Quote:
Originally Posted by OBXNana
We have cold feet. I'd worry about our decision if we didn't. I'd be afraid our decision was based on the grass being greener on the other side.
We plan to down size big time in PA and be part time in The Villages when we retire. This is the right decision for us at this time. Our logic is we keep the door open to return to PA, we can stay full time in The Villages if that becomes our first choice, or we can continue having what we classify as the best of both worlds.
This is our personal choice and may not work for everyone.
|
This is what we have already done - small places (CYV in The Villages, condo in Ohio). To be able to afford it, we had to be happy with rather major downsizing. What I think people also forget is that as they age, they often want to downsize anyway.
This is our 4th year of snow birding, directly from retirement. In the process, we did spend 7 weeks in our Villages home about 3 years ago during the summer. I would be ok living there year-round, but not Ohioboy, although at this time, I also prefer the snow birding. I can see that as we age, we may not want to do the long drive, but that could be solved by keeping a car up here and flying back and forth. We also have family in NC, and stop for a few days fall and spring.
Unlike others, we are not doing this because of family, but because we really like our city (Columbus) in the summertime and also have good friends and ongoing activity groups we can fit into easily. I would categorize us at the moment as pretty active, both in sports activities and other interests. Easier (cooler much of time, not always) to play golf, tennis, etc. in Ohio than in Florida in summer. Even during hot spells here (Ohio) in summer, mornings and evenings are usually significantly more comfortable here than in Florida.
It has taken about 2-3 years to pretty much duplicate all our needed "stuff" in both places, but now we could get by with 2-3 suitcases if needed. We don't have a garage here, but could rent one for winter storage if needed - imagine you could find somewhere to do that almost anywhere in the country.
We do consider that if we are lucky enough to have long lives that we will eventually choose to be in one place - probably be The Villages, but who knows? Might also depend on support systems or if one of us needs more assistance than the other.
Right now we have no children/grandchildren in Ohio, but some of their lives are fluid, and it is quite possible that one or two of them might return. I have met several couples who retired somewhere to be near family, and then the family moved. As others mention, harder to move as we age, and it's true that some move better than others.