retirement housing

Hi skate
I am 71 however I have never lived in a retirement home but worked as a social worker for the elderly for 20 odd years before I retired visiting lots of residential/retirement homes.
For what it is worth I would suggest that you take your time, explore all your options, be brave and if you do deside on this path try it for a short time,3 to 6 months. Possibly you could rent out your current accomodation to help pay for it.
Hope this is helpful and the best of luck

Hello Skate,
yes, we have friends who have a very nice apartment in Grove Place retirement complex [it's near Romsey]. A beautiful old building for the main house, and then all new apartments scattered around the grounds. They are not 100per cent happy there, but it does have so many amenities on hand, a swimming pool, fitness room, a small library to mention only a few. However, as you would expect, most of the residents are quite elderly, and if you are a very independent person [I know that I am] I would not really want to live there.... but, if you have health problems, and need people to be about to help you [or want a more social sort of life] then it may be for you.There are some ground floor apartments there with tiny gardens, also some small bungalows with gardens.You need to make a list of your priorities for now [and the future] to see if it would be a good move for you.Certainly, nobody there has to be alone at Christmas, or never see anyone from one day to another.

Just a point of interest here. My husband and I had been thinking of moving into Hartrigg Oaks, a retirement village on the outskirts of York.
By the time we started to sell our house and got the details of the scheme, he was too ill to be accepted. So just make sure that that is not a problem.

Thanks so much for your input. I don't feel old at the moment but am trying to look to the future and thinking of making a move whilst still physically able. I too am very independent and there are probably drawbacks with this kind of lifestyle, but if you are on your own for whatever reason, a retirement apartment seems to me to be a way of living independently whilst having the support and company when you need it. That's what the ads say anyway! Just wondered what the reality was like from someone actually living in one.

I have a friend living in Hartrigg Oaks. It is a fabulous place, but although not a charitable development, it was developed by the Rowntree Trust as a new concept in housing for the elderly, when it was built. The accommodation is about twice the size of the average retirement flat.

However the mention of The Grove at Romsey does bring up a warning. Some friends looked at the accommodation there but when they went into the details they discovered that there were very large exit penalties to be paid when the property was sold after their deaths or if they went into care.

So do investigate the charging regime for any retirement accommodation you buy. Find out what the maintenance charges, what they cover and how you can challenge any unjustified price rises. If you are buying a property make sure you thoroughly investigate any other charges, that may come up like entrance premiums and exit penalties. Essentially extra money asked for, very nicely, up front or taken from the sale on your exit.

I'm thinking of doing the same. A retirement village sounds ideal.

I'm thinking of the seaside. Yes, the charges are high and need careful consideration. Thank you FlicketyB for your warning about entrance and exit fees.

Where else with a name like skate ?

Does anyone live in hotels these days? There were residential hotels about in the 30s 40s and 50s but you never hear of them nowadays apart from Margaret Thatcher living (and dying) in The Ritz! With the high cost of residential homes, it may be cheaper and certainly more pleasant to move into a nice hotel.

We were in Blackpool a few years ago, for a conference, and because we were late booking in we got a hotel a small distance from the big ones. It was very comfortable, superb food (only served from 6.45. - 8.30) and there were several elegant older ladies living there. I was impressed by the courtesy of the staff towards them, and they seemed quite happy. Never come across this before.

I did hear that there are some nice ones on the East coast, Bridlington or Scarborough. Yorkshire people are well known for their friendliness and the food is good as well. But it is windy!
My mother in law went into such accomodation at 86 and was there 12 years till she died. It broke her heart to leave her house so it was good that she knew she really could not physically live there any longer.
I will wait until I really cannot go on in my own house.
You are only 70. You have loads of time before settling in with elderly people.

Maybe to you're right. 70 is not ancient, I know, but on the other hand I believe there are plenty of people of 60 odd living in retirement apartments. If you wait until you cannot go on on, might it not be difficult to actually accomplish a move?

skate, I think your last question is very true. DH is an only child and after his father died, MiL, only in her mid 60s, decided to move from her house to a flat near us on just that basis.

Yes that's a better idea - a flat near someone you know well. Preferably younger than you for obvious reasons.
We were still visiting my Mil regularly at the end of her life, when we were 70 and I found the aspect of all those elderly people depressing.

