"aging in place"
Posted by barbados_blonde1@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 107 comments
Well, here we are, discussing getting older. Who would have thought?
Anyway, just curious how many of you plan to "age in place" in your current home, maybe making modifications, or do you plan to downsize?
We live in an old Victorian that we love. It's 3 stories and in a remote part of the country, which we also love, but the conditions are very harsh. Our house would need - at the very least - to have a full bathroom put in on the ground floor.
However: I had a major health issue last year (cancer, now in remission) but it really drove home how important it is to be near excellent health care. We drove 8 hours each way every two weeks to get chemo for 6 months.
We're thinking about moving to a small city within an hour of world-class healthcare, with more amenities...we want to do this before something forces the issue (if that even happens).
Is anyone even thinking about this?
renijreddit@reddit
Hell No! I’m going to assisted living. I’m gonna relive my dorm days and rock that joint!!!
auntieup@reddit
I’m gonna enjoy throwing a beach ball at the homies from my wheelchair while our lovely Gen Alpha workers play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on our state of the art stereo system 🖤
Tralfaz1138@reddit
We have a few things that make me believe we'll likely live in this house until...we can't. One is that we bought a new build that is mostly a ranch house (upstairs is only a game room) and we customized it with wider hallways to work with mobility devices. Another is that we have one of those stupidly low Covid interest rates that puts our payment at less than what rent at most apartments around here are. My wife has some health issues and health care is easily accessible in our area. We are within a convenient distance of a major airport. We have a number of options very nearby for groceries and other things.
So far our neighborhood is pretty chill so I can only hope it stays that way forever. There's a part of me that would like to live in a less dense and flat area, but it's hard to give up the convenience factor of having everything you need access to nearby.
Hatdude1973@reddit
Plan to downsize but stay close to where we are. We already live close to world class healthcare. I would like to rent a place for a couple months in a warmer climate in the winter.
copperfrog42@reddit
We are staying put. It’s a ranch, the showers are already walk in, and it’s paid for.
grayhairedqueenbitch@reddit
The home we own is not suitable for aging in place. Stairs to get inside, stairs inside, narrow doorways, etc. Then there is the fact that we moved here for my spouse's job, and I'm determined not to die here. Finding a place that is affordable AND in a desirable location is the challenge.
SnowblindAlbino@reddit
We have 15+ automated Zillow searches going and pour over the results every few days. It's fun, and the upside is that we've found plenty of places in the part of the country we want to live in, that we can afford, and that are suitable for "elderly" people to live in long term. So there's potential at least.
HawthorneMama@reddit
I feel this! Every place that sounds wonderful, that makes me excited to move, is shockingly more expensive than where we live now ☹️
SnowblindAlbino@reddit
We think about it all the time, as we're approaching retirement. Or at least planning retirement. We will sell our house and relocate across the country closer to where we grew up. There we will either build a one-story home or buy/remodel something older. We want a very small town though, like <1,000 people, but it has to be within an hour of a real airport, a college, and a solid hospital. Hopefully we'll find such a place and live out our retirement there without having to move again.
HatesDuckTape@reddit
My kids are 15 and 13. I’ll be 50 next month. Wife has 8 more years until full retirement pension. I’m going until 65 unless my body can’t.
My much younger brother bought a house in Charleston a few years ago. It’s about a 12 hour drive from us. Going to visit him this summer and look around to see if that’s where we want to go when my wife starts collecting her pension. I’ve been there before but never looked at it from a moving there perspective. She’s never been there. Makes a ton of sense on paper - significantly cheaper taxes than NY, no NY winters, proximity to the ocean, etc. Going to stop in Raleigh, NC along the way. There’s a lot of job opportunities in my field there so it could be easy to find comparable work for comparable money for my last several years of full time work.
I really like my house, neighborhood and employer. But there’s no way I want to live the rest of my life in the northeast.
ScarletWitchXD@reddit
If you find you like Charleston you may want to look at buying soon. Housing here is doubling as population is just exploding ( all of SC). You could possibly buy something and rent it out in the interim. Charleston is great but healthcare is somewhat of an issue Charlotte and Raleigh better infrastructure (still not as good as New England but better than the Low Country)
HatesDuckTape@reddit
I can’t afford to buy a second house right now. I absolutely would if I could though.
