why wait 10 years to follow your dream? You love your home but don't love the area? SELL!!! Enjoy life, by staying and stashing away $$$ for retirement, you are postponing your dream of "easy, carefree" trendy living..I say go for it, life is way too short..

We went through a similar situation earlier this year. The house we lived in was updated and the nicest in the neighborhood. The neighborhood though was going downhill. By downhill, I just mean many people weren't updating the exteriors, weren't keeping up with the lawns, parking cars in their yards, etc. It just wasn't a nice place to drive through at times. My husband had been in that house for over 30 years and we had made it our home, but it was time to move on. It sold very fast and at the highest price ever for that neighborhood (but not for nearly as much as it would have in a different neighborhood).

Just yesterday we drove through the old neighborhood and my husband said we should have moved 5 years ago. No regrets. You just know when it's time to move on.

If not so desirable is because of a crime issue, I would definitely consider the move. If it's cosmetics, you will have to question whether you enjoy your freedom to do as you want or if you can adjust to a HOA/condo board dictating your every move. Some people are perfectly happy with everything dictated and everything looking the same, personally I want MY choices and will live without somebody controlling me.

To me that's probably the biggest factor to think about when wanting your "up and trendy". What is the point of "up and trendy", if you aren't happy? So I would strongly contemplate that.

The other thing that I would consider is what are your retirement plans? If you're wanting to travel a lot - Maybe a less fancy condo so you can continue to stash your money. If I wanted to choose between "up and trendy" vs. traveling and not worrying, I'd take the travel.

What you will pay in monthly condo fees is going to be based on amenities, no sense in paying for a pool and tennis courts if you have no intention of using them.

If I were you, I'd move. It sounds to me that you're just not happy living there. Sure, the house is nice but in the end that's just a lot of materials (granite, hardwood, cabinets, porch, etc.) and stuff (even a house) isn't enough for me. However, the thought of a new WAY of living - a change - energizes me. Moving into an area where I can do more things and where I feel comfortable, where I'm not waiting, sounds like a good move.

BUT that's me.

Move the house! You could always locate a plot of land in a better area and see if the house can be moved. If you expect a condo move to cost you XX dollars, see how much it would be to move the house to a different property. The costs may be relatively the same (I honestly have no idea).

Barring that - the condo taxes may not be that much more than you currently pay. It depends on how they are taxed. Here, the tax is approximately 50% less than the same tax rate on a free standing house. Find out if condos are taxed at the same rate as SFO in your area. The condo association does have rules and regulations, and that may be a difficult adjustment.

How big is your current home? At 50, it is maintainable - will you be able to continue the maintenance another 10 years? Or will it become increasingly more difficult?

However, the thought of a new WAY of living - a change - energizes me.

Bingo.

You're under no pressure to move immediately so you can really take your time with the process. Are you sure you want to stay in St. Paul? That's something else to consider.

As long as its not illegal or immoral...follow your dream!

I've never regretted anything I've ever done...it's always what I HAVEN'T done that causes me regret.

Wishing you fair winds & safe harbor.

Tricia

I'm a little leary of your taking money out of savings and/or taking on another mortgage as a single woman at age 50. If the move could be more of a a "wash" financially, I'd say to go for it! Here's my story:

DH and I bought a perfectly nice 1950s ranch when our DS was a baby. We lived there 30 years -- at least 10 years too long -- because it was as fine an empty-nester house as it was a young-family house.

One day as I was driving down our street I thought, "WHY are we still here? We can easily afford something nicer. DH is retiring and we don't have to be under an hour from the city. The increasing road and air traffic is driving me nuts."

It took another two years of looking, but we have been enjoying the new home we built in a farther-out suburb for six years. We wonder why we didn't do this sooner.

Could broader horizons include moving from St. Paul? Would a new job appeal? It sounds as though you could use a few sessions with a psychologist to explore where you are and where you want to be. (I don't know anyone of middle-age who wouldn not benefit from a bit of guided stock-taking.)

Good for you for not just plodding on!

Thanks to you all for your input. You've given me lots of food for thought and I'll continue to consider your answers. I am, by the way, committed to staying in the Twin Cities (and probably St. Paul over Mpls) because I have a truly satisfying career (as a college professor). I have a strong sense that if I make the move, I won't regret it. On the other hand, I DO enjoy being debt free, as I have been for many years now, and the freedom of travelling, seeing my retirement savings grow, etc. Part of me would just like another old house to fix up now that this one is done :) Well, gosh, I see how, as a friend of mine once said, realtors do need to be partly psychiatrists. . . Maybe I do need a shrink. But I think I may start with a consultation with a good realtor.

