Three big downsizing motivators
Date Posted: April 19, 2022
People downsize for many reasons: fresh opportunities, an appealing lifestyle, financial advantages or health benefits. Is it for you?
- Location change
The old property mantra of “Location, Location, Location” usually becomes one long-term location. But eventually, the time comes for a fresh view.
This might mean making a sea change or tree change, exchanging suburbia for the beach, the bush or vine-covered hills. New Downsizing Communities are flourishing in many natural locales, offering beautiful views, like-minded neighbours and all the amenities you can’t do without.
New views might also mean fitting out the caravan of your dreams and finding a new front yard every week.
- Lifestyle change
Some homes are for now, not for life. As we age, we need different things. Has your existing home served its purpose? Has it become more of a burden than a shelter?
Choose to spend less time and money maintaining more space than you need, and seize the opportunity to do more of what you love, whether it’s spending time with your family or seeing the world.
The new treechange communities, with their compact, elegantly designed homes, can be a wonderful fit for a new life stage. These handsome, dynamic neighbourhoods are near cafes and shops, local bike and walking paths, sports clubs and facilities, and other essential amenities.
Or you can leave it all behind and take that gap year you always meant to have.
- Health and wealth change
Financial freedom is another strong motivation for downsizing. When the time is right for you, sell your larger home to free up equity. A smaller, more efficient home can reduce or eliminate a mortgage. At the same time, reduced monthly bills will give you more resources for the life you want for yourself. Sometimes that is the joy of spending less for the simple life; sometimes it’s choosing travel as a lifestyle.
Wealth – or at least the best use of your resources to create the life you want – naturally sits alongside the most important thing for a good life: your health.
Maintaining health at any age is partly about staying active and reducing stress. Everything, from gentle walks to seaside swims, is easier when you live in a neighbourhood with accessible paths and local fitness facilities.
If you’re not living your best life, reassess your options, then use downsizing as a way to get it.