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I live some distance away from a town/city of about 20,000. It is the county seat. Being sprawled and haphazardly planned, it is decidedly not walkable. The main grocery stores are in a strip-mall shopping megalopolis, 3-4 miles to the west of town. All significant retail establishments within the city-proper have closed. Thus there is little advantage for the mobility-challenged to move into town... unless their route takes them from the courthouse to the library to the bar, with a couple of lawyers' offices in between.
My locale is sufficiently rural, that there are no public utilities, except for electricity - and even that is dodgy. Houses are on wells/septic (hopefully not plumbed into each other). Farms and residential plots are interspersed, with wooden glens adjoining both. Cars are absolutely indispensible. Most residents are of retirement age. Children are few; I have not seen a passing school bus in years. Theoretically the county offers a subsidized bus/elder/handicapped service. I see their vehicles often, in the more populated areas of the county - but never in our immediate locale. Most residents keep several vehicles, in case that one fails, or is unsuitable for winter.
Some of my neighbors are really old... 90 or above. I marvel, as to how they manage.
I live some distance away from a town/city of about 20,000. It is the county seat. Being sprawled and haphazardly planned, it is decidedly not walkable. The main grocery stores are in a strip-mall shopping megalopolis, 3-4 miles to the west of town. All significant retail establishments within the city-proper have closed. Thus there is little advantage for the mobility-challenged to move into town... unless their route takes them from the courthouse to the library to the bar, with a couple of lawyers' offices in between.
My locale is sufficiently rural, that there are no public utilities, except for electricity - and even that is dodgy. Houses are on wells/septic (hopefully not plumbed into each other). Farms and residential plots are interspersed, with wooden glens adjoining both. Cars are absolutely indispensible. Most residents are of retirement age. Children are few; I have not seen a passing school bus in years. Theoretically the county offers a subsidized bus/elder/handicapped service. I see their vehicles often, in the more populated areas of the county - but never in our immediate locale. Most residents keep several vehicles, in case that one fails, or is unsuitable for winter.
Some of my neighbors are really old... 90 or above. I marvel, as to how they manage.
Few people who haven't lived this life seem to understand it. People can talk about Uber and public services until they are blue in the face. In many cases, those services are unavailable in our necks of the woods.
I live some distance away from a town/city of about 20,000. It is the county seat. Being sprawled and haphazardly planned, it is decidedly not walkable. The main grocery stores are in a strip-mall shopping megalopolis, 3-4 miles to the west of town. All significant retail establishments within the city-proper have closed. Thus there is little advantage for the mobility-challenged to move into town... unless their route takes them from the courthouse to the library to the bar, with a couple of lawyers' offices in between.
My locale is sufficiently rural, that there are no public utilities, except for electricity - and even that is dodgy. Houses are on wells/septic (hopefully not plumbed into each other). Farms and residential plots are interspersed, with wooden glens adjoining both. Cars are absolutely indispensible. Most residents are of retirement age. Children are few; I have not seen a passing school bus in years. Theoretically the county offers a subsidized bus/elder/handicapped service. I see their vehicles often, in the more populated areas of the county - but never in our immediate locale. Most residents keep several vehicles, in case that one fails, or is unsuitable for winter.
Some of my neighbors are really old... 90 or above. I marvel, as to how they manage.
The county runs a senior service minivan that I have seen in the city 7 miles away (population between 8 and 9 thousand) and a few other places, but not where I live. But theoretically it would come here upon appropriate request.
I am not joking that riding a horse could be a viable solution for some residents.
Few people who haven't lived this life seem to understand it. People can talk about Uber and public services until they are blue in the face. In many cases, those services are unavailable in our necks of the woods.
It always surprises me how many people think uber is everywhere in every town in America. Many towns don't even have a taxi service. Most people have lived in these towns for a long time or all their lives. They have friends and relatives that can drive them to the Dr. or the market once in a while.
If you are a new comer in such a town, you will be hard up without driving yourself everywhere and when the day comes that you can no longer drive, you need to hope other people are nice enough to help you.
It always surprises me how many people think uber is everywhere in every town in America. Many towns don't even have a taxi service. Most people have lived in these towns for a long time or all their lives. They have friends and relatives that can drive them to the Dr. or the market once in a while.
If you are a new comer in such a town, you will be hard up without driving yourself everywhere and when the day comes that you can no longer drive, you need to hope other people are nice enough to help you.
Exactly.
One of my grandmother's is 83, and is driving only minimally now. It's around five miles back "to town" from where my aunt lives/grandmother is primarily staying. There is a grocery store and a few restaurants in that community, but not much else. From my grandmother's house, it's nine miles to the city limits, with no grocery stores between. It's very typical of the 60s "what was then rural but is now subdivision" development.
The road to get back to town is on a hillside and curvy. It's not a safe road at all, doubly so for a senior who might have visual impairment or slow reaction times.
This is just a reality. Doing research in retiring, uber and some kind of public transportation which is readily available is something I look at and consider. I see towns all the time with significant populations of 10,000 or more that don't have either if they are outside a metro area. Also, if a town does have uber and a very limited number of drivers, it doesn't mean you can just contact them and they will be at your doorstep to pick you up when it's convenient to you. Many drivers just work part time and work hours that are convenient for them. They don't have to respond to your request.
I can't tell you how many threads in this and other forums I have read about this subject, yet the planners and governments still don't get it.
