Retirement: Very Small Houses as Opposed to Condo or CCRC (adult, father)
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I agree that if people see in their future that they may have trouble negotiating stairs, then they should buy a dwelling which is all on one level. It is just too damn much work to move, not to mention selling one place and choosing and buying another, to fool with in order to correct that situation later.
Now having said that, I am betting that I personally will always be able to handle stairs. Call that denial if you want - and of course I know that I might be wrong - but I am not ready to aquiesce in even the possibility that I will be disabled in that way. I am 68 and I am in much better shape physically than I was when I retired from full-time work at age 61. I work out both aerobically (cardio workouts) and with weights, and I include exercises for balance and flexibility. The weighted workouts include both my upper body and my lower body, such as single-legged squats while holding weights (for my legs and for the muscles which stabilize my knees). I can walk on the treadmill at 4.7 mph up a 3% grade for one hour and 40 minutes, during which time I cover about 8 miles and gain over 1000 feet in altitude. My jogging is rather pathetic; right now I can only jog about 20 minutes without stopping, but I think that will still improve.
There's no right answer for everyone. I'd say one thing for most people: get a smaller place. Other than that, everyone is different.
I don't know what I'd do now if I still had my larger two story house with the huge yard. Just the number of trees and the amount of leaf raking in the fall--yikes. Then the washer and dryer down in the basement and carrying the clean laundry up two floors to the bedrooms.
I can't see paying someone to come and take care of your yard but maybe that's just me. If you can't do it yourself, then maybe it's time to downsize. Part of owning a home is the pride of caring for it yourself.
I hate apartment buildings with a passion, can't stand the lack of privacy and the rules and regulations. Can't imagine any HOA type of place either but I don't think we even have them here. People take care of their property just fine.
Right now we are renting and it's like freedom. The kitchen window needs repair and the landlord will do it. Yet we have a little yard, just enough for some flowers and a few tomato plants and we fenced it in so the dog can play there. We care for the yard ourselves and take pride in it and enjoy the exercise. We've painted the porch and will stain the deck (mini porch, mini deck).
Yes, you do have to get small furniture to live in a small place. I now have a loveseat, not a long couch. I sold my huge coffee table. My table and chairs are family antiques that I didn't even use before: now they're center stage and the huge dining room furniture is gone.
All the big furniture and big house and yard become burdensome. For me they did. Of course, this probably isn't permanent because if anything happened to dh, I would probably move into some sort of apartment (dreaded) rather than be alone here.
BUT, having downsized so much, there isn't so much stuff to move. The contents of the tiny house could furnish a one bedroom condo or assisted living but where I live those are far too expensive and I'm never leaving New England just to live somewhere cheap. (I agonized about that and my mind is made up.)
On another note--I have a 97 year old aunt in CT who has another ideal setup. She is alone now and lives in a small condo with people coming in to help her. The condo is ground level, no steps, and it has a patio so she can sit out or tend a few plants and have a birdfeeder. There are few or no rules and regulations (my outspoken aunt would never stand for that!) and it was expensive but not as bad as it would be in a more built up area. Her area is rural. She can do this because her daughter and family live just down the street! Few people have such an ideal situation in their old, old age. BTW, she is a veteran of assisted living---some people live there, hate it, and get out. It was lavish but it never felt like home to her.
I'm a firm believer in this also. I swear some people talk themselves into aging faster.
Agree, but if you already have mobility challenges or even a hint of it, and your physical therapy or exercise routine isn't making it better, it's a fair bet that the challenge will worsen with age. I guess it boils down to how many more times you want to move in your lifetime. For me, it's one final move before Happy Acres Nursing Home. This move in maybe four or five years, when I'm almost 70, will be into a very small one floor house (own) with minimal yard, or into a well-built apt building (rental). The choice will depend on my health and mobility at that time. The years sure are flying, seems like yesterday I was 55.
......I'm never leaving New England just to live somewhere cheap. (I agonized about that and my mind is made up.)
