Since my 90 year old aunt, dad's sister, had a bad time last winter, becoming housebound for a while,she has been thinking hard about her living arrangements.
She lives alone in a large 3 bedroom detached bungalow. Which she keeps as clean and neat as a new pin!
Her son until very recently lived down south. We live a couple of miles away and helped her a lot when she became pretty immobile last November.
Now she is just about back to where she was before this happened, and her son has moved up here, so things are a lot easier.
However she feels she needs somewhere smaller, and which she doesn't need to worry about maintaining.
A few weeks ago we got through our door a leaflet about lovely new retirement apartments being built in the same small town my cousin and his OH have just moved to. Next time we saw auntie she said she had that same leaflet, was interested and was going to an open day!
She and her son went to the open day, and back again for a better look on a quieter day.
She decided she would like to live there if she was accepted. You have to apply and answer all sorts of questions, and it is considered at a meeting. They obviously want no riff raff
She was accepted and her bungalow is now on the market.
She will have her own self contained 2 bedroomed ground floor flat with a little patio, leading to the gardens beyond. There is a hairdresser, bistro, community room and I think a laundry for those who want it. You can have a care package, which auntie doesn't need.
I am happy for her, as she is sociable and her life in recent years has been lonely, especially with her only son living so far away and until recently working full time, so not many visits in a year. All her friends and neighbours that she spent time with have died, and she is the last of her siblings.
She will meet new people, be close to her son and DIL, and can walk into the town centre from there with her walker.
I will be sad not to have her 5 minutes drive away, but it's only about half an hour and we will visit often.
There is far more for her to move to than from.
Last week she was invited to a coffee morning there, which her son took her to. There are only about 4 flats lived in as yet but she said the people from them were very friendly and promised to show her the short cut into town
I think it will be a good move for her and fingers crossed her bungalow sells soon.
She lives alone in a large 3 bedroom detached bungalow. Which she keeps as clean and neat as a new pin!
Her son until very recently lived down south. We live a couple of miles away and helped her a lot when she became pretty immobile last November.
Now she is just about back to where she was before this happened, and her son has moved up here, so things are a lot easier.
However she feels she needs somewhere smaller, and which she doesn't need to worry about maintaining.
A few weeks ago we got through our door a leaflet about lovely new retirement apartments being built in the same small town my cousin and his OH have just moved to. Next time we saw auntie she said she had that same leaflet, was interested and was going to an open day!
She and her son went to the open day, and back again for a better look on a quieter day.
She decided she would like to live there if she was accepted. You have to apply and answer all sorts of questions, and it is considered at a meeting. They obviously want no riff raff
She was accepted and her bungalow is now on the market.
She will have her own self contained 2 bedroomed ground floor flat with a little patio, leading to the gardens beyond. There is a hairdresser, bistro, community room and I think a laundry for those who want it. You can have a care package, which auntie doesn't need.
I am happy for her, as she is sociable and her life in recent years has been lonely, especially with her only son living so far away and until recently working full time, so not many visits in a year. All her friends and neighbours that she spent time with have died, and she is the last of her siblings.
She will meet new people, be close to her son and DIL, and can walk into the town centre from there with her walker.
I will be sad not to have her 5 minutes drive away, but it's only about half an hour and we will visit often.
There is far more for her to move to than from.
Last week she was invited to a coffee morning there, which her son took her to. There are only about 4 flats lived in as yet but she said the people from them were very friendly and promised to show her the short cut into town
I think it will be a good move for her and fingers crossed her bungalow sells soon.
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