Retirees who relocate to be near their adult children usually price the move carefully, comparing home prices, property taxes, and everyday expenses. Almost nobody prices the role itself: the running cost of being the grandparent who lives fifteen minutes away. That cost comes in many small pieces, and many of them appear together during the first holiday season.
Your Kids' Address Sets the Housing Bill First
When adult children choose their address, their market sets the price. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts regional price levels at 110.72 in California and 86.937 in Arkansas, against a national average of 100. Young families often cluster in school-district suburbs, which can cost more than age-restricted communities. Plenty of retirees upgrade to a bigger house so everyone fits at Christmas, raising property tax, insurance, utilities, and maintenance all year for a handful of full-house weekends. With the Case-Shiller national index at 337.3, up 1.9% year over year, that extra square footage isn't getting cheaper.
Small Receipts That Become a Real Line Item
The local grandparent usually becomes the default host. A survey of 1,200 grandparents by The Senior List found...
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