We're sort of doing the same thing as barb1191 - for me it's not a big deal, I could be a Frog in an instant - but, I've moved a bunch and know I can do it.
Ohioboy has never lived in another city, even bought his parents' home 10-11 yrs ago when his Dad passed away. They built it when Ohioboy was 2 months old.
That's where we live when in Ohio, but we're currently renting it to his son (this will make it a 3 generation home, passed from son to son to son) with the plan for him to buy it outright (well, okay - with his own mortgage) this fall. Part of the deal is that we can return in the May-Sept. period for the foreseeable future.
It does make it easier to gradually move and still keep ties in both places, but we both foresee that as our social life switches more to TV, we'll spend more and more time here. Kind of nice to have the best of both worlds here for awhile. Really nice to also not have to worry about an unoccupied home.
Another option for those finding it hard to decide to move to TV might be to rent their "up north" home to a responsible family member, or help out one who is struggling in today's economy - could be a win-win situation for both of you, and maybe make the transition easier and not so final in case it turns out you are not happy away from your roots. TV - or any retirement community - is not for everyone (but I think it is for me
and hopefully for Ohioboy as well.