Still Clickin

Don’t you just love all of the “Best Places” listings. It’s like a reality show about geography. The “Best Here” and the “Best There” always seem to be someplace else other than where you are at. (Since our own little burg was recently listed within the Top Ten by one national magazine, I’ve really started to wonder. It can be nice, but . . . Top Ten?)

There doesn’t seem to be any listing that incorporates and prioritizes all the criteria that you would like to see. However, what they do show can be interesting. Take a sampling of the many listings, and you will invariably learn something new. For example, look at -

• Money Magazine Best to Retire
• Money Magazine Best to Live
• US News & World Report
• AARP Best Destination Choices
• Forbes Magazine
• Wikipedia Best in World
• Sperling’s Best Places
• Business Week Best for Kids
• Kiplinger Best for Taxes
• Weather Statistics

The criteria used by any of these listings seem to be those that appeal to their editors. For example, weather and climate patterns, population size and growth, recreation opportunities, arts and culture organizations, cost of living comparisons, housing costs, job opportunities, colleges and universities, health care facilities, crime statistics, and libraries. But every senior considering a change of location must evaluate these criteria in the light of “How will you spend your time?” From that perspective, the various criteria can be organized into an order that best fits each person’s needs and aspirations. Your “best place” make not make anyone’s else Top Ten List except your own, but that is the only one that matters.

To find your own Best Place -

1. Really decide how you want to spend your time.
2. Reorder the various ranking criteria into a priority list that makes sense to you.
3. Using that list, reevaluate locations based upon your personal aims.
4. If your can, visit your top one or two location choices to get a reality check on how your criteria selection actually feels to you.
5. Once you have decided upon an area, rent there for a year to validate your choice and learn more about the nuances of the location.

The conclusion of all this research may well be that your Best Nest is located right were you are sitting. But “just looking”, never hurts, and you might be surprised at what you find.

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The vast majority of retirees spend their ‘golden’ years not only in the same town, but often in the same house. My wife and I, who spent practically all of our adult lives within seagull distance of the Atlantic, now find ourselves watching seagulls from the Pacific. We’ve not only changed houses; we’ve changed oceans.

Our first choice for our retiree home was a house on the East Coast that we thought would act as a magnetic and encourage visits from our three children. Unfortunately, the magnet had the wrong polarity. All three of our children landed in Seattle. Rather than live with phones and planes, we chose to pick up and engage the experience of West Coast living. After nearly five years of building a new nest and settling in, we still exchange glances at odd moments that say, “We did the right thing.”

What have we learned in the process?

1. The most important question every retiree must answer is not “Where will you be?” Instead, the real question is “How will you spend your time?” Activities of your choosing will define how live the rest of your life. Any destination you consider should be particularly suited to supporting how you want to spend your time. If alpine skiing tops your list of things you want to do, it is unlikely that Florida would be a good choice for you.
2. Location is the second most important choice for a retiree since it can enable or delimit so many other opportunities you will have. Make certain you are both comfortable with your reasons for changing your location. You both don’t have to have the same reasons, but you should understand what each other is expecting from the move.
3. Communication is key to this decision process. Some of you may be thirsting to try something new or to pursue a passion that has long festered. Others may want to get to, or return to, remote family or friends. You may find that some reasons may surprise you. But the only way to discover them is to talk a lot about it.
4. Once your general objectives for activities are clear, use them to build a balanced set of criteria for your new destination. Even if you already know the general area of your new location, you also have to decide on what are you looking for in any new home. Evaluating destinations seems to work best as an iterative process. Expect a few cycles of reevaluation before you start to feel comfortable with the ideas of both your choices. Obviously, there is no perfect home or place, but careful planning and discussion can increase your odds for success.
5. If possible, visit the new area a few times and talk to as many locals as you can. You want to find a place where people are quite willing to share their positive views. Each slice of geography and neighborhood has its own particular quirks. Use the time you have to learn as much as you can before you put the house on the market.
6. Once you are both comfortable with your decision, you must face the ugly realities of listing, selling, packing, and moving out. Home Buying and Selling can vary by market location, and the financial factors involved may influence some of your other choices. The only good thing about this process is that ultimately it has an end. The other side benefit is that you do get rid of a lot of ‘stuff’ that you have been meaning to discard for a long, long time.
7. The best advise we received for a major move was to rent for awhile before you buy any real estate. We thought we would avoid this step, but did not. In hindsight, we learned an awful lot during our rental period and made different purchase decisions as a consequence. For example, one of the first challenges in any new location is to [[find doctors, services]], and other resources to replace the familiar ones left behind. However, that search process can reveal a lot of subtleties about your new location that are impossible to detect otherwise.
8. Finding new friends can be the toughest challenge for seniors in any new setting. Since the kids have long flown the nest, the common meeting places of schools and youth activities no longer act as the common infrastructure for meeting and sharing with new friends. But friends are a critical component to any new location. Give yourself time, but fight any natural tendency you may have toward shyness. Prior to your move, research any local chapters of organizations or groups that you have belonged to in the past.
9. After you have learned the area and know what kind of home you are looking for, start your search and take your time. This may be your last nest, so make sure it has the features that are most important to you. Once you find it, you will both ‘know’, and the final stage of your relocation, ‘moving in’, can begin.

