down criteria for your location search, and then determine what other communities might meet these criteria, then visit the top ones on your list, and so on), or

(2) Moving there and renting for a while (sell the house) until you find out if this town still even resembles the place you lived in, 27 years ago. Make it easy on yourself in case you discover that you don't like it any more.

 

[Meadbh]

Don't let your memories make this decision for you. Every place in the world changes with time. The happy times you had there will always remain in your memories but they just might not be duplicated if/when you move there.

I would suggest either of two approaches:

(1) Using logic to make this decision, instead of the heart (write down criteria for your location search, and then determine what other communities might meet these criteria, then visit the top ones on your list, and so on), or

(2) Moving there and renting for a while (sell the house) until you find out if this town still even resembles the place you lived in, 27 years ago. Make it easy on yourself in case you discover that you don't like it any more.

+1

Very well put, W2R. There is an old saying about "you can never go home". Right now you have an emotional tug, but the good things you remember may no longer apply, and you have changed too. A trial run without a commitment could be a real eye opener.

 

[38Chevy454]

I guess I never got that home gene. It is nice to visit, but I have no real desire to retire and move back to where I grew up. I also never got the live in a big city gene either. I personally can't stand big cities and all the hassles associated with living in one. I have only limited apt/condo living in my life and hated it every time. Give me a single family house out in the country with some acreage and I am happy. Big city can have the traffic, crime, congestion, high taxes, less personal space, noise, etc.

I do like being somewhat close to big city for the shopping, medical and other things to do. But I can't live in the middle of that. Some people love it, some people don't; different likes for different needs. I will drive to the bigger city when I want to.

Your father's old house sounds nice, but I think financially it is not a good choice. Family can change and not be around forever as well. Sell the house and split the proceeds with your sister. Move somewhere further south and fly to Chicago to visit. Move to a warmer area and enjoy getting to know a new area.

 

[Brat]

If your wife is tepid about the move, don't go there.