Poll:Relocate after ER?

[RAE]

We will be staying where we are, for many reasons: most of the family is here (especially the grandkids); our house is in very good shape because of all the improvements we've made to it over the years; in this area, we would never be able to sell our house for what it is worth, and I don't see that changing anytime soon; we love our yard, especially all my fruit trees and my vegetable garden; we have lots of friends here; and several other reasons, including all the special places we have connections to around here. Having said all that, though, we don't enjoy the winter months here anymore, so we head south for 2 1/2 months to escape the worst of winter. I can see that turning into 3+ months in the future, possibly, although it's hard to leave the grandkids for too long. But overall, staying here and snowbirding for a few months during the winter works very well for us.

 

[Scrapr]

The social impact of moving is one of the top 2 or 3 reasons we haven't left So CA. The weather and diversity of activities available are the other ones.

This was the hardest thing for Mrs Scrapr. She is a very social person.We had our 2nd home for 12 or more years and thought that we were OK on that front. But moving in we realized everybody was at work and involved in their own activities. She is creating her network again. But it is much harder than we imagined

 

[jeffmete]

The week our youngest married and moved to Minnesota, we moved from southern Indiana (lived there 23 years)up to southwest Michigan to retire. We had a vacation condo on an inland lake for 15 years up here in Michigan, but my wife didn’t want to live full time in it. So we bought a house near Lake Michigan in st joe. So I own two places 20 minutes apart!

 

[Alan]

I voted relocate as that is what we eventually did, however our plan was to travel extensively before setting up a snowbird arrangement. We did the traveling for 6 years then set up a place in England and planned to spend summers there but within a couple of months decided to relocate. We then bought a house, and moved permanently from Texas in January.

 

[Danmar]

We relocated from Toronto to Canmore Alberta (near Banff). Then decided we needed a warm weather place and bought a house in Arizona as well. Kept the 2 places we had in Ontario (city Condo and Lake House). Alberta offered lower taxes and an unrivalled outdoor envireonment. Also wanted to shake things up a bit, and learned to ski and mountain bike. Lots of new friends since retirement 11 years ago. No sitting in a rocking chair on the porch for us.

 

[Meadbh]

I voted stay put, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. I moved shortly before ER.

 

[Brdofpray]

I vote relocate. The day I left my 30 year career, in the suburbs of Chicago, DW and I drove non-stop to our new home in South Carolina. We never looked back.

As for the kids, within two years, both relocated to SC as well. This Sunday, we will be gathering for a gumbo cooking party! Life is good!

 

[Koolau]

Relocation was in the plan from early in my c*reer. It took a couple of years, post FIRE. Still happy with our move. One of our back-ups is to move back if financial problems arise - so far, everything is still on plan. YMMV

 

[pb4uski]

We moved just prior to ER, to our then vacation home that was only 24 miles from our primary home. After that, we sold our primary home. Going from 2 homes to 1 home reduced our expenses and bolstered our nestegg to an extent that I felt comfortable pulling the plug.

However, I voted "Stay put" because the move was so short and our social networks of family and friends was unchanged so it was much different than other relocations described in this thread.

But now, 6 years later, we are back to having two homes and snowbird so we do relocate for half of the year..... but the cost of our winter condo is quite modest compared to our former primary home.

 

[jollystomper]

I do not believe in making multiple major changes at the same time (blame my IT background). After I retire we will stay put to see how this new phase of life works out for us. That willl determine whether or not we choose to relocate.

 

[foxfirev5]

We're staying in southern Michigan. After a series of moves 30 plus years ago we're set where we are. Family is scattered about so we are close to centrally located. Any place we want go is either a do able drive or easy flight out of DTW.

 

[43210]

I do not believe in making multiple major changes at the same time (blame my IT background). After I retire we will stay put to see how this new phase of life works out for us. That willl determine whether or not we choose to relocate.

For me, quitting job and leaving town would definitely happen close together, by design.

The place we are living is horrible in almost every way, and the only reason to be here is for a job. As soon as I am (financially) able to leave this job, we are leaving this place.

Getting out of town is Priority #1.
Not needing to work is Priority #2.

I look forward to no longer needing to work, but it makes no sense to quit the job (and income) until the move is ready to happen.

 

[6miths]

We'll relocate to downsize mainly. House and lot are both too large. Kids will impact how far we go though it will take a few years before they decide where they want/need to be. In the meantime, travel.

 

[Crewer]

I voted stay put. We downsized about 6 years ago farther out of the city but still walking distance to grocery stores etc. DH can't take heat and so far the gym is a good enough refuge from the snow and ice that I still like winters here. I'm very socially invested and we travel extensively - alot of it visiting family all over the country. Our area has a bad reputation but I like it alot.

When our kids get settled (if they ever do) we'd consider moving to be closer to them especially if there are grandkids (none now and none in foreseeable future).