Some additional insights on relocation by seniors can be found in the Ohio State Senior Series.

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Most senior citizens simply stay put right where they are when they retire. They cherish the friendships they have established, the history they have lived, and their familiar grocers, doctors, druggists, etc. However, staying in the same town doesn’t necessarily mean staying in the same house. Downsizing is one trend that many active seniors embrace as a way of simplifying their lives and prolonging their independence.

The ties of family and grandchildren may pull others to unfamiliar locations where their children have become entrenched. Selecting new doctors, finding new dentists, and coping with this change can be a stiff challenge for any senior.

Others, especially those who have had to face frequent moves during their working lives, like the idea of a new place to retire. They are enticed by the latest “Best Places to Retire” article and the challenge of a new adventure.

On any “Now that I’ve Retired List”, location is placed first because it influences so many other choices. For example, telephones, taxes, insurance, legal, and caregiving all have rules that vary by state.

What’s a person to do??

Whichever you choose, re-evaluating your location is a healthy exercise . . . even if it is the old homestead. Your location can determine -

• to which hospital a call to 911 will deliver you,
• the range of community support services that are available to you,
• the types of activities that are readily available to you as well as,
• the amount of snow that will have to be shoveled to get you out of the house.

Some people make this choice quickly. Others spend time and consider the wide range of choices available, i.e.

1. Staying Put Keeping the same, familiar roof, where the pencil marks of the children’s heights on the door jam still mark the progress of their growth. Here, the support of old friends, the history with known doctors, and the connections developed over the years provide a personalized support network that is impossible to duplicate elsewhere.
2. Moving locally - Changing to another nest and neighborhood within the same community might offer a better fit for the needs of your newly evolving senior lifestyle while maintaining your lifelong network of friends and community around you.
3. Downsizing - Simplifying your life and reducing the demands required for the upkeep and care of your nest, a move to a smaller structure can prolong your ability to stay there as the clock keeps ticking.
4. Relocating farther away - Making a move to another community, state, ocean, or country is for the brave of heart. You can’t wait too long to make this move since the effort involved can be taxing. Evaluating destinations, together with its weather patterns, safety concerns, theater offerings, and recreation, can become a major project in and of itself. Once you decide on a place, those with wisdom advise renting for a year while you discover the innuendoes of the locale and its neighborhoods. During that time, you can address the challenges of a new place, e.g. to Find doctors, services as well as Finding new friends.
5. Retirement communities - For those that prefer the amenities of a planned community, developments designed for the 55+ crowd offer an alternative that many people find very attractive. It’s like moving into a neighborhood with an established network. Many people make this choice because the want to follow friends who are already there.
6. Active/Assisted living facilities - If one member of a couple has an emerging health issue, these facilities with built-in medical services can provide a support structure that tiers the living accommodations to the health of the individuals,where care is provided with housing
7. Living abroad - This move can scratch a lifelong itch of an adventurous soul. However, if adaptability is your strong suit, there are many locations in the world where you can stretch your dollar.

