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Am I the only one with this problem? I've been reading all these posts about downsizing after you retire, about giving up the single family home and maybe moving to a condo or townhouse. What do you do if you prefer another lifestyle? I've lived on a small farm until well into my 60's and have 3 dogs and an assortment of other animals. Moving into an apartment or condo at this time would make me claustrophobic. I don't even want to move to a place with half acre lots. And if you are healthy, what is the big deal with mowing your own lawn?
On the other hand I suspect there may be a time when I shouldn't be climbing on ladders. Maybe then I will need to 'downsize'. The question I have is how do people like me transition from my current lifestyle into one based with less connection to nature and to personal quiet times? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy people and socializing, just not having people constantly in my space. What kind of transitional plan can I make?
In the old days people aged on their farms and died there. If you're a farm person, you would have a hard time transitioning to another lifestyle. Maybe make your home adaptable and stay there.
We went from a very private 22 acres to one with neighbors on 3 sides....all open and mowed so no privacy but younger,healthy and very helpful neighbors. Since the husband can do very little that wasn't a bad move but still took a bit of getting used to.
There's nothing wrong with mowing if you enjoy (or don't mind) it unless it becomes an every 5 to 7 day 'have-to' and you'd rather not. The last couple of years the spring through fall was just that....didn't even slow down in August.
In Florida we're on a 60' x 120' lot so very different but not visually too bad because of much tall shrubbery so green is what constitutes the view from where sit outside and there are still rabbits and squirrels and birds
Being an adult community things are pretty quiet so the majority of the time it still gives the impression of space and privacy.
So it is possible to leave the 'farm' and retain some of the good parts.
We too have a hard time imaging what would be the next step and living in any kind of attached housing or apt. even though getting rid of the care of a house and property is so tempting.
Am I the only one with this problem? I've been reading all these posts about downsizing after you retire, about giving up the single family home and maybe moving to a condo or townhouse. What do you do if you prefer another lifestyle? I've lived on a small farm until well into my 60's and have 3 dogs and an assortment of other animals. Moving into an apartment or condo at this time would make me claustrophobic. I don't even want to move to a place with half acre lots. And if you are healthy, what is the big deal with mowing your own lawn?
I don't know how old you are; I'll be seventy this year.
I have a place in the country with two dogs and a cat. I can roam around the place with the dogs and watch the cat as he moves from window to window to maintain surveillance. I see deer, antelope, elk, black and grizzly bear. There are even pelicans in the summer. I can look out the window and see strange rock formations as well as snow covered peaks. Going from here to town would be a slow death. I'm staying; I'll figure things out as the need arises.
There was an old lady, 103 or 104 I think, who lived out in the country here. She gave it up and went into a nursing home; she died a few months later. I don't climb on the roof or do things that wouldn't be prudent. But I am not going to give up the life I love so much.
Look at all the posts by people who can't find any place they like; then think about the fact that you have found your spot. You're far more fortunate than most; don't give it up without a fight to the death.
My Dad is 83 and lives on 9 acres, I live on 1, he maintains it all, I mow and he mows. He still cuts down trees, splits and stacks wood, is a custom knife maker, prunes everything, I could never see him downsizing, it would kill him with nothing to do.
Me, I'm 60 and could easily see it, no way could I maintain all this by myself, yes I can mow and pull weeds, but that's about it. I'm also concerned about being claustrophobic.
I just happened to re-read your op and noticed the actual question "What kind of transitional plan can I make?"
Do you need one?Can it not be a matter of do what you have to do if and when you need to?(which may be never)
I have some aprehension about our future as we age, but we will face that future when it arrives. To luv4horses I would have to say, stay, and enjoy the life they love for as long as possible. Live this life, and enjoy it. This life, these moments after they are gone, they will be no more. Life is about being happy. I saw my Father have his home of 45 years, on 3 big lots in the country being bought out by the city, and him ending up moving into what I call a tract home, for lack of a better description, and being miserable the last few years of his life. We, too, for personal reasons left our farm, and moved to a subdivision when we retired, thinking that having things closer as we age would be better. That won't happen again! We since moved to 2 acres, out in a rural area, and as far as I can see in the future, this is where we will die. We see deer, squirrels, birds of all different shades, and sizes, and trees all around. Like another wrote here that folks, back in the days, didn't move to another home when they got up in years, they simply lived where they were till they died. I say to the OP, do what your heart tells you, and be happy.
Im in an area with anywhere from ten acres (like me) to 300 acres (farm across the street). Im nearly 60, and my neighbors are all older than me. My immediate neighbor is 84; he helped me cut up an old oak tree that fell across my fence last week. He used a huge tractor he owns. I imagine he, like I, will just keel over one day on our property. None of us out here have any inclination to move to town. When you're used to this way of life, theres just no other way to be.
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