Downsizing your home can be equal parts of a bit scary and a bit exciting. Most people consider downsizing as they are entering a new phase of their lives. Perhaps you sent your last child off to college. Perhaps your children are graduating from college. Or, maybe you’ve finally reached retirement and you want to enjoy yourself and not spend your retirement caring for a large house that you have to repair and keep up.
Whatever your reasons for wanting to downsize, BEFORE you make the decision to do it, here are a few things to consider. By giving the following things careful consideration, you can guarantee that you are going to be happy with your choices.
Does size matter to me?
Whether or not you want to admit it, we all live a little bit of the “keeping up appearances” lifestyle. What would moving to a smaller home do to you, personally? Would you feel like you weren’t progressing to this next stage in life, but rather moving back a step? Would you feel out of place, like you were living below your means?
These are very important things to consider. If you have problems with any of these considerations, downsizing may not be the right choice for you.
Will I miss some important things about a more spacious home?
Sometimes the little things are the important things. For instance, do you currently have your own home office or area where you can work, do hobbies, and/or just relax by yourself and do something leisurely, like read a newspaper?
Downsizing may end up meaning that some of these things that you appreciate and have grown accustomed to have to change a bit. If you are considering moving to an active adult community, law of averages says there is some sort of solution for this problem. If you are simply moving to a smaller house in a different area though, you will need to consider these things, coming up with alternatives for all the things you will miss, to ensure you are happy with your move to a smaller home.
How will other life events affect my living in a smaller home?
Life circumstances should play an important role in considering whether to downsize, or what type of smaller home you might purchase. For instance, entertaining your family. If you are expecting that you will still be doing this, you need to make sure wherever you move can accommodate guests, comfortably.
There are also things you may want to consider that go in the “unplanned” category. For instance, those of you that have just sent your children off to college and/or they just graduated from college. There is a growing trend of children graduating from college, only to return home afterwards. What would you do if this happened?
Downsizing can be a liberating and wonderful thing. It requires careful consideration and planning though, to ensure that you are making the move for the right reasons and moving into something you are going to be happy with, for this exciting next stage of your life.