43210 - is that your zipcode??

 

[43210]

43210 - is that your zipcode??

Countdown to no more work.

 

[Palmtree]

We lived and worked in a major metro area but built a smallish weekend lake house in a neighboring state. When we FIRED, we sold the house in the metro burbs and moved to the LCOL area lake house. Never looked back and no regrets.

 

[Scuba]

This was the hardest thing for Mrs Scrapr. She is a very social person.We had our 2nd home for 12 or more years and thought that we were OK on that front. But moving in we realized everybody was at work and involved in their own activities. She is creating her network again. But it is much harder than we imagined

Yes it's hard for me to imagine replacing friends who've been in our lives 20-30 years with new friends. There's something to be said for long-term friendships. We're open to new friends and occasionally make some on vacation or doing a new activity, but those long-term relationships are the most important to us.

 

[NW-Reader]

We are completely paralyzed by the relocation (in)decision. We bought our potential retirement condo in 2011. It's in a small town about 1.5 hours from our in-city Seattle home. We used it for a getaway for a couple of years, then when we were completely FIRED at the end of 2013 we turned it into a long-term rental to help with cash-flow. Our son was still in high school anyway, so we couldn't move. Son graduated and off to college in 2015, but we still haven't been able to make the move.

I go over the pros and cons list almost daily. A huge one is the crazy run-up in RE prices here. As a LBYM'er, I would never have imagined myself living in a house that's worth this much (through no fault of our own). Condo is much more suitable for aging-in-place, and easier for us to lock and leave to travel, while health still allows.

But we love our current house, and neighborhood. Friends and local haunts are here. The pharmacy where they know our names. Doctors of 20+ years. My husband says, only half-joking, that we can move when his doc retires.

This is truly a first-world problem, I know, and I try to stay in the moment and just enjoy where I am now. But it's so interesting to hear what others have done and how it worked out.

 

[braumeister]

Condo is much more suitable for aging-in-place, and easier for us to lock and leave to travel, while health still allows.

But we love our current house, and neighborhood. Friends and local haunts are here.

If it's that close, I might consider living in both places for a while, alternating weeks. That would probably make the choice a lot easier.

 

[brucethebroker]

I'd much rather be in a a warmer climate like one of the Carolinas but DW would be most unhappy moving that far from her family. And really, the winter here is usually only real nasty about two, maybe three months of the year so we'll probably be here until we move to a CCRC.

Yes, only 3 months.
For many years, we felt the same way, but finally decided 25% of our future time on earth was too much to spend in cold weather. We bought an affordable place in warm weather down south to snowbird those 3 miserable months. Our year now has only 3 seasons: spring, summer, spring (with a touch of fall).

 

[45th Birthday]

We ended up relocating, but not because of any grand plan. It kind of just happened. For years, we had a summer place in addition to our primary home.

When I FIREd, we had kids at home, so we stayed put while they finished middle and high school. When they were in college, we bought a place in Florida to escape the winter and taxes.

Then we grew tired of rotating between three places during the year, and the kids didn't much care about coming back to the original primary home. So, we sold that and also sold our original summer place and bought a bigger summer place. Now we just live there and in Florida.

We miss our original primary home community, but had always been part-time residents and more so in later years, so it was a transition. We now have more time for travel. As the kids start their careers, they have less time to travel to us, so we will spend more time traveling to see them and also take other trips.

 

[gerntz]

Weather isn't terribly important other than very cold for long periods. High of 40 in Jan is fine for outdoor activities/exercise. Besides, winter travel is an option. Near family & friends. No need to downsize because we purposely never upsized. Taxes not bad. Why move?

 

[kcowan]

Inertia is what keeps people in place, especially in the upper half of the states and Canada. It kept us in Vancouver for 5 years until MIL passed on.

Now I have friends in Mexico from San Francisco and Dana Point and I ask: Why do you come for 4 months and they say because the weather is better and they love the people. But when I probe deeper, they have always reached a point of inflection where the ties that bind had dissipated. Plus they had already established ties in Mexico.

 

[Red Badger]

We enjoy our modest abode just north of Charlotte. Mild winters will keep us here.
Proximity to the ocean, mountains, and a major airport are additional anchors. Congestion is increasing, but we just try to avoid being out during peak periods.

When home maintenance becomes too big of a hassle, we'll look at a condo or maybe straight to a CCRC.

 

[Cat-tirement]

Interesting. Roughly 2/3 relocate or want to. More than I expected. And those that relocated - relocated to downsize, move to LCOL and to less density. What I expected. Thanks for the info. I don’t know how it will help in my quest to relocate or downsize, but it’s good to know.

We downsized when we relocated, but that wasn't the primary reason. We also moved to higher cost of living (for lifestyle) and slightly higher density (to make it easier to walk/bike to places, particularly as we age). So I guess we're in the minority.