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My sister and I moved our mother into a retirement community when she was 90, which was just like renting an apartment with certain added services as part of the rent. Those added services were:
1. Two meals a day in a dining hall. (Many such places provide three meals a day). But residents still had a smallish kitchen.
2. Maid service once a week which included laundering the towels and sheets.
3. Van service which took residents to certain places (not sure of the details).
4. Front desk manned 24/7.
5. Beauty parlor on the premises. .....
My mother moved into a place like this when she was 91, after my Dad died. It has been wonderful for her. She made many new friends. And she can remain in her same apartment and add assisted living services as needed. She could even stay there until she dies, and hire outside nursing care if she needed to. The only limit would be severe dementia which would require moving elsewhere.
My sister and I moved our mother into a retirement community when she was 90, which was just like renting an apartment with certain added services as part of the rent. Those added services were:
1. Two meals a day in a dining hall. (Many such places provide three meals a day). But residents still had a smallish kitchen.
2. Maid service once a week which included laundering the towels and sheets.
3. Van service which took residents to certain places (not sure of the details).
4. Front desk manned 24/7.
5. Beauty parlor on the premises.
It was great for people who no longer drove, but there were people living their who still drove, but who wisely had made the move before it became absolutely necessary. We (sister and I and our mother) liked the atmosphere of the place, and it seemed a sensible choice. What my mother had was called "independent living", but there was also an "assisted living" wing where, for increased rent, daily help with bathing, dressing, etc. was available.
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Originally Posted by Windwalker2
My mother moved into a place like this when she was 91, after my Dad died. It has been wonderful for her. She made many new friends. And she can remain in her same apartment and add assisted living services as needed. She could even stay there until she dies, and hire outside nursing care if she needed to. The only limit would be severe dementia which would require moving elsewhere.
This is what I would be looking for and for those reasons. Right now I have to bus to all activities and while it's very easy for me to get to the Senior Center, not all acitivities that I am interested are there. Meetup is great but sometimes I find I can't get there from here. Also it would be nice to have a friend or two closeby.
There is an independent/assisted living residence in my neighborhood which I would love to live in but my income is too high. That's a first for me, I never thought my income would be too high for anything but the HUD qualifications are pretty low. I really like my new neighborhood and want to stay especially in that particular residence because I have met people who live there and they love it.
Another I have come accross is less than ten minutes away and I would qualify for that one income-wise. Then there is another in my area that is being totally refurbished from shabby to what is supposed to be much nicer so there are options.
Come on out to California! You can't get more progressive than our tax rates!!! 80% democrats....what isn't there to like??!!
I would love that, the hard part would be deciding which area. I've heard Santa Barbara is nice. Have been to La Jolla, Santa Cruz, San Francisco. I need to explore the state more, none of those places said 'move here'. I would like to see Marin County.
This is what I would be looking for and for those reasons. Right now I have to bus to all activities and while it's very easy for me to get to the Senior Center, not all acitivities that I am interested are there. Meetup is great but sometimes I find I can't get there from here. Also it would be nice to have a friend or two closeby.
There is an independent/assisted living residence in my neighborhood which I would love to live in but my income is too high. That's a first for me, I never thought my income would be too high for anything but the HUD qualifications are pretty low. I really like my new neighborhood and want to stay especially in that particular residence because I have met people who live there and they love it.
Another I have come accross is less than ten minutes away and I would qualify for that one income-wise. Then there is another in my area that is being totally refurbished from shabby to what is supposed to be much nicer so there are options.
@Minervah Thank you for keeping us up-to-date. Like you, I am too "rich" to qualify for a senior-subsidized apartment, but not rich enough to afford a reasonably decent apartment where I don't have to drive to do average daily activities or shopping. I found fabulous apartments in my desired neighborhoods that are subsidized (i.e. income-restricted), but my income is higher than the threshold and I don't qualify. Bummer.
Current market rates for a decent apartment in an area that's safe, accessible to public transport and public amenities range from $1100 and up for a 1BR plus utilities. That is pretty much the average WHEREVER you go. Anything lower will put you in the far suburbia or in a less desirable neighborhood. I haven't owned a car since 2007 when I gave it away to my daughter, because she needed it more than I did. I lived then in Alexandria, VA in an apartment complex with bus transportation and access to the DC metro and was working full time. I retired in 2009 and since then have moved 3 times. Once again, I have to move because my landlord sold his building. It is not easy making a decision when money is an issue.
