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Old 08-08-2017, 12:40 PM   #61
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Nothing is perfect but you have to live somewhere. If I were infinitely wealthy, I suppose I'd live in a SF again and have a "staff" to deal with everything. Barring that, a condo seems to be our best compromise. YMMV
I'm not infinitely wealthy, but I am only 69 and don't have to have a full staff to deal with everything yet. I have a lawn guy to mow and take care of my yard, and I have a handyman that I call in once or twice a year.

But I think that eventually I might need a housecleaner (as much as I detest the invasion of privacy of having someone in my home every week or two).

And if/when I really start to decline, I might need some sort of assistance to dress, cook, shower, and so on. Maybe at that stage I will need to have a live-in or else move to a CCRC or nursing home. But then again, maybe I'll die first; I'd rather not, but some people do.
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Old 08-08-2017, 12:52 PM   #62
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and electrolytes in place of beer.
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Bite your tongue!
No need to quarrel, fellows. Aussies are working hard to solve one of mankind's most important challenges ..
Hydrating Beer: Researchers Create Brew That Rehydrates Drinkers By Adding Electrolytes | HuffPost
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Australian researchers say they’ve created a hydrating beer by adding electrolytes — a common ingredient in sports drinks.
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Old 08-08-2017, 01:42 PM   #63
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electrolytes in place of beer.
I often rehydrate with beer. Get a buzz real quick.
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Old 08-08-2017, 02:44 PM   #64
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I went from a SFH (15 years) to a condo (9 years) back to a SFH. The condo was lovely in a great neighborhood but I hated interacting with the HOA and the general sense of "communal living." It wasn't all that different from living in an apartment. I am a very independent person and largely an introvert; these two things make my home a slice of heaven to me. I live alone in 1500 square feet and love every inch of it! It is an urban setting and I do have neighbors on either side quite close to me, but I lucked out as they are all very nice, quiet, respectful people.
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Old 08-10-2017, 04:27 PM   #65
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I love condo living. My back yard is the beach and Pacific Ocean. Beautiful to look at and no maintenance required. [emoji41] It's a great "lock and leave" place, rules aren't onerous, and most of the residents are quiet and pleasant neighbors. It's all one level and has elevators from the parking garage. There is public transport right outside the front door of the lobby. Excellent for aging in place but has also been a great place to live in our 40's/50's. We downsized from a 3,500 sq ft house on a 1 acre lot, and now spend weekends paddling, biking, and/or doing fun things with friends instead of tending to a large property. With only 2 of us and 1 dog, a 1,600 sq ft condo is plenty big enough. If we ever relocate, I'd likely choose a condo again.
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Old 08-10-2017, 05:43 PM   #66
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Another thought is that I believe many probably dismiss condos because they think of them as all the same. But "condominium" just refers to the legal setup. The physical arrangement can vary quite a bit. Large apartment type buildings, rows of townhouses, individual houses, just about anything you can think of.

My current condo development is just 17 units (individual houses), so we don't even have a management company -- we handle everything ourselves. We have a great landscape/lawn maintenance/snow removal outfit and another for the irrigation system. Minor and major maintenance projects are handled as they come up. We keep a very healthy reserve fund for contingencies.

Mostly lawyers, doctors, and other professionals, either retired or old enough to be retired. Best neighborhood I've ever lived in. Very tolerant people, too -- they put up with me!
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Old 08-10-2017, 05:58 PM   #67
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The link is to the home page for the corporation that operates our CCRC in Peru, and another 23 similar communities in Illinois, Iowa and Nevada.

https://www.simplythefinest.net/

Suggestion... spend a few minutes looking around the different videos to get an Idea of what to expect in different parts of a CCRC It may be different from what you might expect. In any case, check out the FAQ for some of the most common questions, as... What happens if I run out of money, or are pets allowed? Each different part of the CCRC is covered. While you won't likely be looking in this area, the questions are ones that you should be ready to ask, wherever you may be considering.

The second picture (click) on the first page, is the identical house to ours. 1590 sf, two car garage, vaulted ceilings and all built with retirees in mind. We love it here. all outside work is provided... trees, bushes, lawns and exterior finishes,although we own the home. Cost for exterior care and "ahem" snow removal is $150/mo. and the service is excellent.

Clicking around on the first page will bring you to the features and services in each part of the CCRC, as well as the towns where the different "Liberty Villages" are located.

I have been to several of the other communities, and they are all relatively new, like ours mostly built in the early 2000's.

Because we've lived here since 2004, we haven't found any downsides, and will be comfortable when it comes time to move into the apartments, assisted living or whatever the future holds.

The blue spruce in our front yard, was small enough for me to reach the top with a star at Christmas when we moved in... It's now 22 feet high
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Old 08-12-2017, 10:54 PM   #68
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What would your ideal retirement home be?
We built our 1456 sq/ft home in 2004 with the intention that it would be our forever home. I designed it with a single level, 36" wide doors for easy wheelchair access, and a curbless roll in shower. I may have to have a ramp installed on the exterior if I lose my mobility, but otherwise I see no reason why we can't live in our home the rest of our lives.

We recently had to move my mom to an assisted living home, so I have learned a lot in recent months. Our plan is to hire in-home care if we ever reach a point where we can't care for ourselves fully. It would take a serious downturn before I would ever move out of my home.

