If you’ve decided to permanently leave your work life behind and retire, congratulations! It’s your time to sit back and enjoy all the fruits of your hard labor. However, if you have a large home and maintenance and expenses to worry about, your retirement might not be as carefree as you would like. Therefore, selling your home and downsizing after retirement in Raleigh could be a perfect option for you.
In this article, we will talk about downsizing benefits and why it’s an excellent option for seniors. Enjoy!
Replacing big for small
Take a good look around your home – you probably have more space than you need. You likely have some empty rooms, too, as your kids have moved out and started their own families. Considering that you still need to clean, maintain, and pay for the unused space, downsizing after retirement in Raleigh should be a logical choice for you. In a smaller home, you’ll be able to utilize every square foot. Downsizing also reduces your environmental footprint.
Selling your home in Raleigh
Of course, selling a home and buying a new one can be challenging, and it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed even at the thought. But have in mind that nowadays, you can sell your Raleigh house fast without any hassle during the process. Plus, if you sell a bigger home and buy a smaller one, you’ll most likely have a significant amount of money left. You can use it to travel or invest in something else you really want.
If you are worried about all the extra stuff that won’t fit in your new, smaller home, there is an excellent solution for it. You can rent storage to use for an indefinite period of time. Therefore, you can keep all your precious belongings and store them safely for the long term in a storage unit near your new home. That way, you’ll be able to access them anytime you wish.
Lower expenses
A bigger home means higher expenses. As you will most likely be living on a fixed income, you want to make sure to lower your monthly expenses as much as possible.
Here are only some of the costs that will be massively lower if you decide to downsize after you retire:
- The mortgage gets significantly lower when you downsize. In some cases, depending on your current home’s size and value, you can even buy a house without having to get a mortgage. You should consider working with a professional home buyer to ensure you get the best offer possible.
- Utilities are also reduced when living in a small home. There is less space to heat or cool, and your bills for gas, electricity, water, and even internet are much lower. Maintenance costs go down, too.
- You might be living in a relatively expensive location because of proximity to work. But, after retiring, you could move to a quieter part of Raleigh where costs are not as high.
Less maintenance to worry about
The bigger the home, the bigger the responsibilities. If you are tired of never-ending cleaning and constant repairs, downsizing after retirement is the next step for you.
The maintenance tasks can take a lot of your time and energy. At some point, they can even become dangerous and difficult to handle on your own. When you live in a smaller space, your daily chores are minimized so you can spend your time doing what makes you happy.
Home accessibility
Another thing you should be thinking about is improving your home accessibility. As you’re getting older, you might experience things like mobility issues or similar, which can make simple everyday tasks a lot more challenging. Just in case this happens, you want to be safe and live in a place where everything is easily accessible to you regardless of any potential issue you might have.
You can, of course, renovate your current home and make it fit for anything that might come down the line. However, a better option is to downsize and find a home that is already fit for your potential accessibility needs in the future. Look for homes with open floor plans, minimal stairs, and wide doorways.
Raleigh is senior-friendly
Raleigh is known for its excellent climate, friendly people, and high quality of life. It also has senior-friendly communities and offers plenty of things to do when you retire. Downsizing after retirement in Raleigh, North Carolina is really easy and stress-free if you have the right help and follow our downsizing tips.
There are plenty of senior-friendly neighborhoods to choose from. They offer safe, walkable streets, great housing and transportation options which makes them perfect for spending your retirement in. Plus, Raleigh is known for its high-quality healthcare, so there is nothing you could worry about. You can simply relax and enjoy your free time by doing something you love.
Senior-friendly activities in Raleigh
If you think that spending your retirement in Raleigh will be boring, you couldn’t be more wrong. North Carolina’s fastest-growing demographic group is the 65+, so it’s no wonder that there are plenty of activities for seniors in Raleigh.
Any sports fan can enjoy watching a professional soccer team, professional hockey team, and a minor league baseball team. You can also check out different collegiate sporting events.
If you are a theatre buff or enjoy going to concerts, Raleigh’s got you covered! We strongly recommend checking out Raleigh Little Theater and Red Hat Amphitheatre. Also, there are many museums you can visit for free, such as the NC Museum of History and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
There are many parks you can visit, and if you are more adventurous, there are plenty of places close to Raleigh that are perfect for weekend getaways. If you love spending time at the beach, Crystal Coast is just a few hours away. If you are more of a mountain fan, make sure to visit Blue Ridge Parkway.
Conclusion
There are many more benefits of downsizing after retirement in Raleigh. But the biggest one of all is that you will be able to fully enjoy your work-free time and to spend it doing something you genuinely love. We hope you enjoyed reading our article and that we at least made you consider moving to a smaller home. If you are looking for a cash home buyer to buy your home, contact us today. Happy retirement!