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Disabled singles face particular problems in relocating, so I decided to start this forum to discuss ways of handling or not handling a move. We will talk about travel limitations, finding needed accommodations in housing, etc., problems meeting new people that non-disabled people may not face, or anything else that you think is important.
Oh WOW. Thank you, OP, for starting this thread. As a 51 year young woman, disabled and fighting for her life to be approved for SSDI, not only are my funds limited, so are my abilities.
I'm not incapacitated ALL the time, and there are days when no one will hear a word from me, because I'm literally on the floor, suffering with non stop vertigo and subsequent symptoms. *ugh*
Retiring ALONE, and disabled, is scaring the potatoes outta me. It's not just about being alone, it's dealing with the disability, limited funds, and having no one around to help.
A scary idea at 51.
I'm actually looking at buying an RV. Driving won't always be an option for me, and if I didn't say I wasn't shaking in my leather chaps, just thinking about doing something I know NOTHING about, I'd be a big liar.
And so what are the options? I'm not old enough for a 55+ community, and don't want one. I hope to be around a more balanced degree of ages. Traveling in an RV would certainly give me that, but it won't give me friends I can "depend" on, in time of need. Gotta keep hospitals in mind or at least a good medical facility, wherever any one of us lands. And then there's the safety factor.
Hey, I'm not shy about saying I'm in great shape. When I am able, I lift. When I'm not able, I lift small hand weights while either sitting or laying down. Yeah. I'm dedicated. And I HAVE to be, because of my disability. I have to be as strong as I possibly can. And my point is, I will be ALONE. And I may be able to kick a door in, but I'm still a small framed woman, who people will SEE with either a four wheelie walker, or a cane, or some days, with nothing. An enigma wrapped in an enigma... lol ......and I would be viewed as a possible target.
So what's on your list, disabled folks?
Safety
Support
Amenities within walking or close proximity
Weather according to your disability *snow.... NO NO NO* lol
I've been disabled for 20 years due to a workplace injury. I aged off of SSDI, and LTD ended at 65. So money is always a challenge, although over time I've learned to live on little.
I have an invisible disability, intolerance of commonly used chemicals, including fragrances. People often don't associate a need to accommodate with disabilities they can't see.
I've become intolerant of the desert heat as I grow older and I want to make a move to some place colder before I get too old. Colorado and France are two possibilities. Prior to my injury I lived and worked overseas in various countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. So moving, even abroad, should be easy, but the disability greatly complicates things.
And the thought of moving out of the U.S., for me, scares me. Not because I'm alone, more because I'm not sure how I'd receive my SSDI once approved, or any other "offerings" for those who are living on the poverty line.
It's not as though the language barrier would deter me, as I'm losing my hearing ANYWAY, so communication is always difficult for me. No biggie. lol
Colorado has some areas that sound SO beautiful, and I am DONE with snow, after living in the Midwest most of my life. Humidity is a factor, so FL is out out out. And then one must think of something brought up in another thread. Since we're alone, and disabled, the last thing we want to be is ostracized for BEING alone, or for having a disability, whether it's invisible, *mine is mostly as well*, and then the thought of being with "like minded" folk. I'd be shunned in the deep South, as I'm not too liberal, not too conservative and basically hate ALL politicians... and then there's the no belief in a god thingie I have going on. LOL
SOOOOOO much to take into consideration, and few really take the time to think about it, before plunging!
Great topic. I won't go into lengthy detail here but I never actually reached retirement. I resigned due to my health. I've been the disability route and am now on SS and Medicare.
Having had time to read and research, and try different things, I've been able to improve my health and even got rid of fibromyalgia recently! Great. But there is very little money due to not being able to work plus going through a divorce in my late 50s.
I am re-married and we struggle because he, too, is divorced.
Sooner or later everyone will be disabled somehow if they live long enough. I try not to depend on my husband too much but I know I couldn't do everything on my own if anything happened to him, not as I get older. Yet I am not in a position to pay someone to do for me.
