Have you ever thought about what type of home you want in your retirement? Do you want a cosy cottage?, an inner city apartment?, a home in the tropics?, a home on wheels?, a home on the water? And, what about the interior?
Toni and David, had a checklist when looking for their home by the sea.
As Toni explains, “Our criteria for choosing a home to retire to was as follows. We had always wanted to live by the water, and we chose this coastal area because of its beauty and affordability to enable us to downsize.
We also wanted:
- North facing living areas
2. Two living areas
3. Outdoor entertaining area
4. Easy walk (approx 300m), to beach
5. 3 bedrooms
6. Separate Guest area with own bathroom
7. Shop close enough to walk to for paper, milk etc
Even though our home is not big, and is quite a basic beach home, it does have all of the above, so we did not look at the suggested 35? (I think my husband, David, read that somewhere), homes you are meant to look at.
Before we signed the Contract of Sale, David also visited a neighbour to ‘Check them out’, and to find out about the neighbourhood in general”.
Obviously Toni and David’s checklist helped them, as they didn’t inepect anywhere near 35 houses. Also, the neighbourhood received a big tick from the couple.
What are your preferences?
As a single retiree with no kids I envisage a simple, but not necessarily small home, the smaller the block, the more important space or the perception of space indoors. 2 bedrooms, a large master bedroom & a guest room each with ensuite, north facing open plan living enlarged by multi-bifold onto a large outdoor room, laundry & a double garage for 1 car, storage & garden shed / workshop.
Many consider a rain shower extravagant, but compared to the water consumption & upkeep of even a plunge pool an outdoor rain shower is a good trade off & the feel of a rain shower is luxurious.
I have a few years to retirement yet, but see my house as my biggest nest egg. House prices in any city are relative so down scaling is only profitable moving to regional Australia. Cairns looks nice, though is undergoing a property boom & will probably be too big when I want to move. Still north, not south of the Gold Coast, I’d rather be uncomfortably warm than uncomfortably cool. Coastal, though not necessarily near the beach & surrounded by mountain range so I can enjoy a scenic outlook even in a housing estate.
Thanks very much for your comment Chris.
We look forward to hearing more about your plans.