After my boomer husband retired, we moved to a bigger house. We now have space for our hobbies and grandchildren to visit.
After my husband retired, we decided to move to a bigger house to be more comfortable.
We didn't tell anyone we were looking for a bigger house.
We now have the space we need to fulfill our hobbies and passions.
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 constantly talked about having more space.
After listing our priorities, we started looking for a newer house that we could move into "as is" because we were done with renovating. We looked 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 lateral moves 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.
It felt like the timing was right
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. It ticked the boxes one by one. A hot tub in the back garden was a major bonus, and when my husband saw the large workshop in the basement, his eyes lit up.
"It's a really big house for you two," our real-estate agent said as we gazed lovingly at the exterior. We made an offer the next day and managed to sell high and buy lower.
We'd 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. Friends and family have reacted with comments like, "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 have space to embrace hobbies and passions
We now have space to do all the things we love, but didn't have the space for 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 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.
We have a more active lifestyle in the suburbs now
Our old house was in our city's downtown, which 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 we 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 there's less crime and fewer car thefts in our new neighborhood, validating our choice.
There's room for our family to come stay with us
We love that we have more space for our grandchildren to stay over in a larger room than before and we can invite visiting friends to stay. We wanted a house that we were excited about; we feel we've transitioned from an "empty nest" to a "welcome home."
Our grandkids are excited to visit and use the hot tub, treating it like a pool. We feel as though every house we've sold and profited from before has been working toward this home.
A few weeks after moving in, we had a party hosting 65 people. It was the first time we had the space, so we celebrated my husband's 70th and the new place.
Melody Wren is a freelance journalist. You can find her at www.melodywren.com or follow her adventures @melodywrentravels
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