Before You Move
10 Important Points to Consider
Unfortunately, many people decide to move to an area to retire or to enjoy their seachange and find out after they’ve been there for a while, that the town or area really doesn’t suit them.
This can be an expensive mistake.
The following 10 points are designed to help people avoid potential problems when they move to a new town or city and make it easier to enjoy a relaxing, stress free seachange.
- Do your homework before you decide which town to move to. Don’t just go to the town you liked as a holiday destination. It simply may not have the services and facilities you will need as a permanent resident. Buying a copy of the Seachange Guide CD can make it easier, but it’s still important that you spend the time to make sure your preferred town is really right for you now, and in the future.
- Do you have any health problems that need specialist treatment? Are you likely to require sophisticated medical services? You should look for a town where you can get the treatment you need. A few local GPs may not be good enough. The Seachange Guide CD lists the medical facilities and specialists serving each town. Because specialists come and go, we suggest you also check with the local medical centre.
- How easy will it be for friends and family to visit you? Think about transport links to the town of your choice. If you decide to live right out of town at the end of a rough track, don’t be surprised if your friends don’t call.
- Consider the weather. Check what the climate is like all year round. The weather at Christmas could be very different to what you experience in the middle of July.
- Do you have enough money to live comfortably? A professionally prepared financial plan is essential. The sooner you have this done, the better. If you don’t yet have a financial advisor, you should appoint one. Under our section on Financial Planning, you’ll find some hints on how to select a suitable financial planner
- What type of home do you really need? Is it a large house with lots of bedrooms, a unit, a manufactured home in a park, a small suburban house or a retirement village? Decide what best suits your new lifestyle and remember the maintenance and cleaning. Generally, if you are selling a city property and buying in a regional area, you may well have a substantial sum left over when the transactions are completed. Have you considered buying a property in your preferred retirement town well before you move there.
- Rent before you buy. It is advisable to rent, or buy an investment property, in the town you are thinking about retiring to, before you sell your current home and move. It’s a good idea to live there for 6 – 12 months to make sure that this is where you really want to live.
- How easy will it be to make new friends? Do your sports and hobbies make it easy to join clubs where you can meet people with similar interests.? Have you thought about doing some volunteer work? There are a number of retiree organisations like Over 50s Association, COTA, National Seniors and Assoc. of Independent Retirees which generally have a limited branch structure and provide information, support and social contacts. Service Clubs like Rotary and Quota are another good option.
- Do some serious retirement planning before you retire. There is more to a successful retirement than a good financial plan. Most people are unaware of the many issues they are likely to face as they move through the transition from full time work to something different. It’s not all that easy. Our Section titled “Retirement Lifestyle Planning” is important and will give you a useful place to start. There are a number of people and products that can help you make a more comfortable transition.
- Do you really want to move to a new town? Can you achieve a more suitable lifestyle simply by selling your current home and moving to something more appropriate to your current needs in a different part of your town or city. Remember that if you move, you may be a long way from family and friends.
We can help you make the move to another town or city a lot less stressful. The Seachange Guide CD contains a lot of detailed information on most of the main coastal towns between Hervey Bay in Qld. and Eden on the NSW / VIC Border. Buying it will save you a lot of time, effort and fuel. You can order the CD by following the link to the Seachange Guide web site and clicking on “CD Order Form”.