Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Are your in-laws or parents thinking about relocating to be near the grandkids?

Do your kids wish their grandparents lived nearby?

Are your in-laws or parents thinking about relocating to be near the grandkids?  

Over the past 10 years, my wife and I have noticed a tendency of parents of our peers to move to NH to be closer to their adult children and grandchildren.

Does this sound like you?    You’re married, with a couple of young kids, living in the Boston area, you and your spouse have successful careers.  Birthdays and holidays often involve a plane ride or a long drive to see extended family.

And does this sound like your in-laws or parents?   Successful in their own right, retired or semi-retired, but definitely not ‘old’, shifting priorities, a desire to be near the grandkids to share their love and wisdom. Maybe on a recent visit the idea came up, ‘How would you guys feel if we moved closer to your family so we could see the grandkids more often?’  You and your spouse thought about it and decided that, actually, it would be great to have family around.  


So what now?

As I looked back over the blogs I’ve been writing this year, there is a storyline that speaks to your situation.   Here are some themes that might help you and your parents (or in laws) figure out the next steps.

1)      Savinghalf a million dollars by moving to New Hampshire.   This blog looks at real estate prices and cost of ownership as a function of distance from downtown Boston.   The bottom line is that Southern NH is a great solution to get the most house for the dollar while still being a convenient distance to Boston.   And, it may provide just enough separation so that you and the grandparents are close but not too close.

2)      Top20 Reasons to live in New Hampshire.   This is pretty self-explanatory but one thing that jumps is the tax structure, particularly for retirees with some consulting income and significant capital gains.  New Hampshire is a no-brainer versus Massachusetts.

3)      Rightsizingyour home.   This blog talks to the advantages and economics of buying a house that fits your current lifestyle.   It can be extremely freeing to finally let go of that huge house and get into something new and more manageable.    And it can also free up equity and cash flow to finally splurge on those trips and experiences your parents have been talking about for so long.

4)      Top 5 reasons an over 55 community may not be right for you.   Your parents may be over 55 but they aren’t ‘old’.   And the last thing they want is to be surrounded by a monoculture in an adult community.   Our subdivision, Skyview Estates in Pelham, NH provides many of the advantages your parents would be looking for – luxurious single story living, smaller lots, gorgeous views, and other community benefits while still being an unrestricted, diverse neighborhood.