Consider Your Age When Moving Home Before Retirement

As you enter retirement there will be many issues to consider. For some people however one of the things they might well be considering is moving house. There could be any number of reasons for this. It could be that the house you currently reside in might be too big now that your children have grown up and moved away. Maybe, you want to downsize your home and buy something smaller in order to release some equity to spend on other things like luxury holidays for example or as a means to have an additional income. Perhaps you hate the British weather and wish to move to somewhere sunny and warm. Whatever the reason, deciding to move as you either approach retirement age or you are already retired is something you need to consider carefully as it’s not quite as straightforward as moving when you were younger.

Family Issues

If you decide to look at places to live which are further away from where your children and grandchildren are situated, you may need to consider how often you’ll get to see them. No matter how independent you are, it’s nice to have regular visits from your children and, almost certainly, you’ll enjoy spending time with your grandchildren. You need to carefully weigh up the pros and cons and consider whether your ‘dream property’ or location will fit in with that and how you’d feel you’d cope if you weren’t able to see your family as much as you do now.

Friends and Interests

If you are relatively active, no doubt you’ll currently have many activities to participate in, events to attend and hobbies to pursue which keep you occupied but how would you cope if you moved away? Remember that all of your friends might not be as mobile as you are so you may not get to see them all that often, if at all, if you are moving far away. You should also consider your interests whether it’s your local dancing class, bowls team, gardening club or women’s institute, does the place where you are intending to relocate also provide similar facilities?

Yes, you may have found your ‘dream’ home and your preferred location but that’s simply a fraction of what a successful house move means. Unless your social life and recreational opportunities are also fulfilled, your dream home might end up feeling like a prison cell if you’ve no friends or activities to fill your days with.

Language

If the thought of moving abroad appeals, have you considered any language difficulties you might encounter? Even simple things like going to the doctor or nipping out to buy a few food items can prove highly frustrating if you’re not able to make yourself understood and can’t understand others because they speak a foreign language.

Support in Later Life

You also need to consider how things might be, say, 5 or 10 years down the line. You might be thinking about moving home when you’re fit, active and in good health but what if your health deteriorates in the not too distant future? Friends and family then often become highly significant in terms of being able to give you practical as well as emotional support so you could end up feeling pretty isolated if your health deteriorates later on in life and those that care for you most are situated too far away to help to any great degree.

Therefore, whilst it can often make sense to move when you retire on several different levels, it’s not always the right move for everybody so you do need to take these and other considerations into account first and think things through carefully, before making a decision that could come back to haunt you later. That said, there are many retirees who will tell you that it was the best move they ever made.