I toyed with the idea of a place in an over 55 mobile home community but there are strings attached in terms of lot rents increasing or the park owner selling out, and more. I will not live in "affordable" senior housing--although I have looked at some. Most are run down and horrible. I saw one that was newer and seemed to have better quality people but you still can't even have your own washing machine and, for me, that is a deal breaker. They make people walk outside and do their laundry in a community laundromat, very difficult for older people. I don't see any answers.
I wish I had suggestions for you but I don't. I still say it's a great topic and I know I'll keep on coming in and reading.
And the thought of moving out of the U.S., for me, scares me. Not because I'm alone, more because I'm not sure how I'd receive my SSDI once approved, or any other "offerings" for those who are living on the poverty line.
Social Security can be paid directly into foreign bank accounts, at a favorable exchange rate, but only in certain countries. That's one reason I am looking hard at France. Otherwise you keep an American bank account and have to either write checks to your overseas account or transfer money. One big problem overseas is that Medicare only pays for care in the US, no matter how much cheaper it might be elsewhere. So you have to either use the national health service wherever you move to, which is OK for some places, or you buy insurance, or you self pay. Some countries let foreigners into their national healthcare system, others no longer do. But almost every country has much lower prices for healthcare than we do. A big concern for me would be finding a specialist trained to treat people with my disability since most drugs are very problematic. Even in the US this is not easy.
Check with the HUD Housing Authority in your area. They often have apartments/condos with dining rooms and other people around ... and typically charge 30% of your monthly income for both rent and utilities. You may have to get on a waiting list, but, some of these places are really nice and often conveniently located to transportation and shopping.
Check with the HUD Housing Authority in your area. They often have apartments/condos with dining rooms and other people around ... and typically charge 30% of your monthly income for both rent and utilities. You may have to get on a waiting list, but, some of these places are really nice and often conveniently located to transportation and shopping.
Maybe that varies from state to state because all I've seen here are dumps. Old run down buildings, almost zero upkeep done, 400 square ft and no place to sit outside such as a balcony or patio, no place to even plant a flower, laundry buildings that people have to walk back and forth to---I saw a guy with MS in a wheelchair trying to drag his laundry bag around. The apartments were about big enough for a chair, a tv, and a bed. That's not living, that's existing. A lot of the people were not the type you would want around--alcoholics, former druggies, people with severe mental problems.
If there are HUD or state subsidized housing developments that are decent I'd like to see one. It would solve the problem for many people of being disabled or in declining health and being alone. I'm not sure it exists in my state but maybe elsewhere. A lot of senior housing is being built here but it's all very high end, in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Check with the HUD Housing Authority in your area. They often have apartments/condos with dining rooms and other people around ... and typically charge 30% of your monthly income for both rent and utilities. You may have to get on a waiting list, but, some of these places are really nice and often conveniently located to transportation and shopping.
Are you talking about Section 8 housing? If that is what you live in, can you tell us more about how it works for you?
I have a disabled friend who lives in Section 8 housing, in an apartment building. They are pretty strict on what you can have in the apartment, like no garbage disposals. The counters are too high for wheelchair users like her, and she can't access the upper cabinets and there are few lower ones.
Is that not your experience with this? Maybe it varies by place?
I think too that's it's very hard to use it to move to a new place, esp. out of state, but I could be wrong.
Are you talking about Section 8 housing? If that is what you live in, can you tell us more about how it works for you?
I have a disabled friend who lives in Section 8 housing, in an apartment building. They are pretty strict on what you can have in the apartment, like no garbage disposals. The counters are too high for wheelchair users like her, and she can't access the upper cabinets and there are few lower ones.
Is that not your experience with this? Maybe it varies by place?
I think too that's it's very hard to use it to move to a new place, esp. out of state, but I could be wrong.
Section 8 is a voucher system that you would wait for and once you got it you could rent an apartment anywhere in the country as long as the landlord agrees to accept section 8. They have to agree to maintain the apartment, to keep the rent comparable to local rents and the lease is with the section 8 people who enforce it.
Your disabled friend's apartment sounds more like HUD or state housing but I don't know for sure. They are pretty bad, at least in my state.
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