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For years, we have toyed with the idea of moving out to a lower-priced town in MA, once we no longer needed the schools. We have also dreamed about living in a nice new (or at least newer) house with taller ceilings, large closets, fancy kitchen. Perhaps now is the time to do it.
It's definitely a strong seller's market still and if you're "cashing out" this is a good time to do it. Have you considered living in a townhouse community? It might be nice as you continue to age to not have the responsibility of the upkeep/maintenance of the exterior and landscaping. Plus, being in a townhouse will really stretch your dollar so you wouldn't have to make as many compromises about the location.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
The alternative is to continue the renovations (we figure, we'd need about $100K to redo the kitchen, front steps and walls, repaint the inside, etc.). With the crazy RE market, we keep receiving invitations from builders to sell the house, and one RE agent has been relentless in advising us to sell as-is and avoid the hassles of further renovations.
You have to be REALLY careful when selling to a builder. I've seen a lot of people get the short end of the stick in those situations. Probably helpful to have an agent you can actually trust leading you through the process. Depending on the situation, the agent fee might be pretty minimal.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
So the question is simple: Do you know someone personally who has moved from a nice overpriced town to a better area of a less-expensive but more remote town? If yes, was the move successful, or do they have regrets? Our former neighbors have done it and regret it greatly. Is this representative?
Personally, I don't think this is a simple question at all. First, you have to ask yourself . . . what is it you love about where you currently live? Because the next question is . . . can you find those qualities in another town that has lower home values? Then the next question is . . . what compromises do you have to make if you move to that town and are you OK with those compromises? That's probably where I'd start if I were in your shoes but there are a lot of other questions to answer after that.
For example, if you said . . . what I love about living in this town is my social network. Yes, you can probably replicate that in another location but it's going to take some time and then you'd probably want to think about how far you're moving to see if your current social network would still be accessible from the new location.
If instead you said . . . what I love is being able to go into Boston easily. Well, it's going to be hard to maintain that somewhere less expensive but maybe you could compromise and live somewhere with good access to Providence or Worcester.
You really need to drill down on what you want to see if you can find it and how much money moving to that new location is going to save. It's a complex question.
OK, some clarifications are in order. We like walking but not necessarily hiking, so the typical "outdoor activities" listed in the Best Places lists are of little interest. Raising chickens? No, thanks. Sitting at home on the internet and watching TV or writing is typical for us. The potential problems we see with the move to a lower-priced town are:
1. Being farther away from the major hospitals. In case of a heart attack one needs to be in a hospital within and hour. In case of a stroke the meds must be administered within 3 hours of the onset of the symptoms, and these could take hours to determine. This might be problematic with some outlying towns.
2. Being farther away from relatives in Brookline.
3. Living among less educated people. We are typical middle class -- by no means snobs, -- but being surrounded by someone we cannot relate to is a factor, of course.
4. Probably paying more RE taxes than in our town.
5. Difficulty selling later if we are stuck in a less-than-popular town.
6. Yes, missing some of our neighbors and our excellent service providers, from auto mechanics to doctors, all of which took years to find.
Again, we are not planning to move to the real boonies, more likely to places like North Framingham, some areas of Walpole, Natick, or even Ashland. Maybe farther, even Cape.
As to why our former neighbors regret their move, it's probably because they did not go through an excruciating research and thinking things through that we are trying to do now. That's why I'm asking for real-life experiences with a move like this.
1. Being farther away from the major hospitals. In case of a heart attack one needs to be in a hospital within and hour. In case of a stroke the meds must be administered within 3 hours of the onset of the symptoms, and these could take hours to determine. This might be problematic with some outlying towns.
I feel like if my kids or I needed to see a specialist I'd like to be somewhat close to Boston to have access. If we needed an ER for some type of emergency I wouldn't necessarily need a Boston hospital. I actually did have to take my son to the ER at children's once and it was really long wait.
2. Being farther away from relatives in Brookline.
Sure, I can see that. Something to consider.
3. Living among less educated people. We are typical middle class -- by no means snobs, -- but being surrounded by someone we cannot relate to is a factor, of course.
Most people in MA have a college degree. That does sounds kind of snobby to be honest. At this point in your life how would someone in your town being less educated than you really effect you? And again most people in MA are educated unless you move to really crappy town.
4. Probably paying more RE taxes than in our town.
Something to consider
5. Difficulty selling later if we are stuck in a less-than-popular town.
You think you would move again?
6. Yes, missing some of our neighbors and our excellent service providers, from auto mechanics to doctors, all of which took years to find.
My wife and I are going thru a similar evaluation. We live in Lynnfield and my wife is a teacher here. I am a consultant and typically work from home or at a client site. My wife will retire in 2-5 years and I was thinking more like 9 years but that could change depending on when my wife actually retires.