I can't really give you any advice about the move but I do think a meeting with your financial planner would help with your decision. A planner can help you figure out the amount of taxes and fees you can comfortably afford and factor in your eventual retirement too.

I can understand the agonizing over this decision, but I would do it, and do it now. The market isn't great now, but I doubt that waiting will make your house more desireable on the market.

Two years ago I moved out of the house I'd owned and remodeled for over 30 years, and in which my children grew up. I was strongly conflicted, but felt I needed to make some changes because neighborhood traffic had increased and gotten noisier, my kids had moved out, and I'd retired. We found another nice home with a better layout for two people and on more land for my gardening. At the time I had a terrible time pushing myself out of the old house, and had some second-guessing after selling it...but realized within a month of moving that it was one of the best decisions I've made. I should have done it earlier. Go for it!

marita -

Go for it. My wife and I were in a similar situation about three years ago. We had been in the house for 23 years and it was almost paid off. The boys were out of high school, the house had been completely remodeled, but the neighborhood was changing. The change was not for the better. Gone were the friends we had known for years had moved on.

So we checked the market, got an appraisal, hired a realtor and moved. We moved to our "dream house." Yes, I had more remodeling to do, but I enjoy it. Yes the yard work is more than before because we went form 3/4 of an acre to 8 acres. But I get it done. Riding the tractor is a blast!! And our friends and 3 boys thought we were nuts because we didn't downsize but almost doubled our square footage!!

We have no regrets at all. We're enjoying every minute of our new place! And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!!!!!!

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

Marita, I always consider change to be good as it gets you out of a stagnated rut and forces new decisions which often times improve the quality of life.

I'm 64 with 5 children one who recently moved to Austin, and i'm uprooting myself to start what I consider a new and possibly improved lifestyle. I'm in San Diego CA where one might think 'lfestyle' would be a given, but it isn't. I can't deal with the traffic, rude people, lines when shopping, and the general shallowness of many who live here, where materialism is the name of the game.

I long for a peaceful, content environment where people are real and don't live totally beyond thier means, shopping doesn't have to be an 'experience', and if you drive 65mph don't get a killer look when passed by at 75mph. I can't wait for the day my condo sells so I can 'get outta Dodge'.

If you get a condo, get one with a small plot of land where you can 'dig in the dirt' when you need 'thinking time.' When I had a garden, I found many of my answers came to me while gardening~i'll have that again in Austin. Try to find something without stairs also, as this may be the last home you'll purchase befor you retire, and stairs can be a real pain in the butt when your legs are aching.

The best of luck to you in your decision~it's never easy picking up and moving form a home you love. I was 'forced' moving from IL to CA, but at the time, the weather, the beach, and a bigger house helped make the decision.

Please keep us posted. ;o)

We went thru the same thing! We bought & renovated a 1910 house, it was paid for, we loved it - BUT the neighborhood was not coming up like we'd hoped & like so many others that have commented, it was actually going down a bit.

Our neighbor across the street had mentioned possibly leaving & that spurred us into action. Their house would have gone on the market for very little (needed lots of updating) and that could have hurt us in two ways: 1) the obvious low price would have been a bad comp for us and 2) the only other house that had sold recently had turned into a rental with about 5-6 men living there. Either thing was bad for us.

We really did not intend to move - we were so happy to be debt free + the house was perfect for us. But as every poster here has said...it was the best decision we've ever made & yes, we should have done it sooner!

If it were just me, I'd love a garden home / townhouse type thing.

Good luck to you - please let us know what you decide!

Marita, Two years ago I became an ex-St. Paul resident. I'm trying to imagine where you now live and which of the universities you teach at. Which neighborhood are you in?As much as I have alot of faith in many of the St. Paul neighborhoods, I'm another vote for following your dream. You've worked hard, done well and deserve to live the next stage of your life not worrying. In addition, and I'm 52, it's not too early to think about the work of a bungalow as you get older. We left St. Paul to move back to the greater Chicago area in 2005 and, while we're still in a house, we upgraded our neighborhood/street with this move. If you need the name of a good realtor, I can recommend one with Edina on Grand Ave in St. Paul who's great.

