If life changes...

[paxom]

Wondering if other people have a plan b if things change. I am trying to figure out what changes to be ready to make if I have more difficulty getting around. I have osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. I am not sure what I might do, as my adult child is not near, and I am really on my own.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I think about that from time to time too. I don’t have the physical strength to do the work required to keep my garden up to scratch and I doubt if we could get a gardener who would work as hard as we do to keep the garden under control. so I think I would try to downsize into a smaller house - a very good excuse to de-junk get rid of the clutter - preferably somewhere on one floor or with the option of having a downstairs bedroom / bathroom and with a very small manageable garden or a flat with a good sized balcony although I’ve never lived in a flat.

I would want it to be somewhere with very good transport links. I would also like to be in the catchment area for a good hospital and have good medical facilities to hand. Who would ever have thought in their younger days that you would think like that as you age.

I have invested in lightweight gadgets to make housework easier but I often wonder how I would manage things like changing beds that need strength (I find that hard work already) without my husband’s help so I suppose I might need to think of getting some sort of household help for heavy things like that. Oh and I’ve got an AppleWatch with a built in SOS if you fall - that works because I fell recently and it buzzed to ask if I had fallen and gave me a choice of answers - I chose yes but I’m ok. I turn the sound off but when it was new I was changing the strap and dropped it on the tiled floor - that set off a really loud warning noise and someone somewhere spoke to me to ask if I was ok. It gave me the fright of my life! So something like that or a wearable personal alarm system could be a good idea.

Not sure if that’s the sort of plan b changes you’re thinking of but that’s how min mine works 😉

[paxom in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Any experience with adjustments one might have to make help me to consider the possibilities. Thanks for responding!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to paxom]

There is always the option of retirement / sheltered housing, might be worth considering something like that.

[paxom in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

If I could find something like that in my price range, I would definitely be interested. However, what is available in my general area is prohibitively expensive. Thanks for your reply.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to paxom]

It’s very difficult isn’t it. I’ve looked around and it often appears that what you can afford is not necessarily where you would actually want to live.

Hopefully you will find a solution though, I think it’s good idea for you to be working on your plan b - hopefully you won’t need it. Does your adult child have any ideas that would help?

It might also be worth you looking at the U.K. version of this HU site to see what people on there thing - it’s called Bone Health.

[paxom in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thanks for acknowledging my circumstance. It is a dilemma that has some solution, just don't know yet what that is.

My daughter is not very involved with me as she is very independent and has a husband and life that are her priority. They also live 2 hours away. So, I do feel sometimes like I am almost completely on my own. However, that is the circumstance for so many seniors, so I don't feel so alone with that.

I appreciate your thoughtful responses.

[paxom in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Sounds like you have thought through a lot of the relevant considerations of getting older. Good for you!

[paxom in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hope your week is going well enough. I don't come here consistently, but do appreciate your earlier responses. I have some trouble figuring out how this site works, unfortunately.

[Pretsini]

I am not a fan of “aging in place”. My spouse and I are waitlisted for a community that specializes in dwellings for retired people, with the possibility of assisted living when needed. We will do this in the next 2-3 years, when in the early 70s. The community is located in a smaller city with a major university, so there are good amenities and medical care. The community is near regional parks with trails and nature areas, and the dwellings are smaller. They have groundskeeping and maintenance and additional help if you want it. Plus, there is lots of socialization and companionship.

[paxom in reply to Pretsini]

I do understand your preference, but unfortunately, these kinds of places are outside of the realm of possibilities due to income.

[Pretsini]

Grandparents living with the family are not as common a situation as formerly, though it still happens in some Hispanic and Asian families. Would be great if there were communal living arrangements for seniors that are less expensive than retirement communities.

[paxom in reply to Pretsini]

Exactly right!

[Pretsini]

Just a thought…have you checked out Silvernest or Senior Homeshares? I have no experience with them, but worth a look. In some metropolitan areas there are online communities of seniors who have each other’s back.

[paxom]

Thanks, I will look into it!