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The new Meyers Baby Chaser Index found that a quarter of Baby Boomers will use retirement as an excuse to move closer to their grandchildren, MarketWatch reports.
Meyers, which tracks the real estate industry, followed migration patterns among baby boomers and millennials to create the “Meyers Baby Chaser Index” and found Charlotte, N.C.; Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Dallas were the top real estate markets for these generations. The firm looked at both generations because millennials will likely move to find a suitable job before settling down, and baby boomers looking to be near their current or future grandchildren will often follow, said Ali Wolf, director of economic research at Meyers. “As the digital age has grown, we have this pullback to human interaction with who matters most in our lives,” she said.
More than a third of baby boomers said they intended to move at some point in their lives, and 42% said they’d choose a smaller home, according to a 2017 report from the Demand Institute, operated by research groups Nielsen and the Conference Board. But baby boomers are also looking for homes with larger living areas, spare bedrooms or outdoor space for their grandchildren to enjoy, Meyers noted.
Older Americans may also be chasing tax benefits, including low or no state and local income taxes. Studies are regularly released analyzing the best states for retirees to live, and they often include a section dedicated specifically to taxes. New Mexico was recently listed as a top state to move to in retirement because of its lower-than-average cost of living and some of the lowest property taxes in the U.S.
