What’s your empty nest plan?

[Anonymous]

I always had this vision of raising my kids in a cozy, beloved family home. Dh and I would happily stay there and our kids would enjoy the comfort of visiting us in this house full of memories. Just like all the TV families.

Lol. And then life happened. We are just 5 years from empty nest status. Our kids have been raised in 3 different homes. Our current house is a great family home in a wonderful school district. But not where we want to grow old.

This has gotten us thinking about what we will do when the kids are gone.

I have thought about immediately moving to a great home in one of the neighborhoods we love but could never move to because the houses are not family homes and the schools are bad. It would be the home we grow old in and would be a great place for large family gatherings and visitors.

I’ve also thought about living in a minimalist apt while we finish paying off their college and then do lots of traveling. Then settle into our permanent home when/if grandkids come along.

Anyway, thisxis something DH and I are just now starting to talk about, so I’m just interested in hearing what other people are planning to do.

[Anonymous]

Have considered renting out the family home for a few years and living in an apartment/condo during that time - see how it goes and then make the decision.

[Anonymous]

Depends on where the kids settle after college, but likely downsize to a condo so traveling is more viable.

[Anonymous]

Ours is to keep/stay in the home until they are a few years out of undergrad (I want them to know they have a home to come home to!). Me and DH: date nights, concerts, theater, travel - esp last minute get away weekends, all the stuff we haven't done enough of over the past 19 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours is to keep/stay in the home until they are a few years out of undergrad (I want them to know they have a home to come home to!). Me and DH: date nights, concerts, theater, travel - esp last minute get away weekends, all the stuff we haven't done enough of over the past 19 years.

This. I want them to be launched and self sufficient. We'll probably downsize but not necessarily go into a retirement community...not quite read for that just yet.

[Anonymous]

Condo in the city. Can not wait. So sick of driving everywhere in the suburbs. Selling the cars and uber everywhere or walk. Will have a spare room for DC to come to at breaks, but no way am I maintaining a lawn and 4000 sq ft for my kid to have for breaks! And more internship opportunities for DC in city over summer vs commuting in and out every day, blech!

[Anonymous]

We're already in the city so would just stay here for an indefinite amount of time. If my kids settle down and have grandkids, and if they were amenable, I'd consider moving to wherever they ended up to see them more often and help take care of the grandkids. I'm really not a helicopter mom, but when I had kids, I realized how awesome nearby grandparents would be (and it was not possible for us). So I'd like to be able to do that for my kids if it works out.

[Anonymous]

I love my house, but I work from home so I’m not tied to it. We’ve lived on both coasts, and in the Midwest so we aren’t tied to an area either. Like a PP I’m waiting to see where my kids settle. I’d like to be within driving distance if possible.

[Anonymous]

We plan to stay here until we know where kids settle. If kids move away, we are not staying in DMV area.

[Anonymous]

DH wants to move to Paris. I see us living here but in a condo on the Hill or U St. (We live in quiet NWDC)

[Anonymous]

We have a house close in that’s perfect. Walkable to everything and 2 blocks from Metro. My 20-something nephews love to come stay in our finished basement on weekends since they can walk to bars/restaurants. We have fantastic neighbors and everyone ages in place. My kids have t started HS yet, but I don’t see us ever selling this home. It’s not too big, not too small. We will probably spend summers in other locales because we hate DC summers.

We have a small rowhouse in NW DC, but I think it would be too small for us now to live in permanently. My kids will probably end up there.

My parents stayed in the home I grew up in (20 min away) and I loved the feeling of coming home from college, and later with my own kids. My kids never want to leave this house (for now g. I can’t even bring up moving.

[Anonymous]

i want to get a condo and live in the city (we live in the burbs now)

[Anonymous]

We actually have raised our family in one cozy, beloved home all their lives. All their memories are here (heck, most of my adult ones are too). It’s only 3000 sqft so I expect we will stay here until we die.

[Anonymous]

This reminds me of “Father of the Bride 2” where they sell the fabulous family home to go to a condo/have sports car. Only Steve Martin is on board and then they buy it back.

The house I grew up in has such great memories. My parents stayed in it. It’s like another family member. All of my memories and my kids with the grandparents feature that house and backyard.

[Anonymous]

I expect we'll stay in our current home for a while. We've lived here since before we had the kids so it's a good size for just the two of us. However, it has a pretty big yard and I think at some point we'll downsize to a townhouse or large condo. Where that is will depend on our kids -- we'd want to settle near one of them. But, we like DC and are in a great location near metro and lots of amenities so not in a rush to move.