Stressful times.......... (apartment, house, job market)

[yachtcare]

I've been debating with myself for a couple of hours here....wondering if I should even post this here. Or if it would be better posted on one of the "national sections" of the forum. I decided to put it here, as SW Florida does indeed have a significant population of seniors. There are alot of different ways this post could be construed. And I in no way mean to be offensive, or degrading, or whatever else anyone may imagine, so please dont try to read anything like that into it.

In my line of work, I deal predominantly with the well heeled, customer. I do however have some customers that are of much more average means, and some that are somewhat elderly. One such customer called over the weekend, wanting to get things ready for a small fishing expedition. While I dont know him as well as some of my customers, he's in his mid to late seventies, has some health problems, and a clean, modest fishing boat (18ft). When I saw him this morning, likely fresh from being in front of the TV, getting the latest economic news, he seemed rather distraught. He ran thru the gamut of the usual things one would expect from a senior, health concerns, family, politics, etc., and there's nothing wrong with that. It was his parting statement that made me think deeply most of the day......"I had always hoped I'd be dead, before my country would fall apart"(Of course, the country falling apart, is somewhat arguable, but it is all in the eye of the beholder, and there has been alot of less than good news lately)
I started thinking how different people, I've interacted with in the past couple of weeks seemed. We all have, to differing degrees, some amount of stress, or anger, over our current situation. Everybody, of every age group will handle it in differing ways. Today, was my first encounter with someone that (seemed to have) reached the point of hopelessness. I really hadnt given it a thought, until he said those words. I didnt even recognize, that it was that upsetting to him, until he said those words. Wasnt able to "read between the lines" of what he was saying, until he said those words......
The younger crowd, will naturally adapt to whatever will come down the pike, The middle age range guys, like me, will learn to adapt, out of necessity, and may be angry along the way. I hadnt given much thought to what a senior may go thru here. Alot more memories of what we used to have, and perhaps fewer resources to work with than many of us. I guess, where I'm going with this is...If you know a senior, have one living nearby, maybe look out for them a bit. Check in on them, if you can.
Thats about all I can say on the subject, not trying to be preachy, or "holier than thou" about it. Just one of those things that hit me between the eyes today.

[Jellobiafra]

You know, while this is going to be painful times (heard some people say we might not see real relief until 2015?), I'm preferring to look at this as a correction. I've lived in this area for 30 years now. I'm not highly educated...although I'd consider myself relatively intelligent. I don't have a specific skill that would make things easier for me in the job market. Thankfully, my wife does.

What I have noticed during the 25 of those 30 years that I was of working age, was that while wages in general have been mostly flat, the cost of living in this area really began to skyrocket some 8 to 10 years ago. Southwest Florida always seemed to be a place where people moved from up north, most of them knowing that they would take a great cut in pay, but understood that it was also much cheaper to live here, and you got to live by the beach to boot!

But that really changed. As time passed, the service industries, and non-skilled laborers continued to make a lower bracket wage, but housing, utilities, food, gas, and just about everything else rose and rose at a nearly out of control rate. Those of us who read the news on a daily basis remember all the stories a couple years back where teachers, fireman, and policeman were telling stories of how they were being forced to move due to the cost of living. Luckily for some of them, the market demands those services, and they saw at least some relief. But the massive amount of people who we purchase our shoes from, or who man our customer service phone centers were not so lucky. Why? Because there is an abundance of non-skilled people in this area to fill those positions.

So those positions rarely required a pay increase to fill the seats with warm bodies.

Now, due to the "crisis" our economy is experiencing, the people in those jobs, if they can keep them, will see some relief, at least when it comes to housing. I personally left a 2 bedroom apartment that had seen better days, and moved into an almost new 3 bedroom house for less per month than I was spending before. So my cost of living has actually improved, due to the "crisis".

There will always be ups and downs in the market place, and with the economy on a whole. The smart thing to do is to find out how to take advantage of a bad situation, if you can.

Anyway, just my personal view of things. My wife is in health care, and no matter what happens to the economy, people always get sick. So I guess we're lucky in that respect. Things could be better, but they could sure as hell be a sight worse as well.

As for the country "falling apart", I think we're far from seeing that happen. But what do I know...

[faithfulFrank]

Originally Posted by yachtcare

I've been debating with myself for a couple of hours here....wondering if I should even post this here. Or if it would be better posted on one of the "national sections" of the forum. I decided to put it here, as SW Florida does indeed have a significant population of seniors. There are alot of different ways this post could be construed. And I in no way mean to be offensive, or degrading, or whatever else anyone may imagine, so please dont try to read anything like that into it.

