Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

Baby Boomers Downsize w/Tiny Homes #FreebieFriday Christmas in July #Romance


Downsizing

First posted 2015 

Many of the so- called baby boomer era are facing empty nesters’ syndrome. That is to say, their once boisterous, happy homes are now quiet wastelands of space.

According to CIGNA HealthCare, family life cycles have five stages:

  1. Independence from your parents
  2. Settling down with a partner
  3. Becoming a parent to your own children
  4. Launching your adult children into their own independence stage
  5. Your retirement years

There has been an upsurge in the housing market, which in turn, has led to many couples who are coming into their retirement years, selling their homes and either moving into condos, tiny homes, like the one pictured above, or RV’s.

We chose the latter route. With our daughter grown and hundreds of miles away, we found ourselves alone and lonely in a five bedroom bi-level that was much too big. My mother had a suite downstairs, but most of the time it felt like we were simply keeping the dust bunnies company.

There are RV resorts all over Canada and the United States that cater to year round travelers. Some are very fancy with golfing, pools, tennis courts, and fitness rooms:

slider-2-1040x350-RV Resort

http://arizonaluxuryrvresorts.com/

And others offer the wilderness in all its glory:

kootenay-rockies
CAMPING & RVING IN BC GO WHERE YOUR SPIRIT TAKES YOU!

Our new home may not be thirteen hundred square feet, but it can take us to places we’ve never seen before.

And maybe even relieve some of that, ‘What are we going to do without our kids?’ feeling we all go through sooner or later.

2012 104

How about you? What do you do to relieve that empty nester’s syndrome?

Celebrate Christmas in July!

My holiday romance, Silver Bells is July 12-14/2019!

Click the covers to visit Amazon for the books.

JacquieBiggar_SilverBells_800px

Will a Christmas wish give a lonely author a family?

Mystery writer, Joel Carpenter, has no time for romance. He has a deadline to meet, and too many skeletons in his closet to trust the slightly spinny artist renting his house.

Christy Taylor has her hands full dealing with an ailing business and a diabetic daughter, she doesn’t need the temptation that is her landlord, Joel Carpenter.

Can a Christmas wish bring two stubborn souls together and give a little girl the gift she wants most?

Tangled in Tinsel: The Celebration Series, Book 1 

Being the new girl in town is hard, especially when you’re running from your past. It even gets harder when your handsome neighbor is a police officer who wants to get to know you. No matter how much Casey tries to avoid Thad, something is always pulling them together. 

Thad has lived in Celebration Township his entire life, and it’s not until a beautiful brunette moves in next door that his eye is finally caught. If only she didn’t push him away at every chance she got. 

When an unexpected visitor shows up at Casey’s house a few days before Christmas, her future and past collide. Will Thad figure it out what’s going on in time, or will Casey end up being a conspirator to a murderer? 

A KISS BENEATH A CHRISTMAS STAR 

Wounded warrior, Ben Michaelson is a former rock star who’s at Dragonfly Pointe intending to make a comeback at the town’s yearly charity event. 

The adopted daughter of a music superstar and an artist herself, Rose Atkinson has suffered her own share of heartache, long ago deciding she’d never get involved with another musician. 

But will the magic of a kiss beneath a Christmas star help Ben convince Rose that fate has always meant for them to be together?

29 Replies to “Baby Boomers Downsize w/Tiny Homes #FreebieFriday Christmas in July #Romance”

  1. Great blog Jacquie
    We moved from a rambling rancher on a Gulf Island to a townhouse on Vancouver Island. I like that there’s less housework, but I hate that when the kids and grandkids come to visit we’re pinched for space. There doesn’t seem to be a perfect size for us. lol. But I do love the commotion of the young ones.
    I love your motor home and the fact that it can go anywhere. How cool is that!
    I enjoyed your post.
    my best
    Jo-Ann Carson
    Smart,Sexy Suspense

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Jo-Ann. I know what you mean about crowded 🙂 We cooked Thanksgiving here. Between minuscule counter space and a rambunctious eight year old the trailer was full, mostly with love, which is what it’s all about 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Love this post, Jacquie! I have many years ahead before I can retire, but the idea of downsizing right now is so appealing to me. I think by simplifying our surroundings we are forced to get out there and live the life we deserve. Then we can spend more time doing the things we love – like WRITING 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You’re so right, Stephanie. We tend to make our lives much more complicated than we need. Don’t wait too long, you want to be young enough to enjoy those dreams 🙂
      Thanks for stopping by the blog,
      Jacquie

