Inafi L.A.

They say home is where the heart is, but John Milton, the 17th-century English poet, argued “Our country is wherever we are well off.” The trouble is, the average individual coping with a bad economy, mortgage concerns and job insecurity is anything but well-off-or even financially stable, for that matter. And their hearts and minds are not at home but rather wandering with worry about an uncertain future. With a still-grim economic outlook, a high cost of living and a stock market that has caused 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts to lose considerable value, many Americans are delaying or reconsidering their retirement plans. Even with real estate prices still falling in parts of Florida, Arizona and other traditional retirement havens, a retirement home and comfortable lifestyle are still out of reach for many. Those who are not yet near retir Property Buyers ement are also having a rough time making ends meet. Some have lost their jobs and homes; others have fallen behind on mortgage payments and monthly bills. But then you hear stories of people like the semi-retired widow who thought retirement was out of reach, then sold her $175,000 two-bedroom ranch and snapped up a one-bedroom condo in a comfortable retirement community for only $105,000, allowing her to put $70,000 in cash in the bank. And the young couple who traded in their $256,000 condo for a 2,100-square-foot three-bedroom house on an acre lot overlooking the ocean for just $149,000, putting an end to their money problems. They are but two of the many, who, despite the current recession, continue to live well. Their secret? They traded down to live it up. In other words, they left their worries behind by moving to low-cost locales where less is more.