Property value increasing up here is pretty stupid too. Bought my house in November 2019 for $250k. Zillow says it’s worth $390k now. And I did several improvements to it since the listing when I bought it that they don’t know about. I wouldn’t be able to afford my house if I had to buy it today.
mtcwby@reddit
We'll stay in place. The capital gains and other taxes alone give us a half million reasons not to sell. The thought at the moment is multigenerational living with our kids because we have the room and can add an apartment too. We're in a HCOL area and they have a far higher standard of living that way. There's added benefits with grandchildren both ways and as we age.
Confident-Umpire3361@reddit
When we were looking to buy a home, I had one, just one, requirement. One story. It was a battle, but I got my way. After my partner shattered his femur he stopped bitching about it. We're in our early 60's.
MundaneHuckleberry58@reddit
I became disabled in an accident in my late 40s. I was super glad that the only modification we would need to make to our home would be to make the primary bath walk-in zero entry shower & widen the doorway to accommodate the narrowest wheelchair.
So yes, I plan to be here for the long haul. No stairs, no steps to get into the house, tile floors throughout, etc. And we’re not alone. Our neighbor who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s is having their house completely remodeled to accommodate wheelchairs & walkers, so obviously they will be staying where they live too.
formercotsachick@reddit
We live in a ranch house so we're good for a while. The only real reno we need to do is replace the tub in the 2nd bathroom with a walk in shower, and if we stay long enough we'll have to move the laundry upstairs from the basement.
I think the main thing that will require us to move is when we can't drive safely any more. We live in the suburbs and there is zero walkability or public transportation. When that time comes our plan is to get rid of our cars and move to the city about 30 minutes away.
BaloneyCommercial@reddit
We're giving our two free and clear houses to our daughters and buying a beach house for cash.
Ok_Explorer604@reddit
I own a townhome, and plan to rent when I retire in the near future. I love my place, it's the perfect size, and the neighbors are nice. But, I've also had extremely noisy neighbors before, and sharing a wall isn't fun. Having the option to pick up and leave on a short term basis is nice. I also have 3 flights of stairs to navigate, and while I don't mind them, and find the additional "exercise" fine, I've had accidents in the past where they were a nightmare. For instance, I tore my Achilles months ago and having to navigate stairs while on one leg and living alone was a serious chore.
As much as I love my place, I just don't see myself aging and retiring here.
Sorry-Government920@reddit
When we bought our current house we purposely got a ranch because it would be easier to grow old in
SmokyBlackRoan@reddit
The problem with aging in place is that you lack the mental and physical stimulation of stepping outside your residence in a senior community and being able to easily participate in social and physical activities that are so crucial to your health. Home health agencies also have minimums, usually at least 2 hours and sometimes 4 hour minimums, and right now many areas lack enough agencies to meet demand. We plan on finding an active community so we can stay active and have strong social engagement as we decline in health.
grayhairedqueenbitch@reddit
We experienced that with aging relatives.
liddybuckfan@reddit
This is the truth, especially if you end up dealing with dementia. I say this reluctantly as a big introvert. My dad had dementia and started isolating and it was the worst possible thing for him.
FleetAdmiralCrunch@reddit
We had been planning our next big adventure after moving back from Asia to the US. Our plan was to do an investigative trip to South America to find a new place to live. Instead, my spouse had a major medical problem become visible. We bought a different house have spent the last three years making it ready for our new reality.
Kids are adults and have a house in the same city.
We are now using all the additions to the home so we couldn’t move unless a house was already set up the way we need.
For a couple who have lived across the US and the world, it is a different life than we expected at this point. But when we bought this house, we knew we may be here for the rest of one of our lives.
adriennenned@reddit
There are other benefits to living somewhere in a walkable neighborhood. A friend’s parents moved from the exurbs to downtown when they retired. Sold the house on a few acres and got an apartment. They can walk to most errands (keeps them active) and forces them to be more social which is incredibly important as you age.
grayhairedqueenbitch@reddit
That sounds very appealing to me.
NYCphilliesBlunt@reddit
A couple of my elders did this as well. No steps, great views from their apartments, and they became beloved members of their new communities.