I can relate to your statement, although New England is the only part of this country I've never been in. What I mean is that I feel the same way about Los Angeles. I would never leave here just to live somewhere cheap, and I never even agonized about that.
I think those of us who really, really know where we want to be, where we truly belong, are fortunate indeed. Good for you.
I know some people who are able to do stairs into their 80s, sometimes for their whole life. Others develop problems. But I also know people who were in fantastic shape who had injuries and discovered that as you get older it takes longer to recover. And one guy's ankle never did recover.
The first one was a 60-something lady in my tai chi class. She was in great shape but got carried away with practicing a movement that includes a quick turn and a lunge. She was off her feet for months after doing that and had to have someone help her do laundry since the washing machine was in the basement. She's actually the person who convinced me a one-story home is smart at our age.
The other one was a friend of my father's guy who got injured in a car accident. His ankle never completely recovered. He had just moved into a new townhouse when this happened and overnight it went from being his wonderful new house to a place he hated. He eventually had to sell it and move again, all because his ankle never really recovered.
The message I take from that is don't tempt fate--so my next house will probably be one story. I'll still have plenty of opportunities to take the stairs (for example, when I go to the mall, or when I go on walks) but I don't want to be forced to take stairs in my house if I do start having problems. And I don't want to feel that I have to move again.
I know some people who are able to do stairs into their 80s, sometimes for their whole life. Others develop problems. But I also know people who were in fantastic shape who had injuries and discovered that as you get older it takes longer to recover. And one guy's ankle never did recover.
The first one was a 60-something lady in my tai chi class. She was in great shape but got carried away with practicing a movement that includes a quick turn and a lunge. She was off her feet for months after doing that and had to have someone help her do laundry since the washing machine was in the basement. She's actually the person who convinced me a one-story home is smart at our age.
The other one was a friend of my father's guy who got injured in a car accident. His ankle never completely recovered. He had just moved into a new townhouse when this happened and overnight it went from being his wonderful new house to a place he hated. He eventually had to sell it and move again, all because his ankle never really recovered.
The message I take from that is don't tempt fate--so my next house will probably be one story. I'll still have plenty of opportunities to take the stairs (for example, when I go to the mall, or when I go on walks) but I don't want to be forced to take stairs in my house if I do start having problems. And I don't want to feel that I have to move again.
Good analysis. Very rational and very reasonable. A car accident, for example, could be the wild card that we aren't expecting in our future. I recognize that I could end up like the people you cited, but I still hold stubbornly to my position, all the while admitting that each person should do what makes sense for him or her. There is certainly nothing wrong with a house, condo, or apartment all on one level. As you point out, one can still be extremely active physically regardless of one's living arrangements. After all, I go the the gym six days a week, and that has nothing to do with the stairs or lack of stairs in my townhouse.
Not all seniors live alone, so it is not just their own mobility and fitness that may need to be taken into consideration. I have two female friends who are quite fit for their age, and both nursed their husbands in the husbands' final years. One husband was fit until he became terminally ill; the other was so-so fit but not able to do stairs. Both couples had all the bedrooms on the second floor. One wife had to turn a dining room into a bedroom for her DH, where Hospice finally administered. The other had to put in a stair carrier; however, getting her nearly immobile DH from the upstairs to the downstairs and back again was still a big effort. So this is a potential problem not only with self, but also with aging spouse, parents or other relatives.
I'm a firm believer in this also. I swear some people talk themselves into aging faster.
I agree with you. When we moved to California from the Midwest, we didn't move into a small home for retirement. I'm not concerned about stuff like steps either, we just came back from visiting my parents in Florida and my dad, who just celebrated his 85th birthday, walks the balcony of his 7 story condo building every morning and evening (starting with the 1st floor), including climbing the stairs between floors.
Doesn't struggle with this at all, and has been doing it since turning 80.
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Yet we have a little yard, just enough for some flowers and a few tomato plants and we fenced it in so the dog can play there. We care for the yard ourselves and take pride in it and enjoy the exercise. We've painted the porch and will stain the deck (mini porch, mini deck). 
I second the motion.
