1 of the Worst Places to Retire? (Knoxville, Cleveland: home, income, shop)

[2mares]

Originally Posted by mtneer

Something no one has mentioned that I would think would be important is lack of public transportation in TN. A lot of my elderly relatives became housebound as they got older because there was no way of getting anywhere. I also have a older neighbor who is disabled, has no money and no relatives that want anything to do with her. So she goes nowhere but the grocery store less than 1 mile away. As people age and are no longer able to drive not having public bus service or a way to the doctor's office or a way to get out and socialize would seem to make TN a bad retirement option. Plus the lack of activities I mean there don't seem to be hobby groups and support groups here like I've experienced in other states.

Yes that should be a consideration. Many retirees seem to inquire about the gated communities. Also more rural areas have programs like u-carts and most communities have a senior center.

[hiknapster]

I don't understand. TN is no different than any other state in that if you are in a larger metropolitan area you have public transportation and more clubs and groups. Rural areas of Florida, California, etc., have the same situation as TN and anywhere else. I mean, South Dakota and North Dakota aren't going to have better public transportation than TN. No place has better. You just have to go where the area is more populated. Living in the sticks is living in the sticks, no matter what state.

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by mtneer

Something no one has mentioned that I would think would be important is lack of public transportation in TN. A lot of my elderly relatives became housebound as they got older because there was no way of getting anywhere. I also have a older neighbor who is disabled, has no money and no relatives that want anything to do with her. So she goes nowhere but the grocery store less than 1 mile away. As people age and are no longer able to drive not having public bus service or a way to the doctor's office or a way to get out and socialize would seem to make TN a bad retirement option. Plus the lack of activities I mean there don't seem to be hobby groups and support groups here like I've experienced in other states.

There is no public transportation in all of Tennessee and there is public transportation everywhere else? Wow How did this senior miss that really important gem? Public transportation exists mostly in urban areas (although in some cities even that is not quite true) and does not exist in most rural areas, in any state. Very often public transport is about as unsafe as it gets for anyone in ill health, since it takes longer taking a bus and climbing in and out can be difficult. This is often not considered when mentioning "public transportation." There are communities all over the country who do provide limited senior services including vans, some of them combined with handicapped services. Most senior citizens are at least dimly aware of this and must chose the safety of the known (their old, paid for house) with the incredible upheaval of moving to a more urban area to live in a small place with some form of bus or van service away from anything familiar. Those are often the loneliest seniors I have met, especially widows. Most retirees are not bedridden and without transport options for many years. Stopping work makes us no more infirm than those who are in the work force but a couple of years younger. Stopping work doesn't mean we are suddenly infantile or incapable of continuing or getting new hobbies without an organized 'hobby group' whatever that might be. I think you have mixed up the elderly and infirm with retirees, and those two terms are not usually used to describe the same group. There are plenty of infirm or incapable younger people who have no friends, hobbies or life outside of going to the grocery store, too. Transportation and craft counseling probably won't change that either.

Originally Posted by 2mares

Yes that should be a consideration. Many retirees seem to inquire about the gated communities. Also more rural areas have programs like u-carts and most communities have a senior center.

Gated communities are not any closer to providing public transportation unless they are specifically designed for an aged and infirm population or inside a fairly populous area. These places for the older retiree population are often termed senior residences, not gated communities. A nonagenarian friend moved into one because her husband has developed signs of Alzheimer's. It's proved to be good for her because she can chose to cook or go to the dining room "on campus." If that had not happened she might still be hitting the ski slopes near her old home, though, and she describes most of the hobbies and activities as "sad". Many about to be or recent retirees are looking for gated communities for the perceived safety of the gate, and sometimes to restrict the age or financial abilities of their neighbors.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I don't understand. TN is no different than any other state in that if you are in a larger metropolitan area you have public transportation and more clubs and groups. Rural areas of Florida, California, etc., have the same situation as TN and anywhere else. I mean, South Dakota and North Dakota aren't going to have better public transportation than TN. No place has better. You just have to go where the area is more populated. Living in the sticks is living in the sticks, no matter what state.

Makes sense to me but then what do I know, I'm just a retiree. LOL

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by J&Em

Most senior citizens are at least dimly aware of this and must chose the safety of the known (their old, paid for house) with the incredible upheaval of moving to a more urban area to live in a small place with some form of bus or van service away from anything familiar. Those are often the loneliest seniors I have met, especially widows. Most retirees are not bedridden and without transport options for many years.

In Knoxville there are several options for seniors including CAC which is one of eight premier senior transportation centers in the country. Further, I live in the city and I am surrounded by retirees in a very nice neighborhood where I see firsthand these folks use these services. These are seniors, just like you mentioned, that live in the homes that they have lived in most of their adult lives, yet do not have to be trapped by lack of transportation. Most of the seniors in my neighborhood are in their 80s yet can go shopping, to doctor appointments, visit friends, etc.