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Enjoyed this post, Jacquie! We still have teenagers at home, with tons of their friends, and our 3,000 SF home often feels too small. But in a few years, I know the house will feel huge and empty. I’m dreading it!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I know what you mean. Our house was the local hangout for all our daughter’s friends. We were lost when they grew up! It was a tough decision to give up a lot of our possessions, but now I’m so glad we did. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Great post, Jacquie. Our neighbors haven’t exactly downsized, but they leave Texas every summer and travel all over in their RV. Sometimes they go in the fall and winter, too. I love the “cuteness” of the space. The “everything has it’s own place” thing.
    We are empty nesters, but over the years have been glad for all our extra space because both daughters have returned to the nest, bringing spouses and later kids with them. And when the electricity goes off in their neighborhood in a storm, we mostly have it, so everyone comes here.
    However, by next spring we’ll have left our 2700 sq. ft house to move into a 1700 sq. ft house on a lake not far away. We are thrilled to have this opportunity. I know this is not “tiny” in the since of “tiny house” on HGTV, but we’ll have to get rid of a slew of stuff!
    On a deeper level, I do think we can become captured by all our “things.” My mother’s philosophy was” get rid of the old to make room for the new.” It’s definitely time to do that. I’ll share. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Marsha 🙂 I imagine there will be a lot of big decisions in your future on what to keep and what to let go of. Funny thing is, we can’t even remember half of what we gave away now that we’ve downsized, yet at the time it broke our hearts to let the ‘things’ go.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. We have the most beautiful 18 foot trailer. I love it! I’d live in it if I could, but currently we tried to downsize and not quick enough, because the children moved back in! Unfortunately that’s a big issue these days, children moving back in… It’s tough all around. But to be able to just get away from it all with my trailer is how we spend our summers (and make one child stay to watch the dogs).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. So true, Melissa, cost of living forces more and more families to live under one roof. My mom and little brother lived with us for the past twenty years since my dad passed away. He only recently moved out. When we sold the house we bought my mom a smaller version of our trailer and now she lives beside us 🙂

      Like

  7. I am so proud of you for living out your dreams. I know down sizing was hard fo r you but I haven’t seen you this content in many years! Can’t wait to come visit and see your dreams coming true beforehand re my eyes

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We really are, Ethel. The big house and fancy toys were great, but it’s so nice to live worry free again. I can’t wait for you to see our little slice of heaven either 🙂
      Love you!

      Like

  9. I’m just becoming an empty-nester. And I hate it. I want my kids with me, not thousands of miles away. I’ll adapt, though. The only thing constant is change, right?

    Thanks for the freebies.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I was lost in the beginning- DH worked a province away, the girl-child was in university and my grandson had started kindergarten- I was lonely.
      That’s when I decided to write and it opened a whole new world, and friends, to me 🙂
      You’ll still have them on the holidays and the rest of the time you have us ❤

      Liked by 1 person

  10. We seem to have avoided the empty nester’s syndrome…Will it ever happen for us?… I am beginning to think not…We have 6 children and grandchildren and they all went their own ways and then for various reasons between properties and things came back…We then moved to Thailand and here everyone lives together so the young end up looking after the old …My son is building a house with room for his wife’s mother and us if we want… Do we? What would we do after so many years of co-sharing which for us works we all respect everyone’s space but share in the cooking, shopping and bringing up the grandchildren.? Your post has made me think and I think an RV is a wonderful idea and a way to travel around…but we travel sometimes alone and sometimes altogether..For us, it works and is something of the norm here 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I know exactly what you mean, Carol. My dad passed away many years ago, leaving Mom and my youngest brother- only eleven- alone. We made the decision to move to a house with a mother-in-law suite so they could have some support.
      They stayed with us through another move and then my daughter and grandson moved a province away for university and we followed, temporarily, to help them get settled, fell in love with the island and decided to stay!
      At first, we kept the house for Mom and my brother to stay in, but then he moved in with his girlfriend, leaving Mom in a big, empty house. We made another mutual decision, sold the house and moved Mom into her own RV next door to us 🙂
      We miss our family, but love the people and lack of WINTER on the island! lol

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I love the lack of winter also, Jacquie but we do what we have to do and it keeps us young and happy and yes we will always miss someone but it makes the visits more special…Enjoy your weekend 🙂 xx

        Liked by 1 person

  11. What an amazing way to spend retirement! My husband and I have been having many conversations about condo living when we can’t physically take care of this land. Enjoy it sounds wonderful!

    Liked by 1 person

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