In my line of work, I deal predominantly with the well heeled, customer. I do however have some customers that are of much more average means, and some that are somewhat elderly. One such customer called over the weekend, wanting to get things ready for a small fishing expedition. While I dont know him as well as some of my customers, he's in his mid to late seventies, has some health problems, and a clean, modest fishing boat (18ft). When I saw him this morning, likely fresh from being in front of the TV, getting the latest economic news, he seemed rather distraught. He ran thru the gamut of the usual things one would expect from a senior, health concerns, family, politics, etc., and there's nothing wrong with that. It was his parting statement that made me think deeply most of the day......"I had always hoped I'd be dead, before my country would fall apart"(Of course, the country falling apart, is somewhat arguable, but it is all in the eye of the beholder, and there has been alot of less than good news lately)
I started thinking how different people, I've interacted with in the past couple of weeks seemed. We all have, to differing degrees, some amount of stress, or anger, over our current situation. Everybody, of every age group will handle it in differing ways. Today, was my first encounter with someone that (seemed to have) reached the point of hopelessness. I really hadnt given it a thought, until he said those words. I didnt even recognize, that it was that upsetting to him, until he said those words. Wasnt able to "read between the lines" of what he was saying, until he said those words......
The younger crowd, will naturally adapt to whatever will come down the pike, The middle age range guys, like me, will learn to adapt, out of necessity, and may be angry along the way. I hadnt given much thought to what a senior may go thru here. Alot more memories of what we used to have, and perhaps fewer resources to work with than many of us. I guess, where I'm going with this is...If you know a senior, have one living nearby, maybe look out for them a bit. Check in on them, if you can.
Thats about all I can say on the subject, not trying to be preachy, or "holier than thou" about it. Just one of those things that hit me between the eyes today.

Good post.

[Big House]

Yep, great post! Many elderly people are really nervous right now - to put it lightly. It is not good for them to just hibernate their remaining years. Many try not to talk about their troubles, or be burdensome to others with their problems. It is a real gift if you can just take a moment, and let them relieve themselves of some of their concerns. Not everyone sees the country falling apart - having a set back yea, but taking a monment to reassure them, and sharing with them that things will get better, may really help them a lot. It is tough world wide right now, not just hear. We are still the world economic power, and we are not the only ones that are having this problem right now. All the countries world wide are having this problem together. We are still the super power economically, and will be for a long time to come. As the economies of other countries are tighting up, many many governments are propping up their financial institutions and banks too. By market, we are doing much better than most countries right now, and many are looking to safe harbor their investments in our economy. Yea, it is tough right now, but it is still no where near as bad here at home, as it has been for others. Our elderly "the greatest generation," need to understand that things will be O.K. for them, and they will be O.K., no matter how bad it gets. So when you see someone that is grumpy or frustrated, maybe a little rude, lend them your ear, be considerate, lift their spirits a little. It can do a tremendous amount for them during these tough times.

[mytimenow]

I think your post is excellent. I don't know a lot of well off seniors in this area, the ones I know are more middle class, like myself, and the vast majority have been retired 15 yrs or more, living on a budget with not too much room to wiggle. I live in an older, more established community so many are my neighbors. Also my parents reside in a 55+ community and over the years I have come to know many of their neighbors. The economic hardships they are experiencing at the grocery store, gas pumps, etc. are just exacerbated by the news they see when they turn on the TV, which for some, is their only daily contact with the outside world. How frightening is that?

Yachtcare is on the right track -- if you have an elderly neighbor, please take the time to just stop and say hello, a quick phone call, etc. You would not believe the difference it will make in their outlook on life. And it might help alleviate some of the stress in our own worried lives.

[dc1225]

Originally Posted by yachtcare

I've been debating with myself for a couple of hours here....wondering if I should even post this here. Or if it would be better posted on one of the "national sections" of the forum. I decided to put it here, as SW Florida does indeed have a significant population of seniors. There are alot of different ways this post could be construed. And I in no way mean to be offensive, or degrading, or whatever else anyone may imagine, so please dont try to read anything like that into it.

In my line of work, I deal predominantly with the well heeled, customer. I do however have some customers that are of much more average means, and some that are somewhat elderly. One such customer called over the weekend, wanting to get things ready for a small fishing expedition. While I dont know him as well as some of my customers, he's in his mid to late seventies, has some health problems, and a clean, modest fishing boat (18ft). When I saw him this morning, likely fresh from being in front of the TV, getting the latest economic news, he seemed rather distraught. He ran thru the gamut of the usual things one would expect from a senior, health concerns, family, politics, etc., and there's nothing wrong with that. It was his parting statement that made me think deeply most of the day......"I had always hoped I'd be dead, before my country would fall apart"(Of course, the country falling apart, is somewhat arguable, but it is all in the eye of the beholder, and there has been alot of less than good news lately)
I started thinking how different people, I've interacted with in the past couple of weeks seemed. We all have, to differing degrees, some amount of stress, or anger, over our current situation. Everybody, of every age group will handle it in differing ways. Today, was my first encounter with someone that (seemed to have) reached the point of hopelessness. I really hadnt given it a thought, until he said those words. I didnt even recognize, that it was that upsetting to him, until he said those words. Wasnt able to "read between the lines" of what he was saying, until he said those words......
The younger crowd, will naturally adapt to whatever will come down the pike, The middle age range guys, like me, will learn to adapt, out of necessity, and may be angry along the way. I hadnt given much thought to what a senior may go thru here. Alot more memories of what we used to have, and perhaps fewer resources to work with than many of us. I guess, where I'm going with this is...If you know a senior, have one living nearby, maybe look out for them a bit. Check in on them, if you can.
Thats about all I can say on the subject, not trying to be preachy, or "holier than thou" about it. Just one of those things that hit me between the eyes today.

Yachtty, how old are ya? you seem too young to be going on a rant like this...j/k LOL...

unless you are superman we will all go through this at some point in our lifetime.

[yachtcare]

Originally Posted by dc1225

Yachtty, how old are ya? you seem too young to be going on a rant like this...j/k LOL...

Old enuf to remember being you(ng)...and old enuf to see what's coming