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Old 09-28-2015, 08:14 AM   #121
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We don't have a dedicated guest room but we manage to accommodate house guests in our little house all the time. Pretty easygoing family and friends. If we had a bigger house it definitely would be nice to have a "special" place for company (but then they might stay too long haha).

Amethyst I have house envy of nice big homes! We are too planted to ever move but I don't believe my friends with bigger places than mine are the least bit unhappy with their homes.
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Old 09-28-2015, 08:34 AM   #122
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Amethyst I have house envy of nice big homes! We are too planted to ever move but I don't believe my friends with bigger places than mine are the least bit unhappy with their homes.
Having just gone through a move at age 67, I can definitely state that I don't have house envy of anybody! My new ~1500 sf house is IT for me and I hope to never move again. Good thing it's my "dream house".

Still, I agree, those with big houses probably have them because they prefer living in a big house. More power to them, especially those who are thoughtful enough not to brag about their large homes. Far be it from me to criticize anybody's choices about how to spend their own money, as long as they are happy and content doing what they are doing.

However my guess is that those who complain about not having enough money, while spending lots on big houses or lavish trips or private planes or whatever, are likely to find little sympathy from those who are watching their pennies and living more modest lifestyles.
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Old 09-28-2015, 08:59 AM   #123
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Mine is a little house (1500 sq feet) but we have room for lots of friends to stay, some, like our roommate, have been here a couple of years, but we also love long weekend visits, and if we run out of space inside, we also have a couple of tents handy.
Though I do worry when we finally get our efficiency built, that it might suddenly look attractive to <eeekkk> family, so it might have to be permanently assigned to a friend or two.
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Old 09-28-2015, 10:19 AM   #124
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....I do woodturning and I really need that extra space. ....
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Same problem here. You need space and a bit of privacy to do woodworking. For us it's a compromise we'd have to make between our love of space and gardening vs. the convenience of other people taking care of stuff while we're in FL for the winter. Tempting, but can't pull the trigger yet. Too much sawdust yet to make.
The first time we visited the 55+ community my Mom lives in we were strolling near the club area and saw a sign "Sawdust Engineers"..... turns out it was their woodworking club... they have about 1,000 sf and almost every woodworking tool known to man. In addition to their own projects they make wooden toys for disadvantaged area kids and sell some things they make to help support the club and their charitable activities.
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Old 09-28-2015, 11:31 AM   #125
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Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't going after you, fritz, and in fact I appreciated your detailed, thoughtful posts on this thread about your own experiences. That picture of the guy cleaning his sandals in the public pool will stay with me...I imagine him as having back fur and moobs...

I guess, though, that your post did trigger something that I have wanted to say for a while, having been an ER forum member since 2008. Even though I'm firmly in the "ant" camp in the age-old "ant versus grasshopper" struggle, I also think people should have all the fun they can afford during their brief time on earth -whether it's buying an airplane, climbing Everest, taking the grandkids to Bora Bora, or buying/decorating/staffing a mansion. If they don't want to do things like that, it is also fine with me.

Sometimes, though, I sense the presence of a grim-faced contingent who have decided that unless they would want something, nobody should want it, and especially not older women! That is all I meant, and it's off my chest now

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I was not being critical of older women buying large houses instead of downsizing. I stated older widows and (older) couples buy large homes here, and I was pointing out that this is somewhat contrary to what everyone thinks older people should be doing (downsizing) as they age. Our neighborhood is not seeing 55-65 year old people buying from current home owners, but rather a lot of older people. This was true even when they were new homes. This was a response to the comment about 55+ neighborhoods starting out with 55-65 year old buyers and fast forward 20 years and you have all 75-85 year old folks. Not true here - they were here all along and that age group is still the majority.
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Old 09-28-2015, 11:34 AM   #126
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Can they afford people to help keep up the house, and can they afford to modify the house so they can stay in it? Then it doesn't need to be an albatross...it can be a refuge. The key is whether they can afford it. Everything costs more as the square footage goes up.

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So now its 20 years later and BIL and his DW have an albatross hanging over their head as they don't want to sell and are getting too old to move and downsize. Plus, all three children live thousands of miles away.
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Old 09-28-2015, 11:47 AM   #127
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Can they afford people to help keep up the house, and can they afford to modify the house so they can stay in it? Then it doesn't need to be an albatross...it can be a refuge. The key is whether they can afford it. Everything costs more as the square footage goes up.
Yes, they apparently can afford it.