DaoFerret@reddit
Walking also means less driving (if they even still have a car as apartment dwellers).
Our reaction times will slow and driving will become more dangerous.
Living in a walkable neighborhood will also help preserve self sufficiency for longer.
Melodic_Caramel1777@reddit
Husband and I planned to move to the beach. Now I’m doubting that plan. I have health issues, husband has a couple. We’re 10 minutes from hospitals and all our doctors. Our house is 2 story, but there’s a bedroom and full bath on the main level. If we became unable to drive, we could do grocery delivery and use Ubers or mass transit to get to doctor appointments.
Another option would be moving to the city where our daughter lives. Also has great healthcare, walkable, mass transit. But we don’t want to put her in a situation where she feels like she has to help us out just because we’re near.
Staying where we are is the best option, really, but I so wanted to live at the beach. Whatever we do, we’ll age in place. We’re not doing assisted living/nursing home.
MollyDog2638@reddit
Having just lost my parents who lived across the country, let me gently suggest that maybe you should discuss moving to your daughter's city with her. For the last 5 years of their lives I was begging them to come closer to me before their health started failing. Then it did fail, and it was so hard to care for them the way I wanted to. They finally made plans to move to me, but by then it was too late. Especially if you want to age in place, you will need her help, and more than that, you will want to spend time with her as she likely will want with you too.
If you guys have a good relationship, it's worth discussing with her now while you are deciding what to do. You might be pleasantly surprised by what she wants.
Melodic_Caramel1777@reddit
We do have a good relationship with our daughter. The issue is my mother (bad relationship) assumed I would be her retirement plan. My husband and I refuse to burden our daughter the way my mother tried to burden us. Our daughter will definitely be included in our discussion. I appreciate your thoughts.
DelawareRunner@reddit
We’ve always lived in a smaller rancher home. I’d be willing to go smaller, as in about 1000 square feet. It’s just us. We will definitely die in our home although we have one more move. It won’t be anytime soon though. However, aging in place will be in mind when we decide on our last home because all we have is each other,
designer130@reddit
We will downsize at 60 (currently 53). Honestly I’m sick of being in a big house with the cleaning and maintenance of it, and all the STUFF that comes with it all. I just want a nice 2 bedroom apartment that we can clean too to bottom in 2 hrs. Minimal stuff. No real maintenance to speak of.
For now the house is payed off and our young adult son still lives with us, so we’re staying put for a while.
demona2002@reddit
I am not in my forever home. We are not sure yet where we want to be and plan to do slow travel when we retire to start figuring that out.
PatrickRsGhost@reddit
I currently live with my dad, and we had discussed many times (also when my mom was still alive) that when he dies, I should sell the house and use the proceeds to move elsewhere.
Thing is, I've done enough moving in my life for two lifetimes. It's a pain in the ass and I don't think I could handle it anymore in my condition. If I were to sell the house and move, I'd have to hire some very reputable movers, and my paranoid self would probably put trackers on every single box, piece of furniture, and electronic device not packed in a box.
But I more than likely plan to just stay in the house. Maybe have some modifications made, like replace the stairs with ramps, even though I'm not in a wheelchair. Move everything downstairs (I'm in the bonus room over the garage), using the upstairs solely for storage.
Besides, there's a decent nursing home right around the corner from where I currently live, so when it comes to that in the future, just put me in a wheelchair and push me on over there.
MrSniffles_AnnaMae@reddit
Anyone live in a tri-level? We have a suite on the ground floor we could age into but the kitchen is on the middle level, so maybe just a lot of takeout for us? Kidding. Looking at the prices of homes these days, we’re ok staying put for right now and look forward to when we are living multi-generationally.
Ray_The_Engineer@reddit
We bought our "forever home" 3 years ago in the NC mountains. It has 3 stories, but we can live on the middle one only if it came to it, for mobility reasons. I intend to stay here until they wheel me out, feet first.
NYCphilliesBlunt@reddit
I’m glad for you that it’s in remission!
I grew up in a multigenerational clan and watched the aging process unfold in different ways for each person. The through-line was that their major problems started with behaviors and decisions they made in their 20s and 30s. So, I started making my plans for old age starting in junior high because I knew I wasn’t going to have kids to take care of me like we did for them.
