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Do you mean a place you can stay as you age and as your health might decline -- like a CCRC. OR just a senior living place where meals are included, but you can't stay later?
I have been doing major research on these places and have found really nice ones. The problem for me is I can't afford them. Most of the ones I can afford, the government subsidized ones, I wouldn't want to live in.
So what to do? Well I came across one that didn't serve meals although they have a cafe for which one can pay a minimal amount for meals. They offer many amenities including lots of activities through a senior center in the building. There is also a nurse on the premises during the day. It's an independent living complex.
It used to be half goverment subsidized and half any income. Now it's all government subsidized meaning there is a restricted amount of income one can have in order to be able to live there. I just made it by a few hundred dollars.
This is an ideal place for me due to declining health. I don't need an assisted living facility but I do need a place where there is help if I need it. However, I don't want to live in a dreary mausoleum and this place is far from that.
The bottom line is money. The nicest places are so very expensive for so many of us. I would love to be able to afford to live in some of the more spacious apartments in the beautiful country settings with all the services one could want but those are out of my financial reach. The next step down is a big one. There is not much in between. Unfortunately there are many seniors in my shoes.
The problem is some of us are too poor to be rich and too rich to be poor.
Catsy Girl- All right on target and exactly what I am finding. The target of many of the newer places are the luxury class clientel for the reasons you mention but as I keep saying not cheap. I posted a link in another thread about income distribution in the 70-75 age range. 150k income barely gets you in the top 10 percent. These places are targeting the top 15 percent or so depending on other assets and LTC insurance and hoping to get younger folks. Not necessarily a but in fee but monthly costs for apt units and or expensive luxury ownership units including luxury home appliances and baths etc. will it work? I am watching.
While the companies are targeting high income seniors - a lot of *their* financials are anything but swell. Just take a look at the stock charts or bond ratings of some of the larger outfits.
I have absolutely no problems with rentals. Or even some condo type situations where you own your own place. But - once you get into a CCRC - I suspect a lot will be financially challenged in the future. Both as a result of lower investment returns - and the higher costs of a lot of "senior living" components - ranging from food to health care to maintenance. If you buy into a CCRC - and your CCRC runs into trouble - a resident is simply another unsecured creditor - at the end of the line.
Also - the notion that everything will be ok 10 years down the road and you'll never have to move again if you move into one of these places - regardless of flavor - is a fantasy. The place where my father rents is owned by one of the largest operators in the US. And it has definitely gone downhill since he moved there 10 years ago. Among other things - the quality of the staff has deteriorated (in his opinion) since the owner is trying to avoid paying for ACA-required health insurance for employees and is giving most part time as opposed to full time jobs.
My father isn't in a position to move (he's 97 and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year) - so his next stop is a funeral home or a skilled nursing facility. OTOH - a lot of younger people (in their 80's or so) are voting with their feet.
BTW - some of the worst problems have cropped up in some of the most expensive places. For example:
My sibling and I looked at many of these, including CCRCs, for my mother when she was in her 90s. Money was not an issue, but a major problem was getting to the dining hall 2-3 times a day. She was mobile but the long walk through the hallways which would have become impossible. We could pay an extra $1,000 a month to have her escorted in a wheelchair for a total of around $7k a month. Luxurious places but the big dining halls overwhelmed her.
We finally found a place with "neighborhood" settings of about 12 apartments on each floor with their own dining space, luckily right outside her door. She was not happy and sadly declined, passing away within 4 months. She was too fragile to travel to my home to live, plus changing all her doctors was too upsetting to her. I am still sad and guilt-ridden she ended up there. She and my dad had lived independently into their mid-90s happily in their own home.
It does not matter how posh the place is - just too depressing for my husband and me. We are very active but don't want or need a lot of people around us on a daily basis. We chose to buy LTCi with the ability to stay in our home with care. The only way we would ever go is if we had severe medical issues which could not be managed otherwise.
And yes, as a poster said, the daily ambulances and death notices (bell ringing 3 times with the name) is beyond depressing. I cannot imagine moving there before at least the age of 85 unless health issues make it absolutely necessary. I like to be around all ages, including children.
