I'd like to move to a house with a more spacious layout. However, our house is nearly paid off, and homes are extremely expensive around here.

It'd be nice to have more space for children to come back with their significant other / kids one day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t downsize to a townhouse. Many have over 30 steps. Not good for aging knees.

Master suit on ground floor is a must after 60.

You must be young! Most people in their 60s are fine with stairs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t downsize to a townhouse. Many have over 30 steps. Not good for aging knees.

Master suit on ground floor is a must after 60.

My parents are 77 and bought a small two-story house a few years ago (there were no one-stories in the community). They lived in a two-story house for the 40 years before that, too. I’m convinced that having to climb stairs daily is about the best way to keep healthy as you age. Of course, that all changes with real disability, but for many folks now that doesn’t come until well into your 80s.

Condo in a lively part of DC with access to restaurants, parks, metro and zip car, will get rid of big house in suburb and cars. Less house care and more self care.

We will sell our house and move to our second home - a condo in NYC. I'm very excited.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t downsize to a townhouse. Many have over 30 steps. Not good for aging knees.

Master suit on ground floor is a must after 60.

Our kids are in college and just out of college. We still live in our large home. While, in theory, I love the idea of downsizing and maybe living in the city, I think that logistics will keep us here. Of course our kids are only young adults and so stay at home frequently, but even once they’re older and fully moved out — our house is the gathering place for extended family for visits and holidays. While I often dream of not hosting Thanksgiving, for example (though I also love hosting it), I can’t picture where gatherings of 15 or 20 of us would take place without our house, which is the largest and most conveniently located. Is this a concern for anyone else? Joe have you managed it?

Anonymous wrote:I think this is more of a finance question than a real estate or midlife one, so posting here.
What are you doing with your real estate options when you get to say 55, or when you are empty nesters? Are you downsizing? Moving to a TH? Aging in place? Keeping a larger home for family gatherings, grandkids? What’s your plan?

Your 55 age is off. I really think downsizing is 75 if at all.

We plan to age in place. We have a rambler with everything we need on the main level so there’s no real reason to go to the basement.

Bought our house soon after DH had a cancer diagnosis. One level living was on my mind, just in case. Twenty-five years later, so far it has been a feature that only our aging dog has needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a large city house in Dc and beach house currently.

After the kids go to college, we will sell the DC house.

We'll keep the beach house. We might upgrade it between now and then if we can get something larger.

We will add a condo/ coop in Manhattan and add something else. That something else could be all over the place. We've considered something in the Caribbean, a ranch, another condo or coop in a large city.

We tried this.

Ugh hated living at beach full time .

Sold beach place. Doctors and vets were too hard to make appointments and nothing to do in the winter…

Pp said they would also have another place.

My ILs downsized from a 4 bdrm home with a pool to a first floor gated 2bd 2ba condo with a balcony overlooking the condo gardens in order to be in the same city as their children and grandchildren. It worked perfectly for them since they had only their unit to maintain and could close it up whenever they wanted to travel. There were many retired people in the complex so a new group of friends to socialize with but also a few young families to keep it lively. It gave the flexibility they needed when FIL had to move to memory care assisted living but MIL could remain in the condo until she suffered a TBI in a fall.

Unless I’m in financial need, I’m staying in place. Location is ideal for aging in place. House is a 1940s cape with a first floor addition. Perfect one level living situation.

One option is buying on the ocean (I live in a coastal New England town). That’s the only thing that would push me to move.

Anonymous wrote:We have a large city house in Dc and beach house currently.

After the kids go to college, we will sell the DC house.

We'll keep the beach house. We might upgrade it between now and then if we can get something larger.

We will add a condo/ coop in Manhattan and add something else. That something else could be all over the place. We've considered something in the Caribbean, a ranch, another condo or coop in a large city.

We tried this.

Ugh hated living at beach full time .

Sold beach place. Doctors and vets were too hard to make appointments and nothing to do in the winter…

Moved to a LowerCOL area during the pandemic and WFH. Bought a single story home in a gated community that takes care of the yards. If RTO for DH's company happens he would retire. We knew we were taking the risk when we moved, but so far it has worked out.