Eleven times in the last 17 years including an international move. getting ready for our 12th in the coming 6 months! mostly for my work... hopefully the last one before I retire then the final one

needless to say we've gotten really good at getting rid of things!

how do you move without having paid off the mortgage...i know of short sale-ing and refinancing etc but it just seems ridicolous how many people dont wait out their 15 or 30 year mortgages and just move every 5 months


any experts explain

My husband & I typically move every 2-3 years. We purchase a home, renovate it, & sell it for a nice profit. The key is to have it as your primary residence for at least 2 years to avoid capital gains. It can be a bit dusty & chaotic living in a construction zone, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Unfortunately, with the new tax plan that's being proposed, the number of years may change to 5 years to avoid capital gains. Ugh!

@designhome -- the key is to sell the home for more than you paid by buying right, putting some sweat equity into it, and selling it for a profit. I'd hate to think that a mortgage would dictate your life for the next 15 to 30 years.

Five times in the first 7 years. Twice in the last 30!!!

I retired 18 months ago, and knowing we wanted to move about 60 miles away, we purchased another house and moved the last week I was working (I commuted the last week). We had been in the other house for 17 years. Fast forward to today, and we are now in the process of purchasing another house in the same town. The house we initially purchased is a 1970's tri-level that had been gutted and remodeled a few years ago. Since moving in we have both had physical ailments that show that we need to be living mostly on one level. The house we are purchasing and moving into in the spring is a 1953 MCM in amazing shape. That said, there is some remodeling in our future, as we plan on this being our forever home. Our current tri-level will be put on the market this spring. Both purchases were cash - no mortgage involved.

@designhome when you sell your home everything gets paid at the closing with the title company in order to transfer the title. It's not a big deal, unless you owe more than you are selling for.

We moved once in last 20 years. We have been in this house 14.5 years, but will sell in the next few.

Fifteen years in each of our two properties, the thought of shifting makes me want to puk lol

Moving sucks but we were in our first house for almost 4 years. We did a lot of work and walked away with almost 100k profit. We’ve been in the new house for 4 months and are working through a major kitchen remodel. We could be in this house for 30 years but hope to move in and make a nice profit in 3-4 years

The average person owns 3 primary homes in their lifetime. I am in my 3rd and hopefully final house. Hate moving! If you can buy right in 5 years your house hopefully appreciates enough to cover the real estate cost, transfer cost, etc and leave you with some profit. The average home around here appreciates 2% a year. The person we bought our present house off of only owned it for a year. He was transferred for work. We only paid 2k more for it than he paid. His company paid all the real estate fees, etc. I figure he still made a loss. He remodeled a bathroom and re-painted the whole inside.

Change strikes away comfort zones. For some people that is bad but we welcome it. We have moved 6 times in 22 years, owned 3 houses, and rented the rest of times. We sold one house and still own the other two (have them rented) and currently live in a very expensive area (CA) so will only be renting for next 2 years. IT contract work keeps us moving.

House #14 for us!

I've just made my last move (I think?). Moved 7 times (corporate moves) over 30 years. Just in the last four years I've moved three times...but this is it!

Two big ones. Moved from our first house in Southern CA to Massachusetts to start over. Owned our MA house for 17 years before moving a mile away to start a business at an inn. This is our third house and, we plan and hope, our last.

Just celebrated 29 years of married bliss we have lived in five states and are currently living in our seventh home. Each home a very different style including; a ranch style, 1020s Spanish, 1930s center hall colonial, Victorian ( we dressed and made into a painted lady) and our current 1950s cape cod we turned into a California cottage. The last two were down to the studs renovations with additions we acted as general completing more than 50% of the labor. Looking forward to next move where it will be warm and we can exchange the snow blower for an in-ground pool.

I moved 11 times before I graduated high school, and then lived in three apartments before buying our first home together. It was a condo that we bought in 2006 at the height of the housing bubble, so we got stuck there in our starter home for 11 years. Finally were able to sell and buy our adorable little bungalow that we plan to live in forever! Moving around so much as a child has made me very much anti-moving, so we are here to stay!

We bought a different house end of November. First move since we married in 1993. Planning for old age and getting out of the rat race. 1 level in a town of less than 2000 people. Going to love it but way too much stuff to move.

First house 1995-2002. Outgrew it. Next house

Sorry for above, dropped my phone and it just submitted!

In this house 2002-present. We are the second owners, built in 1976. Someday we will probably downsize, probably not for a good 20 years or so.

Moved every 3-4 years growing up as an army brat. Bought my first home in 2001 and stayed 16 years but just sold it last week! Hoping to find my forever home now...

We’ve been here for 22. This was a new build for us we hand seeded a 6 acre prairie surrounding our home, put in all the landscaping and walkways, patios, pergolas etc. We are secluded in town. I don’t see us wanting to move from here until we are ready to downsize in a major way. Before that as a couple we’ve moved only one other time.

Cheryl Smith That's fantastic! That is our plan in about 3-5 years. We are having difficulty deciding where we want to downsize and retire!

