Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am in Raleigh , NC. Plan to stay here I think .
Maybe I should rent a townhouse for awhile and see if it
bothers me not to have a yard. You take things like a yard for granted
and its hard to know if you would miss it.
I would really like to have a downstairs master and there are some townhomes with a downstairs master but not many.
One other thing I really love is my hottub.
Between wanting a hottub with a bit of privacy , downstairs master, space for a dog maybe a small ranch style home with a small yard would work best for me.
I am adding a link about a place in Lexington SC for comparision/level setting as you start looking:
Small, standalone patio homes. Most one story. 120 planned, 105 sold. No pool, no tennis courts, no parks, etc. so the yearly HOA dues are very reasonable. HOA dues also cover all outside (house and land) maintenance. Each unit has a small, fenced backyard where on can plant/grow do most anything as long as it does not exceed the height of the 6ft fence.
Yes, "single retired lady" is the answer. Although I know two (young) widows who prefer to be called widows.
I think renting a townhouse for a while would be a good idea. My brother bought a townhouse last year, and I realize that he very much misses his garden. So this would give you time to consider that.
If you want to travel, think twice about getting a dog. Or at least think about training it, spending several years at home socializing it. And then think about kennels, dog-sitters, etc. Travel when you have pets can get complicated.
Not sure about 55+ communities in NC, but many where we winter in Florida don't allow pets at all. But we are looking forward to the sense of community.
Yes, "single retired lady" is the answer. Although I know two (young) widows who prefer to be called widows.
I think renting a townhouse for a while would be a good idea. My brother bought a townhouse last year, and I realize that he very much misses his garden. So this would give you time to consider that.
If you want to travel, think twice about getting a dog. Or at least think about training it, spending several years at home socializing it. And then think about kennels, dog-sitters, etc. Travel when you have pets can get complicated.
Not sure about 55+ communities in NC, but many where we winter in Florida don't allow pets at all. But we are looking forward to the sense of community.
Great thoughts.
I have always had a dog..enjoy walking with them, the security of knowing they bark if anyone is near the house at night, and just love dogs. I had to have my 10 year old rescue dog put to sleep this summer so I will wait until I am through the house transition , but look forward to having another dog. I won't travel often where they can't go, but we had neighborhood kids feed our dog if we were away.
I rode through a neighborhood today that I use to live in and loved & found a section I had never seen before that had quite a few smaller houses that looked like 2000 ft2 ranches..Thats encouraging because i loved that area.
Its central to everything and has lots of trees & character. Small yards that would be doable. The more I ponder this the more my Dream Home would be a small house in that area .
Do I lack them by not wanting to live with them..??
No! I would not want to live with my kids either nor do I want them living with me. I raised them to be independent, I was raised to be independent, and that's how it should be. It would be an extreme situation and a temporary one if they lived with me or I with them.
No! I would not want to live with my kids either nor do I want them living with me. I raised them to be independent, I was raised to be independent, and that's how it should be. It would be an extreme situation and a temporary one if they lived with me or I with them.
Thanks..Glad someone understands that. I love my kids but do beleive in cutting those apron strings. I told them I am looking forward to visiting them and leaving lights on & dishes in the sink
Heh - my husband loves his parents but he's glad they live in another state!
Anyway - to OP, I was just telling my husband yesterday that if anything should happen to him and I was left alone, that the house we live in now would be the ideal place for me to be a single lady living alone. It is fairly small at less than 1400 sq. ft, all one level, concrete block with terrazzo floors so easy maintenance. Two blocks from bus line, wide streets and sidewalks for bike rides and walking, and close to every kind of store or business I could want. The yard is a bit large, but I am working on getting it planted up with more trees/bushes and less and less yard for upkeep, but if the work eventually got the best of me I would just hire it out.
I could never be without my animals and privacy, and this place lets me do what I want, I have great privacy but wonderful neighbors and accessible to everything. I personally just could never live in any kind of condo or townhome on a permanent basis because they are just not private enough and I need my yard with wildlife.
Good luck to you, I think you are on the right track with finding a smaller home on a small yard in your target neighborhood.
Save money, invest more, have more buying power living together, team work.
Living with family is a crap shoot. Not ALL families are able to work things out. Some drink, some smoke and some have grave personaity problems that make compromising an impossibility. Some times you are spending all that saved money to save a family meneber from their evils.
I know I could not live with the majority of my family, UGH!! perish the thought!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
