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I purposely bought my new place with aging in mind. Open concept with wide doorways. The master is on the first floor. The second floor has a bed and bath that will be available for guests now and live in assistance if it is needed in the future. I am in walking and golf cart distance to stores, restaurants and the beach. My HOA (yes that hated term) maintains my lawn and the park like common areas.
My dad had to move into assisted living this spring after mom died. She was his caregiver & unfortunately, their assumption was that he would go first (multiple health problems). They had a house that was too crowded for him to use a walker (not to mention a wheelchair, which could be in his future), an acre of grass to mow, too far from the grocery store, pharmacy & doctors (he can't drive). Last year they had to hire someone to mow. They did do a tub-to-shower conversion. They just didn't have a Plan B. Wouldn't entertain the thought that maybe they couldn't live there until the end. And with no other family besides me (in another state) there wasn't anyone to help out.
The sad thing is that the year before, we _begged_ them to move here where we live & told them they could live in our little one-story house in town. (We would have moved out.) They said that they couldn't possibly sell the house & get anything for it, etc. Wouldn't hear of it. And what happened, a year later? We had to sell the house & things; we got a full price offer and it sold in two months. I'm just sorry that their last year together wasn't easier.
As for DH & me, we have moved to a condo. We got tired of the yard work & home upkeep. It's close to the things we like to do, grocery & pharmacy. They're not for everyone, but we like it.
We have already added safety measures to our bathrooms. I am thinking of a huge deck in back that connects to a little elevation in our yard then maybe a brick walkway to a new garage inside our fence for protection. We have steps in front. I don't like calling attention to a handicap ramp by adding that in front. Front deck with a concealed walkway to front door is a possibility. Both would be good so we can sit out front and see our neighbors go by in the evening.
We will need a yardman in a few years. I am planting trees so part of our yard will be woods with leaf ground cover.
Our county has senior transportation at little to no charge. It goes to the next county for medical care.
We have a grocery store a short distance away that lets you shop online. I would look for a teen or a neighbor that goes by it to pick up our selection and maybe pay with credit card or arrange a pick up with a cab company.
I would love to check out your area when I make my tours of towns in the Spring. Where do you live? Please pm me if you don't want to disclose your town.
N
We moved to a house that is one level, with a small yard. As to aging in place, we are good except for when we won't be able to drive. We aren't reasonably near a bus line. I also fear that real estate taxes will force us out sooner rather than later. When one of us dies, I don't see either of us continuing to live here. The house is just too big to keep clean or maintain. But, I really couldn't say what DH would do if I died first. We don't get too much snow and ice here; but we do get rain, and driving at night in the rain might become too much for us in a few years.
If we aren't forced to enter some sort of supervised housing, I think we'd move, grudgingly, to senior housing, such as a duplex or one level condo.
Stairs become problematical after a stroke. We've seen this in others. I don't want to have stairs in my house again. You never know what will bring you down.
My real problem is/would be transportation. I haven't driven for a while from a focusing problem not due to aging. This town had a senior pick up bus, but they don't support big shopping trips and I generally always do those. Right now I have relatives living here, but they are planning sometime in the nebulas future to move.
I would like to be able to go somewhere when I feel like or when I *need* to and nobody is available.
I picked out this house with a plan in mind as it has an extra bedroom full of stuff now, but it could be for someone who helped take care of things too. My main problem is I really don't want ANYONE here all the time since I prize my solitude.
"Assisted living" or anyplace they give you a room with a bunch of other people? Just let me go home and die in peace. I have in the past told the doctor I'm going home tomorrow when I've been in the hospital and meant it and did. I got where I couldn't stand all the people and stress. I'm rather sensitive to people and their moods/actions/feelings and like them a distance enough away they are quiet.
Where would the ramp go? I'd love to see a rendition of that plan. Would you have to widen your front door?
The deck could go in front of the stoop that is already there and be big enough to hide a ramp behind the deck. Front door would not be affected unless I decide to do a sun room instead of a deck. It could be a combination.
deckdeckdeckdeckdeckdeckdeckdeck
sunroomsunroomsunroomsunroom
sunroomsunroomsunroomsunroom
stoop d ramp slooping down walk to driveway
stoop o ramp slooping down walk to driveway
stoop o ramp slooping down walk to driveway
stoop r ramp slooping down walk to driveway
front door
There would be another door leading from the enclosed stoop that connects to the sunroom. Sunroom and deck would be bigger than I am showing.
I would love to check out your area when I make my tours of towns in the Spring. Where do you live? Please pm me if you don't want to disclose your town.
N
A friend of mine has purchased a house that is connected to assisted living. She can eat at home or choose to walk down and eat with the residents there. She drives her own car and goes wherever she wants because her home is completely private but inside the grounds of the home. The thing she likes the best is her sun room. I think there are more than one of these places because I know of others who have sold their larger homes and bought and moved to places like that. When you are looking you might want to check with the realty specialist about this.
Riverbird, we put in a sidewalk between the house and the garage a couple years ago to make shoveling easier. At the same time, we had a handrail installed on one side of the sidewalk to cling to while walking to and from in icy weather. But the part that is specifically planning for old age is, when the sidewalk was installed, we had a heating element put into it. If shoveling at some point becomes an issue, a hot water heater will be installed in the garage, the pipes connected, and one potential old age issue dealt with.
Such as size of property, size of home, lack of accessibility features, distance from stores and doctors, etc.
Will any of these challenges make you decide to move, or are you hanging on till you go into assisted living? What will you do to accommodate your challenges over the next ten years? (I'm looking for ideas.)
My wife, two college age children (when they're around) and I live in a townhouse in a planned unit development. We bought in 1992 when we were in our early to mid-thirties. We thought we'd move out when we had children but didn't. When our second child was 4 or 5 we had an accepted offer on a detached house. For whatever reason we didn't go through with the deal.
A few months later we saw that two of the members of the board or the community were building an extra level to part of their townhouses. We decided to do the same during the period that the board couldn't shut us down on the request. The result; we live in a mixed community with young people and some retirees. Unless we develop mobility problems it's the perfect place to stay. There are tennis courts and a pool. We're about 3/4 of a mile from a small supermarket and about two miles from drug stores.
We live in a town that has everything close by except a dentist. He was just down the street but moved We can walk to the grocery store and pharmacy in ten minutes. We can walk to restaurants in the same amount of time. The train is a block away if we want to go to Chicago for some entertainment. A family practice MD is a couple of blocks away and a short walk. Our house has 3 sets of stairs but I'm not worried about that. I roller skate with an 88 year old and if he can still skate at 88 we can handle the stairs well into our old age. We have friends looking for a ranch house with no stairs that are in their 50's. Yikes, why? Use it or lose it. I plan on roller skating well into my late 80's, stairs, what stairs? They will be just another form of exercise.
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We can walk to the grocery store and pharmacy in ten minutes. We can walk to restaurants in the same amount of time. The train is a block away if we want to go to Chicago for some entertainment. A family practice MD is a couple of blocks away and a short walk. Our house has 3 sets of stairs but I'm not worried about that. I roller skate with an 88 year old and if he can still skate at 88 we can handle the stairs well into our old age. We have friends looking for a ranch house with no stairs that are in their 50's. Yikes, why? Use it or lose it. I plan on roller skating well into my late 80's, stairs, what stairs? They will be just another form of exercise.