I always planned to move eventually to be near one of my daughters and then was completely surprised as DD1 came 'home' and now lives 12 km away. We are both over 70 and are downsizing our possessions. we have disposed of hundreds of books and now I'm selling my best clothes and shoes on e-bay- I would like to give away my dinner service but no one wants it. It is a problem and will one day have to be done.

You are right 'Skate' to take it seriously and think about it. Some people just don't think about it. You can make some important decisions now, you just don't have to act on them straightaway.

I am very fond of the "Retirement Flat Concept" but agree it must be investigated by the individual as to what suits their needs.We live in a Supported Housing Apartment which has 15 other apartments and depending on the level of your needs you can be totally self contained and run your life as previously but in a smaller home & cheaper running costs or you can have the daily visit of a warden who does not interfer with your lifestyle but is available for any emergencies,we have a nice garden and our little dog the flat is spacious and modern and we are near all amenities & transport.
Skate before I retired I worked for McCarthy & Stone a well known retirement builder they do some exceptional apartments 1/2 beds and you can as much involvement in the development or as little as you want as you have your own front door but the option of meeting up with other flat owners in the communial lounge areas,they also do private lets on some of their developments so maybe you could do a "trial run" for maybe 3/6 months to see if this lifestyle is for you.

One thing that puts me off retirement flats is their size. When I was a Home Visitor I visited a lot of people in retirement homes, both Housing Association and ones built by specialist housebuilders for commercial sale.
Everyone I went into was minute. Downsizing is one thing but most of these flats required one to divest oneself of all ones belongings to be able to live in them. There was an assumption that by the time you moved into one you did nothing but just watched tv all day or sat in the communal lounge.

These flats do not cater for people who have activities, such as sewing or any kind of craft work that require separate space. There is also usually no room in the flat/bungalow large enough to hold more than 3 or 4 people making any kind of social gathering impossible. Kitchens are minute, assuming you live on ready meals rather than enjoy cooking and freezing meals for later use.

The only exception I have seen is Hartrigg Oaks in York (already mentioned) - and these were built by the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust which has connections with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a social research charity. A friend of mine lives there, her living room is at least 20 foot long. She has a large roomy kitchen two huge bedrooms with bathrooms and in the roof a huge room with velux windows approached up a straight staircase built with stair lifts in mind. My friend uses it as a study and music room, holding string quartet rehearsals in it. Her living room is large enough for social gatherings after concerts and family parties.

I know exactly what you mean by the size. I've looked at a few and they are all small. I don't have hobbies requiring extra room but I have never seen daytime telly and don't intend to start now! I am mostly out as my interests revolve around theatres and galleries, so maybe I could learn to live in a smaller space with less stuff. Glammanana (love the name!), it was actually McCarthy and Stone I was looking at. They seem nice if on the expensive side, and they offer help with the moving process which is attractive. I did not know they did letting, so thanks for the info.

skate You will find information about their private lettings in The Saga Magazine they do it through their connections with Peveral the company that used take charge of service charges (not sure if they still operate under that name ) lettings are done if apartments have not been sold on and can be short or long term,they also have accomadation in their developments where you can stay for a few nights if you are going out of your area to view an apartment.
With regard to size of retirement apartments I must admit that I did find it strange when we first sold the big family house but I had a few years to get used to the change when we moved abroad and lived in a much smaller villa which made the transission more bearable,since I have gotten used to it I would not change my living accommadation for the world,so much free time for socializing and after many years of entertaining it suits me fine to say sorry we cannot put you up for that freebee holiday you where expecting lol.pm me if you want any in depth info re Mc & Stone and their procedures.

I think I've mentioned on here before that it's essential to think about the future if and when your care needs cannot be met by the care providers attached to the retirement home. My mother lived in a lovely brand new apartment with a large bedroom, lounge/diner and kitchen. When she became extremely frail her life became a misery. She was at the mercy of indifferent carers who were not trained to meet her needs. It took me nearly two years to get her into a decent nursing home.

They are lovely places to live if you want to downsize and all you need is a bit of assistance but it's important to have a contingency plan for the future.

skate, it would be worth looking at the following site www.housingcare.org/. It is the housing information site for the EAC(Elderly Person's Accommodation Council).

It lists all the various types of accommodation available for older people round the country and also has a help and advice line.

My dadhas een

My dadhas een

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Judith think you are in the wrong country ?