At 54 I do all my own yard work with a self-propelled walk-behind mower (roughly 3/4 acre to mow). I enjoy the exercise and being outdoors. If I ever reach a point that I can't walk that distance anymore, I'll probably invest in a riding mower. If I reach a point that even that is too much, I'm not against hiring a lawn care service. Oh, and a sexy little maid...
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Old 08-13-2017, 06:01 AM   #69
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Apartments for us - less hassle + the lock and leave element.
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Old 08-13-2017, 06:14 AM   #70
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We just completed building our present home in February of this year in a rural setting on approximately 10 acres. I realize we will have to make another move when I get too old to take care of this size of a place.
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Old 08-13-2017, 06:21 AM   #71
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We are looking at going from a 1942 built solid brick/slate roof colonial w/2400sf SFH and detached 2 car to a new construction 2900sf 3 level townhouse condo with personal elevator, and 2 car at ground level. I've been maintaining and making improvements on every SFH (4) I've bought and lived in since 1986. While the ROI has been great, the cost in terms of free time has been tremendous. I love the house we are in, the solid construction, the garden back yard, and all the personal renovations I have made over the last 10 years. But DW has always wanted a different design and floor plan, and at 65 she wants to try this before she is too old to make another change if it isn't what we hope it will be. I've come to realize that it is time to realize all that sweat equity and gain back my life from work AND the house in retirement. It will make travel so much easier. NEVER thought I would live in a townhouse, but these are the first really well built ones, that are well designed, ideally located (for DW), & designed for both living now and as we age in place, that I personally have found acceptable, and at 60, I am ready to not do any more outside maintenance and yard work. If after we get all the travel bug out of our system, we would still be young enough for one more move if we decide townhome living is not for us.
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Old 08-13-2017, 02:10 PM   #72
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I'm currently in my retirement home...1000 square feet on 1.7 acres. I've been here for 20 years and it's close to ideal in a perfect location, on a quiet street, secluded from the neighbors, and 1 minute away from driving outside the city. I plan on staying here for the foreseeable future.
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Old 08-13-2017, 02:23 PM   #73
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"The Villages" in central Florida!

https://www.thevillages.com/aboutUs.html


Mike
Too Hot and humud there for me there in summer and somewhat Land Locked. I prefer bein near an Ocean.
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Old 08-13-2017, 03:43 PM   #74
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We will likely stay in our small two-story house forever--it feels like we have lived here forever anyway! Climbing stairs several times a day keeps us in shape (and I have read that the more one climbs stairs, the longer one will be able to climb stairs--and since we already have these 15 steps up to our bedroom and down to the basement with laundry, and eight up from the sidewalk to our porch, I of course believe that to be true ) and able to tour castles, climb mountains, etc. on our travels. We use a lawn service for fall cleanup and periodic stuff, and for mowing when we have been out of town, and have housecleaning every two weeks. If we had to move it would be to a brand-new condo with rock solid walls, tons of insulation, and super soundproofing, in a warm weather location, and a communal workout room with a stairclimber .
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Old 08-13-2017, 03:49 PM   #75
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If we had to move it would be to a brand-new condo with rock solid walls, tons of insulation, and super soundproofing,
If you find one could you let me know?

There were some 2.5 million buck condos selling across the river here. I said "Man if I could afford one of those I bet they'd be plenny soundproof!!

Story in the news one night was about people who bought there complaining about how thin the walls were and how they could hear the neighbors! Not only do you not get what you pay for but apparently even people who can afford 2.5 million dollar condos are crappy neighbors!
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Old 08-13-2017, 04:18 PM   #76
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We only have one common wall and it is a dual wall with big fat insulation between. Even handball will not penetrate. We do hear people on the roof but that is exceptional. During the last earthquake, the rolling rocks on the roof scared our cats as the building swayed.
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:34 AM   #77
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These townhomes have 6 inch walls between units with a fireproof rock board, insulated, then OSB sheathing, with Sheetrock over that. We each went to a side of adjacent units and tried yelling at each other and couldn't hear each other. It was impressive. We spoke with a few current residents and they all said they've never heard anyone next door. And of course the design is such that no adjacent walls have living spaces on each side. Its closets, laundry room, or foyer on each bedroom or living room wall. About $600-650k.
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Old 08-14-2017, 10:06 AM   #78
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These townhomes have 6 inch walls between units with a fireproof rock board, insulated, then OSB sheathing, with Sheetrock over that. We each went to a side of adjacent units and tried yelling at each other and couldn't hear each other. It was impressive. We spoke with a few current residents and they all said they've never heard anyone next door. And of course the design is such that no adjacent walls have living spaces on each side. Its closets, laundry room, or foyer on each bedroom or living room wall. About $600-650k.
Our friends moved into a new building that must be constructed as you describe--we feel like we are in a tomb (in the good way ) when we visit them as it is so quiet, even though they have units above them and on either side and across the hall. You can't even hear their television in their own den when you are around the corner in their kitchen.
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Old 08-14-2017, 12:38 PM   #79
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It was advantageous to see the units being built, which I went to during various stages. We originally were looking at an end unit so there would only be one shared wall for noise.. But when we spoke to residents there, they mentioned that the end units were noisier because the outside wall had so many extra windows (15!) so outside noise was higher, plus you lost a lot of wall space, making furniture placement harder.
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Old 08-18-2017, 03:56 PM   #80
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We bought a 1350 s.f. single story condo, end unit, about seven years ago and rented it out for several years before we moved in a couple of years ago. It has a courtyard in the front and a patio in the back with about 40 sf of dirt so I can play in it. The patio looks out over a beautiful common area with a stream, grass, trees and shrubs, all taken care of by contractors. We figured this is the closest we'd get to living on a river. While it's not a 55+ community, most of the people are retirees who've downsized.

Most of the time I really like living here, particularly when we travel since it's so easy to just leave. But sometimes I want to have a yard. However, mowing the lawn in 100+ degree heat was awful and spending all that time fertilizing it, fooling with irrigation, etc. was annoying. I need to keep remembering that.
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