I think you’re on the right track. Get yourself in position BEFORE something forces your hand. Acting in desperation will leave you exposed to opportunists.
Seeing Friday the 13th way too young scarred me for life, so I’m too paranoid to live where no one can hear me scream. Instead, I’m at the edge of a city in a house like yours. A training hospital and senior center are short walks/drives away. There’s a 1/2 bath on the ground floor that could be remodeled into a full one that would connect to the living room, which would become my bedroom. In my full fantasy, I’d install kitchenettes to the two floors above and rent them out to nursing students.
SouthOrlandoFather@reddit
Our kids are only 16 and 14 so would like to move as early as 4 years from now to the coast. Need to kayak fish daily and the beach and sailing and rowing.
queen_surly@reddit
After dealing with two sets of stubborn parents who refused to move long after it was safe for them to live in their homes in car-dependent neighborhoods, we have a plan in place to move when we can no longer do our own yard work. We live on an acre + so I expect that will be long before we can't drive safely.
We've got a couple of retirement communities in mind--both have long waiting lists so we need to get moving and get on the various lists. One place--our first choice--told us their waitlist for a duplex was 10 years.
shaniam2@reddit
We would love to age in place in our current home but I think at some point if is going to be more than we can handle. It is over 4000 sq ft and one acre. I don’t want to spend the last of my years trying to upkeep a home that is too much for me.
TraditionalBackspace@reddit
I will downsize when I can't climb the stairs to my bedroom any longer. Before that, it's a huge hassle and a waste of money imo.
cometshoney@reddit
I plan on selling my house with too many stairs and getting something with one floor only. My feet were destroyed ages ago in the military, and that wasn't terrible, but now my knees have decided to join the party. I'm also seriously considering moving back to north San Diego County, if only for the weather. I don't need seasons.
LibertyMike@reddit
Our house will be paid off in about 5 years, and my wife will retire then. I have about an hour drive each day and would really like to move closer to work, but I also hate the idea of moving, so we'll probably stay in our home.
No_Consideration_339@reddit
I'm suddenly single so my plans are still in flux. My plan for retirement as of now is to leave my smallish Midwestern town and downsize to a smaller single level home or perhaps a condo. I'm currently in a small town with a decent hospital, but not great. Major med still requires a 2 hour one way trip. I do plan to retire closer to major medical facilities.
midgetyaz@reddit
Desperately want to, but until one of the kids takes over holidays, my house will continue to be our home.
The kids are early teens, so it looks like I have some time.
MollyDog2638@reddit
Yes, when we bought this house 4 years ago, it was the fact it was a small ranch house in the middle of the town we already loved that clinched it for us. We will need to redo the bathroom to create a walk-in shower, and I would like to add a washer/dryer combo in the same space so I eventually won't have to do downstairs, but that was our plan when we got it.
limited_instincts@reddit
Absolutely will downsize. My house is 5000sqft, no way I'm maintaining this in retirement. We plan on a small ranch on acreage with a detached building for cars, gym etc.
ONROSREPUS@reddit
My wife and I built our forever home in 2015. We tried to think of every thing thing we could that we would need when we get old.
Jas62021@reddit
I’m hoping to be able to move to a single story home within the next 10 years.
LayerNo3634@reddit
We downsized to a one story in the country with acreage. No steps and wide doors.
AmphibianFragrant453@reddit
I’m 5 years out from being an empty nester. Until recently (inflation, interest rates, housing market), I had planned to downsize from my 2 story, 1/2 acre home. I’m single by choice and it’s a lot to maintain. I’m settling into the idea that I’ll stick around here until I can’t manage it anymore. I’ll likely hire out the yard work and snow removal at some point.
Techchick_Somewhere@reddit
This is my plan as well. I’ve made my home an oasis and it’s in a small city with access to everything I need. My work is close as well. It will really depend on where my only kid ends up, but that’s not going to be for a while.
worstpartyever@reddit
We bought our “forever” home in another state with lots of nature. We are on a lake with amazing porches and a nice dock.
However, the lot is steeply sloped, and the stairs and inclines are turning out to be very hard on my husband (and aging dog).
One big draw for me to purchase here was the house is already framed for a future elevator if we need it. I wonder if we’ll need it sooner than later.
