Retired and looking to move? Here are tips for downsizing success from one Weymouth couple

WEYMOUTH – Looking out the living room and master bedroom windows in the new home of Kathy and Larry Lavery is an experience they never anticipated.

Their view is of a pond, with herons, egrets and ducks. In the distance, golfers play toward the putting green. It is Sunday morning; all is quiet and peaceful. Everything is manicured.

Neither one plays golf or plans to, but this location is just fine with them.

"It's been a great experience," Kathy said. "Everybody has been as friendly as can be."

In early August, they moved into a freestanding house at the Village at Weathervane, a 55-plus golf community in South Weymouth, and said they quickly felt at home.

The couple, married 31 years, are both 71. They never expected to leave Milton, where Kathy had lived since age 9 and where her mother, Mary Ryan, 100, remains in her own home. Larry grew up in Dorchester and they stayed close to family, friends and longtime neighbors.

Here's how it unfolded:

Kathy taught home economics in the Weymouth schools for 35 years, retiring at age 57 in 2008, and she loved having the Milton neighborhood children in for holiday cooking projects. She also had been a town meeting member since 1984, and volunteered since 2010 at the Milton Council on Aging.

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Larry retired in 2012 from the U.S. Postal Service in South Boston and was happily spending his time reading his very large collection of books, painting watercolors and walking.

With no children or grandchildren, they considered a smaller house in Milton and in 2009 put their names on the waiting list at Home Inc., which runs Winter Valley and Unquity House. There was a waiting list of 10 to 12 years.

Then, in 2018, Kathy developed knee pain from arthritis. As she kept her parents company at their Milton home during the pandemic, she thought more about the options for "aging in place."

She attended a Zoom program at the Milton senior center with a presentation by Oakley Home Access, a Rhode Island company with an occupational therapist and a contractor who evaluate homes for safely aging in place. In the summer of 2021, the company did an assessment of the  Laverys' house. They realized it would be difficult to make it easily accessible.

"We began looking for a ranch-style house in Milton," Kathy Lavery said. They consulted Linda MacDonald, a Hanover  real estate agent who specializes in 55-plus markets, and checked out possible retirement communities from Hanover to Canton.

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One requirement was that the RIDE, the MBTA's transit service, must serve the town where they would live.

"We wanted an option for when we might not be able to drive," Kathy said.

Hanover had several desirable over-55 communities, but did not have the RIDE.

Last December, they checked back with Home Inc. The waiting list was still three to four years. Kathy's knee was still hurting; Larry was feeling physical limitations with age. He had "retired" from mowing the lawn and found help with snow shoveling.

They had already looked at many houses; most needed work. A cousin in the construction business provided estimates of the costs of renovations.

"They were adding up to huge amounts," Kathy said.

Many sellers were not allowing inspections, so a construction friend of Larry's walked through open houses with them.

"Last February, we decided to stay in place," Kathy said. "We had new ceilings installed, the interior painted and even a gas fireplace installed in the living room."

Then in early April, their real estate agent called.

"You need to go look at this house in Weymouth," Linda MacDonald said. "This is exactly what you need." She had spotted a house for sale at the Village at Weathervane.

"We liked what we saw," Kathy said. "It had all the things we had in our own house, but it also had easy access (for anyone with mobility issues). Weymouth was still near enough to friends and family. We could keep the same doctors."

The owner accepted their offer three days later but wanted to wait until July to pass papers.

"That gave us another gift of time to prepare for all the downsizing we had to do," Kathy said.

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Both Kathy and Larry are well-organized. They developed a schedule. First up: pack up all the items stored in the attic before the end of April, because it would start to get hot in May.

Then "the purge" began. Items were listed on the private "Buy Nothing Milton" Facebook page and also sold on the "Milton MA. Yard Sale" page. Larry donated many of his books – a huge and emotional undertaking because he had so many. With college degrees in philosophy and English, he had continued a reading lifestyle.

He gave away 72 cartons with more than 3,000 books by May 10.

"That was the hardest part because the books defined my academic life and my personal interests," he said. "I had to do a lot of winnowing. But I kept in mind what was coming. We were both goal-oriented toward the move."

They sorted through papers to be  shredded for free May 13 at the Milton Council on Aging. They had their own yard sale May 21 and donated the $400 raised to the senior center. On May 26, Jim's Disposal in Weymouth took away all their leftovers.

In early June, they were ready for the  real estate agent's photo shoot to put their house on the market. They had 60 boxes of items that had to be moved out of sight. A dozen friends and family helped.

The house sold quickly by mid-June.

Meanwhile, Kathy was having work done in the new house. They moved Larry's pool table into the basement after refinishing the floor. She had the rugs from Milton sent out to be cleaned and delivered to the Weymouth house. A buffet and other furniture was sent for refinishing and also delivered to Weymouth.

On Aug. 1, they moved out of Milton house and on Aug. 2 into their new Village at Weathervane home.

"The downsizing process can take months and the key was that we were able to develop a schedule," Kathy said. "You should move when you can still pack your own boxes."

She has felt "some sadness, leaving my neighborhood, leaving my town. But I knew that the time was right. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions and direct where I was going and pack myself."

Resettled, they are pleased how quickly they feel at home.

Larry can look over at the bookshelf in his office and see "old friends" looking back at him. Kathy can settle into her sewing room upstairs, where she always has a project, including turning donated wedding gowns into "angel gowns" for infants who have died prematurely.

Their life of family, friends, reflection and creativity goes on.

For other helpful tips on preparing for a move, check out this Hebrew Senior Life blogpost. 

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com. 

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: A Weymouth couple's tips for retiring, downsizing on the South Shore