Senior Services Directory | Transportation

[mtneer]

Before you keep jumping all over me you need to hear me out. Sure Knoxville has some public transportation options, but not every senior who wants to retire is going to move to Knoxville. Some can't afford to and others may want to retire somewhere closer to the country and less city-like. Outlying towns such as Maryville, Alcoa, Rockford, Oak Ridge, Clinton, Lake City, Norris do not have bus transportation. They have cabs but cabs are expensive. I know many of my family who would sit and cry after they got older because they said there was nothing to do for seniors. As soon as they retired they would go into this "nobody needs me mantra"...my dad is even doing that now. I know a lot of elderly women around here who are not invalids yet do not have transportation either from being on fixed incomes (as they are unmarried or widowed) and not owning a dependable car or being too scared to drive by themselves. I'm just saying this is what I see and hear constantly as almost every neighbor and every person I know in this town is elderly. I joined a tai chi class and 90% of them are old and many have someone else drive them to class even though they aren't really invalid. The older women I know complain CONSTANTLY about loneliness, nothing to do and no way of getting there. Just repeating what I hear every day. Should I tell them they are all LYING?

[hiknapster]

I hear you, but once again, that is not a Tennessee problem. It is like that in any small town in America. I grew up in a town Massachusetts and there was no public transportation there, either.

Speaking of which, this is my street in the city limits of Knoxville. It looks much like the street I grew up in; just like a small town. Knoxville is far from a big metro area. Most of it looks suburban or rural. And it is not expensive here.

Granted, it would be nice for small towns across this country to have public transportation but don't count on it. The cities barely can keep them going, as it is.

But once again, this has nothing to do with the specific state of Tennessee. It's like this in small towns in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida, Rhode Island, New York, South Dakota, and on and on and on.

No one said you are lying. But you said that Tennessee has issues regarding transportation for seniors. We are saying it doesn't have any more issues than anywhere else.

[IMG][/IMG]

Originally Posted by mtneer

Before you keep jumping all over me you need to hear me out. Sure Knoxville has some public transportation options, but not every senior who wants to retire is going to move to Knoxville. Some can't afford to and others may want to retire somewhere closer to the country and less city-like. Outlying towns such as Maryville, Alcoa, Rockford, Oak Ridge, Clinton, Lake City, Norris do not have bus transportation. They have cabs but cabs are expensive. I know many of my family who would sit and cry after they got older because they said there was nothing to do for seniors. As soon as they retired they would go into this "nobody needs me mantra"...my dad is even doing that now. I know a lot of elderly women around here who are not invalids yet do not have transportation either from being on fixed incomes (as they are unmarried or widowed) and not owning a dependable car or being too scared to drive by themselves. I'm just saying this is what I see and hear constantly as almost every neighbor and every person I know in this town is elderly. I joined a tai chi class and 90% of them are old and many have someone else drive them to class even though they aren't really invalid. The older women I know complain CONSTANTLY about loneliness, nothing to do and no way of getting there. Just repeating what I hear every day. Should I tell them they are all LYING?

[DubbleT]

Public transportation is certainly something to look at for anyone who is considering retiring, to TN or anywhere else. I don't think TN has any less to offer than many other places though.
There seem to be some options in several of the smaller towns and rural areas. (Maybe your area is on the rural transit listing and they can provide a less expensive alternative to cabs for your friends and neighbors) TN Transit System (http://www.oakridgepublictransit.org/links.html - broken link)
I'm mostly pleased with the service offered in the town I moved to, although I'd like to see it run all day on Saturdays in addition to the M-F schedule. But it runs to all the areas I think will be necessities, as I age and can no longer drive.

[mtneer]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

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No one said you are lying. But you said that Tennessee has issues regarding transportation for seniors. We are saying it doesn't have any more issues than anywhere else.

[IMG][/IMG]

But some rural areas do have public transportation. The mountain town I moved from was surrounded by wilderness and wasn't metropolitan. But we had an extensive bus line in city plus Greyhound to travel out of state so that many people got around without owning cars plus they even had separate van transportation for handicapped. They also had regular van shuttles between outlying towns. Maybe that place was an exception, but I'm saying there is nothing like that around here save for Knox and I'm not so sure even Knox has that much bus service. I just hear so many crying cause they can't get transportation to get to their doctors or shopping. It just sounds like an issue.

[hiknapster]

Here you go:

ETHRA Public Transit is a rural and public
demand response transportation program designed
to help citizens in a sixteen county area meet their
needs. These counties are Anderson, Blount,
Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen,
Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott,
Sevier and Union. ETHRA Public Transit provides
door to door, non-emergency transportation service including accessibility to persons with disabilities.
Anyone can ride.

ETHRA Public Transit

Be sure and tell all your neighbors!

Originally Posted by mtneer

But some rural areas do have public transportation. The mountain town I moved from was surrounded by wilderness and wasn't metropolitan. But we had an extensive bus line in city plus Greyhound to travel out of state so that many people got around without owning cars plus they even had separate van transportation for handicapped. They also had regular van shuttles between outlying towns. Maybe that place was an exception, but I'm saying there is nothing like that around here save for Knox and I'm not so sure even Knox has that much bus service. I just hear so many crying cause they can't get transportation to get to their doctors or shopping. It just sounds like an issue.

[Brian]

My materal grandmother have used ETHRA services for several years. My father's aunt was/is a volunteer driver/transporter for ETHRA for years. I don't know why my grandmother has stopped using ETHRA after she broke her hip earlier this year.