Moves for Retirement: Navigating What Matters

All My Sons Moving & Storage offers full-service residential moves including comprehensive moving services for seniors. 

Will you be looking to relocate for retirement? For many people entering their golden years, leaving the workforce calls for a lifestyle shift, a dramatic change of pace, or a complete change of scenery. You’ve been planning for retirement for decades, and now is the time to decide what truly matters as you take your first steps into your years beyond 65. 

All My Sons Moving & Storage understands that your home represents a lifetime of experiences and memories. Our company believes that things matter, and we aim to treat every treasured possession you hold as if it belonged to a beloved member of our own family. If you’re moving away from a home you’ve lived in for decades, you have countless precious treasures that mean so much more than their price tag to replace.

Allow All My Sons Moving & Storage to help you navigate what matters during this next exciting chapter of your life.

It may be emotionally difficult to leave a beloved home behind, but sometimes your retirement calls for a significant change. A home you’ve lived in for a decade or more may present some challenges as you age past 65, such as accessibility issues, rising property taxes, and additional home maintenance you no longer have the energy, time, or money for. If you’re thinking about moving long-distance for retirement, you also might want to settle in a place with a more agreeable climate or natural beauty to enjoy. 

When deciding on a new location for your retirement years, your priorities might be different than your neighbor’s, but there are five major factors at play in every retirement move.

• Financial Security: You want to be sure you can live a comfortable life in your new location for retirement, so you should research the cost-of-living in your prospective city and how taxes will impact your retirement income and funds. Watch out for states that tax social security, like Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. 

• Medical Care: No matter how healthy you are right now, the truth is that as you age you’ll likely run into more and more health concerns. Research the quality of medical care in your prospective home for retirement, including whether or not you can access Medicare benefits at the nearby hospitals and health care facilities. 

• Preferred Lifestyle: Do you love the hustle and bustle of the big city or do you want to spend your next decades in the quiet beauty of the mountains? Your golden years should be your best, so move toward your preferred lifestyle, whether that’s hiking gorgeous trails every weekend or spending afternoons relaxing on the beach.

• Community: You might want to move closer to your beloved people in retirement so that you can spend more time with your most precious loved ones. Even if you are moving away from your family, you still should look for a place where you can make friends and get connected to your local community. Loneliness has medical consequences just as deadly as smoking, so keep your community ties strong.

• Accessibility: You might not be experiencing mobility issues yet, but they’re very likely to come up as you age past 65. When you’re looking at homes, senior living communities, and apartment complexes in your prospective city for retirement, you should keep accessibility at the forefront of your mind. Staircases and large yards can quickly become a burden when you’re navigating your home with mobility issues later in life. 

One of the most emotional parts of relocating for seniors is going through a lifetime’s worth of belongings and memories prior to the move. If you’ve lived in your current home for decades, there are likely treasures hidden in your attic, basement, or garage that you might not have thought about in some time. All My Sons Moving & Storage recommends that you always declutter and downsize before a move, so you can be sure everything you bring to your next home fits into your new retirement lifestyle. 

Here’s five ways to handle items you decide that you no longer have room for.

• Give Sentimental Items to Friends and Family: Items like antiques, heirlooms, and precious mementos that you don’t wish to hang onto might be equally meaningful to family members or friends of yours. Go through your sentimental items and decide who in your circle might benefit from having those items. If your family or friend declines a sentimental item, you might consider donating that item or putting it into storage.

• Hold a Garage or Estate Sale: A great way to offload many unwanted items and make some tidy moving-cash is to host a garage sale, or an estate sale if you are downsizing to a smaller space or moving into a senior living community. Check your local regulations for putting on a garage sale and apply for any necessary permits. Advertise your sale through social media, local radio, or local signs. Price items fairly and be prepared to slash prices when your sale end time approaches. 

• Request a Donation Pickup: If you have items in good condition that could be used by another person, consider donating those items to a charity. You can check with your local Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity to see if they provide free pick-up service in your area. You can also search for local-interest charities around your home or offer items for free on Facebook Marketplace or Freecycle.

• Call for Junk Removal: Items that are not in good condition should be responsibly disposed of. If you have large items to get rid of such as old furniture, appliances, or electronics then call for junk removal. Same-day junk removal companies like Junk.com prioritize sustainable methods of dispose such as donation and recycling before responsibly taking out the remaining garbage. 

• Rent Storage: Some sentimental items are too precious to part with, even if you decide you do not have the immediate space for them in your new home. If you are moving long-distance, consider renting storage at your destination so you can keep treasured belongings like heirlooms, antiques, and mementos close at hand without having them underfoot.

If you’ve chosen the perfect home for retirement and downsized your home inventory, then it’s time to set your retirement move in motion. 

• Research and Book with Professional Movers: A DIY move made sense when you had dozens of able-bodied college buddies, but as a senior mover going to your home for retirement it might be time to hire professional movers. Research movers serving your area and watch out for moving scam red flags like a company that asks for a large deposit in cash. All My Sons Moving & Storage has an A rating with the BBB and is authorized by FMCSA to transport Household Goods. Get a quote from us while you’re looking at movers. 

• Make Your New Home Senior-Friendly: Design your next home with accessibility at the forefront of your mind and look for potential hazards or future pain-points like staircases, narrow doorways, slippery areas, or inadequate hand railings. The best time to renovate or remodel a home is before you move in, so ensure your home meets your needs.

• Tie Up Loose Ends at Your Former Home: If you are moving long-distance to a new home that you plan to stay in for a decade or more, possibly for the rest of your life, then you want to be sure everything is in order for you to leave. Update your mailing address, cancel any local memberships, and empty out storage units at the home you are leaving behind. 

• Make an Organized Move to Your Home for Retirement: Time to load up and head out. Say goodbye to your old home, and drive off to your beautiful oasis for retirement. Pack your essentials, the items you need to make your home a functional space, on your truck LAST to be unloaded FIRST. Keep a bag on hand of any items needed in case of emergency or for your move like your regular medications or a boxcutter to open boxes at your destination.

Once moved, unpack at your leisure and set about building your new social community.

Getting connected in a new community is always a challenge, but it can feel especially intimidating for older adults. No matter where you’re going in the nation, making new friends will help you stay active and happy during your retirement years.

Here’s some ways to make friends in a new neighborhood as a retired older adult.

• Talk to Neighbors: Spend time walking around your neighborhood and say hello to your neighbors. You can even go door to door with a small gift like baked goodies or tea bags and invite your neighbors to your housewarming party.

• Take Classes: Find the local recreation centers and hobby shops and see if they’re offering classes that are of interest to you. Show up to quilt, make pottery, or do water aerobics, and introduce yourself to your classmates.

• Join Clubs and Interest Groups: Check the local library or bookstore for book clubs, and look at the coffee shop’s bulletin board to see if anyone is meeting regularly to practice a foreign language, play pickleball, or do fun crafting projects.

• Attend Events: Find the concerts, gala dinners, and conferences that are of interest to you and show up ready to shake hands and say hello. 

• Volunteer: Find a local cause important to your heart and sign up to volunteer on a regular basis. Meet fellow volunteers and locals in the community while you practice helping make the world a better place.

Now that you’re ready to settle into a new home for your golden years, get a quote from the professional movers at All My Sons Moving & Storage. Our team can manage all the packing, loading, and heavy lifting with the attentive care you would expect from a family friend. Our movers go local to the senior living community down the street or long-distance to your new beach home in Florida. With almost 100 locations across the United States, no matter where you’re going we can help with your move.

Get a quote to get started.