It can be easy to get attached to your family home. After all, it is where you raised your kids, probably surviving many family celebrations and dramas along the way. Once they have left home, it can be tempting to want to stay in your home for nostalgia reasons rather than downsizing, even though this may be better for your current and future needs. Here are some good reasons to downsize once your kids leave home.
1Money
You could find that you free up a lot of money if you downsize. You could use this opportunity to pay your mortgage and debts off. If you have already done so, you might be surprised to learn how much money downsizing could give you. It is worth looking at the figures and crunching some numbers to see how much money downsizing might give you. You could use the extra money to provide you with an income in retirement or to treat yourself to the finer things in life while you are still young enough to enjoy them.
As well as providing you with a lump sum, downsizing should also save you money on bills. This will make your retirement income go further and allow you to pay for those little extras that make your everyday life more enjoyable.
2Less Space to Clean
Once your kids have left home, you will probably find that you have several rooms that you no longer use, such as bedrooms or a playroom. Certainly, you will no longer use these as frequently. However, you will still want to keep them clean which will mean you still have a lot of housework to do. You may have wanted to have a big garden while the kids were growing up, but you find it is not used as much once they have left home. It will still need maintenance though, which can become more of a challenge as the years go by. Downsizing means that the housework in your new home will be less time consuming and difficult. This will free up your time and allow you to do the things you really want to do rather than spending your hours on maintenance that you do not enjoy.
3Live Where You Like
You may have had set criteria in mind when you moved to your current location. If you had young children at the time, then the school district would have been near the top of your list as well as proximity to amenities such as a local play park. A family-oriented environment may not suit you as well as you get older, and now that the kids have graduated and started to live their own lives you can move anywhere you want to.
Perhaps there is a location that you have always wanted to live in or maybe you have had a desire to move for a more favorable climate. Now is your chance to do this. Many seniors find that not being tied to one location when they retire gives them the chance to explore and gives them the living environment that will best suit their needs going forward rather than being stuck in a past that no longer fits their requirements.
4Health
Health could start to be an issue for you as you get older. Even if you are in reasonably good health now this could change as the years go by. Stairs tend to get a little more difficult to navigate and you may find that pottering around a large house takes more time and effort than it used to. This could be a good time to consider your senior living options. Look at sites like frontiermgmt.com where they offer three levels of service from independent living for active seniors, to assisted living for those who need a little help with day-to-day activities and memory care for people suffering from memory related illnesses. Choose the space and the service that will best suit your needs. If your requirements change as you age, you can change the level of service you receive without having to move home again.
Moving home can be a big upheaval, so it can be better to do this sooner rather than later as you will find this easier to manage before you get to a point where your health is a big issue.
5Make a Fresh Start
Making a fresh start can stop you feeling sad that your kids have left home and suffering from empty nest syndrome. Moving home can be something to look forward to as it will give you a fresh start. Downsizing will give you the opportunity to have a good clear out and get rid of the things you no longer need in your new home. It may be that you have been putting this off for years, and now is your chance to cast out the old things you don’t want and only keep the things you really want.
A fresh start can give you the opportunity to make new friends. If you are moving to a place with lots of other seniors, you will find that you will have a lot in common with those around you and it will be easier to bond. Often senior living environments are close communities where you will feel at home and make new friends very quickly. This can give you a great new social life and lots of new and interesting hobbies. This can be a welcome change if you have been stuck in a rut for a while.
It can be daunting to think about downsizing once the kids have left home. However, most seniors who have made the move into a senior living environment will tell you that it was the best move they ever made, and they have never regretted doing it. Now you have raised your kids, isn’t it time that you start living your life the way you want to with your own best interests in mind?
