We sold our last house, gave away our belongings and moved to an apartment on the beach. Embraced minimalism. A beautiful new complex of young people. We had just turned 60. Life was good… but we wanted something even better. Maybe what we found would interest you?

No, we did not move to a 55+ community. No, we did not buy yet another house. We found a hybrid!

The last house

We left our last home for many reasons. Didn’t need 3,800 square feet of house and an acre and a half of land. Our four kids had moved out. As had their parties in the backyard. The garden, landscaping, mowing, hot tub maintenance was once a joy. The other endless house maintenance was bearable. But it had all now become drudgery.

I loved so much about our last house, but it was also in the wrong place. The cornfields of boring Iowa. Give us beaches!

First, an apartment

And freedom! Without owning a house we could move anywhere, quickly. We eliminated many states and a few countries. For our first stop we picked the beaches of Western Michigan. Our brand new two bedroom, 1,106 square foot apartment felt good. The community was perfect. And with our younger daughter nearby we slowly made the decision… Western Michigan would be our final destination.

We met so many wonderful neighbors. A few our age, but mostly much younger. Lots of community events. Then Covid shut everything down, but we still had our private dog park. When not at a beach, we socialized there for hours a day.

Not all sunshine

But after the first year our apartment neighbors began to change. The trained ballerina (really!) who lived upstairs was replaced by “The Thundering Herd”…. a guy, two heavyset women, a large pit bull and assorted (against the rules) animals. The women would get drunk and mud wrestle late at night. There may or may not have been mud, but the wrestling was intense… body slams over and over. Thus began our realization that we would need to eventually move.

The game’s afoot

We toured some 55+ places… gawd we were not prepared to be THAT old! Looked at some traditional condos… too much like an apartment.

Then one of my apartment dog park buddies, who was there with his family while building a house said, “You should build a condo! You would never believe they are condos. They look like regular houses but grouped together in their own streets.”

“Elementary”, said he

When we investigated, he was correct. Stand alone, or duplex condos. You still had your own yard. At a maximum, you could share just one soundproof, foot thick wall if it was a duplex.

Nestled inside a huge subdivision of regular houses. When complete, our neighborhood would have three “condo streets” amongst 450 houses and four lakes. Clubhouse, swimming pool and common grounds requiring an HOA.

A second condo HOA covering our private road, all external maintenance, landscaping, snow removal, mowing etc.

While not officially 55+, everyone on the condo streets tends to be. With all the young families just a block or two away.

We decided to build. Our younger daughter and her husband were so impressed with the builder, they decided to build a house within the neighborhood… a few blocks away.

When you eliminate the impossible…

Our condo was not “cookie cutter”. When we decided on the model, we chose the lot, elevation, two car or three car garage, the size of our driveway, exterior colors… and then 114 pages of mostly internal options. We added a four season room, two sided fireplace, eliminated a mud room so we could have another full bath and additional bedroom instead of a study.

We decided to finish the lower level. They showed us a traditional build out with a rec room, another bedroom, and tiny 35 square foot full bathroom. Instead, I sketched out an 85 square foot bathroom, with 120 gallon jetted tub, and fireplace. Always thought a fireplace in a bathroom would be cool. “We can do that!”

So we went from our minimalist 1,106 square foot 2 bedroom apartment to 2,400 square foot 3 bedroom, 3 bath “condo”. We got an 80% mortgage to keep our liquid assets strong. And the kicker… our mortgage, insurance and property taxes are lower than our previous apartment rent.

I presume nothing

We dont have the restrictions you hear about in 55+ communities. Our older daughter and family will come live with us while they look to buy or build. I had 15 large trees planted to envelope us in green. Plenty of parking. No worry of disturbing the neighbors. I can blast Led Zeppelin, Lana Del Rey and Inhaler to my hearts content. With windows closed… no one can hear (we tested it!).

We wanted privacy, but nearness to people our age. A quiet street, but children always nearby. Few rules, but a few good ones. Oh, and a bike pathbisecting our neighborhood that can take us to the beaches, the nearby towns, and eventually all the way to the city (Grand Rapids) without ever pedaling on a street. We found ours. What is your dream of a final home, Holmes?