<p>I find myself perusing real estate websites, looking at sleek modern downtown lofts/condos. </p>
<p>Fantasizing about swapping the house for open-space luxury; swapping the yard for a balcony with a view. I’m at an age when many men suddenly buy a Porsche (or leave their wives for younger models) – maybe my loft fantasies are just a version of same. </p>
<p>Any of you feel the same way? Do you indulge in late-night-real-estate porn online? Do you act on your fantasies by actually looking at places? </p>
<p>Or, even better, any of you succumb, sell the house, and become urbanites living the downtown dream?</p>
<p>I think about this often–would love to downsize drastically and live in a city apartment as we did when we first got married. But I figure we’d still need at least three bedrooms so we could accommodate visits from the kids and their eventual families, and that pushes the cost into the stratosphere.</p>
<p>DH is now actively looking for another job out of this area. We have 1 more at home with 6 bedrooms. I have always wanted to live in the city and my wish may be granted!</p>
<p>And yes, I often look at online real estate listings and receive emails from a realtor in the city.</p>
<p>I confess - I look at apartment listings in NYC and Chicago all of the time. I actually call it my “porn”. I love floorplans. If I ever get my dream it will not be anytime soon. We’ll be empty nesters in 3 years, but will not retire for another 10 or 12, so it makes no sense to downsize until then. But I can dream…</p>
<p>Oh yes me too. I have a fantasy about living in downtown Chicago and even had a fantasy apartment picked out in a new building. Then when HGTV ran this year’s urban oasis contest I entered almost every day!</p>
<p>I know someone who actually did this, originally from New York they were in Texas during their careers and raising children, then retired and bought an apartment near Lincoln Center.</p>
<p>I am a good dreamer. That said, we both retire in 2.5 years. We will sell the house after prepping and retire somewhere in Spain. H wants Madrid, I want Mediterreanean. We need 2 bed/2bath.</p>
<p>My dream has DH and I retiring to the city and my friends retiring to different locations around the world so we can do the home exchange thing.</p>
<p>Yes. Definitely. I even had a vivid dream of living in a penthouse in SF. Went up to the rooftop in the morning for my cap, croissant and NY Times. Then I woke up and was still living in my big house on one acre which always needs something and has lots of unused rooms.<br>
Probably not likely to really go to the city though. We are lucky enough to own a small 2 br/1ba place about a mile from our “big house”. In walking distance to almost everything including two wine shops and two bookstores. :)</p>
<p>That’s the plan. I can’t wait until we send in that last tuition check so we can afford to move back into the city. There’s no reason to stay here any longer now that we don’t need the schools, and most of my daughters’ friends have all moved on as well.</p>
<p>I keep telling my kids the house will be listed in 3 years, when S1 is a HS senior. Our property taxes are ridiculously high, so there will be no sense holding onto a 3000+ sf house for 2 adults. </p>
<p>My secret fantasy is to move to west coast of Florida somewhere between Ft Myers and Tampa regions. I have looked at real estate websites.</p>
<p>We had a 5000 sf house outside of NYC. We sold it few years ago when I got transferred to where I am now. My exile maybe coming up soon, both H and I are looking for that perfect apartment in NYC - 2 to 3 bedrooms, with outside balconey and a nice kitchen. We have no intention of buying another house. I prefer one floor living now with no maintenance. </p>
<p>We now live in a large, loft like apartment in the center of a city. It was very liberating in not having to worry about the lawn, house upkeeping or even cars. We like to be able to walk to a restaurant any day of the week.</p>
<p>There are many benefits of living in a city like NY - good public transportation, museums, good restaurants, and one could get almost anything delivered. </p>
<p>Our kids are not married yet, so no grandchildren. But some day when they have families, it would be quite easy to put them up in a nearby hotel when they come to visit. It would be cheaper than to keep a 5-6 bedroom home to be only used few times a year.</p>
<p>Yes, H and I are looking forward to move back to NYC. We have a lot of friends there.</p>
<p>Remember all those McMansions that sprouted up and everyone buying vacation houses not long ago (no doubt causing the 2008 housing collapse)? Since then, many sold their second homes and now wondering about their primary residences. The way I see it, with our generation looking at retirement the near future and our ‘babies’ just graduating from college, the demand for apartments in cities will soar. Is the real estate market always so cyclical? Guess so.</p>
<p>I have downsized in the last year…as I have mentioned before. I wake up. Walk into the living room…and I see rowers and a mountain. I can walk to stores and restaurants in minutes. It was a great move. The maintenance necessary has plummeted. My old place was just a money pit…high heating bills…a pool upkeep…gardening…etc…</p>
<p>I have two friends that downsized last year. One is living in the Millenium in SF. But we can downsize to cheaper places than that.</p>
<p>Rents are exploding up in SF…up over 10% in the last year. I have a feeling that home prices and condo prices are going to increase in SF. I know there is a ton of hidden inventory in SF…but my daughter is
looking for a place to rent and she is told there are
100 applicants for 1 spot. Something has to give…</p>
<p>Anyway…back to downsizing…people have their own likes and
dislikes…but yeah…great for us.</p>
<p>I don’t have a mortgage…but I think I am saving $5,000 a year…maybe more. Maybe 10,000… Don’t know yet.</p>
<p>My friend at the Millenium no longer has a mortgage…so he is saving $40,000 a year or more. He also only needs one car instead of two.</p>
<p>Yes! I sooo want an apartment in NYC. The only problem is that so do my kids. Older D is graduating NYU; younger D is NYU class of 2016. So any move I do into the city is NOT going to involve an empty nest. I am not ready to give up my house in the suburbs. Plus I work on Long Island.</p>
<p>D1 wants us to pay money into an apt in the city with her. (Once she gets a job and can afford it.) I am thinking this may be a possibility. As long as she can work and support her end of the deal, we can contribute $ to make it feasible as long as we can come and go into the city whenever we want and have a space of our own in the apartment. She would also have to keep it clean enough that I would not have a nervous breakdown when I arrive there to stay.</p>
<p>So we will see. First she has to graduate and find a job.</p>
<p>Nope. We plan to stay in our paid-off modest suburban home at least another 15-20 years. I have fond memories of spending time with my kids visiting my parents in my childhood home, and would enjoy having my kids bring their families back here for a while. I have no desire to live in an apartment in a large city.</p>
<p>I did once threaten my D with getting an apt somewhere outside of Washington if she stays there, but doubt we would actually do it.</p>
<p>We are empty nesters who moved south and are restoring an old house and out buildings in a rural farming community:</p>
<p>4000 sq ft to 1800 sq ft
$8500 in utilities 2009 to $2400 in 2011(two of the coldest months in 2011 there was not yet any attic insulation)
1/10 of the property taxes for same amount of acreage (this would not be true if we lived in a different county or in town)
no mortgage on new place</p>
<p>I love living smaller.</p>
<p>I would also love an urban townhouse designed by Victor Horta (a single house, not a double), but can’t find anything on-line currently for sale in Brussels. Here is a country estate example of his work:</p>
<p>I want to be a snowbird! We will keep our modest 1200sf house on Jersey Shore and find a small house somewhere south. We are still in our early 50s, so not working sounds odd, however we are secure financially and I could probably find some consulting assignments in my line of business. One part of the dream is getting H’s company to move us to Florida, as they have a large operation in Tampa area.</p>