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How to Cope with the Emotional Effects of Moving Post-Retirement

By The HomeGo Team On 2019-10-24

There is an old saying that, “home is where the heart is”. Sometimes, our memories are so intertwined with a beloved property that it leads to a genuine emotional attachment to the home itself.

The more time spent in a particular house tends to lead to a stronger attachment, which is why the emotional effects of moving can be particularly hard when we enter our golden years and are forced to plan for the later stages of life.

The bittersweet reality is that the phrase should remind us that we take our home with us; that we carry it in our heart no matter where we move.

Understanding Our Emotional Attachment to a Home

Our emotional attachment to a home stems from our comfort in a familiar environment. There is also a certain level of stability in staying in one place for a prolonged period of time.

Every year that we live in a home we add new memories that make us smile, cry, laugh, frown, and experience the entire emotional spectrum.

It is due to this emotional response that we often view the home as part of our identity and expression of self, which is exactly why moving for retirement can often become an emotionally draining experience in the face of a traditional home sale.

emotional effects of moving when retiring

Breaking down the Stress of Selling a Home

A traditional home sale is often a stressful experience. The stress of selling a home can be felt when you have to put a price on a place that has high sentimental value.

There is additional stress when you have to show a home with pets all while depersonalizing your home to make it appealing to a wider range of buyers. Additionally, where once you welcomed family and friends, now you have to invite strangers to tour your home.

Finally, there are heightened levels of stress when you are faced with the uncertainty associated with a traditional sale. The selling period is long, buyers are fickle, and market conditions can change. Often, the easiest way to cope with the emotional effects of moving is to sell quickly.

How to Emotionally Detach from a Home as You Enter Retirement

Emotionally detaching from your home is made easier when you first acknowledge that it will be an emotionally taxing experience. Next, you need to remember why you are selling your home so that you can stay motivated to complete the sale and move onto the next stage of your life.

You can make the entire process less emotionally stressful by setting boundaries. For example, make a showing schedule that works with your life, remove personal items from staging, and recognize that the traditional sale process can be filled with uncertainties.

Finally, as you begin to shift your view of your home into a house, you will discover that it is easier to place your emotions to one side.

emotional effects of moving

Sell Quickly to Reduce the Emotional Effects of Moving

Part of the beauty of selling your home with HomeGo is that you can avoid the stress of staging and showing. You gain complete control over when your home is sold and can enjoy a simplified closing process.

In fact, many homes are purchased and closed-on within as little as seven days. When it’s time to sell, why drag out the emotions by placing your home on the market and waiting weeks or months for showings and staging to find a buyer?

If you want to avoid the emotional stress of selling your home as you prepare for your or your loved one’s golden years, HomeGo is here. Discover how selling a home with HomeGo is a stress-free process that allows you to enter your retirement in a peaceful state of mind as you say goodbye to your home and hello to the next chapter in your life.

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