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Get a friend who uses a wheelchair to help you design for accessibility. Things like a lower counter in the kitchen (and higher one, too, in case you can stand but not lean down), a curtain instead of cabinet door under the kitchen sink, toilet easy to transfer to, accessible laundry machines, etc.
Stairs, stairs, stairs, they keep me young! But a first floor master bedroom for when the stairs become a hassle. Lots of windows, nothing worse than aging in a cave. Depressing. So many condos don't put windows in bathrooms. Walkability. I want to walk out my door and be able to get some exercise. Younger people around me.
One of our bathrooms does not have a window and the constant need to have the lights on bugged me. We had a small solar tube installed and could not be more pleased. For the longest time we would try to turn off the lights as we would leave the bathroom--lol.
I moved into my forever home, a townhouse, 13 years ago at age 56. It is on four levels: (from the bottom) garage, main floor with living room and kitchen, second floor with two bedrooms (each one with full bath, master bath has walk-in shower), then finally the loft. Regular (round) door knobs throughout. Market, library, gym, restaurants, barber shops, car dealership for my brand, much more all within easy walking distance (one mile). Art house movie theatre within feasible walking distance (four miles, but I drive it more often than walk it). Bus line a couple of hundred yards away just in case the unthinkable happens.
I am now about to turn 70 and it seems I made an excellent choice.
This is good reading and things to consider. We know, or think we know, that we are not moving into our forever home. Love it now, but way too many steps for the future, not to mention too far out in the boondocks for my comfort level down the road. But it will give us time to figure out where that forever home will be, and this thread gets me trunking about the physical aspects of that home.
Single story; wide interior doors in case need wheel chair; walk in shower roomy enough for bath chair and grab rails;easy entry with no big steps preferred to ramps as ramps can be real problem for older spouse etc.All I can think of now.
I moved into my forever home, a townhouse, 13 years ago at age 56. It is on four levels: (from the bottom) garage, main floor with living room and kitchen, second floor with two bedrooms (each one with full bath, master bath has walk-in shower), then finally the loft. Regular (round) door knobs throughout. Market, library, gym, restaurants, barber shops, car dealership for my brand, much more all within easy walking distance (one mile). Art house movie theatre within feasible walking distance (four miles, but I drive it more often than walk it). Bus line a couple of hundred yards away just in case the unthinkable happens.
I am now about to turn 70 and it seems I made an excellent choice.
Your home sounds much like ours except it's not a townhome. We have 3 levels, love our walk-in shower, and are within walking distance of just about everything. Plus we have a to-die-for low-maintenance (no mowing or watering) huge yard with a creek and trees that draw all sorts of birds, butterflies, etc.
edit to add: ditto the posters who mentioned lighting and windows. These are essential to the health of the soul and the body.
Our favorite feature, which I've not yet seen mentioned in this thread, is the security provided by our community, our HOA and our great neighbors. Whether we're here at home or off on an extended trip, we never have a moment's worry about our personal safety or the security of our home. That's huge.
We don't plan on leaving until we can no longer handle exterior house maintenance. Roofing, painting, gutters, etc., will eventually wear us down and we'll move into a townhome or condo. Location, windows, views, lighting, and security will be at the top of our list when we do.
Last edited by biscuitmom; 12-31-2013 at 11:01 PM..
Two years ago found DH needs a hip replacement. With all the horror stories about failures and commercials to cal 1-800-LAWYER it's not going to happen anytime soon.
We have since discovered our house does not suit us at all and will continue to be painful to live in.
Huge jetted tub and shower combo. It kills him to get in and out.
Two story, no good any more.
Stone steps up hill to barn. Dangerous this time of year, I am diligent with salt and sand.
Can't hear screaming from barn to house. Walkie talkies. He ran over his foot on a tractor and had to dislodge himself, I couldn't hear him in the house. That was a wakeup call.
Uneven, hilly terrain. We need flat ground and a golf cart. It kills me to mow the side yard, it's literally a 45 degree angle in some spots and pushing that mower even though it's self propelled is a chore to say the least.
34 miles nearest hospital. We want a rural feel but I'd rather be 20 minutes away to paid EMT's and hospital, not an hour.
Weather. Anything lower than 30F and his pain is dramatically increased.
Light colored counter tops. I have an handicap assessable house and love all the features. Plug ins are higher, zero clearance entry, etc. The only thing I will eventually change out is the counter top, it is so dark and even now at 60 I find it hard to see, especially at night. I did install led lighting under the counters but still will eventually want to change the counter tops to something lighter.
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