These Long Islanders downsized. Are they happy?

Thinking of downsizing?

It doesn't always mean moving to a smaller home. For many older Long Islanders, downsizing is less about square footage than lowering housing costs, reducing maintenance and simplifying daily life.

Some have planted new roots in condominiums, manufactured homes, or residences in 55-plus communities. Others have left Long Island altogether for places like Florida, where lower taxes and upkeep costs make it possible to buy a bigger home.

Data from the National Association of Realtors' 2026 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report showed 21% of buyers age 46 to 60 wanted to downsize. The same goes for 19% of buyers age 61 to 70. Baby Boomers made up the largest share of national sellers at 55%, according to the report. Sellers aged 80 to 100 were most likely to do so because their homes were too large.

Along with the financial benefits, some say moves have satisfied their desire for living among peers in over-55 communities that offer an array of on-site recreational activities, including pickleball, walking paths and card games.

Still, leaving a longtime home can trigger a range of emotions, according to Joseph Scardapane, an adjunct assistant professor of psychology in Hofstra University’s Psychology Department.

"There’s a sense of loss that’s important to acknowledge, and it’s the normal human experience to get attached to people, places and things," Scardapane said. "We need to experience the loss and don’t want to downplay the memories."

There’s a sense of loss that’s important to acknowledge, and it’s the normal human experience to get attached to people, places and things.

— Joseph Scardapane, an adjunct assistant professor of psychology at Hofstra University

We asked four current and former Long Islanders why they chose to downsize, where they relocated and the biggest question — are they happy? 

Driven to downsize by property taxes

Tracy Weimer owned a four-bedroom, two-bath high ranch in Rocky Point that she shared with her teenage son, Gage, now 19, for five years. But she sank into debt when her annual property taxes jumped from $9,500 to about $11,000.

"It was hard for a single mom to come up with more than $11,000 in a year," said Weimer, a longtime surgical coordinator in Stony Brook University Hospital’s neurosurgery department. She chose Brookhaven Town's option to pay her tax bill in two installments on her credit card. But before she finished paying the first half, the second half came due.

"It was difficult to manage," said Weimer. "I needed to downsize to someplace where I could buy and pay less in taxes. I thought of leaving Long Island, but my best friend and her husband talked me out of it."

It was difficult to manage. I needed to downsize to someplace where I could buy and pay less in taxes.

— Tracy Weimer, who moved from Rocky Point to Riverhead

In early March, she sold her Rocky Point house and moved to an 860-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bath home in Glenwood Village, a 55-and-over community in Riverhead of manufactured homes, where residents own their structures but not the land underneath.

Weimer, who did not want to take on a mortgage, said she used a portion of the $550,000 she received from the sale of her former home to buy the Glenwood home for $150,000. 

In Glenwood, her annual taxes have dropped to $1,200, and her yearly homeowner’s association fee, $800, covers the land-lease rent, garbage collection, snow removal and street maintenance.

Although the age-restricted community doesn’t allow her son to live with her, Weimer said Gage is now happily living on his own in Lake Grove and, even before he graduated from a technical school in June, he had a job as an automobile service technician.

The verdict

Weimer had reservations but said it was ultimately the right move.

"I didn’t want to move, and my son was against it. But I was behind on everything," she said. "Now I have tier one credit."

Moved to apartment with lower rent

After Evy Forbes’ first husband died in 1996, she remarried and moved from the Bellport home where they had raised their two sons. She and her second husband relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they bought a house.

But when he died 13 years later, Forbes, now 79, said her sons encouraged her to return to Long Island, "rather than be by myself" in Charlotte, she said.

"It was a big distance for them to be traveling. and I was missing the family," she said.

Forbes moved back in 2015 and has since lived in rental apartments, first in a two-bedroom, two-bath in Mastic Beach and then a two-bedroom, one-bath in a Patchogue over-55 community.

"I’ve been on Long Island since I was 10 years old, and I always come back because this is my home, but it’s getting expensive," said Forbes, a retired registered nurse who had mostly worked in psychiatric hospitals.

In February, when her lease came up for renewal, Forbes said her rent became "astronomical," more than $2,600, so she moved again — to a second-floor apartment in another section of the community — to save money. Her rent now is about $50 cheaper, but every little bit counts, she said. 

"I’m trying to live affordably and comfortably without depleting resources," she said. "If there would be an increase, it would require me to cut corners in other parts of my life," such as streaming some movies, or moving off Long Island again, near extended family in the South.

Although she has downsized to a one-bedroom unit, Forbes said she feels her new apartment is more spacious than her previous one, and she likes that it has a balcony.

The verdict

Forbes did what she had to do and continues to focus on the positives.

"I can look out and see the world," she said.

Old home became too much work

Penny Reich, 76, and her husband, Steve, 79, felt their longtime three-bedroom, three-bath house in Wantagh was too much for a couple with grown sons. Built in the 1950s, the home had also become a lot of work to maintain, said Penny, a retired Bellmore elementary school teacher. "It was time to give it up."

Four years ago, the Reiches moved into the newly built Meadowbrook Point, an over-55 condominium development in East Meadow. They now occupy the first floor and basement of a two-story building with two bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Although their home’s total living space is smaller than their previous residence, they still have plenty of room for visits from family, including their two sons, daughter-in-law and grandchild.

Reich said she doesn’t miss having a den or a dining room because she doesn’t make big dinners anymore. And she has traded her former backyard for the development’s outdoor pool. Her home is just steps from the clubhouse, which keeps her busy with mah-jongg and canasta while her husband, a retired special education guidance counselor who worked in Queens, plays poker.

After watching younger families gradually replace many of her longtime neighbors, Reich said she had begun to feel disconnected from her former neighborhood. At Meadowbrook Pointe, she especially appreciates the close-knit community of baby boomers, many of whom moved into the development around the same time.

The verdict

The Reiches are very happy.

"Both my husband and I absolutely love it here," Penny said.

Choosing a Florida lifestyle 

In 2023, seven years after purchasing a vacation home in Florida, Michelle and Bob Steinberg decided to make it their year-round residence.

By relocating from their longtime Woodbury townhouse to a detached single-family home in Boynton Beach, they accomplished what they hoped to do: reduce their expenses.

"We were looking at the upkeep of our house, which was expensive, with things starting to break down," said Bob, 70, a retired pharmaceutical sales representative.

Located in the gated enclave of Valencia Bay and developed between 2016 and 2019, their Florida home is both newer and larger than their former abode, which was built in the 1970s.

Their Boynton Beach property spans 2,264 square feet, with two bedrooms, 2½ baths, a den, a two-car garage and "more outdoor space" than their townhome. In comparison, the Woodbury dwelling was 1,488 square feet and had two bedrooms and 2½ baths, as well as a basement, which the Steinbergs don’t miss.

"We used to get flooded in New York," said Michelle, 70, a retired speech pathologist.

By consolidating their portfolio to a single home, the couple used the savings to upgrade their Florida house and travel, including to Alaska and Europe.

The adjustment wasn't immediate.

Bob said he initially felt "on the outside, looking in" as a newbie in the community. Passionate about pickleball and keen on joining a competitive team, he regularly showed up at early-morning open games to demonstrate his skills to team captains. After six months, they invited him to join. Now he plays on three teams, three to five times a week.

Last August, Bob also started a community water volleyball club and now plays twice a week.

Meanwhile, Michelle plays canasta and mah-jongg and is a member of two pickleball teams, playing two to three times a week.

The verdict

They are happy with one caveat.

"The only downside is leaving our family and friends up north," said Michelle.

Editors Note: This story was reported and written by Cara S. Trager, who died before publication.