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Rather than concentrating on building McMansions through the years, we should have been concentrating on building reasonably sized small homes (and also NOT townhouses, apartments, and condos--i.e. "people warehouses") in small pocket neighborhoods for urban dwellers. There are such neighborhoods in various cities throughout the nation. They inevitably sell out very fast and go for a premium. The homes range from around 500 sq ft to around 1200 sq ft.
As an older single person who has no plans to ever get married again, anything larger is just too much house for me and makes no sense, logically. Once I am financially able (as in able to leave my job and move my butt out of here), I will be in around a 600 to 800 sq ft home in either a rural area or very small town.
Well yeah, you have your bedroom, kitchen, living room/TV room, and wherever you go to use your computer. That's really all I need too.
Rather than concentrating on building McMansions through the years, we should have been concentrating on building reasonably sized small homes (and also NOT townhouses, apartments, and condos--i.e. "people warehouses") in small pocket neighborhoods for urban dwellers. There are such neighborhoods in various cities throughout the nation. They inevitably sell out very fast and go for a premium. The homes range from around 500 sq ft to around 1200 sq ft.
As an older single person who has no plans to ever get married again, anything larger is just too much house for me and makes no sense, logically. Once I am financially able (as in able to leave my job and move my butt out of here), I will be in around a 600 to 800 sq ft home in either a rural area or very small town.
the market decides what is built. gen x and millennials want to live in giant enclaves. gen z on the other hand prefers shipping containers. solution: convert mcmansions into nursing homes and multi family housing. kind of what happened to many victorian homes in the 50s - 80s
Hey, I fall into that group. I am GenX, divorced, and don't intend to ever marry again. I am only a little younger than my mom was when she became a widow (my dad died of cancer)... same with her mother who was also a widow in her 50s (my grandfather had a heart attack at work). And even my great grandmother who was a widow in her late 40s. These women all live into their 90s (almost to 100). They did just fine. So I really don't see how my situation is any different than being a widow. I don't expect my daughter to take care of me (although she jokes that she will move me into an in-law suite when I am too old to live alone).
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
Rather than concentrating on building McMansions through the years, we should have been concentrating on building reasonably sized small homes (and also NOT townhouses, apartments, and condos--i.e. "people warehouses") in small pocket neighborhoods for urban dwellers. There are such neighborhoods in various cities throughout the nation. They inevitably sell out very fast and go for a premium. The homes range from around 500 sq ft to around 1200 sq ft.
As an older single person who has no plans to ever get married again, anything larger is just too much house for me and makes no sense, logically. Once I am financially able (as in able to leave my job and move my butt out of here), I will be in around a 600 to 800 sq ft home in either a rural area or very small town.
Yeah, this is my dream home too (picture below). I found a plan for a cute one story, just under 1200 sq ft home (because it includes a garage) that I would love to build on some plot of land, maybe just outside a small town. It has one common room for kitchen, living room, and dining room, two bedrooms (I want a guest room), two baths, and porch to sit on out back in the summers. I've been looking for land to build it on but it's going to be a while before I move again.
Gen X wants their nice little caves- okay decent-sized caves- where we can get people not to bother us. I see The Villages ads and cringe, not over the politics, but over the forced fun aspect. I really don’t want ot go through most of my post-age 65 life surrounded by other old people. The goal is to stay in an all ages neighborhood as long as possible.
I spent some time working in aging, and the tools are there to allow for a lot more aging in place- give folks a medic alert bracelet, or in modern terms, a smartwatch with alarm button- and about 5-10 hours of household help and personal care and you can seriously delay the trip to ‘The Home’ because that’s the care level a lot of folks need.
The problem is that the nursing home and assisted living industry has all the good lobbyists so they block sensible policies like Medicaid diversion program that provide ‘Miss Ada’ with that kind of help she needs to stay in her home and community (which provides better long term outcomes) for maybe 15% of the cost of moving Miss Ada to assisted living at taxpayer expense.
Florida’s Medicaid waiver program for nursing home diversion-
IMO, what we need to do is encourage those kinds of waiver programs for people with moderate limitations, which would free up a lot of funds to tackle people with more severe issues like those who are in the long awful slide into end stage dementia.
As people live longer and avoid a lot of things that used to kill the 60-85 age group, we’re going to see a lot more end/late stage dementia, and a spouse or a child is just not equipped to handle the 24/7 care that a late stage dementia person requires.
Hey, I fall into that group. I am GenX, divorced, and don't intend to ever marry again. I am only a little younger than my mom was when she became a widow (my dad died of cancer)... same with her mother who was also a widow in her 50s (my grandfather had a heart attack at work). And even my great grandmother who was a widow in her late 40s. These women all live into their 90s (almost to 100). They did just fine. So I really don't see how my situation is any different than being a widow. I don't expect my daughter to take care of me (although she jokes that she will move me into an in-law suite when I am too old to live alone).
Yeah, this is my dream home too (picture below). I found a plan for a cute one story, just under 1200 sq ft home (because it includes a garage) that I would love to build on some plot of land, maybe just outside a small town. It has one common room for kitchen, living room, and dining room, two bedrooms (I want a guest room), two baths, and porch to sit on out back in the summers. I've been looking for land to build it on but it's going to be a while before I move again.
The younger crowd bought those small older homes, razed them and built McMansions going from property line to property line.
Saw them do it in downtown Austin.
They did the same here along the beach here in SC...older "cottages" were bought, razed and built 5000-6000 sq foot McBeachCottages
I just realized I made a mistake about the square footage when I pasted the link. I haven't looked at the plans in while and I had in my head that it was just under 1200 sq ft, it's just over 1200 sq ft. Six of one, half dozen more of the other I guess. I still love it though.
Gen X wants their nice little caves- okay decent-sized caves- where we can get people not to bother us. I see The Villages ads and cringe, not over the politics, but over the forced fun aspect. I really don’t want ot go through most of my post-age 65 life surrounded by other old people. The goal is to stay in an all ages neighborhood as long as possible.
I spent some time working in aging, and the tools are there to allow for a lot more aging in place- give folks a medic alert bracelet, or in modern terms, a smartwatch with alarm button- and about 5-10 hours of household help and personal care and you can seriously delay the trip to ‘The Home’ because that’s the care level a lot of folks need.
The problem is that the nursing home and assisted living industry has all the good lobbyists so they block sensible policies like Medicaid diversion program that provide ‘Miss Ada’ with that kind of help she needs to stay in her home and community (which provides better long term outcomes) for maybe 15% of the cost of moving Miss Ada to assisted living at taxpayer expense.
Florida’s Medicaid waiver program for nursing home diversion-
IMO, what we need to do is encourage those kinds of waiver programs for people with moderate limitations, which would free up a lot of funds to tackle people with more severe issues like those who are in the long awful slide into end stage dementia.
As people live longer and avoid a lot of things that used to kill the 60-85 age group, we’re going to see a lot more end/late stage dementia, and a spouse or a child is just not equipped to handle the 24/7 care that a late stage dementia person requires.
This time we agree. I got out- again- from under the 55+ community routine, although be 70 next spring. I am just not that groupie. I see them once in a while, but moved to a updated cottage 1-1 with large den, patio
yard etc and joined a large gym. There is a community park close by that plan to see what’s activities they offer. Closer to beach too. Love it! I see kids, young people and make my own plans, and that makes me happy.
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