After my husband retired we decided to move to a bigger house instead of a smaller one. We now have space for our grandchildren to stay with us.
Courtesy of the author
My husband retired last year, and recently, we upsized our home. For us, it was a move to what I call "rightsizing."
We lived in a large house built in 1870 in the center of town. We had great access to many shops and amenities, but the downtown was getting busier and noisier. The house needed more and more maintenance, and we had a tenant in a rental unit upstairs and we didn't want to be landlords anymore. We continuously talked about having more space.
After listing our priorities, we started looking for a newer house that we could move into "as is" as we were done renovating. We did look at a few compact houses as we were under the illusion that we needed to go smaller, but we knew in our hearts it wasn't for us.
There are different ways retiring boomers are moving, including a lateral move to another kind of space, changing the age of the house for less maintenance, changing location, and upsizing. Here's why we decided to move to a bigger house.
As we kept talking about more space, we also thought, if we don't do it now, when will we?
When we first walked into the house we eventually bought, I had goosebumps from the top of my head to the tips of my toes as I stood in the large foyer with marble floors and a spiral staircase. It had an enormous chef's kitchen, a finished basement, and four bathrooms, including an en-suite. The boxes were being ticked one by one. A hot tub in the back garden was a major bonus, and then my husband saw the large workshop in the basement, and his eyes lit up.
Our real-estate agent said as we gazed lovingly at the exterior, "It's a really big house for you two." We made an offer the next day and managed to sell high and buy lower.
We had made a conscious decision not to tell anyone in our circle that we were looking for a larger house because we didn't want to be swayed by their opinions and input, which was the best choice we made. The reaction of friends and family has been astounding, including, "I don't want to offend you, but why are you moving to such a big house with so many stairs at your age."
We now have space to do all the things we love, but didn't have space before.
In our bigger house, my husband now has a full workshop to fulfill his dream of doing woodworking. COVID-19 made us share an office, which drove me to work at the dining table. Now we each have separate big offices on separate floors. In our old house, he would set up his drum kit, play for a while, let the grandkids play, and pack it up again. He now has his drum kit set up and space for a fly-tying desk in his large office. There is a finished basement and a nice backyard with a hot tub to soothe my rheumatoid arthritis.
As we had a large, centrally located older house with income, we sold for more than we bought for because we moved to a quiet suburb into a newer home.
Our old house was downtown in our city and was becoming less safe, so we wanted a quieter, safer neighborhood and opted for the suburbs. We live an active lifestyle biking, hiking, and kayaking and because of travel frequently, easy access to the airport was necessary,
When I called our insurance company with a change of address, our house and car insurance dropped in price because of less crime and fewer car thefts in our new neighborhood, validating our choice.
We love that we now have space for our grandchildren to stay over in a larger room than before and can invite visiting friends to stay. We wanted a house that we were excited about, and we feel we have transitioned from an "empty nest" to a "welcome home."
The hot tub adds to the enthusiasm of the grandkids visiting, treating it like a pool. We feel as though every house we have sold and profited from before has been working toward this home.
Within a few weeks after moving in, we had a party hosting 65 people because it was the first time we had the space so we celebrated my husband's 70th and the new space.
Melody Wren is a freelance journalist. You can find her at: www.melodywren.com or follow her adventures @melodywrentravels