Of course, once you make your decision, then the financial issues, Renting versus Home Buying and Selling, must be considered. These are quickly followed by the practical issues of Moving and Home Maintenance.

For further reading, try the AARP Article on Housing Choices.

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Older citizens have seen a lot of new technology both come and go. Television, digital computers, digital cameras, digital anything, fax machines, scanners, the Internet, Betamax, VCR’s, DVD’s, cell phones, blackberries, iPods, and tweets. The list could go on and on.

Although it has changed, from party-line to private, rotary dial to touch tone, analog to digital, and wired to wireless, the old ‘home’ telephone has been one of the few constant technologies that has been with us throughout our lives. Telephones could always be relied upon. In the trade, they called it five-nines, i.e. 99.999%, reliable. There are no dead zones to break the connection of a wired ‘home’ phone, and it often still works whenever a house loses its electric power.

But mankind isn’t satisfied to leave things alone. So -

• wireless phones were introduced to the home. It was nice to be free of the cord, but now service is lost whenever you lose power.
• phone connections changed. New area codes, satellite and Internet connections, and fixed long distance charges have become the new standards.
• cell phones are replacing the ‘home’ phone. That social anchor called the ‘home’ phone is being abandoned for the ‘personal’ cell phone in many homes.
• payments for phone usage have never been more varied.

Although most seasoned citizens are keeping their reliable ‘home’ phone, change keeps intruding.

• In addition to the local telephone company, the cable company and others may offer the service.
• With an Internet connection, you can use skype or Vonage to route your calls directly over the Internet.
• Typically, long distance calling is bundled together with local calling for a flat monthly fee. How long you talk is no longer an issue.
• Now, you own your own phones, and you must buy and set them up yourself. The features and choices can become quite confusing.
• Internet and television services can also be bundled together with your phone service.

Most people don’t make a change until they must. If you must, however, what is a reasonable approach?

1. Service Provider -

• Because of the Internet, your choices have expanded. Often, you are not limited to the local franchise, e.g. Verizon, you can also consider other providers like Vonage, Earthlink, or Comcast.
• The simplest way to find out what choices your have for your home is to go to White Fence, a web site that searches the Internet for all of your options. All you have to do is enter your home address.
• Another search service is Connect My Phone, but is not as comprehensive.

2. Telephone Sets -Typically, you now have to buy your own phone. There are a wide variety available - wired, wireless, multi-line, answering machines, etc. To help with this decision, go to any of the price comparison sites, e.g.

• BizRate,
• NexTag, or
• Deal Time.

These sites can give you a sense of the variety available and their costs. However, if you want local support, don’t forget the local Radio Shack or Sears.

If you know that you’ll have to make a change at some time in the near future, don’t wait to do your research. The last thing you want to do is be without a phone!

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Most of us picture our homes as castles or nests. Places of comfort and security. Insurance agents look at things differently. They have to. Its their job.

“Picture your own home on fire”, was the comment of an old insurance pro that had been in the field for years. “Think of all the questions that the firefighters have to answer.”

“In what part of the home did the blaze start? Are there people inside? How many trucks have responded? Are any ambulances on the way? How close are the hydrants? Is the water pressure adequate? Is there natural gas or propane at the home? Is it turned off? Are there cars, i.e. mobile gas tanks, inside the garage? Are there cars in the way on the street? Are any nearby homes threatened?”

As you envision these questions and their responses, think of the actions that you, as a homeowner, could take to prepare. It may be time to review your escape plan for every member of the family and practice it. Also -

• Do you have the fire alarm number on your speed dial list?
• Do you have a working flashlight near the bed?
• Have you put new batteries into your smoke detectors this year?
• Do you have a working fire extinguisher near the stove?
• Do you know where your gas main shutoff valve is?
• Does your assembly point still work, or have those people moved?

