Senior Spotlight: Moving New Places With Old Friends

You can change your retirement destination without changing your neighbors, here's how!

A sense of community has perhaps never been more important during retirement, and not just in terms of biological family – but chosen family too! A new article from Mansion Global this month titled ‘When Friends Move Next Door’ cited some trends with regards to what retirees want and how they are making it happen.

According to Mansion Global: “Groups of friends—many of them empty-nesters—are increasingly buying properties in the same housing developments, preserving or re-creating their social circles from back home…”. Among examples was the mention of seven friends from Silicon Valley who all purchased lots at Clear Creek Tahoe in Nevada. Similarly, seven units were purchased by a group of friends at the Pendry Residences in Park City Utah.

The motivation behind this trend is two-fold: 1) A desire for a community and home that is a better fit for one’s budget, lifestyle and weather preferences and 2) The maintenance of the social circle that retirees have enjoyed (often for decades!) in their current location. Like-minded groups of friends who feel the same are increasingly planning to relocate together. Manson Global reiterates that this trend is taking place more commonly among Baby Boomers with greater disposable income who “are buying homes where they can age in place, often in lower-tax states with easy access to amenities like the beach or golf.”

This occurrence suggests that who your neighbors are is just as important as how close the golf green is, and appears to be driven by a desire among those who do not want to age alone in nursing homes as their parents and grandparents did.

Are there any downsides to this arrangement? Those who have made the move said yes! In one example of a retired executive and his neighbor who moved to Coral Gables, Florida in 2018, this situation led to a “frank conversation about the potential awkwardness of sharing a wall.” One homeowner said to the other, “Hey, if we have a dinner party here and you’re not invited, it isn’t because we dislike you.” The neighbors came to an agreement that moving together did not mean they had to include each other in every part of each other’s lives, and that some separation of friends and activities was healthy and needed.

Would you ever consider relocating or building a new residence with longtime friends? What do you think the biggest benefits would be?

Resource Used: When Friends Move Next Door