Now the central heating is installed, we’ve been thinking about selling our house and downsizing to maybe a retirement flat in a secure complex. Therefore after visiting Mum in hospital last week, we went off to visit a couple of flats that were specifically for ‘Over 55’s’, just to see what they were like.
The first flat was empty and as we waited for the estate agent to arrive we thought we’d ring the call button and then perhaps the manager could show us around the communal rooms. A disembodied voice came over the security intercom to say that they could not let us in until the estate agent arrived.
As we sat in the covered porch out of the rain, Sam was uplifted at the sight of a bike shed to one side of the car park. Peering further in the dark we could see four covered mobility scooters taking up every inch of available space. Sam made a wry comment that his 1200 cc Suzuki motorbike would take up at least half the space in the shed on its own.
When the estate agent did turn up, she pressed the call button again, and the same disembodied voice stated that she would need a key to get in. The estate agent then had to phone her manager, who phoned somebody else. The somebody else turned up with the key after a 20 minute wait.
Good security then! We were impressed, and followed on towards the flat. We passed by a communal lounge filled with walking frames and wheelchairs, giving me an eerie feeling that I was back in my mother’s very sheltered housing complex. Residents passed us in the corridors who had been 55 quite a long time ago.
The flat was tiny. Sam and I came to the conclusion that we would never be able to get away from one another! We felt like two caged animals. The second flat we viewed was not much better, although there was space to park our cars and his bike.
Looks like it’s going to be a bungalow instead. We’re not ready just yet awhile for carpet bowls on Tuesdays, a singalong on Thursdays, and Bingo on Saturdays. The flat would have been great for my mother though, and with all her health issues she laughed like a drain when I related this tale to her.
Jacque' said:
The wife and I noticed your blog and appreciate the content you have here. Please allow me to encourage you to keep writing and never abandon this site. I am a mobile developer, and if you are ever curious about having a mobile app version of this blog, I would love to help. We appreciate the hard work you have put into this blog and wish you all future success in business and in life.
Thank you for your time, it is the most precious thing we all possess.
-Jacque’
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for your comment. I’ll keep you in mind!
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Jacque' said:
Mr. Turner we appreciate your consideration.
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Stevie Turner said:
Ms
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Jacque' said:
my aplogies, Ms. Turner
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Eugenia said:
We moved from a house in FL to an apartment in GA. We have decluttered extensively. We’re past the retirement age and thinking about a condo, however, with an apartment we don’t have to worry about maintenance. https://amanpan.com/
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Stevie Turner said:
Retirement flats in the UK also have a service charge for maintenance, that we found out tends to increase every year.
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Eugenia said:
Oh my! Not quite fair.
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colingarrow said:
I’m 55 and I hope I won’t be ready for a place like that for at least another 30 years!
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thejuicenut said:
I don’t reckon I’ll ever be ready for that! I need space, and somewhere for family and friends to be able to stay. And seriously, do very elderly people still want to do singalongs and bingo?? Haven’t times moved on a bit?
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Stevie Turner said:
Elderly people love singing the old songs from when they were young. It makes them happy. I often sing with Mum; our raspy voices sound just the same! The carers at Mum’s complex have 2 singalongs every week, and Bingo too. Carpet bowls were advertised on the notice board at one of the flats we visited. Not quite ready for that yet!
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robjodiefilogomo said:
When we moved last year to our townhouse (to eliminate the need for yard maintenance) we looked at a flat in an over 55 place. My stepmom was aghast that we would even consider it since everyone would be so old. But we reasoned that most of the time we hang out with my step mom & mom and they are both older than us–ha ha!
Needless to say, the over 55 place was super neat—the only drawback is it didn’t allow cats, so we had to say no.
But I’m sure every place is different. And I don’t mind being around older people—they have great stories and life experiences!
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes they do, and I’m around older people every day, as I’m a carer for my mum in her very sheltered housing complex. However, I don’t feel I’m ready to live somewhere similar just yet!
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lisaorchard1 said:
Wow! I’m almost 53 and I’m not quite ready for that kind of place. They should market it to people over 65 and they might get more sales. I hope I’m lucky and have as good of health as my mom. She’s 74 and still living on her own. I want to be like that a spunky old lady! 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes so do I, but we know so many people who cannot manage in their family home and have left it too late to move. I think a bungalow is the next thing for us after some de-cluttering.
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franklparker said:
Well, Stevie, I turn 75 next week and I’m not ready for that! We do, however, live in a ‘retirement village’ next door to a nursing home! But it is a detached bungalow with two decent sized bedrooms, a large kitchen-diner, good sized hall and a light airy sitting room. There’s also a garden extending to around 1/10th of an acre.
I have often thought that couples whose family have fled the nest ought to downsize to make the family home available for a family that needs it. In conversation with a widow in her sixties the other day I got a fresh perspective on that ‘common sense’ approach. She said she had considered it – the house and garden are not easy to manage. But she has lived there for forty years, knows all the neighbours as good friends. If she moved she would be a stranger in a strange place.
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes I know what she means. We have lived in our house for 25 years, and so far we’ve seen nothing that’s as solid or as roomy as where we’re living now.
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Fabiola Garcia said:
I tooked my sister to visit one. She is always telling me that she wants to join a place like that. And to my surprise she did like it. Thinking about it, I know I’m not ready. The Walmart tour bus scare me. Lol
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Stevie Turner said:
These places should be marketed for over 75’s. It’s very misleading!
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Katrina said:
Thanks for the laugh, Stevie. This was particularly apt as I’m currently in the process of uncluttering my Essex house; we’ll be downsizing to a house in York in December when my husband takes early retirement aged 55. Glad we didn’t consider anything like this!
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Stevie Turner said:
We’ve tentatively started to unclutter, but now I don’t want to move at all!
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Darlene said:
Not ready for this yet!! Quite funny. My hubby always looks for a place to keep his motorcycle as well. We downsized to Spain!!
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Stevie Turner said:
Sam has a huge 1200cc bike that looked as though it would take up most of the shed by itself. Oh dear, what a nightmare. We would have been the neighbours from hell straight away!
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Clive said:
How to become instantly old! I considered something like that for a nanosecond or two when I retired, but came to the same conclusion. Apparently they can also be difficult for one’s descendants to sell when the time comes, too. A total no no!
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Stevie Turner said:
Yes, we were told the same by the estate agents that the flats can be difficult to sell. They should really market them for over 75’s. It’s very misleading.
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Clive said:
A bit like Saga starting at 50. Such a large variation in ages that we can’t all be pigeonholed as ‘old.’
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