02 June . 2016
How You Know When It's Time to Move
If home just isn’t where the heart is anymore, it may be time to move on. Here are seven reasons to get packing.
Your house is too small. After decluttering and having that massive yard sale, you realize there's still not enough room. Maybe the kids have nowhere to play and toys are always underfoot. Maybe the kitchen table is no longer working as your home office. Maybe you park your car in the driveway because the garage is full of stuff you have no space for elsewhere in the house. Room to spread out can be the difference between peace and chaos. If this sounds all too familiar, you may just need a bigger place.
Your house is too big. Or you could have the opposite issue: too much house. Now that your kids have moved out, you find yourself buying more things, trying to fill the extra space in the house. You’re getting tired of dusting rooms that never even get used. Well, downsizing could be the answer.
You want to upgrade without remodeling. You want another bathroom, but your house is already near the top of the market in your area, so you wouldn’t be likely to recoup the cost of an addition when you do sell. Or you just don’t want to deal with the stress or cost of renovating. In these cases, it makes more sense just to move.
Your house requires too much maintenance. You love your big backyard or swimming pool, but you’re over the cost and effort of taking care of it. One solution? Look for a home with community amenities such as a big green space or pool to enjoy the benefits without the hassle.
You don’t like your neighborhood. It may have changed--now there’s more traffic, or more crime, or loud next-door neighbors. Or maybe you never were crazy about it in the first place. Decide what’s important to you--somewhere your kids can ride bikes around the neighborhood, a grocery store within a ten-minute drive, whatever--and add those things to your priority list.
You’re too far away from the things you love to do. Hiking, fishing, skiing--whatever you’re into, you’d probably be happier in a place where you could do it more often.
Your house doesn’t feel like home. You might not like the cramped rooms, or the lack of light, or the view of your neighbor’s brick wall. Or maybe it’s something you can’t even put your finger on. Either way, your home is where you live--you deserve to be happy in it. And if you’re not? Time to make that move.
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