We are about 25-30 minutes from major hospitals — an hour if we need to go to the big(ger) city.
Greasystools@reddit
My folks, my husband and our kids all live in a duplex that my parents own and are passing on to me. They will die here with my care in their old age, as will I and my husband, our kids and grandkids. The oldest folks will migrate to the ground floor, younger generations on the upper floors. So we have put several thousand dollars worth into foundation support, insulation and solar. It’s a huge relief in these uncertain times
MissDisplaced@reddit
I plan to sell because I will be alone by then (no kids, husband or family nearby) and my house is too much maintenance. Will look for a small condo or apartment that’s in a retirement type community that offers a staged-up care option if you get bad. They’re hard to find! Or really expensive!
I still say they need to reno vacant malls into GenX senior apartments.
tesky02@reddit
I live in New England. Got a map and marked out all the healthcare locations. All the great places out in nature where it’s cheaper to buy or build a home? No where near healthcare. But travel is more like an hour, not 8.
dentalgirl74@reddit
I am working on a 10-15 year plan on my husband. I am 52 and he is 53 and we have been in our current 4 bed 2500 sq ft home for 20 years. He knows that I want to downsize in our early to mid 60s at the latest. He holds a lot of emotional attachment to homes (he lived in the same house from 6yrs old until 23) but I don’t as much (moved a lot growing up). I’ll get him there!
barbados_blonde1@reddit (OP)
This sounds exactly like us!
LeighofMar@reddit
Our current place is perfect for us now. Not too big, not too small, all one floor and not a huge yard to maintain. SO remodeled my bathroom giving me a walk-in shower with a bench. Still have my clawfoot tub though, never giving that up. We're in a small self-contained city that happens to have excellent healthcare, every specialty you can think of all 5 to 15 min from my house. Never knew we needed that until we did but now we wouldn't dare move anywhere else.
geoffrey2970@reddit
Will peace out at my one story beach cottage and rent the grand old home out to someone in need. Stairs? No thanks. Beach and pool, yes please!
Altruistic-Panda-697@reddit
Just retired early and moved from CO to NC to be near the grandkids. Traded our small 0.15 acre yard for 1.5 acres, got a larger home (went from 2 stories to one), and the new house came with a big separate shop bc and a pool. Life has changed a good bit for the better! LCOL areas are pretty nice as well!
GingerA0712@reddit
My parents are going to stay in their house. My husband and I will sell our house and move in with them, eventually.
reporterbabe@reddit
Our kids are adults and we were rattling around in a 4-bedroom house. We decided to build a condo where we can age in place in a less expensive area that was close to places we wanted to explore.
When my parents downsized, they bought a 3-story townhouse in the same town. The stairs were curved and carpeted. They got rid of nothing and refused to acknowledge that they already had mobility issues that were only going to get worse.
My mom died two years ago. My father died this past year. They used ambulances like Ubers and I was constantly getting calls from the hospital to pick them up in the middle of the night. I was the only family member who lived nearby.
Anyway. We sold our house, built a condo with wide stairs to the finished basement, and got rid of a ton of stuff — our wedding china, the dining room furniture, all the things for yard work.
Our house sold in a day. We have no mortgage and a nest egg. No regrets.
AccomplishedToe9308@reddit
Sold my 2-story semi and bought a detached bungalow due to severe osteoarthritis in both knees, but also thinking about by needs as I age, as I do intend to age in place. This is especially important when you live on your own. I also renovated the bathroom to be fully accessible (but also pretty). Walk-in shower with a built-in bench seat and the shower controls are set where the bench is, so they can be controlled while seated. The front and back yards are ‘postage-stamp’ sized, so easy for me to manage.
I’m so glad I made the move, as I’ve just had one total knee replacement and have the other knee replaced also.
vanwhisky@reddit
Definitely will need to downsize and change dwelling layout type. A small rancher or two level home with only guest rooms upstairs.
Round-Public435@reddit
I've already done all the downsizing I ever plan to do. When I had to move in to care for my aging parents, I had to do a major purge of my belongings so I could fit everything I owned into a 10' x 20' storage unit. I purged decorative items, books (ouch, that one hurt - but I kept the ones I couldn't part with), kitchen items I had extras of, etc. When my parents passed and their home was sold, I thought I'd start traveling and was going to buy an RV. So I did another major purge of everything that wouldn't fit into an RV, as that would be my new "permanent" home. Then that plan fell through, and I moved into an apartment - so by the time I did that, all I had to do was another, very small purge, and the downsizing was complete.
