Tips for Downsizing to a Smaller Home

There are many reasons why people choose to downsize.  Maintaining a larger home is a lot of work, can be costly, and requires more furniture and "stuff".  Sometimes it's hard to part with those things that we lovingly purchased and collected.  But if you think of it in a positive light, it can be a good thing.


When I moved from my larger home in New York to my "retirement" home (do I look retired?) on the coast of Brunswick County, North Carolina, I had only seen my house once before making an offer to purchase it.  The first time I saw my new home as its new owner, I cried!  I was afraid my king size bed and bedroom furniture that I loved would not fit in the master bedroom.   As it was, I had put a substantial amount of furniture in storage and there was still furniture everywhere.  I went to Lowes Home Improvement store and purchased a book "smaller spaces" and realized that although in New York, I had a wonderful great room that spanned the width of my home - great for company I thought - the reality was that we rarely used the entire room.   So maybe moving to a smaller, cozier space would not be so bad and would actually be a more efficient use of space...  Read more

Yes, I Am Living My Dream!

Yes, I am living my dream!  I moved to Brunswick County, NC - Shallotte to be exact - in 2004 from Orange County, NY in the Hudson Valley.  I never thought I would leave upstate NY because, well, the state seemed to have everything to me. But when the company I was working for announced they were packing up and moving to California and offering early retirement for those 50 years or older, my plans for retirement were suddenly pushed up. 

Coincidentally, my husband and I had been to Coastal Brunswick County the week before I got the news my company was moving.  We were looking for a home that we could retire to in about 5 years or so, as the tax situation in NY would make it financially impossible to stay there.  We had checked out the area previously when we visited some friends who had already moved to Shallotte.  The area seemed similar to Orange County, but had the extra added bonus of the ocean and the beach.  I had always dreamed of living near the beach and now, it seemed, my dreams were coming true.



This tidal marsh is part of the Shallotte River and is in my backyard along with all the amazingly beautiful wildlife that goes with it.



My husband and I found a home in a quiet subdivision where each house was different from the next.  My house sat on a curve in the road,  and the back yard was on a tidal marsh on the Shallotte River.  We were sold on the way the small home sat majestically on the hill and the beautiful view in the back yard and put an offer on it.  The offer was accepted about the same time I learned I would no longer have a job, so the timing seemed right to make the move.

Since our decision to retire to Brunswick County in Coastal North Carolina, my life has been very different.  For one, I got the smile back on my face!  I have great neighbors who are there when you need them and who always look out for one another.  We have neighborhood parties for every holiday.  In someone's yard, we make a bonfire, everyone brings food and drink, we dance and sing and have just so much fun.  When the men catch fish, we have a fish fry to enjoy the fresh catch.  On weekends, we kayak or jet ski and all hang out on an island across the Waterway from the mainland, and enjoy the sights, the sand. the sun and each other. We appreciate our wonderful way of life and if it sounds like I am living my dream, I would have to say an emphatic Yes I Am!   And you should do the same.

Weekends with the neighbors on Monk Island on the Intracoastal Waterway