Wondering how many others are struggling with this dilemma?

-kids are grown/ have too much house to take care of (landscape, leaves, snow, repairs)
-property and school taxes are too high...how that the kids are gone
-want to travel and not worry about "who watches the house", etc.
-lucky enough to not have a mortgage

We actually paid a Reservation Deposit (refundable) a few weeks ago on a "townhouse" condo in our same town, but are now getting "cold feet". Going past the new location makes us realize that the street has too many parked cars, not enough privacy, very limited outdoor space, and is not friendly to "aging in place" (i.e., 3 levels and no elevator). After adding the condo fees of about $5k per year, we would actually be paying MORE money than our current expenses for housing.

We are just too spoiled with our current "nirvana" home with great quality of life, fairly new "systems" and a sense of community (living in a cul-de-sac of 35 homes around a private "green space" with a stream, etc. Looks like we are going to "pull the plug" and retrieve our reservation deposit. When we are 10 years older, the answer may be different.

Our experience seems to follow a Classic Downsizing Story: What you would give up is more than you gain in reduced expenses and elimination of maintenance headaches.

 

If you love and enjoy where you are, stay there. We moved to a warmer climate, but didn't downsize much. We DID get rid of a lot of unnecessary "baggage" when we moved, but kept most of our things. Maintenance can be a pain in the patootie, but is better than giving up space, privacy, etc. I'm glad we moved to a smaller neighborhood (only 22 or so houses) but you're already in that sort of area. If you have a good support system, you'll be fine. You may find that maintenance fees, association dues, etc. outweigh (or are close) to what your maintenance costs will be. There just comes a time when upgrading, etc. is just not all that important as long as you're comfortable where you are. A small close-knit community is a great place to be.

 

We will be downsizing just not in the 2-3 years in your poll.
I hate to even think of the move. The location is wonderful, serene and quiet.
I love the sprawling nature of our house.
but....
It is way to big for two and the heating costs and taxes are not appropriate for a retirement income.
The process of moving is going to be really traumatic.
I have no idea what we'll do with a lot of this stuff, 13 rooms worth.

 

We're downsizing as soon as our current house has sold, which should be ready for market by 1/1/14. We've already finished the title work, etc. on the new house as of Friday.
No cold feet here. I'm thrilled with the idea of downsizing (by about half the square footage), simplifying things, ridding myself all the stuff that's accumulated over the years, and no longer having a yard to maintain or mortgage payments to make.

With all the amenities and convenience The Villages has to offer, retirement may not be so bad for me after all. I can fish and cook all day - my own little "Breaking Naughty".

 

When I separated from my ex in 1996, in effect I downsized by moving into a condo from a house. I lived in the burbs for 24 years. I've never regretted the move. I upgraded to a larger condo in the same building after meeting the +1. I love where we live and don't plan to leave. It's so convenient and we can walk or take the subway to shops and restaurants. Not having kids, I found living in the suburbs isolating. Now I see people around a lot, but don't have to interact with them unless I want to.

 

By "pulling the plug" on a downsize in 2014, we are both agreeing to NOT stop the work on de-cluttering. We only have 9 rooms and 2.5 BR, plus a full basement and a small attic.....but there's WAY too much STUFF.

You might consider doing something similar....working on it slowly over a number of years.....one day per month or whatever

 

Never upsized. Three bedroom ranch, relatively small yard. There are times in the summer when I tire of the stuff that needs to be done around the house/yard, but I can't imagine I'd be happy in a condo. We live pretty cheaply in our home, taxes are minimal. If need be, we can hire a snow removal guy and a lawn guy and likely still spend less than if we were in a condo. Plus we will still have our space and privacy.

 

We downsized - sort of back in 2004. We built a 2,100 Square foot ranch in a new retirement friendly neighborhood. sidewalks, streetlights - no one younger than 50,s with the majority retired. Excellent homeowners association ( no mowing, raking, fertilizing, shoveling etc.. We have a golf league, Christmas party, Summer neighborhood picnics, book club, majhong group and many more activities. We love our neighborhood! We opted for the home with aging in mind, first floor laundry and master-suite- only stairs are to the basement.

 

We have a large twin home at the beach (5BR 4 1/2 BA) but love the room when the kids, grandkids, family and friends come to visit. Not much property to maintain and great amenities. Staying for a while then we will consider downsizing down the road.

 

We recently looked at downsizing but after seeing how much we could get for what we wanted to spend we have decided to stay put. We are going to update and remodel to freshen up our house.

As for outdoor maintenance, I can pay someone to do the work a whole lot less than what we would have to pay in HOA fees.