Retirement nears and at times I feel like an impatient kid while I search for a new home. I’d like to hear some perspectives from the crowd at the Parents Cafe.
Thus far my search criteria has been at least a two BR condo or a small 3 BR home (think of an iconic cottage in a small European village). I can’t help but ponder that I will need an extra BR for an aging parent, or for Lake Jr. if he will be single for eternity :)) Now I have found a 1BR condo in a town that is very attractive to me. There’s a fine university nearby, a walk-able community and other nearby recreational and artsy assets look super appealing to me. Yet, it’s just one bedroom. Am I being impractical if I insist on 2BR+?
I don’t have much advice. But I do have some experience. I downsized four years ago from a fairly large home where the kids were raised to a two bedroom apartment. I chose to get a two bedroom at the time in case my kids visited since they lived in different states than I did. My parents were no longer living. I didn’t need a room for my kids to actually live as they have never lived at home since high school graduation, not even for a summer.
This past week, I downsized yet again from my two bedroom apartment to a one bedroom apartment. Each of these two moves were to new states and new cities. The reason I got a one bedroom apartment this time is that I moved to the city where both of my kids are settled (and now are married too) and so they don’t need to stay with me when they visit. However, I kept the sleep sofa I had bought for my guest room in my last two bedroom apartment and have incorporated it into the living room furnishings in case someone visits overnight.
I admit that the work to downsize from the house to the apartment was HUGE. This last downsize from two bedroom to one bedroom wasn’t as huge but still involved selling stuff. I also rent a storage unit and did in the last city too.
Only you can tell if you anticipate aging parents or a kid who might need a place to stay.
I can’t imagine going from our large old house to a 1-br condo. So restrictive, For that matter, I would have a problem with a little house with little rooms.
I can see having a pied-a-terre in a city I love with another place in the country. But unfortunately I can’t see being able to pay for it, LOL!
I can’t imagine downsizing at this point, although DH brings up the idea fairly regularly. I love our house! It’s great having room for everyone when my extended family visits. We also host groups of volunteers every summer. I will hang onto the house as long as DH agrees.
I downsized from a 4 br house to a 2 br apartment. I’d buy a 2 br condo if I could find anything reasonably priced in Seattle, but as if that is going to happen… 8-|
My kids don’t live in town, so to me the 2nd bedroom was imperative because I want them to come visit. It was a non-negotiable item for me. If there is not room for them to visit where they will be reasonably comfortable, I’m not doing it. But if we were close enough so they don’t need a place to stay, then I could go 1 BR.
I noticed IKEA sells what looks like a decent sleeper sofa, though.
I sold my house and have lived in studios, one bedrooms and in one instance, a two bedroom, Rents are high in my area and I cannot afford to buy, especially since I am caretaking my mother (assisted living) and the kids are not settled and I would not want to buy then move.
I have found a one bedroom to work out fine, and even a studio, with a screen. I have gotten rid of almost all my possessions frankly. The kids come one at a time and sleep on the sofa or inflatable bed, or sometimes with me.
The only problem that arises is if they bring a significant other, which happened for a year. In that case, I sleep on the sofa and give them the bedroom.
If you have the choice not to downsize, great, but I had no choice
Wife and I will be downsizing from a 4-bedroom, 2-1/2-bath, attached two-car garage colonial house to most likely a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment in another state, closer to our daughter who, because of her job, probably will never leave that state. Our son will be more transient.
I’m not interested in buying another house and everything that goes with it, upkeep, repairs, etc., nor a condo. The money we make on selling the house after living there 21-23 years will benefit us as we get older.
We are very happy in our 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath townhouse with a 2 car garage. We live in a highly sought after beach community in San Diego and could not picture being in a larger place. We are able to keep the accumulation of stuff to a minimum since we don’t have extra room. We don’t love yard work and are happy to spend our weekends at the beach enjoying life and not worrying about keeping a large house and year clean!
We’re 3-5 years away from downsizing and I can’t wait!
As for rooms for the kids visits- why can’t your kids stay in a nearby hotel when they visit? Even if you pay the hotel bill, it seems as if it would be less expensive than a larger place when you only need the room for a few weeks a year. Just a thought.
