Choosing Where to Live in Retirement

You’ve worked hard for your retirement. Now you’re getting close to retiring. The decision of where to live can significantly affect the quality of your golden years. Here are some things to keep in mind when deciding where to move for your retirement.

Consider the Cost of Living

You’ll likely be on a fixed income, so you’ll want that income to go as far as possible. Develop a budget based on our retirement income before beginning to review locations. Be sure to allow yourself enough disposable income to participate in the activities you’ve dreamed of doing while you were working.

Once you begin to consider potential locations, look at the prices of housing, utilities, transportation, essentials, and the tax structure. For example, many states do not tax pension or Social Security income, which will leave you with more to spend. Some also have low (or no) inheritance taxes that allow you to pass more of your wealth to your heirs.

What’s Your Passion?

What would you like to do most in retirement? Do you want to visit your grandchildren frequently? If so, then you’ll want to move closer. Or, do you want to golf or boat or fish? If so, you might want to relocate to a place with a temperate climate and a beach. If you like the idea of being able to walk wherever you go, look for areas with a high walkability score. Whatever you plan to pursue in retirement, you can likely find a location to support that.

The Need for Friends

You might also want to make friends your age in your new location. Research to see whether other people your age are locating to or live in a particular area that you’re considering.

Access to Health Care

Generally, the older we get, the more we need access to good health care. While you might be willing to travel some distance for annual physicals, you’ll still want quick access to good hospitals and doctors in case of an emergency. If you’re considering moving to a foreign country, check whether they’ll accept your insurance there.

Factor in Travel Plans

Consider the traveling you’ll want to do in retirement. If you opt to live in a different city from your children, grandchildren, or good friends, consider how difficult visiting them will be from your new location. If you think you’ll want to travel the world, consider locating near a major international airport. Also, consider the cost of travel when planning your budget. You don’t want to spend too much on housing only to realize you now can’t afford to visit those dearest to you.

Take a Trial Run

Once you think you’ve narrowed down the locations, spend a week or two there to experience its lifestyle. If possible, do a week in each season of the year to gain a flavor for the area’s annual life cycle. Test the public transportation, drive to experience the traffic levels, and check out the community activity offerings. Ask locals your age about their opinions and tips for living in the community.

Settle into Retirement

Let us help with your retirement move. If you are relocating near or far, we can help with the planning, packing, and unpacking. Contact us today for a free quote.

6 Ways to Explain Moving to Small Children

Young kids often have a hard time understanding certain things. For instance, big concepts, like moving, can overwhelm them.

As a parent, it’s hard to balance getting ready for the move and helping your kids prepare. But it’s still an excellent idea.

With these tips, you’ll have a few ideas for how you can explain your upcoming residential move to your young kids.

1. Tell Kids in Advance

Parents often avoid telling children about important events in advance. Sometimes, they worry that their kids will get too upset. But kids need plenty of notice before something as big as moving.

It’s a better choice to start talking to the kids before you start packing. That way, when you start packing, they understand what you’re doing and why.

Expect them to have a lot of questions. They might even be unhappy. But they need time to process it before you leave.

2. Keep Explanations Age-Appropriate

Kids tend to react to moving in different ways, based on their age. For instance, toddlers may have a much more difficult time understanding the process, whereas young school-age children may have more opinions about it. You can expect some disagreement from any age.

Experts suggest that you focus on age-appropriate explanations. Keep it simple and repetitive for very young children. Reassure older children that you will make their needs a priority.

3. Use Books with Messages

Reading stories to your children about moving is an excellent way to introduce and reinforce positive messages about your upcoming relocation. Books about moving can open up communication about the changes ahead and help your children prepare for their new environment and perhaps feel more secure in this significant change.​

4. Pack Deliberately

As you pack, you’re likely to get some conflict. Toddlers don’t understand why you’re taking things away. Preschoolers may worry that you’re going to get rid of their belongings.

Give yourself extra time for this step. Packing with kids always takes longer, even if they’re happy about the move.

Be clear about your process from the beginning. Enlist the kids to help you pack and explain where everything will go in the meantime. If your kids struggle to set aside essential items, wait to pack them until near the end.

5. Listen to Concerns

Throughout the moving process, kids will tell you the concerns they have. Older kids can verbalize it, while younger kids may simply act out.

As a parent, your goal is to make sure your kids feel safe. They need to know that you can keep them secure while you move and afterward.

Be ready to have a lot of conversations. Keep the doors open for communication at times when you are not busy.

6. Stay Positive

Even if you’re not looking forward to the move, you need to stay positive for the kids. They look to you for hints on the ways they should react. If you’re upset, they are more likely to be unhappy. They may even try to convince you not to move.

Instead, focus on the benefits of moving. Talk about the cool things you’ll get to do as a family. Remind them that you’ll do your best to keep in contact with friends in your old location.

Families on the Move

Explaining moving to kids is difficult. It may be much more challenging than the actual process of moving. To help you make it easier, request a quote for moving services today.