Also consider how your home is situated. Is there someone you can call to assess your location?

• How close are you the fire station?
• What is the water pressure like in your area?
• Can the fire engines access your home easily?

Any thought of a home fire is terrifying. The preparation necessary to develop an escape plan is sufficiently worrisome that people can put it off so that they will not have to have think about it. But that is short-sighted. A handy extinguisher or a quick exit give you options in the event of a calamity. They can help a great deal.

For more information, look at the -

• Fire Safety site,
• USFA guide, and
• NACHI check list.

Have you practiced your escape plan lately?

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Surrounded by the Familiar

“Should I stay or should I go?” That’s not only the line from a song, it is a question many seniors ask of themselves. The majority of seniors stay put and live through their senior years at the old homestead. They have their friends near. They know their merchants. They are familiar with every curve in the local roads. They are surrounded by the comfort of their own history.

That does not mean, however, that it is wise for any of us to attempt to steer through this new phase of life using cruise control. They need to look at their surroundings with “new eyes” and assess whatever adjustments may be possible to enhance this next phase of their life. For example -

• Removing clutter
• Decide to spend some time upon a few “New Things to Try”
• Rearranging space for new usage
• Retrofitting the home for safety and ease
• Researching opportunities to reduce expenditures
• Discovering local senior activities and opportunities

Rather than ruminate, it is always better to do something. For example -

1. As suggested in Downsizing, identify a place for disposable items and start moving things to it. This “way station” approach allows you time to reassess and reverse your decision if necessary.
2. Rearrange the children’s bedrooms for space to accommodate your new activities.
3. Consider creating a master bedroom on the main floor if you do not already have that arrangement.
4. Secure scatter rugs, install some lever door knobs, add grab bars to the shower, and perform all the other modifications mentioned in Accident Prevention before you have the immediate need for them.
5. Investigate local property tax relief or caps that may be available in your area.
6. Audit your home for safety and make the necessary changes before they are necessary.

The important thing is to recognize that this is a new time in your life, and it is best to prepare carefully for it. Before health becomes more of an issue, it is smart to retrofit your nest for independent living. You might be surprised by how much you enjoy the changes.

A couple of days ago, my friend, Ron, gave me a great gift. He showed me the way to the sea. Standing on the top of a bluff, we could look 150 feet straight down to see the waves lapping the shoreline. But without wings, those last 150 feet were intimidating. Ron said, “follow me.”

He stepped through a slight notch in the land, and a path opened to reveal a series of dips in the earth that acted like steps. These dips were well worn by others that had trod them before, and step-by-step we ventured down the side of the bluff. Climbing over a fallen tree that had been claimed by the wind, a set of train tracks and a rock wall, we found ourselves on the beach itself with the open sea before us. The sea did not disappoint.

Filling our lungs with the rich essence of low tide mixed with the clean scent of salt, I knew I had found my way home again. The sea has always been in my blood, which was leached from different European shorelines. Since my early years, I have always felt most at home with the sea - in it, on it, or under it.

Two days later, while walking along the beach, I encountered some old shipwrecks along the shoreline. It was then that I met Curt. He was warning me to stay off his property, which extended down the water’s edge - wherever the tide decided it would be that day. Curt’s family had always lived by the sea, and we started talking about the differences between the shores on the East Coast, where I grew up, and the West Coast, where Curt did.

I was relating to Curt how, on the East Coast, we would awake in the morning to the smashing sound of clam shells being dropped from above by the sea gulls, who would then have their feast. I was surprised that the same thing did not happen in the West. Curt revealed that it did happen when he was young, but now the clams have all but disappeared.

It was then I realized the biggest difference between the two coasts, i.e. railroads. Because the East Coast is generally irregular and flat, the railroads were located a few miles inland. That precious dancing line between land and sea, where nutrients and life thrive, has been bisected by the railroads on the West Coast. Faced with a continuous series of bluffs, the rails were built right along the shore. The nutrients are blocked, the clams are dying out, and even the orcas, much further up the food chain, are disappearing.

