SPONSORED POST: Maureen McCaffrey is a real estate agent at Pinnacle Residential Properties. She writes about her experiences downsizing after her kids left the nest.
To age in place or downsize? That’s the tough question, even for a Pinnacle real estate agent like me who helps people through the moving process every day. When my husband and I finally made our decision to move six years ago, our kids were off to college and beyond. It was time to focus on ourselves. Simplify our life. Sounds easy enough, right? Not really.
Moving is always a huge decision. My husband and I had a few things to figure out first. The questions were endless, actually. What size home will work for our family? Where can we downsize without up-sizing in price? Is there any way we can stay in Wellesley or Weston, the towns we’d lived in and loved for the past 25 years? What are we going to do with all our stuff? And many more…
Although the task seemed daunting, we wanted to give the idea of downsizing a fair try. We were lucky to find a match pretty quickly. Then came the hard part—preparing our large, much-loved, cluttered home for sale. The purging process was tough. You know the items in the basement and closets that you haven’t seen in years? Me too. It was a cathartic experience to empty our home of those items, and to find and hold onto the important treasures.
Going through everything ourselves, bit by bit, gave us confidence that what we got rid of was “just stuff.” By the end of the process, we felt sure that we hadn’t inadvertently tossed something we would later long for.
Saying goodbye to our home where we raised our children was very sad. However, six years later I can honestly say it was the best decision we ever made. One that I couldn’t have made without my team at Pinnacle Residential Properties. I found out firsthand how a list of resources is one of the most valuable assets a Realtor can provide. Handymen, organizing/de-cluttering experts, junk removal, electricians and more. We used them all. Pinnacle’s guidance helped to make for a smooth transition.
The parents are alright!
About Maureen McCaffrey
Maureen McCaffrey and her family have lived in the Wellesley/Weston area for over 20 years. Maureen received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University. Her professional background includes 10+ years in marketing communications. In addition to her real estate career, Maureen is a past Chairperson of the Standing Committee and the Social Justice Outreach Committee of the Unitarian Church of Wellesley. She is also active with the Special Olympic swim team, the Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. Genuine compassion, keen intelligence, and high energy combined with a thorough knowledge of the area are the qualities Maureen offers to her clients.
You can reach Maureen at 781-237-5000 or on her cell at 508-494-0811
Maureen’s email address is maureen.mccaffrey@comcast.net
Thanks for your insight Maureen.
Actually our young family (our firstborn will be turning 1 soon) was able to move in to this amazing town of Wellesley because of an empty-nester who decided to sell, as such I am grateful for people like you who were/are giving up the home where your kids grew up in.