I had mistakenly focused my search on finding a place that I could live in for the rest of my life, but that proved to be difficult. So I downgraded my strategy to a 3-5 year plan, then maybe after 5 years it will be easier to make that final decision. I am pretty healthy and don't need senior housing or assisted living yet. I have also revised my wish list for a dream apartment, realizing that I can't have it all. I advise anyone having the same difficulty to write down your priorities, grading each category according to importance. Be honest and you will find that certain wishes or desires are actually not that important or at least can be moved down on your wish list. For example, I had listed access to cultural entertainment or activities within my desired neighborhood as one of my priorities, together with public transportation and shopping. Can't have them all. Ask yourself honestly how many times in a month you will need to have access to cultural activities and that may drop down to "occasionally". So on those occasions, plan it well and you can still fulfill that desire without actually living in the midst of it. I just need to be reasonably close to it via public transportation or taxi, or, if it is a special event, at least within driving distance via a rental car.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I retired in 2009 and since then have moved 3 times. Once again, I have to move because my landlord sold his building. It is not easy making a decision when money is an issue.
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Also it would be nice to have a friend or two closeby.
There is an independent/assisted living residence in my neighborhood which I would love to live in but my income is too high.
Keep an eye out for senior housing co-ops.
Many members really love them, and they get close friends and often care for each other.
One place I visited, most of a neighborhood that had aged together, followed each other to a local Housing Co-op. And there they enjoy more time together, as will their kids if they chose to generationally pass on the membership share. Some co-ops are on their 3rd generation of family.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,688 posts, read 57,994,855 times
Reputation: 46166
Senior Cooperative Housing Senior Cooperative Foundation
Co-op varies, (and you can make your own to suit the needs of a common group.)
Basically it is an entire facility owned and managed by the residents (not a 'for profit' agency)
(apartment type / Senior facility / individual homes in a Co-op development / attached / duplex triplex...)
USDA study indicated seniors live 'independently' 10 yrs longer in a Co-op, than in an apartment or on their own (They are engaged in the operation and community, and often help each other with social and care needs)
There is some really sweet HUD (213) funding specifically for senior housing co-ops. (aggregate loan for the whole facility, members get 'share loans through Credit Unions or banks)
Senior Cooperative Housing Senior Cooperative Foundation
Co-op varies, (and you can make your own to suit the needs of a common group.)
Basically it is an entire facility owned and managed by the residents (not a 'for profit' agency)
(apartment type / Senior facility / individual homes in a Co-op development / attached / duplex triplex...)
USDA study indicated seniors live 'independently' 10 yrs longer in a Co-op, than in an apartment or on their own (They are engaged in the operation and community, and often help each other with social and care needs)
There is some really sweet HUD (213) funding specifically for senior housing co-ops. (aggregate loan for the whole facility, members get 'share loans through Credit Unions or banks)
Typical co-ops (in USA)... Credit unions, REA (Rural electric associations), Farm / Grain storage and marketing,
The rest of the world has lots of co-ops (housing, worker, and industry)
I enjoy having a .coop email ! instead of a dot com ! (Danish roots )
Thanks for the lead, StealthRabbit. I immediately inquired from one of the coops listed -- Michigan Shores Cooperative -- just because the photos and writeup were attractive. (Before this, Michigan has never entered my consciousness in my search for housing. I'm an Eastcoaster by habit.) Here's their reply to my inquiry: Buy-in is under $40,000 with monthly charges of under $1,000 per month including utilities except for electricity and telephone.
So not only do I have to cough up with the buy-in of $40K but I need to pay a monthly "rent" of "under $1000," which when I looked further meant $995 (big savings of $5). I asked myself what's the appeal here for me that I would be willing to part with 40K and a monthly rental of $1000 and be out there in snowy Michigan, far from urban activities that I would rather have to make me happy? It failed my test.
Why are most retirement "heavens" planned for couples? As a single, female who is not yet a candidate for "assisted" living, there aren't many options out there. I am literally going crazy trying to find a place to live that won't require a car, near or within shopping and amenities. I've already removed warm weather from my list and upped my housing cost to $1100 plus utilities for at least 800sf space. No car expenses -- that stays on my list. Still, I'm finding it difficult. My focus has now changed to just whatever the best I could get for my housing budget, WHEREVER that is, for at least a period of 5 years. After that, who knows, maybe I'll be dead, or I'll win the lottery, or I'll meet a compatible life companion who is braver than me in decision-making.
I haven't researched the "sweet HUD 213" that you mentioned, but the last time I looked in HUD, I think it had income restrictions and I was overqualified as a single occupant. Sigh.
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