Think about where you are going to live when you finish full-time employment. This is a very important question and the answer can have a major impact on the rest of your life.
There is no ‘right’ answer — it’s a matter of finding out what works best for you. You may find yourself in a large house that was fine when the whole family lived there, but it’s really too big for a couple or a single person. Many people downsize. The benefits are a home that better suits your requirements and you generally free up some cash when you move to a smaller, cheaper home.
Grandparents often move closer to their children and grandchildren. This can work well. The danger is that one of the young parents can be offered a job in another city, which is too good to refuse and the grandparents find themselves in a new community, where they have few friends.
Before you decide to move to a new suburb, town or city, remember that your support network is generally around where you’ve been living. It’s not that easy to make good friends in a new community where you are the ‘blow ins’ forthe first year or two.
If you’re contemplating moving into a retirement village, remember that most established villages have waiting lists and it’s a good idea to put your name on a list well before you want to move in.
The development of new resort style retirement villages and over-50s manufactured home villages, offer interesting options for people who want access to good facilities, without having to worry about the maintenance.
Sharing a house or unit with another mature aged person is gaining popularity for people seeking to save money.
If you are considering a seachange or tree change, here are a series of suggestions you might like to consider. Remember if you get a seachange or t reechange wrong and you have to move back to your original town or city, it’s likely to be an expensive exercise.
Before you make a seachange or tree change, think about these:
This is an extract from a longer article in the book A Holistic Guide to a Happy Retirement, which is published by 50 Plus Books.