moving closer – Feliz Hebert moved from Cape Cod to Somers, Connecticut, to be closer to her children and grandchildren—then found that distance didn’t automatically create the time and connection she imagined. After four years, she returned to Cape Cod, where the daily rhyth
Feliz Hebert thought the move would solve a worry that only grew sharper after retirement in 2021: whether she and her husband could keep up with the cost of living on Cape Cod. She didn’t picture regret. She pictured a plan—closer to family, easier days, more time together.
Instead, after they relocated to Somers, Connecticut, the distance proved to be only one piece of the puzzle. She describes it as something close to buyer’s remorse—an uneasy feeling that arrived early. alongside the realization that her days had shrunk into routines with little space for the social life she relies on.
Hebert, 69, shared that her family move began with a long stretch on Cape Cod. In 2006, she and her husband moved back to Massachusetts after living in Florida for a while. She grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, and had raised their children there, but they chose Cape Cod when they settled. She said they lived on Cape Cod for 12 years and built a life they loved—close friends. familiar routines like going to the gym and golfing. and a sister who lived nearby. At the time, they believed they would stay.
When Hebert retired in 2021. she started to worry about whether they could keep up with the cost of living on Cape Cod. She said it wasn’t an extravagant lifestyle, but Cape Cod is expensive. She also pointed to their age and her wish to be closer to her children and grandchildren. who live in Hampden. Massachusetts. That year. they sold their home and moved to Somers. Connecticut. because the trip seemed manageable: about 13 minutes from Hampden and about 30 minutes from Springfield. She said they already knew people there and were familiar with the area.
But the move didn’t match the life she expected.
Somers felt smaller than a weekend detour. Hebert described it as a very small town with one main street. a bank. two gas stations. a church. and a town hall. She said there is no pharmacy in town. so they had to go to a nearby town. Enfield. which has a wide variety of retail stores and restaurants. Over the four years they lived there, she struggled to adjust, and she said she missed her social life. She described her husband as someone who could stay home “24/7,” while she prefers going places and doing activities.
In her account, what began as a practical experiment turned into something monotonous. She said there simply wasn’t much for her to do in Somers, and life started to feel repetitive.
The emotional punch didn’t come only from the town itself—it also came from what “being close” actually looked like. Over time, she realized that even being geographically nearer didn’t automatically translate into spending more time with her children. She said they would visit on Sundays. but often her kids were catching up on errands. grocery shopping. cleaning. and other tasks they didn’t have time for during the week. She said her kids did nothing wrong; it just wasn’t the quality time she had hoped for.
She tried to push down the feeling, but it didn’t go away. Eventually, she talked to someone who had gone through something similar. In Hebert’s telling, the other person told her, “I know exactly how you feel.” She said that simply hearing it made a difference.
After that, her plans began to move from worry to action. Little by little, she started sending Zillow listings to her husband. Finally, he asked, “Do you want to list the house?” and she said yes.
The financial side arrived with its own jolt. In 2025, they sold their 2,100-square-foot home in Somers, which they had bought for $362,000. They moved back to Cape Cod. Her new place is a 1. 500-square-foot. two-bedroom. two-bathroom midcentury modern home that cost $727. 000—about 500 square feet smaller than the Somers home. which she said was fine with them. She said the price was a shock. but she also pointed to what they made: they gained almost $300. 000 from the sale of their Somers home in a relatively short period.
Even with those numbers in view, her decision wasn’t only about money. She said that even though they still think about the cost of living on Cape Cod, their day-to-day life there feels much fuller. “I have never been happier,” she said.
She described Cape Cod as a place where there is something to do almost every day. with free events and a real sense of community. She said she recently did a beach cleanup with a group of people she didn’t know. but they all came together for the same purpose. She and her husband are also back at the golf courses they used to play on. and she said they golf three times a week. They also go to the gym twice a week. When they first got back. people at the gym were saying. “Oh my God. it’s so good to see you. Where have you been?”.
For Hebert, the shift wasn’t just personal—it also changed how visits worked. She said their kids were a little sad when they moved. but they understood after Hebert and her husband explained that the decision had nothing to do with them. She said they were honest, and her children understood where they were coming from.
Now, back in Massachusetts, her kids come to visit. She described the quality of the time as dramatically different. When her grandkids visit. they’re coming to see her. rather than her family fitting into their kids’ errands and routines and trying to fit everyone in. She also said coming to her offers her children a break: both children work. and she noted that her daughter-in-law is a stay-at-home mom—“which is a full-time job. too.” In Hebert’s view. being on Cape Cod lets them step away from their normal environment. relax. and let someone else take care of them for a bit.
Across the years, the thread in Hebert’s story is the same: the choice to be near family doesn’t automatically create connection. Distance alone didn’t solve what she wanted most—day-to-day life that felt good to live, and visits that felt like time together rather than logistics.
She believes quality of life matters at every stage of life. and she urged anyone considering a move to be closer to kids or grandkids to talk to the family first and see where they would fit in. For her. moving back to Cape Cod came down to being happy. following her heart. and making her own life good.
She offered one last image to explain the priority shift: “It’s like when you’re on an airplane, and they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before helping anyone else. That’s how I see it.”
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