What’s one of the biggest hassles in life? Moving! I speak from experience, having lived at 30 different addresses during my 67 years of life. My wife and I have been in 10 different apartments, condos, and homes in 17 years of marriage, plus a few extended-stay hotels. Most of these moves have been career related and paid for by the company as part of the relocation package, so we’ve had packing and unpacking services that relieved some of the stress. Oregon was the fourth different state and Portland the fourth different city where we’ve lived, after many years in Indianapolis. I have also lived in two different Michigan cities and four in Indiana as part of a previous marriage. As a result, I’ve had my share of frustration with rental trucks, storage facilities, elevators, stairs, weather delays, cross-country drives, and professional movers. Needless to say, I’m not anxious to do it again.

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks in the midst of a major interior painting project. I am not allowed to touch a paint brush, so my job as a retiree is primarily supervision. In the process, there was discussion about perhaps another job transfer, so we had many of the walls patched and freshly painted without any plans to rehang many photos and/or shelves. This would also cut-down on some of the clutter should we end up hiring a realtor. However, several days later it was determined that we would not be moving for a job change, but rather to down-size into a rental property and set the stage for future retirement travel. We’ve talked of a world cruise and extended stays in places like Hawaii and the Amalfi Coast, so no longer owning would provide more flexibility in fulfilling these dreams. My wife plans on joining me in retirement four years or less from now, and we would no longer have to worry about property value downtrends that have affected our profitability on several past moves. Portland has one of the highest trending cost-per-square-foot rates in the country, and we’re concerned about what might happen two years from now?

This could turn into one of my biggest retirement hassles yet! In fact, my wife got stuck with the supervision of our last two moves. These were done while waiting for our house to eventually sell, which took about 6 years and 6 months respectively. As a result, we owned multiple properties at the same time while living in temporary housing. We don’t want to have to go through this financial nightmare again, that only adds to the hassles associated with a move. Hopefully, we can sell this property and use some of the “profits” to pay for movers, reduce any remaining debt, and put down payments on future travel deals. Furthermore, we would no longer have monthly condo maintenance fees, PMI fees, interest, and high costs for square footage we don’t need anymore. I think it makes sense for us, if we can get a good price on the property. If not, we’ll stay where we are and take our chances. It certainly does not pose the risk of a job-related transfer that has proven to be disastrous in our past. However, with this particular scenario, I would be responsible for the selling and packing while my wife continues to focus on her career.

Retirement Home here I come! Hopefully, later than sooner. This is the final step in divesting property ownership, providing fewer hassles for my heirs. Unfortunately for them, I plan on spending the spoils for world travel. We will pass on a Marriott Vacation Club monthly maintenance fee to family members, but any timeshare fees for three to four weeks of resort use will be fully paid-for in perpetuity. In the meantime, we’ll have to figure out where to live for the other 11 months of the year. This move will be nowhere close the last of our lives, but it may very well be the last property we ever own! Move #31 – coming soon!