The sea is truly a gift, but like any living thing, it requires respect and nourishment. Ironically, someone could make the same observation about senior citizens.

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Once you are retired, one of the first steps you may wish to consider is to sell the family home. Whether you are downsizing, relocating, or cashing out, buying or selling a home is not an easy process. Typically, you will wind up feeling a bit disatisified. Both buyer and seller simply want a fair deal that happens quickly. But a fair deal only occurs when the buyer and seller are equally dissatisfied. That is simply the way negotiations work.

If you are selling -

1. Choose your best selling season. A hot selling season, e.g. Spring, has the most buyers but also the most competition. A slow season, e.g. Winter, has the least competition and the least number of buyers. Often, the best timing is the end of a slow season as the first crop of new buyers start to appear. Learn the details of what is happening in your particular market.
2. Start preparing the home at least six months before your target listing date.
3. Address obvious eyesores and problems. Don’t explain about the wobbly step. Get it fixed.
4. Paint. Use neutral shades that open the space and permit buyers to imagine their own furniture in the room. For interiors, use whites, off-whites, beiges, or pale grays. White exteriors also sell well.
5. Remove clutter. Rent a storage locker if need be, but it is critical for rooms and closets to be free of clutter. If you must, move the clutter to the garage which is the only place people might discount some of its impact.
6. Clean, clean, clean. A lack of cleanliness can cost thousands of dollars.
7. One or two months before your target listing date, interview three different real estate agents. A good agent will inspect your home, give you more ideas about preparing it, learn about your objectives, and provide you with a written market analysis and pricing recommendation. Don’t be afraid to ask for discounts; some brokers will offer them outright.
8. Consider staging your property. Professional designers can reposition furniture, add a plant, and even assemble some rented furniture to show off your home to its best advantage.
9. Choose your agent. If none make you feel comfortable, consider doing the job yourself.
10. Decide upon your asking price. This is your most important decision. It is far better to be realistic than greedy. You want to price right where the market would expect it to be. Check Zillow Home price estimates for your neighborhood.
11. Sign the documents and list the home.
12. A weekday open house for agents and a weekend open house for buyers will announce to opportunity to the world. With all your preparation, you should feel proud of your home as your neighbors and potential buyers traipse through.
13. Disappear whenever the house is being shown. Buyers are uncomfortable when the owner is present.
14. Anticipate specific feedback from any showing and react (e.g. add a brighter bulb), if possible.
15. If your home is shown to a number of buyers and it is priced correctly, you should expect to receive at least one offer during the first month, even if it is too low. However, If there is little to no activity, lowering the price is the most important change you can make. Don’t be bullied, but don’t be foolish either.
16. If you must move, and the market in your area is simply too slow, consider renting. It can be a frustrating choice, but one that might make financial sense.

If you are buying, there are a number of questions you should ask yourself.

1. Why do you want/need to move?
2. Is there a schedule you must meet?
3. What price range are you considering?
4. How many bedrooms and bathrooms?
5. Approximate size or square footage of the home?
6. Approximate size of the property?
7. What are the requirements for schools?
8. What style or age of home are you targeting?
9. What are the requirements for basements and garages?
10. Are there any local travel requirements?
11. Are you looking for an urban, suburban, or rural location?
12. Have you picked specific neighborhoods or communities?
13. How close to shopping would you like to be?
14. Are there any special health-related requirements?
15. What physical or community amenities do you desire?
16. Are there any special features desired for the home?

Once you are able to answer these questions, you will have a very specific idea of the home you are looking for. Also, check other web resources, e.g. Federal Government Home Buying Information.

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This decision can be quite different for seniors than it is for younger adults. For seniors,

• the tax deduction for mortgage interest is less attractive because, with mature or no mortgage payments and lower tax brackets, it can have little impact.

