3. Weigh the current price of upkeep

cally pay no taxes down there,’ and he said, ‘Yes — but you get no services, either.’”

Keeping your house could mean maintaining a big yard, replacing an old roof and managing a second-story primary bedroom into your later years. Selling gives you a chance to downsize your responsibilities and look for something that makes it easier to age in place.

“You have people with these four- and five-bedroom houses that no longer have kids staying with them,” Gottshall says. Moving to a home with less to clean and fewer stairs can make it easier to stay in your home long term. a client who moved with his wife to South Carolina because they liked to golf. When the client died, his wife moved back to California because she didn’t know anyone in the area.

“There’s got to be a support network for the family,” Bender says.

A community, he says, encourages social participation and contributes to overall longevity. visit in every season to ensure you like the area year-round, even in the snow or blazing sun. Vacation there if you can.

“Every area has its negatives,” Bender says. “You have to find out what they are before you move there and be prepared to deal with them.”

Hazel Secco, a CFP in Hoboken, New Jersey, remembers clients who moved from New Jersey to North Carolina and found that the lifestyle wasn’t what they expected. “I think they were visualizing and thinking about the difference theoretically, but I don’t think they fully grasped the implications,” Secco says. “They had to come back after selling the North Carolina (house), so it just ended up costing so much more.”