DH and I would like to downsize from our 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment/condo in NYC and then he wants a place in Florida as he hates the cold. After vacationing in Florida this winter, I am more open to that as long as it isn’t my primary residence. I am trying to downsize myself at my office but would like to keep my hand in so it isn’t cold turkey and that I work so hard and all of a sudden I find myself retired. Our d’s both live in Brooklyn and we originally lived in Brooklyn Heights so many years ago in a one-bedroom apartment, although one with a skyline view. Our issue now is that even though we can get big dollars for our house which will most likely be a tear-down as all homes in my area are torn down and mini-mansions are built, right to the property line, variances and all, the cost of owning a 2 bedroom in either Brooklyn or Manhattan is pretty prohibitive especially as we would likely keep one car. We just downsized from three cars to two cars. Younger d mostly has one of the cars as she travels between NY and MA for her job in regional theater.
If I were you and found a 1B condo that I really liked, I would grab it.
I am in the process of downsizing from a 3B/2B with a finished basement and almost an acre of manicured yard to a 720 sq ft 1B/1B walk through galley kitchen above a 2-car garage apartment (and little landscaping/yard maintenance). The original plan was for 900 sq ft with 2 bedrooms but for financial reasons I downsized even further. The plan is to splurge on the nicest pull out sofa I can afford. If S and his SO visit they can use my bedroom, if D visits she can share with me or sleep on the pull out. I’m renting the main house but I hope that someday my two kids will buy me out…it wasn’t just about space, its also about the utility bills that come with that space. I’m guessing I’ll cut my heat and electric in half saving a couple hundred a month on that alone.
I think that the preference for a two bedroom is if you need space for guests and even though I live in a close-in suburb, there are times when d’s and significant others or friends do sleep over… like just this Friday night after the first Passover seder. Additionally if you come from living in a house where you can spread out, it is hard to return to a one bedroom apartment. There are times that DH and I are in different rooms… he’s watching football for example and I am watching Call the Midwife, Our house issue is that our house is close to 100 years old and needs work, it also is not a good house to age in as there are steep stairs between first floor and second floor, first floor and basement, house not on grade level, no entry to basement from garage, yard work getting to be tiresome for DH. We will begin looking this year, maybe a large one-bedroom with a terrace might work as we really enjoy the time we spend on our deck, have dinner outside almost every night in the summer unless raining or too buggy, spent lots of afternoons relaxing out there just reading also.
We built our multi-level house on a “one floor” basis. With ability to limit the upper areas when the kids left. Kitchen, master, living is all on lowest floor. We have zoned AC.
Essentially “zoning” most living areas.
Perfect? Always something.
My mother downsized from a 5-bedroom house to a 1 bedroom apt. She’s happy: all her major pieces of furniture that mattered fit, as did all her important framed photos and art. It’s small enough that it’s no problem keeping it clean (she has a fetish) and centrally located so she can walk to a lot of places (good exercise.) When I visit I sleep on the couch (I’m short enough that I don’t even need the pull out).
My concern about a 1 bedroom condo is whether you could sell it should you decide to upsize when Lake Jr marries/has children and you want them to visit. When my husband and my kids visit my mom, we end up staying in a hotel or airb&b. It’s a bit limiting.
Tour a few places and see if there is a common theme in what you think about them. For us, we were always looking where we would be planting things… so a yard became important, and that took the condos out of the running. Plus, I realized that Mr. really needs an outlet for his need to build/improve things.
If I were you, I would not buy the 1 BR but hold out to find a 2 BR in your preferred location. I’m assuming they exist and you can afford one.
You said you want to have your kids able to stay with you. Why not make it comfortable and give them their own room? When they’re not in town, you’ll have an office/sewing room/paint studio/whatever.
DH and I downsized from a 6 BR 3 1/2 bath house five years ago to a 4 BR 2 1/2 bath house. I would have preferred a condo, but he refused. I love our new house, much much much more than our old ginormous house. We still have way more room than we need, but right now we can afford it.
I’d like a 3 BR condo; a townhouse would be perfect, but I can’t see DH moving again later to a condo/one level apartment. So, when we move, it will be to something with one level. Why three bedrooms? One for us, one for office/guest room/one for all my sewing/craft stuff. DH can’t stand my sewing gear everywhere. If it were just me, I’d do a 1 BR with den, and use the den as my sewing haven.
I’d wonder about resale on a 1 BR. It may be a limited market, though if it’s really expensive around you, that may not be as much of an issue.