Probably about 25 times since college days, sometimes renting but mostly purchasing and flipping. I've stayed put for the last 11 years because of the downturn in the real estate market. I always purchased homes that needed work, fixed them and flipped them then traded up. Doesn't pay to stay in a home for 30 years because you pay so much more than the house is worth.........it's the cost of the home plus all the interest you paid on the loan.

Example: if you purchase a home and needed a $200k mortgage and you paid 5% interest, it will cost you the $200k + $185,511.57 in interest, so a total of $385,511.57 for the house. A new home will likely increase in value for a few years and then begin a downward slide in value. In 30 years most people will not be willing to purchase your 30-year-old home for the amount of money you paid for the home unless you are in a hot housing market and you have a teardown.

This is why so many people hate that Congress is trying to take away the mortgage interest deduction from the Middle Class. If it gets pulled, housing prices will drop.

Now I'm almost ready to take my lumps and just move to downsize. Also moving after 11 years means there is more stuff to move and that's never fun.

I've moved seven times in 31 years. Three being to different states. The last move was 600 miles to NC in 2010. Purchased a town-home on my own. That move was exhausting!! The only way I'll move again is if I have to go to a one level or first floor master. Otherwise, I don't EVER intend to move again!!!

I'm a nester, we've been in this 1900 sq. ft. home for 23 years...but, we have a single story ranch in SoCa with .25 acre (small for many USA areas but BIG with the $$$ of land here). As baby boomers are aging, single stories are in huge demand here instead of 2 stories with small lots where you look into your neighbor's yards. No plans to ever move. We couldn't afford to buy our home back again and best of all, we've paid it off, NO mortgage.

Married 23 yrs, moved 18 times, both owned and rented homes in 8 different states. Can't imagine living in the same house for 20 or more yrs. Can't imagine living in the same town for that long. We are gypsies I guess. Love the excitement of a new place.

We were married 45 years ago and rented 2 apartments for the first 4 years. After that we bought our first historic home and lived in it for 26 years before buying our current one 15 years ago. Since then we have done lots of restoration on our 1905 gem and have no plans to leave. Looking back, I see we not only commit to each other but also to our homes!

12 times in 43 years.

Hubby moved up and down the west coast for 10 years before he met me, probably a dozen moves. We moved from Orange County, CA to Seattle to a rental in Iowa and then a purchased house in less than 12 months before moving again a couple years later. I never thought we would end up in this house for 25 years. Now working on moving across town as empty nesters, and not even contemplating moving again. That thought alone should guarantee an interesting opportunity comes our way!

We moved around a lot as college aged newlyweds but always rented apartments or condos. After hubby graduated college and got his first job in his career we bought our first home and stayed 6 years, moved across the country for hubby's work and bought our second home and stayed just shy of 10 years. Then he changed companies again and another cross country move... we are in our third home, coming up on six years and hubby hopes to retire with this company. We have no plans of moving, but in the aerospace industry you just never know. I never minded moving before, but we are fixing up this house more than we did any of our other houses and it's becoming my dream home. I don't think I'm ever going to want to leave!

Since I was old enough to be on my own , I've moved 16 times in 30 years, not counting college days. I'd like to get settled but know that I'll have to move at least 2 more times.

We've only moved 3 times:

1. From our first very little apartment in downtown Montreal as a couple to another bigger apartment downtown after our first year of married life. Stayed there for 3 years.
2. To our first house in a suburb where we stayed 5 years. We liked the house but not the area. After the realtor's commission and the few upgrades we'd made to the house we lost of a bit of money on the sale.
3. To our present large house in another suburb. Been here over 31 years and likely will stay here until we can no longer navigate stairs. We were looking at condos for our old age, but consider them way overpriced. I don't mind a smaller space, but not if it costs as much as what we have now.

I absolutely hate the idea of moving. My parents moved a few times (and we helped them), our two kids also have moved a couple of times each (and we helped them). We've done enough moving for a lifetime.

I had a job that required regular moving - by my count, 13 moves in 31 years. I did own a condo at one point, but only got to live in it for 3 years - it was then rented out for another 8 or 9, after which I sold it. Once I retired, the 14th move, to a nice, modest home in a seaside village, which we lived in it for almost 10 years. We always knew that it wouldn't be our last home, because the beautiful little town we lived in had virtually no medical facilities, and if you wanted anything much more than a GP, you had to see specialists in cities 3 to 5 hours drive away. You absolutely needed a car to get anywhere, even to the supermarket, and I have to assume I won't be driving a car forever, and nor will DH.

So 15th move, to a much bigger seaside town, with all the facilities, most within walking distance, and few of the issues of big city life.

Making money on houses? Not so much. Add up the interest charges, the taxes, the insurance, the maintenance costs, and that claim that "I made a huge profit because my house price doubled in 10 years" is more like "I barely broke even" for a lot of markets.

