Congratulations on your retirement! (Or, if you’re not quite there, congrats in advance!) I know you have a litany of lifestyle choices to make, and today I’m going to help you tackle one of the more laborious ones: whether or not you should move.
As a retiree, you’ll have much more control over how and where you spend your time. We’re all aware of how work-from-home policies have provided enormous flexibility to American workers … but statistically, the vast majority of us remain tethered to a workplace to some extent. In fact, only 14% of adult workers have fully remote roles, per Pew Research Center survey data.
That means 86% of workers must go to work in person at least some of the time—a reality that limits where those workers can choose to live. However, when you retire, those workplace ties are gone, which means you likely have more freedom to move than you ever have.
But should you?
There’s no easy answer to that question, of course—moving, whether before or after retirement, still has financial, social, and emotional ramifications. It can greatly improve your quality of life … or lead to isolation, debt, and/or regret.
Today, I’m going to help you make a more informed decision by evaluating the various pros and cons of moving during retirement. Everyone will have their own hopes and concerns about moving, but these are among the most common considerations.
Advantages of Moving During Retirement
Let’s start with the pros of moving once you’re retired.
Many adults choose a change of scenery once they hang up their entry badges. A 2024 study from online moving services marketplace Hire A Helper found that 338,000 Americans moved to retire in 2023—a significant rebound from a two-year post-COVID slump.
So, what can motivate a retiree to pack up and put down roots somewhere else? Here’s a look at some of the most commonly cited benefits:
1. Better Weather
The Hire A Helper study also found that Florida was the top destination for retirees who moved to another state. You’ll be unsurprised to find that “The Sunshine State” frequently sits at No. 1 in this regard—in 2023, more than 1 in 10 (11%) of all retirement movers headed to Florida. South Carolina, which also boasts warm and pleasant weather, was a close second at 10%.
As we age, we become more sensitive to the cold. Certain chronic conditions and medications can affect body heat, too. Older adults can also have a tougher time recovering from icy falls, frostbite, and hypothermia. And some people are just plain ready to leave their decades of shoveling snow behind them.
Overall, living in a warmer climate is easier and more comfortable for older Americans—a fact that spurs many people to move once they retire.
Related: Retired But Too Young for Medicare? Health Insurance for Early Retirees
2. Lower Taxes
Once you retire, it’s a good bet that you’ll be living on a fixed income—likely a mix of Social Security and withdrawals from your retirement account. If you happened to build most of your retirement savings in a Roth IRA, taxes won’t matter much, but if you saved through a 401(k) or a traditional IRA, you’ll be taxed whenever you pull any money out. So the more you can reduce your tax burden, the more money you’ll have to spend on yourself.
That brings us to another reason retirees flock to Florida: It has no state income tax.
It’s not alone, either. Six other states—Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming—have no state income tax. New Hampshire doesn’t tax wages or salaries; it does tax dividends and interest income, but that tax will be eliminated come Jan. 1, 2025. Washington has no state tax on individual income, but it does tax capital gains.
Of course, state income tax isn’t the only tax consideration for potential retirees.
For instance, real estate taxes might hit you hard if you plan on owning a home somewhere. You can get a little relief in most states through the homestead exemption, but 12 states—Alabama, Alaska, Florida Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington—have additional exemptions for seniors age 65 and older.
And 17 states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia—assess no property tax if you’re a disabled veteran.
Also, there are 10 states that still tax Social Security benefits. And while you might not think about sales taxes because they’re taken out little by little over time, a high sales tax can smash your purchasing power.
Related: 5 Best Vanguard Retirement Funds [Start Saving in 2024]
3. Lower Housing Costs
The 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates that almost 80% of adults aged 60 and older own a home—or more succinctly, most older adults are homeowners.
However, by downsizing, retirees can gain a substantial lump sum of money, not to mention save on a monthly basis via lower mortgage payments, insurance, and maintenance costs. And, of course, empty nesters don’t necessarily need as much space as they once did, making downsizing even more attractive.
Retirees downsize in a variety of ways: buy a smaller house, rent a condo, get a trailer and travel, find cheaper accommodations abroad, even move in with other family members.
Again: When you’re working (assuming you have an in-person role), you must live within a certain radius of your job, and that puts certain limitations on just how creative you can be. But in retirement, you have far more flexibility to find a housing situation that fits your budget. And often, that involves moving.
Related: Pensions Aren’t Dead Yet: 15 Jobs With Pensions
4. Proximity to Family
Retirees also often move to live closer to their children, grandchildren, and/or other family.
Spending time with family can be a rewarding, enjoyable experience—an experience you can enjoy more frequently and easily when you live nearby.
A study published in 2022 by University of Wisconsin research shows that, among older adults who don’t currently live near their children, the chances they move within close proximity to at least one child nearly doubles around their time of retirement.
It can also be useful for families from a financial perspective. Some retirees move in with their adult children, which greatly reduces housing costs for the retiree and makes it easier to help parents with health and mobility issues. And if their adult children have grandchildren, retirees can provide childcare, lifting a significant financial burden for the parents.
The same study found that if an older adult is already caring for a grandchild, they’re twice as likely to move closer to the grandparents at retirement than they would be pre-retirement. (This behavior also increases for older adults not already providing care, but to a lesser extent.)
Related: 5 Best Fidelity Retirement Funds [Low-Cost + Long-Term]
5. The Excitement of a New Place
Have you ever traveled somewhere and loved it so much you wish you lived there? Well, once you’re no longer tied to a location because of work … why not make that move if you can afford it?
To be clear, this works for places you’ve visited—and places you haven’t. Retirees might live abroad to reconnect with great times in past travels, or to immerse themselves in new cultures and create new, exciting memories.
