Just because you’re retired doesn’t mean you must move to Florida or even out of your current home. Don’t feel pressured to vacate your comfortable house with the upgraded everything, fashioned the way you like to appease everyone else. If you’re still satisfied and consider it a welcome haven, no one is pushing you out the door. Put your feet up and stay awhile – here’s why you don’t have to move when you’re an empty nester.
No Place Like Grandma and Grandpa’s Home
If you retain ownership of the family home, your children and their families can still visit and maybe even establish their home base near you. Staying in your current home allows you to entertain and celebrate holidays and milestones with your extended family and give your grandchildren similar experiences to their parents and continue fond traditions. Before you redesign your child’s bedroom and convert it into a man cave or she-shed, ask for their blessing for any changes you make. They may have moved out for good but may be sensitive and sentimental about the special place where they once slept and played.
Home Sweet Home
Is there any reason to leave your house when you love it and cannot imagine moving? As long as you can afford to keep your house, and manage home improvement and future medical costs, then it’s a done deal. If you must modify the house to accommodate the physical challenges you’re facing, investigate how much it will entail. Even though you plan to stay, plan for another time when you may have to leave by decluttering or putting family heirlooms and extra furniture into the hands of your offspring or a storage facility like FlatRate Moving offers. CNBC recommends renting out part of the house if you need extra cash.
Working for a Living
Many people of retirement age cannot afford to leave their jobs and maybe don’t even want to after building a career or running a business for so long. Work can be drudgery but also means more expendable income including amassing a hefty retirement savings plan, quality health insurance, plenty of social activity, and mental stimulation. If you cannot leave your job or find a comparable job where you want to retire, maybe it’s best to bide your time at home.
Near People and Places, You Love
When you’ve lived somewhere for a long time, you’ve established relationships and found places you love and traditions you cherish in your very own neighborhood. Depending on your municipality, you may find everything you want within a short walk or car drive. Now that the kids moved away and started their own families, you have a lifetime opportunity to live it up. It’s time for adventures with your spouse, good friends, and on an independent basis. Although you occasionally miss your old lifestyle as a full-time parent, your time is your own, and you’re free to do whatever you can handle. Remember that you only regret what you don’t do.