Retirement Villages

[brian54]

I am getting loads of mail about retirement villages.
Dad lived in a 4 bedroom house till he was 94.
Surely there is no need to go in to a retirement village till you are 95.

[sparky]

Brian, I will stay well clear of any retirement village you end up in with your record of disasters and mishaps.

[cheddar-caveman]

It's all to do with circumstances and needs where one ends up. Some are lucky and can stay in their own home for life, others need that bit of help and end up in a retirement village and those less fortunate end up in care homes. It all depends what hand you've been dealt!

[Johned]

I suppose it is all a matter of the time in which you live.  I well remember as a small boy nearly eighty years ago, the elderly widows who lived in our terraced row, gossiping with my mother and worrying if they were going to end up in the workhouse or the "spike" as they termed it.  Our local workhouse became an NHS nursing home practically overnight and at that time, you could be looked after in your declining years and at least, removed the worry of the workhouse.

[Undercover Pensioner]

It must have been a dreadful worry Johned.  I remember reading a book some time ago which described the oakum picking that the inmates of workhouses were given to do to earn their keep.  The 'spike' came from the spike used to separate the rope and then, I think, it was shredded.   I always felt the worst thing about the workhouse must have been the separation of man and wife and their children from them.  They did offer medical services for those who were destitute but I can't imagine anyone who could avoid them would want them. 

[zoony]

I know about the oakum picking and the near-slave conditions of the time UP, but it was the day, the age and the reality then. Cruel and indiscriminate?, of course, but in some respects our own society has the same attitude to 'people that don't matter'....

[Scrumpy]

I wouldn't mind living in a retirement village. Especially the ones in America.
They have plenty of activities going on.. The social events looked fun and the residents didn't age as quickly
as someone  in an old folks home or living alone. Bring it on..

[minniemouse]

There are a few in Birmingham, plenty of facilities, shops, gym, restaurant, hobbies room, library, medical care.  When the first one was built there was a waiting list.  I suspect the service charge is high though.

[BazzerPontefract]

I am getting loads of mail about retirement villages.
Dad lived in a 4 bedroom house till he was 94.
Surely there is no need to go in to a retirement village till you are 95.

Brian,
Good topic again, but I must correct you on one thing, 95 is far to young to consider going in a Retirement Home, should there be alternatives.
Which brings me to my Bete Noir - House Blocking.
I am fed up to the back teeth with radio and tv programmes telling me that something must be done about pensioners living in four bedroom detached homes with barely a single bedroom in use.
F*** Y** I shout out.
Why-ever should I move.  There is nothing more ideal (given my financial circumstances) than the home I currently live in. 
What would me wife and myself do with sixteen hours a day in a Retirement Home with nothing to do but play bingo - we'd be suicidal.
There is one, and only one, compelling reason to move to a Retirement Home, and that is because you are infirm and can't afford to pay others to do jobs around the house for you.  We'll be sticking with what we've got, and I'll pay someone to clean and do our laundry and do the garden, when we're not fit enough to do it ourselves.
Aside from our preference, there's simply nothing more suitable - we chose the house because of its suitability, we see nothing more convenient, better equipped, and close to the thing we use than where we live currently.
Why would I want to exchange the prospect of three hours a day in my own garden, for three mis-spent hours a day in a retirement home.
None of the rubbish being pushed at us by YOUNG journalists makes sense to us, but we see the LIES they spew out make sense to YOUNG journalists.

[zoony]

Well, we agree on that at least BP...and I've only got three bedrooms..

[Phil]

Brian,
Good topic again, but I must correct you on one thing, 95 is far to young to consider going in a Retirement Home, should there be alternatives.
Which brings me to my Bete Noir - House Blocking.
I am fed up to the back teeth with radio and tv programmes telling me that something must be done about pensioners living in four bedroom detached homes with barely a single bedroom in use.
F*** Y** I shout out.
Why-ever should I move.  There is nothing more ideal (given my financial circumstances) than the home I currently live in. 
What would me wife and myself do with sixteen hours a day in a Retirement Home with nothing to do but play bingo - we'd be suicidal.

You wouldn't have to play bingo, you could sit in your chair & rock from side to side or backwards & forwards whilst waving your arms in the air as you listen to the pianist knocking out Roll Out The Barrel & other old East End favourites.

Or you could just sit with your mouth sagging open with a look of total disinterest.

The options as to how you spend your days are quite versatile, but like yourself, a retirement village isn't for me.

Lol.

    

[brian54]

There are a few in Birmingham, plenty of facilities, shops, gym, restaurant, hobbies room, library, medical care.  When the first one was built there was a waiting list.  I suspect the service charge is high though.

I don't think the service charge is that high. A friend of mine paid about £240,000 for the flat.
The flat is not an investment and when he goes he will get 5% less for the flat for each year he is there for up to 5 years so if he goes after 5 years he would have lost £60,000 or £12,000 per year.
There is a service charge of £100 per month as well.
I suppose if you live there say 15 years they could be a bargain but not if you are only there a shortish time.

[firenze]

It can be  difficult choice if one has to be made, either because of financial considerations or guessing physically it will more than likely happen sooner rather than later. if you like a solitary life pleasing yourself just carry on I say. Let circumstance dictate in the end. Something called fate will decide.

[Scrumpy]

Well said Firenze . I intend to stay where I am for as long as I can ..
I have too many things to keep me busy here .. I will decide at a later date ..


The car is showing off at the moment and one of her indicators is ticking fast .

[zoony]

August is the month that cars mate in. She's just feeling a bit unnecessary..