Marita, I feel in some ways that I could have written your post. I too am a single woman, living in a house which I like better than the neighborhood (downhill)....I am ready to move on too and have put my house on the market. All the replies really speak to me. I have had my doubts too - I put a great screened porch out back, and remodeled my kitchen last year. Yesterday while sitting on the porch I had those doubts, but then I realized, I can put a porch on the next house. I am leaving my area, Maryland, to find reasonable housing in North Carolina.

The only thing I don't get about your post is that you say your house is 100% perfect and that you don't want a condo fee etc. If owning a house is perfect why not find another in a much better neighborhood? Or is a hip, fun, convenient neighborhood the big draw for you? When I re-read your post I see that your focus was on the interior and the historical architecture, you didn't mention gardening and time in the yard. Have you considered renting an apartment in a condo for a short period of time to help with the decision?

Whatever you do, go for it! No need to stay in one place forever just because of earlier choices.

kec, I live in the Midway. It is a rather large area and there are really nice parts but I managed to move into a not-so-great part. With the potential for the coming of light rail down University Ave.--close to me--it is just so hard to predict what will happen to the neighborhood. It is funny, when I moved here straight out of graduate school (and years of living in graduate type housing) I thought the area was cool--shabby chic. Slowly I came to realize it was just shabby, not chic, and at age 50 my tolerance for such things is gone. I want to emphasize though that I've been blessed with great neighbors on both sides of me and I realize you can find yourself in much, much worse situations. What is very disturbing is the several rentals on the block, with absentee landlords, who keep renting to successions of loud, obnoxious, even scarey renters.

Kec, too, funny you mention it but the realtor who sold me this house (and became a friend of mine, now retired) was from that Edina on Grand office. I'm going to call her out of retirement to consult. BTW, where did you move in Chicagoland (as they say)? I grew up in LaGrange.

time2sell (and others), your experience is so helpful. Even though I'm in perfect health, very young feeling and acting, I (obviously) don't like to move often and thus am planning for the future. Frankly, I was hoping to be married by now--but that's not occurred--so I'm thinking it might be best to go the condo route with the idea that I might be there into old age. While I have the usual postcard stamp-size urban yard, it does become a burden to care for everything yourself, both inside and out. As someone suggested I'd try to look for a condo or town house or whatever with a shared garden, or some possibility of doing some gardening. On the other hand, if the right one came along, I would consider a single family home also.

Continued thanks for all your replies. They are very reflective and motivating. It is nice to hear that others were as attached as I am to a house, but then moved with no regrets. I am a decisive person generally, and feel kind of foolish finding this decision so hard and emotionally-laden. I realize that it has a lot to do with the other baggage that comes with middle age and reflecting on where you've been and where you want to be. . .

To figure out about selling your home:
Sign up at the major real estate sites in your area - ReMax, Century 21, Weichert, Caldwell Banker. Do a search like you are a buyer, putting your house info as the search options. You will get email updates when people drop prices and new listings come on. This will give you a good idea of what the market is like. It will also help you decide what site you like best as they all have different features. It should also give you an idea of what similar houses are selling for if you decide to sell.

Since you're unsure about what you want to buy - start searching now to see what's out there. So far my favorite site is Remax, I'm also starting to like Weichert for ease of use.

I think that once you get started watching the local market and possibly walking a few properties you'll know which decision will be right for you.

You may also think to post on the city data forum for your state. I'm watching a few posts for mine and am coming up with different areas to look in.

Please consider doing that "reflecting" with some guidance. As you are realizing, this is about more than just real estate!

I'm not a counselor, I'm just someone who has seen many adults benefit from having someone help them take stock of who they are now, shedding old concepts that are no longer valid today.

I also would make a move for the You that you are today and not try to bundle yourself off into something that may or may not suit you in retirement. As my DS is fond of saying, "Change is Good!" As I have realized later in life, very little is set in stone. (Thank Goodness for that!)

Marita, defitnitel NOT a foolish decision~it's your future happiness. And as for the reflecting, believe that you are right where you are supposed to be, and your thinking about moving did not just pop into your head. Always listen to your heart, gut, and head, in that order.

My ex was from Edina, and i'm originally from Peoria, IL area~go back every year to visit 'my buddy'. She and I have been freinds since high school which makes it a 49 year friendship.

Don't think too much on this Marti, because it is an emotional issue. ;o)