• the leverage of home equity is limited to reverse mortgages, the last will, or medical expenses.

• the headaches of home maintenance can be burdensome.

• the exposure to significant homeowner association assessments can be worrisome.

Although renting frees a senior from these issues, it comes with issues of its own.

• Rents can, and do, rise.

• The ownership of rental properties can, and often does, change.

• The level of care and maintenance exercised by any landlord can vary greatly.

• Neighbors can change more frequently.

Whether it is less expensive to rent or buy depends entirely upon the market. When rental properties are scarce and demand is high, the cost of owning might prove to be more attractive. If the balance is reversed, the opposite is true. An interesting financial analysis can be made by dividing the market price of a home by the annual rent of a similar home in the same neighborhood as described in a recent article in the Ny Times. The result of that calculation was referred to as the rent ratio. In this article, the author makes an interesting comparison that when the rent ratio exceeds 20, it is financially smarter to rent.

Finances, however, are only one part of the equation. Each day you defer the choice of where you want to “just be” carries its own cost as well. Your relationship to a view, an ambiance, or a neighborhood carries its own rewards.

How should you proceed in making this decision? Some practical steps are -

1. Talk to a banker or financial professional to determine what is possible financially.
2. Learn about the real estate rights and laws for renters in your state.
3. If you can afford to, let the decision be influenced by your lifestyle, e.g. freeing yourself from the need to rake the leaves from the yard.
4. Visit any rental property both during the week and on the weekend, and note the activity and friendliness of the people you see.
5. Let your final choice be guided by the place where you want to be each day.

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A couple of weeks ago, I was bemused by an article in the Sunday NY Times about downsizing. What seemed bizarre was that the article was in the Jobs Section, and it was profiling a new group of workers, “downsizing specialists”. These people target their efforts at the ugly process of disposal. Effectively, they carry out the grunt work of your decisions, but the decision has to remain in your hands.

What seemed strange was that the act of downsizing was treated like an event. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

We are currently setting up a household that is half the size of the house where we raised our kids. We also have some additional items from other places. Now, we have to winnow this collection of all of the stuff that we or our kids will never use again. We have done this before, but never with the sense of finality we have today.

But this is a process, not an event. It may take six months or a year to ride the process out, but the process has its steps that should be respected. Specifically,

1. Find the downsized home that is workable for you. Err on the side of smaller square feet rather than larger.

2. Move everything you can to it. Now is the time to use those items that you were saving for special times. Your special time is now.

3. Place the items you will not actively require during the next six months into the garage or a second bedroom rather that in a storage locker. You do not want to be able to ignore these excess possessions; you want to be inconvenienced by them.

4. Segment these possessions into personal memories, family keepsakes, and those with some commercial value.

5. Attack the commercial value items first. Make a detailed list of all these items and share it with your children, relatives, friends, and neighbors. If none show any interest, list the larger items on Craig’s List and the smaller ones on eBay. Community garage sales and consignment shops can provide another outlet.

6. Keep at the commercial items until you clear them out. Some charities are kind enough to accept a wide variety of items, and you will use them at the end of the process to clear out the leftovers.

7. Once the commercial items have been addressed, you are finished with the easy part. Next come the family heirlooms. Now you have to struggle with the guilt of challenging the heirloom status. Does Uncle Vinny’s bowling trophy really qualify? If you don’t intend to put it on display, does it really qualify as a treasure? If these is another family member who would really treasure it, now may be the time to present them with this gift. There are some guilt issues here, but the process does make you focus on the few things that do really matter to you. The rest should loose their heirloom status and be discarded.

8. Items marked by personal memories, photos and small trinkets, should be kept till last. These are the items that remind you of the times when love touched your life. Typically, they don’t take a lot of space, but they do deserve a careful review during which they can be savored. During that review, you should resurrect some old items for display and make other more easily accessible. These items, and their stories, are what you should share with your loved ones during holidays and special events. The treasures are the memories themselves. The items have values because they ground them.

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