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I don't know if this belongs in the Real Estate forum or the Rants and Raves thread, but it concerns retired people.
I serve as a volunteer on a committee that deals with enforcement of ordinances in a community that the majority are retired. What I have noticed is many on the committee ( who are retirees also ) seem to be of the opinion that if you are old, therefore you are poor and should be given special consideration.
When the elderly lady driving the Cadillac has her grass grow too tall, everyone states there should be volunteers or a church should be contacted and volunteers sent to help.
However, when the struggling single mother in the other part of town has her 10 year old push mower break down no one feels sorry for her.
She is waiting for the next used $25 push mower to show up in the want ads.
Our community has MANY reasonably priced lawn care people in business. That single mother sure doesn't have the $35 it takes to pay for a service yet gets no sympathy ( or free pass on violating the lawn ordinance )
The wealthy retired lady does despite having a house worth 4 times the single mother and a retirement pension that makes that single mother's paycheck look measly.
I am of the opinion when you age and are a homeowner, taking care of lawn, snow removal etc..." goes with the territory" and is the reason many people move to a condo or town home.
I don't mean to sound cruel, but when one is wealthy why is it necessary for people to find volunteers for them when they easily have the means to hire a service to keep them compliant.
(imho) I have more sympathy for the young ,able bodied person with the broken down lawn mower in a rental house.
<drum roll>
Teddy - I agree with you on this one. Wealthy or not, when you decide to purchase a home, all maintenance that goes with it is on you - whether you are male or female, 30 or 60. If you can't/won't do it yourself then you hire it done. If you can't/won't do either - time to make other living arrangements.
I don't know if this belongs in the Real Estate forum or the Rants and Raves thread, but it concerns retired people.
I serve as a volunteer on a committee that deals with enforcement of ordinances in a community that the majority are retired. What I have noticed is many on the committee ( who are retirees also ) seem to be of the opinion that if you are old, therefore you are poor and should be given special consideration.
When the elderly lady driving the Cadillac has her grass grow too tall, everyone states there should be volunteers or a church should be contacted and volunteers sent to help.
However, when the struggling single mother in the other part of town has her 10 year old push mower break down no one feels sorry for her.
She is waiting for the next used $25 push mower to show up in the want ads.
Our community has MANY reasonably priced lawn care people in business. That single mother sure doesn't have the $35 it takes to pay for a service yet gets no sympathy ( or free pass on violating the lawn ordinance )
The wealthy retired lady does despite having a house worth 4 times the single mother and a retirement pension that makes that single mother's paycheck look measly.
I am of the opinion when you age and are a homeowner, taking care of lawn, snow removal etc..." goes with the territory" and is the reason many people move to a condo or town home.
I don't mean to sound cruel, but when one is wealthy why is it necessary for people to find volunteers for them when they easily have the means to hire a service to keep them compliant.
(imho) I have more sympathy for the young ,able bodied person with the broken down lawn mower in a rental house.
Have you considered helping the struggling single mother? Maybe purchase a good used gas mower for her 10 year old to use? Perhaps contact a church on her behalf. Our local churches have been know to help the less fortunate, regardless of their age.
I agree, it is upon the homeowner to maintain their property or pay to have it done. I don't think relying on the kindness of strangers is the way to go simply because one is old. Many people will help an elderly person for free, but that is their choice to do so. On the other hand, the young single mom could always borrow the next door neighbor's mower too. Being female or poor is no excuse.
Have you considered helping the struggling single mother? Maybe purchase a good used gas mower for her 10 year old to use? Perhaps contact a church on her behalf. Our local churches have been know to help the less fortunate, regardless of their age.
For many years we were members of a church that spent much time and effort looking out after elderly widowed members. This is an affluent area and none of them were in the least financially needy. DH did more than his share of chores and minor repairs for them. Although there was a committee that was supposed to handle the requests, a few of the widows called us direct. Some just wanted light bulbs changed but others wanted things like tearing down and hauling off fences. We finally said "enough", suggested the church committee build a database of reputable handymen. Don't know if that happened, since we left the church soon after.
IMO, these affluent elderly would have been better served by our providing a couple of hours' social companionship once or twice a month. Like you OP, I would rather have seen more of the church's resources channeled toward the truly financially needy.
I am retired, also, and don't own a lawn care business.
However, if a retiree with means $$$$$$ stated he always changed his own oil but now was unable..............many people would recommend a good place for him to take his car for an oil change.
Yet, if it is lawn care or snow removal, it seems the mindset is we must find those " poor" (sarc) elderly folk volunteers who do it as charity.
Who would rather live next door to the "single" mother (parthenogenesis?) instead of the nice old lady who's conservative in her expenditures? Whom would most people help? A lady who has lived a long and honorable life deserves our consideration; the other deserves nothing. The latter is reaping what she wished to have sown.
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