Out of Steam
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2017
- Messages
- 1,666
We're retired, in our early 60s, in a recently purchased suburban single family home where I'm doing the maintenance, inside and outside. This is just as I have done for the past 30+ years, on several different houses.
I have the strong feeling that, when I can no longer do it myself, I'd prefer to move to a rental or condo where I don't have to. I have hired out yard work in the past when it has interfered with travel (work or personal), and would do it again. That would be an exception I'm comfortable with.
But I think I'd be very frustrated by having to hire out most repair work, rather than the small fraction that I can't do (HVAC, major plumbing and electrical). This is probably colored by an HVAC job that went on for about a year, and ended with us hiring another contractor to straighten up after the first. Having to hire someone for everything from painting to window screens just seems like asking for frustration.
So it feels like living here has a fairly clear end date, probably not past 75. But we have several neighbors who are roughly that age, and are not doing their own work. They seem to manage fine.
Am I overreacting? How have others managed this transition from DIY to depending on others?
I have the strong feeling that, when I can no longer do it myself, I'd prefer to move to a rental or condo where I don't have to. I have hired out yard work in the past when it has interfered with travel (work or personal), and would do it again. That would be an exception I'm comfortable with.
But I think I'd be very frustrated by having to hire out most repair work, rather than the small fraction that I can't do (HVAC, major plumbing and electrical). This is probably colored by an HVAC job that went on for about a year, and ended with us hiring another contractor to straighten up after the first. Having to hire someone for everything from painting to window screens just seems like asking for frustration.
So it feels like living here has a fairly clear end date, probably not past 75. But we have several neighbors who are roughly that age, and are not doing their own work. They seem to manage fine.
Am I overreacting? How have others managed this transition from DIY to depending on others?