We had kind of always thought we would sell our more valuable home and turn that in to two smaller homes: one still here in the North of Boston area - maybe in Peabody or Wilmington - and another probably in NH or ME. The issue is that the price increases in those smaller properties have outpaced the appreciation of our primary house. Additionally, my wife questions whether we really want to own two properties as we get older.
We are pretty much settling on the notion of staying put here for at least 10 more years. Lynnfield is a convenient location, our taxes are reasonable and the town traditionally fares pretty well in light of any future real estate market downturn. One son and his girlfriend live in Boston, the other son and his girlfriend are buying a condo in Salem. It seems likely that our roots will stay in the North of Boston region. As a result, we are developing plans to renovate the kitchen and replace our current 1-car garage with a 2-car garage. Probably should have done those projects years ago but I've never had much luck timing the market!
Even "lower-priced" towns are no longer cheap - unless there's something keeping you in MA you can live like a king in a nicer town in NC that will be a lot cheaper than the "lower-priced" town and a lot nicer than your current town.
OK, some clarifications are in order. We like walking but not necessarily hiking, so the typical "outdoor activities" listed in the Best Places lists are of little interest. Raising chickens? No, thanks. Sitting at home on the internet and watching TV or writing is typical for us.
Certainly, if you just like to sit at home and watch TV or write then you can do that pretty much anywhere there is electricity.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
The potential problems we see with the move to a lower-priced town are:
1. Being farther away from the major hospitals. In case of a heart attack one needs to be in a hospital within and hour. In case of a stroke the meds must be administered within 3 hours of the onset of the symptoms, and these could take hours to determine. This might be problematic with some outlying towns.
My parents moved to Cape Cod about 3 years ago and my father has had some health issues during that time. They constantly complain about having to drive all the way back to Boston to see specialists. When my father has ended up in a hospital or a rehab facility after the hospital stay we've all felt the level of care at these facilities is not really on par with what you would get at some of the major hospitals in the Boston area.
Basically, I understand your concerns from that perspective and I think they're valid. You never know when a health care issue will come up but it's something you kind of have to play the odds with. My father moved knowing he had a pre-existing condition which he thought would get better but it ended up causing him a lot of issues over the last few years. If he had not had the pre-existing condition I'm sure they would be much happier living down there. They also don't live there all year and I think that exacerbates things being they haven't really been forced to find doctors locally, etc.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
2. Being farther away from relatives in Brookline.
I guess how you handle this depends on how far you are now, how much further you're thinking of moving away, and how often you actually see your family. My uncle moved to Maine a bunch of years ago and I don't see him as often as I used to but he still makes the drive down here to visit.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
3. Living among less educated people. We are typical middle class -- by no means snobs, -- but being surrounded by someone we cannot relate to is a factor, of course.
I always tell folks "you'll find your people no matter where you live." If you look hard enough you'll find people you'll want to spend time with and create relationships with. If you like tennis, join a tennis club and you'll make friends for example. If you move to a town with 30 tennis courts you might be more likely to find tennis players than a town that has 1 court but either way you'll find tennis players.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
4. Probably paying more RE taxes than in our town.
I wouldn't say that's a guarantee. If the value of your new home is lower than the value of your current home then the assessed value used to calculate your taxes is likely lower as well. Where the tax rate sits is going to depend upon what town you choose.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
5. Difficulty selling later if we are stuck in a less-than-popular town.
Chances are . . . if you're paying less for a nicer house then you're buying something not a many people are interested in buying. Real estate is a lot about supply and demand although there are infinite factors that influence supply and demand.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
6. Yes, missing some of our neighbors and our excellent service providers, from auto mechanics to doctors, all of which took years to find.
It can stink to start over. My mother is not immensely outgoing and she's kind of a habit based person so moving so far from the area of MA that basically she had spent her whole life in was not something she was excited about.
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
Again, we are not planning to move to the real boonies, more likely to places like North Framingham, some areas of Walpole, Natick, or even Ashland. Maybe farther, even Cape.
You haven't said where you live now, but those towns aren't terribly far from Boston. So, I'm guessing not a ton further out than where you live now. I'm curious, in your mind, how much money you think you'll be sticking in your pocket after this move even though you'll be upgrading to a nicer house,
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Originally Posted by Strannik33
As to why our former neighbors regret their move, it's probably because they did not go through an excruciating research and thinking things through that we are trying to do now. That's why I'm asking for real-life experiences with a move like this.
The towns you name as possible options are also experiencing a huge boom in prices, in part because they are close to commuter thoroughfares meaning you’d be competing with working-family homebuyers particularly in a hybrid world. Why not focus on areas a bit out of the commuter range but in close proximity to decent healthcare. I’m wondering about outlying towns near Worcester or Providence, for example. Still can make those weekend trips to visit family.
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Retiring in a lower-priced town?
