Kids are long gone, bothers/sisters scattered doing their thing, big house is empty, few friends here and there. . .why not move to your dream location, downsize, relax among a quieter crowd. . .if that is your thing.
I plan to trade noise, traffic, screaming neighborhood kids, thumpa-thumpa cars for a nice small community that I’ve been looking at and visiting for a while.
Staying here after I fully retire sounds like a lot of unnecessary pressure and work to me.
Just retired...living in PA now but actively looking in & around the Raleigh area.
Admittedly all retiree circumstances are different but the idea of moving to that perfect retirement place seems to be an important part of the post-work scenario. For me, having my kids/grandkids close, some meaningful work to do, old friends to see and good degree of financial security (meaning no debt) beats moving to that idyllic retirement place in the sun every time. There is no perfect place.