My apartment is perfect for senior living, with no stairs inside - all on one level. It does have a tub/shower in both bathrooms, which I wish was a walk-in shower, but for now, I make it work, as I can still manage that - maybe in another 10 years or so, that might be an issue. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, I guess. There's a 1-car garage to put my vehicle in, with an entrance to the apartment inside the garage that has a single step up, and the same for the front door - so those are the only stairs/steps I need to worry about. It's in a quiet area in a mid-size college town, so I make friends with the neighbors - mostly college kids - and bake them cookies and such. I'm slowly becoming the complex grandma. lol
jaxbravesfan@reddit
We’re planning on staying where we are. Our home is single-story, not too big to take care of as we age, and it will be paid for by the time we retire. There’s a hospital one mile away and Mayo Clinic is a 10-minute drive away, so we’ll have access to great healthcare should we need it.
barbados_blonde1@reddit (OP)
This is interesting to me because Mayo was where I went for treatment. Are you referring to Rochester? The little city we're thinking about is La Crosse, if you have any opinions about that. We're midwesterners, originally from Chicago, but have lived in the UP for 10 years.
AmphibianFragrant453@reddit
I live just north of the Twin Cities, and I’ve been around here since my early 20s. There are lots of cute small town vibes cities just over the border in WI…it all depends on what you’re looking for, or looking to avoid! To me, the political leaning of the city would influence my move. WI can be a red-leaning state, with the college towns being blue pockets.
jaxbravesfan@reddit
No. We’re in Jacksonville, which is home to one of their other campuses.
Kmac-Original@reddit
I have an apartment with stairs. They're wide enough for a stairlift.
MacaroonUpstairs7232@reddit
My parents aged in place as a choice. Its no longer a choice for most. Nursing homes and assisted livong are cost prohibitive for all but the wealthy.
Adventurous-Depth984@reddit
My plan to flee to a remote cabin in the woods for retirement has been dashed by my need to be near quality healthcare.
WillDupage@reddit
That was my dream too. We compromised by finding a lake lot in the woods a quarter mile out of a small town with a hospital. The lake is smaller than we wanted, and you can see neighboring houses through the trees, but it’s on a paved road and has all utilities so it’s as close to checking every box as we can afford.
workswithpipe@reddit
Bought a almost new 2 bed, 2 bath paired home as a starter home, both went through career changes, and never had kids so we never moved. Under a hour to world class hospitals already so we are thinking about just gutting the kitchen and redoing the patio when I retire and traveling a lot. I noticed that we could rent a house for a month for a little more than we usually pay for a week at a hotel or cabin so potentially picking a new location each summer and hunkering down for a month and experiencing different areas.
saltyavocadotoast@reddit
I have an apartment with no stairs, near all the main areas I go and not far from good healthcare. There are other places that would likely be preferable but given the astronomical prices here and how good my current place is I’ll probably stay here and age in place. I’ll be working for another ten years at least so it’s a good place.
WillDupage@reddit
We aren’t going to stay in this house but are planning to build a home for our retirement years that will have aging-in-place baked into the design. It is going to be same size or (hopefully) smaller than our house now, because we don’t want a giant McMansion falling into disrepair around our aging carcasses. We have the lot, just have to make it to retirement to start building.
YamAlone2882@reddit
I’m 54. I’ve moved quite a bit before buying a home at 50, so really not keen on moving anymore. I purposely bought a townhome because I didn’t want to deal with landscaping and exterior maintenance. However, my house has 3 floors. I workout daily and can easily go up and down the stairs now but I do worry about when I can’t anymore. I’m looking at outfitting the stairs with one of those stair lifts. Or maybe if I win the lottery, I’ll move one last time and buy into one of the over 55+ communities that have the ranch style homes. Really don’t want to spend half a mill on housing at my age.
Another option is to buy a condo in the city. But I’ve lived in apartments all my adult life before buying my home, I’d feel like what was the point of buying when I’m going back to an apartment.
