What is the most important home you will own in your lifetime?  You may not have thought of it this way, but I think you will agree with me after you read this article.  The two most important homes you will own in your lifetime are 1.) the home you raise your children in, and 2.) your retirement home.

Most Important Home You Will Own

The home you raise your children in is the first real world your children grow up in.  It is where all those important family relationships are first defined.  This is where the foundation for your children’s entire lives is built, and without sounding too grandiose, may I suggest that the home where you raise your children is where they become the personalities that will determine the rest of their lives.

Most of us buy a home with a floor plan that is suitable for raising our children, assuming the funds and credit worthiness to do so.  For my family, this meant buying the country home my wife always dreamed of owning, a gorgeous country kitchen, hardwood floors, and 1.67 acres for room to roam and for animals when we got our kids in 4-H.  We had four bedrooms and three young boys at the time.  There was also a garage, which actually became the family gym.  Since two of my boys became professional athletes, that also worked out great.  It is in this first family home where so many fond memories are made, memories of our children that will last the rest of our lives.

After our children grow up, we enter a new phase in life.  This often happens before our youngest child (if you have three or more children) leaves the nest.  The impetus for this new phase is the fact that our core family (the two or three children that made up our family the last 18 years or more of our lives) have flown the coup.  There are often two other major changes.  One is a career change.  After 20+ years in the same job, many of us chose to make a change.  The second change often comes as a surprise.  When the children (or all but one) leave the coup, one spouse often decides it’s time for a divorce.

Between this first home and retirement, we often own one or two other homes.  These homes play a relatively insignificant role in our lives.  We live there.  We eat there.  We wind down a retirement career there.  We live good and have some neutral memories at those houses.

The Most Important Home You Will Own in Retirement

I would argue that the single most important home you will ever own is your retirement home.  For most of us this will be our last home.  It is where we plan to settle in to low stress and stable finances, and it is where we hope to be comfortable for the rest of our lives.  We know what we like and what we don’t like.  We know who we are. 

The home we select for retirement is very important, because it must be comfortable and it must sooth the soul.  It is where we want no conflict, and where we expect and demand peace.  Why not?  After all, at this phase in our lives, we deserve these things.  We deserve a retirement home that is the ideal home for the rest of our lives.  The reality is we may sell and move again to be closer to the grandkids, but we still think in terms of this being our last home, and for many it will be.

Find The Most Important Home You Will Own

Use my online Sequim MLS search site to find your Sequim retirement home, and once you’ve narrowed down the list to a small number, email or call me so we can plan to go out and look at these homes when you come to Sequim.  My hope is to make your transition as smooth as possible and enjoyable.  And my hope is that we will find the perfect retirement home for you.

Last Updated on July 5, 2012 by Chuck Marunde