I am 72, my husband is 70. We have a trailer that I can't take care of too well, but some neighbors help us out for a low rate when we need gardening or household repairs. We also have a condo in Florida which is not the greatest, but it's on the 4th floor and if the elevator breaks down it worries me. The independent living places range from about 3100 to 5000. The ones that offer discounted assistance have a hefty buy-in. Holiday Retirement has a few places in Florida and some of them are affordable ($2800 a month, some more, some less), but I see varying opinions about the places. I intend to be down there and check a few out, but what scares me is if I sell my condo and the trailer, and then if something happens where the independent living place goes under, then what? I tend to be a worry wart. We have no children or family but if my husband passes away before I do, my income is reduced to a few thousand over the poverty level. Which puts me in a position that I cannot get assistance from the govt. I'm still going to check out a few of these places, one is in Deland, FL.
While the companies are targeting high income seniors - a lot of *their* financials are anything but swell. Just take a look at the stock charts or bond ratings of some of the larger outfits.
....If you buy into a CCRC - and your CCRC runs into trouble - a resident is simply another unsecured creditor - at the end of the line.
Also - the notion that everything will be ok 10 years down the road and you'll never have to move again if you move into one of these places - regardless of flavor - is a fantasy. The place where my father rents is owned by one of the largest operators in the US. And it has definitely gone downhill since he moved there 10 years ago. Among other things - the quality of the staff has deteriorated (in his opinion) since the owner is trying to avoid paying for ACA-required health insurance for employees and is giving most part time as opposed to full time jobs.
My father isn't in a position to move (he's 97 and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year) - so his next stop is a funeral home or a skilled nursing facility. OTOH - a lot of younger people (in their 80's or so) are voting with their feet.
BTW - some of the worst problems have cropped up in some of the most expensive places. For example:
Robyn's points are all good and the newer places are often going to a yearly lease mode because of financial reasons. They need to work through a feels cycles. The rep at one new place we visited was very candid about why the new model and what was needed to make it work. With a lease model they needed to
Make sure you could sustain the payments over time. They love those with large fixed incomes, investments and LTC insurance
My sibling and I looked at many of these, including CCRCs, for my mother when she was in her 90s. Money was not an issue, but a major problem was getting to the dining hall 2-3 times a day. She was mobile but the long walk through the hallways which would have become impossible. We could pay an extra $1,000 a month to have her escorted in a wheelchair for a total of around $7k a month. Luxurious places but the big dining halls overwhelmed her.
We finally found a place with "neighborhood" settings of about 12 apartments on each floor with their own dining space, luckily right outside her door. She was not happy and sadly declined, passing away within 4 months. She was too fragile to travel to my home to live, plus changing all her doctors was too upsetting to her. I am still sad and guilt-ridden she ended up there. She and my dad had lived independently into their mid-90s happily in their own home.
It does not matter how posh the place is - just too depressing for my husband and me. We are very active but don't want or need a lot of people around us on a daily basis. We chose to buy LTCi with the ability to stay in our home with care. The only way we would ever go is if we had severe medical issues which could not be managed otherwise.
And yes, as a poster said, the daily ambulances and death notices (bell ringing 3 times with the name) is beyond depressing. I cannot imagine moving there before at least the age of 85 unless health issues make it absolutely necessary. I like to be around all ages, including children.
Hi, don't feel too guilty, you did the best you could for your mother. I'm sure if we all could do things over, many of us would try to do things differently. Anyway, it sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances.
Do you mean a place you can stay as you age and as your health might decline -- like a CCRC. OR just a senior living place where meals are included, but you can't stay later?
I can't afford a CCR , and I wonder how a religious based place charges so much. So I've been looking into cheaper arrangements. And wonder what happens if I or my husband do need some form of custodial care but can't afford it.
....
And yes, as a poster said, the daily ambulances and death notices (bell ringing 3 times with the name) is beyond depressing. I cannot imagine moving there before at least the age of 85 unless health issues make it absolutely necessary. I like to be around all ages, including children.
I have NEVER heard of a place chiming off death notices?!!!!
Who would want to live in a place like that????
Not to make light of it, but it reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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