Getting to healthcare facilities isn’t an issue right now. It’s a 15 minute drive from all my docs and specialists. Living in the city would be about the same.
One-Pepper-2654@reddit
Selling our 4 bedroom 2 story, currently renovating a one story ranch across town. Expanding the kitchen, finishing basement, adding two baths. We are both 60. We were looking for months and got lucky.
SrirachaPants@reddit
That’s great…my husband and I are early 50s and just talked about doing exactly that if we can. We love where we live but I can see how the house is going to be too much in five years or so when the youngest is out.
IndependentlyGreen@reddit
Already doing it. Looking forward to the day I retire with every fiber of my being.
FlippingPossum@reddit
My husband and I just paid off our mortgage I can't imagine moving but also the upkeep is a lot. We have half an acre. I would like to eventually move to a walkable city with good public transportation then age in place.
houseocats@reddit
We'll stay in the same town, but move to a one story home. Stairs are the body killer!
oklibrarian@reddit
Our city is just about perfect for aging in place (in fact we would probably encourage our folks to consider moving out here when/if they start needing day to day support), but our actual house is a 3 story townhome. Not an issue now, but we would probably either add a chair lift or downsize to a condo in the neighborhood if need be.
Nervous-Rooster7760@reddit
My plan is to stay in my current house until I need assisted living. My bedroom is upstairs but I specifically bought home be ise rjwre is a bedroom and bath main level. Bathroom has a shower only that could have seat/rails added as needed. All other amenities to live (living, dining,kitchen laundry) are in main floor as well.
LadybugGal95@reddit
We just moved to a bigger house. The new place, however, has our bedroom and the laundry on the main floor unlike the split foyer we moved out of. If push comes to shove, we can easily just live on the ground floor and not go up or downstairs.
temerairevm@reddit
That has been the general plan. We designed and built our house 15 years ago (in our 30s!) with that generally in mind. We work in construction and live in a popular retirement spot so it’s a conversation with about 75% of our clients.
It’s possible to live entirely on one level. Our home office is on another floor and can become a kickass game room if we retire and eventually a suite that we can rent to someone. Like vaguely we’ve thought we could rent it cheaply to a traveling nurse or something in exchange for them checking that we’re still alive occasionally.
Unfortunately HCA bought up nearly every medical thing in town and kind of wrecked healthcare here, so now we’re kind of second guessing staying for the long haul. TBD. We are here for the next 10 years at least.
barbados_blonde1@reddit (OP)
I think it's funny how many people have replied this early in the morning 😄 Waking up early, another surprise of aging.
itsjustme1022@reddit
I’m up so early that it use to be coming home late. lol
AlarmingMonk1619@reddit
Washing machine is downstairs and there’s a bit of yard maintenance/snow shoveling required but it’s do-able. Transit, healthcare and shopping are not far. There are plenty of examples of people who age in place and ideally cross over in their homes.
jamescockroft@reddit
I’d love to stay where we are, and it’s looking like that will be impossible (or at least not the best idea). We live in a big metropolitan area with good healthcare and all, but we’re in a lovely neighborhood where my brother in law’s family and my wife’s parents also live. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder… the obverse is also true: closeness brings contempt.
My wife and I have different skin tones and many people in many parts of the country don’t like that. We have some annoyances and difficulties in nearby cities and counties here.
We’d like to downsize in a place far away, amd we’ve found a couple of places where the local population lets us just live and ignores the fact that we’re different colors. It’s looking like my wife’s adult sons will be following us wherever we go, so downsizing much won’t be an option, and oh well.
scarletOwilde@reddit
I’m planning to move into a smaller place. I’m struggling with the de-cluttering phase at the moment, I need to get rid of c.50% worth of “stuff” and larger furniture before I move. It’s surprisingly difficult to do on my own.
emdentremont@reddit
I'm trying to downsize, but just decluttering is a major endeavor.
Jbeth74@reddit
I’m 51 and live in my “starter home” that I bought 9 years ago. It’s tiny and on two floors (bathroom upstairs, laundry in the basement” and I almost fall down the stairs at least once a week. Currently shopping for a small home with a first floor bedroom and bath….which will mean taking every drop of my savings and not leaving much to save after. My retirement plan is to die in the climate wars.