More and more people are living longer, and living without nearby children or other relatives or close friends who could help them get by in their older years. By the time that city planners and other related government employees get to the age that they can recognize these problems, they are too old to be still in their jobs; and those jobs are being done by 25-year-olds who think people are immortal.
I do think we are almost over our 1950's love affair with the car, however, and people are starting to think of other solutions. Too bad we ripped up all our train lines, dismembered the bus systems that used to go everywhere, and crippled the infrastructure that would have allowed us to pick up where we left off before all this madness.
Too strong an argument? Millions of people are now going through exactly what the OP is experiencing, and it is bad advice to suggest, as one poster did, that she should start thinking about getting back behind the wheel.
Well, the rant is over, but several posters have made good suggestions for the OP. The first priority must be groceries, and the OP should ring each grocery within a 30 mile radius and ask if they have a delivery service. Between Instacart and several other forward-thinking grocery chains, she might find what she's looking for there.
Many communities' medical facilities have a Dial-A-Ride service for people who need to get to doctor appointments. Again, ringing around to the facilities in her area should provide some answers. The local senior organization of a town of 25,000 should have at least some services, and they will be found in the town's organization list of services.
Maybe a bookmobile comes to a spot near you. Contact your local library to see if that's the case.
Many a young mother might be interested in making a few extra bucks by being your "driver" when you need to get to different places. I've seen that work out well for people without a car.
It seems in this, the richest country in the world, we cannot rely on the government to provide public transport for its population as most older First World countries do, so we have to make do with a network of other solutions which we provide for ourselves. So be it.
This is just a reality. Doing research in retiring, uber and some kind of public transportation which is readily available is something I look at and consider. I see towns all the time with significant populations of 10,000 or more that don't have either if they are outside a metro area. Also, if a town does have uber and a very limited number of drivers, it doesn't mean you can just contact them and they will be at your doorstep to pick you up when it's convenient to you. Many drivers just work part time and work hours that are convenient for them. They don't have to respond to your request.
BTW, I did find a town that has a population of just under 9,000 that has public transportation and a taxi service, no uber.
I recently visited there and loved it. You need to do your research and have a list of priorities.
I don't really have additional suggestions, but this is one of the reasons it is taking me forever and a day to decide where to move to in retirement! If the town doesn't have any grocery stores that deliver, it is off the list...no bus transportation? Off the list. No stores/downtown within walking/biking distance? Off the list. etc. etc. etc.....I would rather address these issues before they actually BECOME issues.
Excellent posting! With my declining eyesight, my days of driving are coming to a standstill. I am on wait lists in many areas of the country for an 'affordable' senior apartment. . . and those wait lists are growing every year, with some places it may be 5+ years before you're contacted. Available transit is obviously one of the priorities, plus grocery and Rx delivery.
I'm on the list for a new complex currently under construction and the main reason I'm interested in moving there is because the rent is affordable, utilities are included and it is being built within the same block as a major grocery store, pharmacy, bank, dentist, urgent care, etc., all within a very short walk. And for one who will be without a car and driver's license, it couldn't be more ideal. It is also in an area that does not experience harsh winters (snow, ice) that would prevent getting out and about easily on foot.
I can't tell you how many threads in this and other forums I have read about this subject, yet the planners and governments still don't get it.
More and more people are living longer, and living without nearby children or other relatives or close friends who could help them get by in their older years. By the time that city planners and other related government employees get to the age that they can recognize these problems, they are too old to be still in their jobs; and those jobs are being done by 25-year-olds who think people are immortal.
I do think we are almost over our 1950's love affair with the car, however, and people are starting to think of other solutions. Too bad we ripped up all our train lines, dismembered the bus systems that used to go everywhere, and crippled the infrastructure that would have allowed us to pick up where we left off before all this madness.
Too strong an argument? Millions of people are now going through exactly what the OP is experiencing, and it is bad advice to suggest, as one poster did, that she should start thinking about getting back behind the wheel.
Well, the rant is over, but several posters have made good suggestions for the OP. The first priority must be groceries, and the OP should ring each grocery within a 30 mile radius and ask if they have a delivery service. Between Instacart and several other forward-thinking grocery chains, she might find what she's looking for there.
Many communities' medical facilities have a Dial-A-Ride service for people who need to get to doctor appointments. Again, ringing around to the facilities in her area should provide some answers. The local senior organization of a town of 25,000 should have at least some services, and they will be found in the town's organization list of services.
Maybe a bookmobile comes to a spot near you. Contact your local library to see if that's the case.
Many a young mother might be interested in making a few extra bucks by being your "driver" when you need to get to different places. I've seen that work out well for people without a car.
It seems in this, the richest country in the world, we cannot rely on the government to provide public transport for its population as most older First World countries do, so we have to make do with a network of other solutions which we provide for ourselves. So be it.
EXCELLENT post! very well-stated!
About dismembering existing transit in earlier decades - for example, Minneapolis had a great street car system (somewhat like the street cars in San Francisco - maybe even more practical) which was eliminated and replaced with buses or maybe just eliminated before Minneapolis' great bus system was fully instituted.
The street car system in Minneapolis has been very much needed in recent decades, but those without foresight and good planning eliminated it long ago. The original street car system was depended upon by MANY before it was eliminated. There are great old photos of it - and people would also ride it to the three or four lakes which are right in the urban middle of the city of Minneapolis.
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