Living somewhere new can be mentally stimulating. You get to learn the ins and outs of a new city, meet new people, try new hobbies (or start up old hobbies anew). A senior from a big city might move near a lake to take up fishing or boating. A senior from the country might move to an overseas metropolis to take in new cuisines and enjoy the arts.
A global study published in Nature Medicine in 2023 states that hobbies “involve imagination, novelty, creativity, sensory activation, self-expression, relaxation, and cognitive stimulation, all of which are positively related to mental health and wellbeing via psychological, biological, social and behavioral pathways.” Among other things, taking up hobbies, especially in groups, can help reduce loneliness and social isolation.
Related: The Best Retirement Plans for 2024 [Workplace + Individual]
Disadvantages of Moving During Retirement
Before you start packing up your home, let’s go over some of the downsides to moving during retirement.
A lot of retirees are plenty happy right where they are. In 2023, OnePoll, on behalf of ClearMatch Medicare, conducted a survey of 2,000 Americans age 65-plus, 95% of whom were already retired or plan to do so. Of that group, less than a third (29%) said they either have or planned on changing their living arrangements.
Moving can be complicated and have significant financial drawbacks. Moreover, even once you’ve settled in, living somewhere different isn’t necessarily easy.
Let’s talk about some of the common reasons retirees are hesitant to move.
1. Moving Is Expensive
When you’re young, moving is easy and cheap. You don’t have much stuff, so you order some pizza, have a few friends come over, load your things into the back of a pickup truck, and head on to your new place.
But once you’re older, moving becomes far more difficult and costly.
According to Forbes Home research, the average price to hire professionals to move a three-bedroom home locally is about $2,200. For long-distance moves, that cost jumps to around $4,400. Need help packing? That’ll cost you more, too. You’ll also incur additional costs for items that need special packaging, like a painting or piano. It’s customary to tip movers, too. And there are all of the hidden or unforeseen costs that always seem to pop up.
These costs can be burdensome even when you’re collecting a regular check from work. But they can really be a hindrance in retirement, when you’re living on a fixed (and likely lower) income.
Related: Should I Pay Off My Mortgage Before I Retire?
2. Moving Can Be a Hassle
Moving isn’t just expensive—it’s a pain in the derriere, too.
Homeowners need to list and sell their current homes. Renters need to thoroughly clean their homes for the next tenants. Both need to carefully find a new place to live.
You need to pack. You need to move. You need to unpack. You might have to deal with a gap between when you move out and when you move into your residence. You have to update your new address on dozens of accounts.
It’s a daunting checklist—one that seniors need to seriously consider when stacking up pros and cons.
In a Home Bay survey, 75% of respondents said they regretted moving in 2022, and just under half said they cried at some point during the move. Expenses and the hassles of moving were among the most commonly cited reasons.
Related: Best Fidelity Retirement Funds for a 401(k) Plan
3. You Need to Find New Professionals
The process of moving is often stressful … and the work isn’t necessarily over once you’re done.
Unless you’ve moved just a few miles down the road, you’re likely going to need to build new relationships with a slew of service professionals. Family physician. Specialists. Dentist. Optometrist. Mechanic. Contractor.
It’s a difficult and often frustrating task—so much so that people can go months or years without these professionals after they’ve moved.
In a 2024 survey by Harmony Healthcare IT, nearly half (46%) of respondents who have moved within the past five years said they’ve procrastinated finding a new doctor after moving; 36% put it off for a year or longer; and 22% said they still hadn’t found a primary doctor.
In other words: Moving can potentially cause retirees to neglect their own health, and other issues, once they get settled in a new location.
Related: 5 Best Schwab Retirement Funds [High Quality, Low Costs]
4. Downsizing Has Its Downsides, Too
Downsizing one’s home is frequently considered an advantage in retirement because of the financial benefits. And it’s the most common move for retirees—data from the National Association of Realtors Research Group shows homebuyers age 57 and older are more likely to downsize their homes (in terms of price and size) than upsize.
But not everybody is happy in a smaller home. In the aforementioned Home Bay survey, 20% of respondents said they wished they had moved to a bigger place.
The thing is, by the time you reach retirement, you’ve usually accumulated a lot of possessions, and downsizing necessitates getting rid of stuff. And while getting rid of a few old things can be therapeutic, having to scale down significantly to fit in a new place can result in a lot of difficult choices.
A smaller home can have other drawbacks, too. You might feel cramped in your new home. If you don’t have a guest room, it could be difficult to accommodate visitors for an extended period.
So while downsizing might be a great way to save, some retirees might not find it worth the sacrifice.
Related: 9 Financial Mistakes That Can Quickly Drain Your Retirement Savings
5. The Grass Isn’t Always Greener
You’ve assuredly heard the phrase “It’s a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”
A lot of places sound great in theory, or are incredible vacation destinations, but lose their luster once you’ve had a few months to soak it all in. And that’s a very real danger for retirees.
Once a retiree starts life in a new location, they might not enjoy it as much as they hoped, or as much as when they visited. Maybe they loved escaping to a warm locale during the winter, but living there all year means dealing with the scorching summers. Or maybe they love the charm of a smaller, more affordable town … but didn’t factor in how much farther they’d have to drive to get to a large grocery store or various medical appointments.
And if you suddenly realize the grass isn’t greener on the other side, you’re stuck with a lousy choice—stay where you’re unhappy, or spend even more money moving again.
This is always a risk, no matter your age. The best way to reduce this risk is to be diligent in doing your homework about wherever you want to move, and if at all possible, visit the area for an extended period of time.
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