BuckyGoldman@reddit
This is probably my final home. I will probably be here to the end unless health matters force me out. I already have a nice corner chair in the guest room picked out, maybe in front of the fireplace if it's winter.
rosesforthemonsters@reddit
I'm staying right where I am for two reasons. I don't want to move and couldn't afford to move even if I wanted to.
Legit, the only way I'm moving out of this house is if I somehow come into a financial windfall, which is highly unlikely.
Totgaff@reddit
We’ve already started. Bought a little spot close to the ocean, about 20-25 minutes from a hospital, hour and a half outside the nearest city. It’s all one level, no stairs to climb later on. Small piece of land to maintain and close to fishing spots.
We have a window to get the upgrades and mods done and once we’re there, we sell what we have in the city and get use to a laid back lifestyle. I can’t wait.
StartKindly9881@reddit
We are aging in place and making nice upgrades. We have 2 modest homes under 1700 sq ft. Love that we planned well and live peacefully in these homes and will serve us well and when we are gone, our children.
fridayimatwork@reddit
We live in a condo near dc in a walkable neighborhood and imagined we’d stay but we miss close friends in the Midwest and we are moving to a LCOL small town where I can walk to my best friends house and stores. Likely will build a modest one story home with a basement. No major health issues now but there’s a good hospital in town with a much larger one an hour away. So sort of upsizing weirdly.
Subject-Ad-8055@reddit
I live on the 3rd floor walk up, i thinking my next apt should on the first floor unless there is a lift.
Ashby238@reddit
We bought our home later in life, 46f and 51m at the time and the single story was an added bonus for us. We do have enough room in our bathroom to get a stacked washer and dryer at some point and not have to go to the basement all the time.
I don’t know what we will do about our acre of yard and gardens though, lol.
Fatal-Eggs2024@reddit
I was pretty young when I noticed that humans tend to get old and become less agile, so I started planning a long time ago. I moved to a place with no stairs and near healthcare and recreation (natural areas, beaches, and parks) when I was in my mid-50s, built good relationships with neighbors of all ages, expanded my healthcare provider network, increased my volunteer work to continue making new friends, study languages and do puzzles daily to stay sharp. If/when it becomes difficult to live alone here, plan is to move to an apartment closer to my daughter but in a place with public transportation and walkable shopping.
patbagger@reddit
Still planning on a small house with a larger property away from people, I'm moving into the "Get off my lawn" phase.
umeboshiplumpaste@reddit
I think about it daily and regret buying my house 20 years ago. Two-story with one bathroom upstairs. I am alone now and will die alone and definitely won't be able to stay here. As I've started caring for my 77-year old mom, she will eventually not be able to come here, either, even to visit. It's not the kind of home that you can add bathrooms or rooms to without a bajillion dollars to do it.
I can't afford to maintain the house with repairs as is it, so selling and moving elsewhere wouldn't even work. I think there's a portable commode in my future, somewhere in my dining room.
Sintered_Monkey@reddit
I would like to age in place, but only up to a certain point. My parents did just that, stayed in the house and didn't make any plans for what would happen when they became physically and mentally unable to take care of the house, or themselves in the house. At that point, it fell on me to do everything for them, which turned my life completely upside down. I don't have any children, and if I did, I wouldn't want them to go through what I had to go through.
notevenapro@reddit
I live in the DC metro area and I work in healthcare. We have thought about downsizing and moving somewhere like 30 miles outside Pittsburgh. But in all honesty? We have been in our home for 24 years and we have 24 years worth of knick knacks and tools. The thought of packing it all up to move somewhere to get a home that is 200k cheaper just does not make sense.
We are going to stay right where we are for two reasons. The healthcare in the DC metro area is top notch. And my wife is younger than I , and her earning ability is better here than almost anywhere else. So what are we doing? I am 60 and she is 52.
We are in the process of paying down all of our revolving debt and will be done in a year. Then the roof and HVAC are getting replace. Appliances were done this year. My 2021 car has 19k miles because I work a mile from home. That is my death car. The home will be paid off in 2 1/2 years.
We are staying here for the healthcare.
Lovely_Day_Int@reddit
Of course. Sold duplex in favor of single level home where we can safely age.