Food for thought as always. A couple i know in their late 80s and who are determined to stay in their multi story home said they installed hand railings on both sides of their staircases. They consider it good exercise to navigate the stairs. Not possible for everyone but their spunk inspired me! I am among the 100% who would like to stay in my home.
It’s hard to plan….we moved to an active over 55 community so I no longer have to shovel snow, mow the lawn, rake leaves. We have two cars….for now. I just finished hospice training in ME ( had done it years ago when I volunteered and lived in MA) so it gets you thinking…..
Plan…but so much never goes according to plan. Best of luck.
Sobering. My situation is like yours only 20 years later. I'm in a condo in an elevator building that's in an area with great walkability. So some part of the situation looks better than it looked in the 1884 house we sold last October. Still, I don't have a walk-in shower or doorways that could accommodate a wheelchair. It really is hard to imagine that level of incapacity...even though I've worked in dozens of nursing homes. Thanks for the outline of what I need to think about.
The prices for assisted living in the Alexandria VA region are much closer to $12,000/month and nursing homes are $480/day. Assisted living offers to encourage the senior to get involved, nursing homes similarly make the offer, but no one can make the senior get involved, so the options become warehouses waiting for either finances to run out (Medicaid doesn’t kick in until total assets drop to $2000) or the person dies.
Interesting, Don. Actively planning for years, for all sorts of contingencies, while thinking "yeah, right." Postwar stability allowed us to dare to plan. Life? Almost certainly won't cooperate. Mice and men. 😀 I absolutely get why young people can't be bothered with the anxiety. If they assume they'll have the means, it won't matter. If they assume they won't, it won't matter, either. A growing craving for genuine community among them won't surprise me.
Excellent, thoughtful article, and (best of all) nonjudgmental. We moved to a continuing care retirement community in our early 70s, from a house with too many stairs and too much yard. It works for us, and we have no regrets. But there is no perfect solution, and certainly one size does not fit all. The main thing I tell people is “Aging in place is a great idea, but you have to pick the place.”
The village movement is set up to make it easier for seniors to age in place.
I'm not there yet but it's something I'm interested in joining in a few years.
I'm torn on the stairs - I sort of feel having to take the stairs makes me healthier.
OTOH, when I broke my ankle, I just moved to the first floor and my sister popped in to do my laundry. Basement has a door to the outside so I could also live on that floor.
But as I tell my nieces, if I'm non compos mentis, put me in a nursing home. I've seen too many people wreck their own health trying to care for a relative with dementia.
The only people I know who planned well for their later years are my dad's sister (now 93) and brother-in-law (who died last year at age 101). They had the foresight and means to sell their home and move to Charlestown 20 years ago. They enjoyed 10 years of active senior living before serious illness (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's) forced them into the assisted living, 24-hour care, and, for my uncle, hospice care, all provided by Charlestown.
Most of my other elder family members were able to age in place, with support from their children and other relatives.
I'm single, with no children. So, I'm beginning to investigate my options, though my intention is to age in place.
Food for thought as always. A couple i know in their late 80s and who are determined to stay in their multi story home said they installed hand railings on both sides of their staircases. They consider it good exercise to navigate the stairs. Not possible for everyone but their spunk inspired me! I am among the 100% who would like to stay in my home.
It’s hard to plan….we moved to an active over 55 community so I no longer have to shovel snow, mow the lawn, rake leaves. We have two cars….for now. I just finished hospice training in ME ( had done it years ago when I volunteered and lived in MA) so it gets you thinking…..
Plan…but so much never goes according to plan. Best of luck.
Best of luck to all of us! We'll need it.
Sobering. My situation is like yours only 20 years later. I'm in a condo in an elevator building that's in an area with great walkability. So some part of the situation looks better than it looked in the 1884 house we sold last October. Still, I don't have a walk-in shower or doorways that could accommodate a wheelchair. It really is hard to imagine that level of incapacity...even though I've worked in dozens of nursing homes. Thanks for the outline of what I need to think about.
The prices for assisted living in the Alexandria VA region are much closer to $12,000/month and nursing homes are $480/day. Assisted living offers to encourage the senior to get involved, nursing homes similarly make the offer, but no one can make the senior get involved, so the options become warehouses waiting for either finances to run out (Medicaid doesn’t kick in until total assets drop to $2000) or the person dies.
Sad but true.
Interesting, Don. Actively planning for years, for all sorts of contingencies, while thinking "yeah, right." Postwar stability allowed us to dare to plan. Life? Almost certainly won't cooperate. Mice and men. 😀 I absolutely get why young people can't be bothered with the anxiety. If they assume they'll have the means, it won't matter. If they assume they won't, it won't matter, either. A growing craving for genuine community among them won't surprise me.
All my best plans are contingent.
Thoughtful, as always. I'm just not gonna think about it.
That's the spirit!
Excellent, thoughtful article, and (best of all) nonjudgmental. We moved to a continuing care retirement community in our early 70s, from a house with too many stairs and too much yard. It works for us, and we have no regrets. But there is no perfect solution, and certainly one size does not fit all. The main thing I tell people is “Aging in place is a great idea, but you have to pick the place.”
Thank you, Jo. "Pick the place" is right on target.
https://www.beaconhillvillage.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=332658&module_id=483486
The village movement is set up to make it easier for seniors to age in place.
I'm not there yet but it's something I'm interested in joining in a few years.
I'm torn on the stairs - I sort of feel having to take the stairs makes me healthier.
OTOH, when I broke my ankle, I just moved to the first floor and my sister popped in to do my laundry. Basement has a door to the outside so I could also live on that floor.
But as I tell my nieces, if I'm non compos mentis, put me in a nursing home. I've seen too many people wreck their own health trying to care for a relative with dementia.
The only people I know who planned well for their later years are my dad's sister (now 93) and brother-in-law (who died last year at age 101). They had the foresight and means to sell their home and move to Charlestown 20 years ago. They enjoyed 10 years of active senior living before serious illness (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's) forced them into the assisted living, 24-hour care, and, for my uncle, hospice care, all provided by Charlestown.
Most of my other elder family members were able to age in place, with support from their children and other relatives.
I'm single, with no children. So, I'm beginning to investigate my options, though my intention is to age in place.
I hope the options are good ones.