Where to Now?

If you’re scratching your head and wondering what type of home most people choose when downsizing, this is for you.

The most common starting point for first-time downsizers is a traditional, single-family home. The most popular property type that people choose for their next home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is a condo apartment. (That’s also what we chose when we downsized.) Of course, the primary considerations when choosing your next place are budget, health, lifestyle goals, age, and possessions.

If you haven’t already reviewed “Downsizing Basics” on this site, now would be a good time to do so. It takes you through the high-level questions you need to ask yourself if you are considering downsizing.  Within the Basics, you’ll see a link to an article titled “Where? Downsizing Destinations” which is a good primer for this article.

The following diagrams illustrate the typical “Now” and “Next” residences, where “Now” is where you are currently living and “Next” is where you could be. The green squares represent the “Now” residences for typical 1st-time downsizers and the blue ones represent the starting property type for typical 2nd-time downsizers.

Other possible destinations for downsizers include:

• Long-term Care
• Cottage – 4 seasons or 2 seasons + travel
• Recreational Vehicle (RV)
• Permanent Cruise
• Sailboat*

* Watch for a future post on this one.

Can you think of any others?

Finally, there are specialized destinations based on the community type, not just the property type. A Golf community is perhaps the one that is most well-known. Other examples are adult lifestyle, religious-themed, and cultural communities.

Next:
What are your thoughts on this topic? You are welcome to comment below …

Find out how to keep in touch with Downsizing Help by clicking on Subscription Choices in the top menu bar. A new post is released every Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.

Unless otherwise credited, all posts are happily authored in quill & pen by …
Paul Ferri, Broker
RE/MAX Unique Inc. Brokerage*, Toronto, Canada
*Each office independently owned and operated

Photo credit: Pixabay ~ yeniguel