haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I met a very vigorous 82 year old man through my RE agent, who was showing me a unit in his building. His unit was also for sale, and I offered to help her carry out some debris from a clean-up they had done. He has been widowed for many years, and has lived in this building for 12 years or so. He decided that he was getting isolated, and he chose to move to a retirement complex. It didn't really make any sense to me, since he liked his building and his friends and neighbors there, and he had plenty mobility to get around to grocery stores, coffee shops, etc., even though he no longer drives due to vision issues.
He moved farther out to a nice retirement place, and seemed to be happy. But yesterday he told me that he was moving back to the old neighborhood, but not into his still unsold unit. He wants to live in an apartment, one street up but the same neighhhborhood. He said the assisted living was just a bunch of people waiting to die. He wants to be proactive but he got a bit ahead of himself. I think he figures that with no upkeep responsibilites, an occasional housekeeper, maybe pay someone to do laundry he can live free until the end. Plenty of restaurants around for meals. Money is not a problem. I know it is a lot more fun to visit an older friend in an apartment or condo than in one of those aging places. They are just hard to take. They even smell bad.
Seems to me that he is trying to be responsible, yet keep his life pleasant as long as possible.
My ex's parents are perhaps the other pole. Again, plenty of money, but they cannot make a move that would make things very much better for everyone, due to conflict avoidance. In their 90s they live in a suburban house that would be a challenge for much younger people- house way up from the sidewalk, steps with no railings, steep driveway, dangerous concrete basement steps, etc, no public transportation and too frugal to use cabs. He is still a pretty good driver at 97, but she is a terror that should not be on the road. Ex MIL grew up poor and tough, and I think she still imagines herself to be poor and tough, rather than well to do and old and frail.
I am not yet 70, and have no real impediments, but I would not buy in a building, and likely would not even rent in a building, that did not have good elevators.
Aging is not fun to think about, but there are good ways and not so good ways, I think. I knew old single men out in the country who were very independent-(cussed they were called) - but these guys didn't need much, and they really didn't mind if one day they died and no one knew for a few days. That works if you kit that description.
Ha
He moved farther out to a nice retirement place, and seemed to be happy. But yesterday he told me that he was moving back to the old neighborhood, but not into his still unsold unit. He wants to live in an apartment, one street up but the same neighhhborhood. He said the assisted living was just a bunch of people waiting to die. He wants to be proactive but he got a bit ahead of himself. I think he figures that with no upkeep responsibilites, an occasional housekeeper, maybe pay someone to do laundry he can live free until the end. Plenty of restaurants around for meals. Money is not a problem. I know it is a lot more fun to visit an older friend in an apartment or condo than in one of those aging places. They are just hard to take. They even smell bad.
Seems to me that he is trying to be responsible, yet keep his life pleasant as long as possible.
My ex's parents are perhaps the other pole. Again, plenty of money, but they cannot make a move that would make things very much better for everyone, due to conflict avoidance. In their 90s they live in a suburban house that would be a challenge for much younger people- house way up from the sidewalk, steps with no railings, steep driveway, dangerous concrete basement steps, etc, no public transportation and too frugal to use cabs. He is still a pretty good driver at 97, but she is a terror that should not be on the road. Ex MIL grew up poor and tough, and I think she still imagines herself to be poor and tough, rather than well to do and old and frail.
I am not yet 70, and have no real impediments, but I would not buy in a building, and likely would not even rent in a building, that did not have good elevators.
Aging is not fun to think about, but there are good ways and not so good ways, I think. I knew old single men out in the country who were very independent-(cussed they were called) - but these guys didn't need much, and they really didn't mind if one day they died and no one knew for a few days. That works if you kit that description.
Ha