BIL had a heart transplant last December and he is "better" although restricted in doing physical things for the first year. They have mentioned downsizing but don't have the ambition/energy/etc to make it worth the effort. They basically live on the first floor now and very rarely use the upstairs rooms where three bedrooms and a bath or two are located.
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Old 09-28-2015, 01:35 PM   #128
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, I also think people should have all the fun they can afford during their brief time on earth -whether it's buying an airplane, climbing Everest, taking the grandkids to Bora Bora, or buying/decorating/staffing a mansion. If they don't want to do things like that, it is also fine with me.

Sometimes, though, I sense the presence of a grim-faced contingent who have decided that unless they would want something, nobody should want it, and especially not older women! That is all I meant, and it's off my chest now
I agree with your post but I think the grim faced contengent is aimed at everybody not just older women . Let me be the first to say I live in a big house , have cable , travel,keep the air at 74 & freely spoil my grandkids but I will not be taking them to Bora Bora !
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Old 09-28-2015, 01:51 PM   #129
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Sometimes, though, I sense the presence of a grim-faced contingent who have decided that unless they would want something, nobody should want it, and especially not older women! That is all I meant, and it's off my chest now
There's a contingent of those everywhere, not just here. Sadly, many of them seem drawn to politics, whether at the national, local, or HOA level. You are only allowed to have fun doing the things "I" think are fun. All other activities should be illegal or considered immoral, or at least gossip topics.
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Old 09-28-2015, 01:54 PM   #130
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Sometimes, though, I sense the presence of a grim-faced contingent who have decided that unless they would want something, nobody should want it, and especially not older women! That is all I meant, and it's off my chest now
I'm perfectly happy with older women wanting it...
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Old 09-28-2015, 02:46 PM   #131
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.. taking the grandkids to Bora Bora, or buying/decorating/staffing a mansion. If they don't want to do things like that, it is also fine with me.
I know this is silly, but I keep confusing that nice place with this other nice place: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora_Bora

So I couldn't understand why grandmas typically would want to take their kids there ..
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Old 09-28-2015, 04:41 PM   #132
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Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't going after you, fritz, and in fact I appreciated your detailed, thoughtful posts on this thread about your own experiences. That picture of the guy cleaning his sandals in the public pool will stay with me...I imagine him as having back fur and moobs...

I guess, though, that your post did trigger something that I have wanted to say for a while, having been an ER forum member since 2008. Even though I'm firmly in the "ant" camp in the age-old "ant versus grasshopper" struggle, I also think people should have all the fun they can afford during their brief time on earth -whether it's buying an airplane, climbing Everest, taking the grandkids to Bora Bora, or buying/decorating/staffing a mansion. If they don't want to do things like that, it is also fine with me.

Sometimes, though, I sense the presence of a grim-faced contingent who have decided that unless they would want something, nobody should want it, and especially not older women! That is all I meant, and it's off my chest now
You always see the brochures/advertisements on 55+ communities with those picture perfect air-brushed models around 55? featured - being very active and life is good smiles on their faces. Around here, it's much older folks in the neighborhood (and much older folks buying all the homes here).

As for older women enjoying themselves and buying nice single family houses - three live right across the street from us. One just recently bought her home from our friends who moved to Georgia to be near their kids (he just passed away). A limo picked up two of them on Saturday for a 10 day trip (I kind of keep an eye on the houses, but the three across the street take care of each others places, dogs, etc while they travel). The other just got back from traveling for a couple of weeks with her other women friends living in the community. Our next door neighbor is widowed, and there are 3 more older women on the street as well (a 4th just passed away, and we don't know who bought her house yet). One rides around the neighborhood with her two dogs in her golf cart all day and she and her sister (who also bought a single family home a block over) winter in Florida every year.

Our neighbors behind us are in their 90's (remember this neighborhood is +/-14 yrs old), and they spend 4-5 months here and the balance of the year in their 2nd home in Florida. Been doing this since I've bought in here 9 years now and their home is just a little older than ours). They used to drive, but have just started to fly back and forth. Same with two of the other neighbors behind us, although they are a little younger early/mid 70's. One sold a home down in Florida and bought another 5 bed/3 1/2 bath home there last year.

Although our neighborhood is mostly much older folks than the models pictured on the brochures for these communities - they do have the life is good smiles on their faces, and appear to be enjoying life.
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Old 10-05-2015, 07:41 PM   #133
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+1 amethyst - you are my kind of gal.
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