I won’t lie: moving at our age, 72, was difficult. (Or maybe I’ve just repressed how stressful it has always been.)

      After 25 years in our traditional two-story home, we recently moved to a (mostly) one-level ranch home. It’s a brand-new house, with a kitchen I love, so I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I’m glad we didn’t wait until we were even older. This process does not get easier as one ages.

      The six-month downsizing and moving process seemed endless as the new house was being built and as I sorted through furniture and belongings that wouldn’t be coming with us. Having one’s house up for sale is stressful at best, traumatic at worst. Keeping the staged house perfectly clean while caring for our aging dog was challenging.

      Finally, we moved on the day that hurricane Helene came through North Carolina—you can imagine how much fun that was.

      The hardest part was leaving our neighborhood and friends. During our first week here, we felt wistful about the old house and neighborhood, which is only two miles away. That community is transitioning from older people to younger families, which helped ease the transition.

      But I miss the dog across the street. I miss seeing the little girls who lived next door to us playing in the cul-de-sac and telling me about their day. I miss seeing my dog walker buddies, even though our dog passed away in July before we moved.

      Occasionally, I miss the house itself. Even though our furniture fits well into this house, we had to get rid of a few pieces we thought would fit. (I am now a recycling expert.) Rooms look different with our same furniture: most are better, a few are perfectly acceptable. The first week we missed having our bedrooms upstairs separated from the living area. And for a week or so, we missed the feel and roominess of our old place.

      The wistful feeling is fading, however. We’ve met neighbors, who are all new to this community and who are all over age 55. Everyone is friendly and I think we will be socializing more than in our old neighborhood. We joke that it’s like being in college again, except that the accommodations are much nicer and everyone is old.

      The new house is easy to live in. When I have my hands full of groceries or other items, I love being able to go from the garage to the kitchen with no steps to navigate. In our former home, we had four or five steep steps going from the garage to the kitchen entrance, and I was afraid of falling.

      Because the lower level has no steps, this house feels safer than our old home. We have a zero-entry shower and no steps anywhere except to an upstairs guest and grandkids room. My husband’s had some major medical issues in the past, so this move relieves some worry.

      The new house is a better fit for us now. It’s smaller, and the layout makes sense. At this point in our lives, I crave simplicity and an easier life. Knowing that we will likely have health challenges ahead of us at some point, I feel better able to navigate those.