At age 30 bought first House on my own after Divorce. Lived there 42 Years and at Retirement moved into my Forever Home in the Country 3 Years ago. Followed this House on the Market for over 15 Years waiting to Retire so I could move here when I no longer would have to commute to work....Thank You God! Everything with the move went smooth and timely...when the time is right it works....

My husband and I have moved 10x in 14 years and have finally settled into our first new build after selling our equestrian estate in Lake Oswego, Oregon.... my husband owned way before I came into the picture. He is the quinntessential nomad as I was told by best friends on the day we got married ...get ready for the ride and Ive enjoyed ever since. Our circuitous route...He from Oregon to Pennsylvania bought a home, cross country to Phoenix, AZ, Phoenix to San Diego, San Diego to Oregon back to Phoenix...lets not even count all the places in between trying to figure out what we like and dont like...kiddos dictated this time whether we stay or do we go ....guess what??... THEY WON!!!

The number of times you move is dependent upon many factors: from starter apartment to a larger place when you begin a family, from location to location for work, from one neighborhood to another for better schools, another move for more space for an enlarged family, from far to nearer parents/family for health or care reasons, or sometimes to a newer home or neighbor for social reasons.
We have been married 52 years and have gone from one 1-bdrm to one 2-bdrm apartment, a 2-bdrm house, and three different 3-bdrm houses, improving space and neighborhood as we moved. That's six homes.
We have owned the last of those 3-bdrm houses for 32 years, but have recently purchased a second home in another state which has become our primary home. We have been retired for twelve years. We return to the house of 32 years for the winter and summer, and because most of our longtime friends are there. Our newer primary home (in the Midwest) is near one of our children (both children moved out of state after marrying) and we have downsized to a 2-bdrm home again, half the size of the 32-year home. At some time in the future, we may downsize in our home state as well, to reduce the upkeep and maintenance requirements, and may keep a condo there, still spending winter and summer there.

I haven't started reading the responses yet, but I have been in my home for over 40 years. I love this historic house and the neighbourhood so much that I built an addition onto it so I could age in place. Of course, I'm still in debt over it, but no regrets!

4 houses in 40 years. We lived in one for 27 yrs.

3 houses and one apartment over my 35 year lifetime. We built our current house and have put and continue to put so much of ourselves into this home. We hope to spend our lives here.

We just sold a 4,000 plus sq foot one-story house and moved back into a 2,000 sq foot two-storey that we have owned for 28 years. We plan to "age in place" Why a 2-storey you may ask?

1) two storey homes take up less of your land so you get more yard per square foot of house.

2) two storey houses are more economical to heat and cool because the upper floors insulate the lower floors

3) two storey home have less roof per square foot of house so repair and replacement of the roof is less money.

4) two storey homes with a nice staircase are "prettier".

Because we already owned the home (it was rented out for 24 years) we knew every square inch by heart. It would cost us about 10% of the value of the home to sell and relocate to a one-storey. In our neighborhood, that's about $50K to $60K. A nice residential elevator (not the cheesy chair lift that runs along the side of the staircase) will cost between $20K and $30K. That is less than the cost of moving. Plus, because hubby has had two knee replacements (with projections that he will need to have them re-done every 10 years or so), there is a medical necessity for the elevator. Probably half of the cost will be deductible for medical reasons.

The economics may not work for everyone but it's worth doing the math if you have a 2 storey.

22 times between age 10-30.

When real estate is expensive, such as here in Toronto, it makes no sense to move often. The transaction costs that are a percentage of the house price are too high (real estate commissions to sell, land transfer tax). Plus the fees that are the same irrespective of price, such as legal fees. Here, people often choose to renovate/add on if possible, rather than sell and buy a larger home. The numbers work out more favorably.

The average Toronto selling price over 2017 was $820,000, including condos. So at the standard 5% seller's real estate commission fee, that's $41,000. And $26,000 in land transfer tax, when you buy.

I had to stop and think... I grew up in the same house, which my parents stayed in for 36 years until they retired. They have now been in their townhouse for 17 years.

So, clearly I grew up with this idea of familiarity and being established in your home and neighborhood.

Here's the part where I had to think, since college graduation I have lived in 11 different homes, 4 were houses that I owned. I am now 50 years old. 15 years and 6 homes ago, I thought I was in my final home. But I ended up divorced not once but twice since and life has thrown me many curve balls. Hoping to own a home again in the next 5 years with my long-time love... get married and live happily ever after :D

If my memory isn't playing any tricks, I can remember living in around 25 different places, not counting military barracks. I'm 62, and have never lived anywhere that didn't belong to someone else. Still waiting for my "forever" home, because if family history is anything to go by, I have another 30 or so years. My grandmother died 2 months before her 98th birthday.

In our second home (we rented for most of our cross-country move years, thank goodness). This fall we thought about putting our house up for sale (it’s old and beautiful and old) but sometime this winter we decided to stay in it and suck up the cost of upkeep.

I have moved a ton of times. Truth is I never fall in love with a house and am always looking for the next project. My fun is in the remodel , then I sell for a profit and do it again. Not for everyone but I am always ready for the next adventure