Not holidays, but prospect of the first of three leaving the nest next fall does.
Winter does that for me. We moved to the house weāve lived in for over 20 years because it was a great place to raise our kids ā and our kids loved growing up here. Mission accomplished. Both kids are successfully launched in their adult lives with good careers/prospects. So, no need to continue to live in this house. But, we havenāt found what we are looking for yet.
Last year at this time, I was angrily thinking to myself, āI will NOT work through another holiday season. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope.ā I retired at the end of April, and Iām sitting here peeking in on CC while I review my to-do list before our son comes home next week. Iām calm, relaxed, and happy that I will be able to enjoy the holiday and family visitors without stress this year. Plenty of time to get everything done and just enjoy. I waited too long to retire. 
The holidays are making me think that Iām not picking DS up at school. I always do, and I always say, not another Thanksgiving on 95 or the Merritt. I will pick him up at the train station.
Iāve given up on retirement. DW will surprise me some day, when I least expect it.
My son has a car this year so he will drive himself home. Daughter is taking a bus to within about 20 minutes of home. Much better than 10 hour round trip. Not really thinking about retirement at this point. And I always loved coming home to my childhood home for breaks so I want my kids to have that same experience for a least a couple breaks.
Iām an old parent, but Iāll never forget this:
Back in the Olde Days, I left for college on September 14. On September 19, my parents moved out of our suburban house and into NYC. It greatly reduced my fatherās commute, but it was extremely upsetting for me. It truly took me years to get over it.
So I completely recognize the need to take our time before we move away from where our kids grew up. Depends on the kids, of course.
Depends on the kids, definitely. And timing, too. Baby kiddo was not a bit upset when we told her that we would be selling the house that was her home for the larger part of her life. She said that her last memories of the place were all about sitting by the fireplace, unemployed, feeling sad, watching crap on TV and agonizing over yet another job application. 
Those memories took over the happy childhood memories for her. Phew. That kid is now employed and renting a room in the center of the Universe. We moved to a more urban suburbia. And Mr. is driving his electric tin can which is driving me nuts!!! All is good until some new hell will break loose.
I hope Mr. is enjoying his electric tin can. It made me 10 years younger. First time I loved a car since my first VW at 15.
He is happy like a piggie in a puddle. The autopilot already scolded him for keeping only one hand on the stirring wheel. So he must be enjoying the dang thing! Glad he opted out of the crazy acceleration option and red paint. Those are both very expensive.
The normal acceleration is plenty. You donāt need two hands on the wheel for AutoPilot; it is satisfied if your steering input is infinitesimally different to the autopilotās. I do it with one hand.
Hahaha, he must have done something to tick it off with that one hand driving. It locked his autopilot until the rest of the trip. Still learning. Had it for a couple of days.
BB, he just has to turn the car off and back on again. He must have missed a few warnings, three if I recall correctly. Heāll figure it out.
How would you go about buying a property at a remote location? I am planning to buy a place 4 hour flight away. I am looking at line listings, talking to my local real estate agent. Anything else I should be doing?
Are you planning on buying without personally visiting? Do you know the area?
The listing pictures, or any pictures really, never tell the whole story.
IMO, you have to literally smell the house.
@Iglooo, I really think actually visiting to see any house you are truly interested in should be on your list.
Good luck.
I am planning to go. How would you organize viewing? I canāt be there every week.
You absolutely need to look at the property with your own set of eyes. As my dad used to say, even an outhouse can look beautiful in photos. If you are going to pay hundreds of thousands for a property, spending a couple of grand on travel is not an unwise investment. Think of it in terms of college visits!
@IxnayBob - yup, he is a big boy and will figure it out. Must have been that excitement. It is a good thing it is not the end of the month, so the cops are not yet desperate to collect their monthly speeding ticket quota. 
Is this for personal use? An investment? What is your time frame? Is this area a āhotā market where properties will sell in a week? When you go down there can you spend a week, or just a day or two?
My DW has had a couple buyers buy remotely. She lined up properties for them to see, they flew in and looked, and then had to make a very quick decision. Then she would manage the inspection and everything else that goes along with the sale. Most things are done electronically these days so at least youāre not waiting around for FedEx,
I donāt think it was an ideal experience, they only got to see a small number of properties (you canāt really look at more than 6 or 7 in a day or the details blur together). These people were moving and had to buy quickly, though.