My great aunt and uncle retired and moved from Chicago to Palm Springs in 1962. I guess they got tired of the freezing Chicago winters, so they bought one of those cute new modern houses being built in the desert, and ditched the snow for good. They weren’t exactly architecture buffs, or modern design aficionados, and if you’d known them, you’d really wonder how it was possible that they happened to have bought a very cool Krisel and Palmer designed house in Palm Canyon, but so they did. In their new life, they joined clubs, played bridge with their new neighbors, took all sorts of art classes, and basically lived their best life, and they both had very long lives. They were only about 50 when they moved to PS, but My great uncle Charlie lived to be 90 and my great aunt Naomi lived to be 103, so clearly they were doing something right! These were not children of privilege by any means; they were the children of immigrants and the Great Depression, they didn't have kids, and they were highly frugal. They didn't have 10 streaming services, they didn't order doordash, and they didn't have new cars, and I guess they figured out a plan for how they could afford to do this. I think about how they decided on the timing. Were they planning for years and waiting for something to happen first? What was that thing? Most people tell me they're waiting for something before making a move: A child to finish college, a job change to come through, an investment or inheritance to pay out. Ultimately, that’s why most people move: When something big in your life changes, or your house no longer meets your needs, or you can’t deal with the snow anymore! (It’s about 75 degrees in LA today, so I truly support their choice!) People don't move because of economic data points, they move when it's time. The trick is to know what you're waiting for. When the stars align, you feel it, and you know the moment has come. But as a wise friend of mine says, you often have to just wait until after the Superbowl.
