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Everyone has different dreams. I spent so much time living in the boonies that if I had a billion dollars tomorrow, I would move to a 2 br condo in Manhattan. And travel a lot. Trips to Europe are always cheap from the east coast. I would still live relatively 'cheap' for Manhattan. It would take me years to see all the sights and museums.
One place I lived was so remote we couldn't get a phone and the only neighbors we could see were deer and armadillos. Couldn't get much TV either! We were very isolated. Maybe that's why convenience and city sounds good to me!
We had a place in east Tennessee, close to Cumberland Gap national park, out in the weeds. I always felt that, hey, if I can't get to help, I'll just decide it is time for me to cross the rainbow bridge. Hubs felt different about it, and we ended up selling and moving to Florida. Then he died. And, I'm here. Not where I wanted to be, but... such is life.
We moved here to rural Maine 4 years ago, into a house I built myself. We have 33 acres, large gardens, and raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pigs. We love it. There are no sidewalks here, and no street lights. Totally calm and peaceful. I have a plow blade on the truck, and 3 German Shepherds who love to ride with me, even if I'm not going anywhere. My brother, and my wife's brother, also live here in their own cabins. So there are 4 of us here, all over age 68, and all urban refugees.
The trouble with all this, "I have to live near a hospital" stuff is that people of any age can be sickly, and people of any age can die. If you spent your youth smoking and drinking and tsking drugs, not eating as well or exercising as much as you should have, and you know who you are, don't complain.
That said, some people are just more comfortable in some settings than others. If you are more comfortable in the city, then stay there and enjoy it. But don't say it's because of the doctors or the hospitals or the Walmarts or the Starbucks. It isn't. It's because that's where you're comfortable.
Neither DH nor I have ever been sickly. Neither of us has ever drunk alcohol, done drugs, or smoked. But he had to have a heart by pass when he was 58. Your health can go south suddenly, you can be in an accident, you can develop dementia. None of us tough enough to defeat old age.
I prefer to live near medical care. That seems wise to me, at our stage in life.
We know many seniors who live in rural Maine and who seem to enjoy it a great deal. I do not see why it would not be possible down South too.
Obviously depends on personal health and tolerance of rural conditions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kat in aiken
We had a place in east Tennessee, close to Cumberland Gap national park, out in the weeds. I always felt that, hey, if I can't get to help, I'll just decide it is time for me to cross the rainbow bridge. Hubs felt different about it, and we ended up selling and moving to Florida. Then he died. And, I'm here. Not where I wanted to be, but... such is life.
In that area, you're closest town is Harrogate. I assume Lincoln Memorial has ties to hospitals over there, but I don't much insight into that local market. Harrogate is basically an hour and a half from my office, and there is nothing there worth seeing. It's only salvation is that it is at a crossroads.
We had a place in east Tennessee, close to Cumberland Gap national park, out in the weeds. I always felt that, hey, if I can't get to help, I'll just decide it is time for me to cross the rainbow bridge. Hubs felt different about it, and we ended up selling and moving to Florida. Then he died. And, I'm here. Not where I wanted to be, but... such is life.
Kat-
I really am sorry about your husband. I can't imagine DW or I us living without the other, but it is a fact of live that I think we have accepted, and we do have to go on. I really hope you don't interpret this post as inconsiderate, but since we are moving to a rural area, it would be interesting to know as much as we can as we age. So many here seem to think that living across the street from a hospital is the golden scenario, which is not our take on living .
Since you were closer to good healthcare, in hindsight, do you consider that the proximity was an advantage to you during your husbands illness?
Neither DH nor I have ever been sickly. Neither of us has ever drunk alcohol, done drugs, or smoked. But he had to have a heart by pass when he was 58. Your health can go south suddenly, you can be in an accident, you can develop dementia. None of us tough enough to defeat old age.
I prefer to live near medical care. That seems wise to me, at our stage in life.
Yep, and the quality of the medical care matters, too. When you have a stroke, you have about 60 minutes to get the TPA clot buster injection or you're going to be a vegetable. After 60 minutes, it's far less effective. After 2 1/2 hours, it's pointless. You want a real hospital with a real ER, real ER physicians, CT scan gear, and the good neurologist. Dial 911 in some rural place and start the stopwatch. Welcome to a decade+ in a wheelchair drooling.
Yep, and the quality of the medical care matters, too. When you have a stroke, you have about 60 minutes to get the TPA clot buster injection or you're going to be a vegetable. After 60 minutes, it's far less effective. After 2 1/2 hours, it's pointless. You want a real hospital with a real ER, real ER physicians, CT scan gear, and the good neurologist. Dial 911 in some rural place and start the stopwatch. Welcome to a decade+ in a wheelchair drooling.
Here is where I have problems with these threads. I agree that needing stitches, or in any accident scenario, close proximity is great. For many kinds of serious illness, though, I am not sure it matters.
When my MIL moved in with us, late 80s, she was a vegan, a hiker, and in good overall physical shape. One night in her 90s, she had a stroke in her sleep. We normally heard her stirring at 5:00am, the start of our normal work routine, went to say good morning, but found her unresponsive, and an ambulance took her to the best trauma center available. Only took a few short minutes. She was worked on for hours by surgeons, doctors, and ER staff, but was clinically brain-dead before and after the episode. She was on life support in ICU for a couple of weeks, then on life support in the hospital for a couple of months before she passed. Sounds good on paper, but if the trauma is severe, NO AMOUNT OF GOOD CARE is going to help.
Are we going to move closer to a hospital just to avoid that scenario? Not likely.
No one really said that all seniors (or even the majority of seniors) need to "spend tons of time in doctor offices."
Before they turned 70, my parents were either at the doctors, had just been to the doctors, or were scheduled for a doctor's appointment in the near future. As my mother aged and got dementia, she started to avoid the doctor. As my father aged, he reached the point where he was either in surgery, recovering from surgery, or scheduled for surgery. Both parents had good health habits.
There was some land for sale between Hays and Ellis, Kansas. I think it was about 30 acres, and I could have written a check. I am in good health, but am nearly 62, and not getting any younger. There are 6 lots available right in Pittsburg, Kansas totaling 1.2 acres that I could afford. However, they are next to a busy multi-lane road. At any rate, moving is not an option as long as my mother is still alive.
it certainly does matter . if i or a loved one have any form of cancer i want sloan kettering near me .
I am not talking about having local access to healthcare, and I am talking about proximity to it. Under your scenario, does 30 minutes driving time make that much of a difference? Personally, I don't think it does. Cancer generally isn't a trauma scenario; and if it becomes one, I don't think minutes matter.
I can get to a quality healthcare facility here in 40 minutes, and when I was in Los Angeles, the same quality healthcare (UCLA Medical Center) was well over an hour by freeway. A few years ago, I had a pericarditis event while working as a contractor in Denver. Fortunately, I was close to quality healthcare, and at 2:00am, was taken by an ambulance 8-10minutes to get to a great hospital. Problem was, I wasn't alone there. I was in ER for two hours before I saw my first physician. I thought I was having a heart attack, and the ER personnel thought so too, and my first treatment was a CT...but that didn't speed up the treatment.
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