Stay or Move?

[Lamb]

Is it better to stay in your home and improve it somehow or move after retirement?

We have a 2 story home where the beds and showers are upstairs and the laundry is downstairs. There is a possibility where we could convert a portion of our garage (we have a 3 1/2 car garage) into an area for laundry and shower on the main floor (already have a half bath). Is it worth that conversion to stay?

I'm thinking the pros would be
We know the house and its history
We know we aren't going to be in a flood zone

The cons would be
the expense
we'd still have a huge home to heat/cool

 

[tango]

That's not really a decision anyone else can make for you.

If you're concerned about loss of mobility as you age you could look into a stairlift. It would make upstairs accessible if you're unable to climb stairs unaided and save a lot of the expense of converting space into a different space.

If your house is too big to economically heat and cool are you able to close off some areas so you're only heating and cooling the areas you actually use? Depending on how your system is set up and zoned you could potentially keep your primary living space at a comfortable temperature while making sure the unused space doesn't drop below some much lower temperature with a view to avoiding condensation etc rather than maintaining comfort in those spaces.

Part of the consideration might also be the area. Can you buy a smaller place that works for you in the area you currently live? My wife and I looked at moving some years ago because we don't need anywhere near as much space as we have, but found that moving would mean we'd need to sell our current place and add extra money in order to buy a smaller place with higher taxes. Looking at our current heating bills since I put insulation in it's hard to see much benefit to moving, unless we decided we wanted to leave the area completely.

 

[Lamb]

That's not really a decision anyone else can make for you.

If you're concerned about loss of mobility as you age you could look into a stairlift. It would make upstairs accessible if you're unable to climb stairs unaided and save a lot of the expense of converting space into a different space.

If your house is too big to economically heat and cool are you able to close off some areas so you're only heating and cooling the areas you actually use? Depending on how your system is set up and zoned you could potentially keep your primary living space at a comfortable temperature while making sure the unused space doesn't drop below some much lower temperature with a view to avoiding condensation etc rather than maintaining comfort in those spaces.

Part of the consideration might also be the area. Can you buy a smaller place that works for you in the area you currently live? My wife and I looked at moving some years ago because we don't need anywhere near as much space as we have, but found that moving would mean we'd need to sell our current place and add extra money in order to buy a smaller place with higher taxes. Looking at our current heating bills since I put insulation in it's hard to see much benefit to moving, unless we decided we wanted to leave the area completely.

Well of course it's my decision, but I'd like opinions from others who might have been in the same circumstances. You have said you chose to stay. Do you have a ranch house?

 

[tango]

Well of course it's my decision, but I'd like opinions from others who might have been in the same circumstances. You have said you chose to stay. Do you have a ranch house?

No, my house is currently inaccessible without going up some steps and has upstairs and downstairs as well as an attic and basement. Lots of steps, with minimal provision to do much of anything without going upstairs for something.

So much is a personal decision based on your health and desired outcomes. I've known people who specifically didn't want to leave their homes because they have so much history (my wife is the fourth generation of her family to live in this house), and others who had nothing wrong with them but wanted to downsize and moved into a retirement community before they technically even retired.

For myself having seen the lockdown rules imposed at the retirement community during the pandemic I have no desire to go and live in that community unless there really is no other option.

 

[Forgiven1]

We were living in a parsonage so had to move. We had a house that the bedrooms were upstairs and the laundry in the basement. It has a full bathroom upstairs and a half bath on the main floor. With the kids all on their own, it really was too much house for us. Where we were moving too and buying, we opted for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath one story home. We told our realtor that is what we wanted. It has one step up onto the porch and a step over the threshold at both doors.

We are much happier with the smaller home and no steps. I am telling you this for some things to think about. For us, it was mainly the stairs.

 

[Castle Church]

My parents moved to a 2 story home when they were about 65. Now they are in their early 70s and finding the stairs to be a challenge. They did not have knee problems in their 60s and did not think it would be an issue, but they do now and they wish to move to a 1 story home.

I would not live in a 2 story home past the age of 65 if you can help it. Maybe if the primary bedroom were on the first floor, but not if it was on the second floor.

 

[Lamb]

My parents moved to a 2 story home when they were about 65. Now they are in their early 70s and finding the stairs to be a challenge. They did not have knee problems in their 60s and did not think it would be an issue, but they do now and they wish to move to a 1 story home.

I would not live in a 2 story home past the age of 65 if you can help it. Maybe if the primary bedroom were on the first floor, but not if it was on the second floor.

This is what I'm learning by watching people at church, since most of them are a lot older. They struggle to lift up their legs to make a small step, so how could they climb stairs? They don't. It's definitely something for my husband and I to keep discussing before it gets too difficult to make the move.