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Analysis shows high scores for medical facilities, libraries, supermarkets, public transportation, museums and sidewalks.
San Francisco as highly rated? Only if you are a millionaire. Minneapolis as highly rated? The sidewalks are of limited value when you are freezing. Public transportation is another dicey area, the convenience can be great but many larger cities have a mixed bag when it comes to taking buses or local trains. Being a "strap hanger" can be risky in some locations.
As most listings, this is subject to a LOT of bias.
Right off, the author, (Barbara Marak), put forth a premise to which I cannot agree. She said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barbara Marak
We understand that aging bids compromise, and once 65 hits, the changes bring reminders that we’re no longer the same. We don’t move as quickly, we don’t multitask as well, nor do we easily adapt. Those are the simple cues.
Well . . . I just turned 65 less than a month ago and I still work at a technically challenging job, can still ride my bike for a century, (a 100-mile bike ride), and still play a pretty good game of tennis, (gotta be quick on the court). And, I thrive on adapting to new experiences and opportunities to learn.
Her thesis probably has merit for those who don't have a family or social network. Realizing that this isn't the solution for everyone, I have found that if I really need the help, my church family is always there for me.
Whether we age in place is a decision that most of us have made. I chose not to.
Many think it will be ok because they have friends and family and they can't bear to leave them. That's fine if they are quite a bit younger than you. If surrounded by the same group of similar ages you can find yourself alone in a short amount of time.
We have some people that want a certain lifestyle that makes it impossible to have all of the services that people require as they age. If you live 2 miles from a neighbor, 50 from a hospital and city you can't expect to get everything you may need. And YOU made that decision.
We have some people that expect to live in the same home as when they had a family of 6. That is not reasonable for many people and not needed for anyone.
I moved to a place that has everything I could ever need services wise. Every type of healthcare is available within a couple miles. Meals, rides, equipment, all available if and when I need them. There are thousands of elder orphans here. All social needs are met, amenities, activities, etc. I live in the most neighborly condo you could imagine and at low cost. All of my expenses excluding food, car, and medical is less than $100 a week. Rec Center, insurance, electric, phone, internet, property taxes, and condo fee is about $93 a week for me. How many pay more than that just in property taxes? Too many can't accept that you can't live in Boston when you have a Youngstown income.
I live in a 55+. My social circle ranges from 55 to 92 which is a good sized gap from youngest to oldest. They are gradually replaced over time. Most of us are elder orphans with half, including myself, having no family within 1000 miles. And we are doing fine! And before anyone says they couldn't live in a 55+ I would like to mention that we are not locked in. We leave and do things throughout the area and the area has 4.5 million people.
I think many, not all, but many of the problems mentioned in the article are self inflicted.
Whether we age in place is a decision that most of us have made. I chose not to.
Many think it will be ok because they have friends and family and they can't bear to leave them. That's fine if they are quite a bit younger than you. If surrounded by the same group of similar ages you can find yourself alone in a short amount of time.
We have some people that want a certain lifestyle that makes it impossible to have all of the services that people require as they age. If you live 2 miles from a neighbor, 50 from a hospital and city you can't expect to get everything you may need. And YOU made that decision.
We have some people that expect to live in the same home as when they had a family of 6. That is not reasonable for many people and not needed for anyone.
I moved to a place that has everything I could ever need services wise. Every type of healthcare is available within a couple miles. Meals, rides, equipment, all available if and when I need them. There are thousands of elder orphans here. All social needs are met, amenities, activities, etc. I live in the most neighborly condo you could imagine and at low cost. All of my expenses excluding food, car, and medical is less than $100 a week. Rec Center, insurance, electric, phone, internet, property taxes, and condo fee is about $93 a week for me. How many pay more than that just in property taxes? Too many can't accept that you can't live in Boston when you have a Youngstown income.
I live in a 55+. My social circle ranges from 55 to 92 which is a good sized gap from youngest to oldest. They are gradually replaced over time. Most of us are elder orphans with half, including myself, having no family within 1000 miles. And we are doing fine! And before anyone says they couldn't live in a 55+ I would like to mention that we are not locked in. We leave and do things throughout the area and the area has 4.5 million people.
I think many, not all, but many of the problems mentioned in the article are self inflicted.
Sounds like you live in a wonderful community "hint" I would very much enjoy one of the posters who live in a 55+ community to start a dedicated thread sharing about which community they live in, COL, pros, cons, and anything else you think to share with others who are considering making a move to your community. I know many of you have already shared much info about your community, but having that info in one thread would be great.
Saw this term on fb this morning. Had never heard it before. Here is the linked article.
Nothing new really. There is also a fb page for elder orphans.
I live in a 55+. My social circle ranges from 55 to 92 which is a good sized gap from youngest to oldest. They are gradually replaced over time. Most of us are elder orphans with half, including myself, having no family within 1000 miles. And we are doing fine! And before anyone says they couldn't live in a 55+ I would like to mention that we are not locked in. We leave and do things throughout the area and the area has 4.5 million people.
I/we live in a 55+ and currently have our place up for sale. We are 66 and 69 and have lived here for 5 years. I won't be giving my reasons because every time I do, I get bashed here. It's just, not now, or ever been for us. We just bought a second home for snowbirding and before this we rented for the winter and the difference between our four months outside the 55+ bubble, living with all age groups, pets of all sizes and, the whirl of the world, is night and day. We hate coming home.
IMHO, most "elder orphans" have options. Moving closer to children/family, moving to senior communities, even taking in another senior to share housing with. The problem is that many of these older people get kind of angry with the world, or expect the world to revolve around them. Some of them have poor social skills. I've seen this for years, with women I visited in nursing homes. They were not even friendly to the other people in the nursing home, and would not participate in the social activities they offered.
Human societies until now did not evolve into sets of generational bubbles, it was as of sets of family units. Now that we have broken that apart by pushing children out of the nest at the back end of life those that did the pushing are finding themselves alone or at best with paid staff instead of surrounded by a loving family
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"hint" I would very much enjoy one of the posters who live in a 55+ community to start a dedicated thread sharing about which community they live in, COL, pros, cons, and anything else you think to share with others who are considering making a move to your community. I know many of you have already shared much info about your community, but having that info in one thread would be great.
Elder Orphan
