From what I have gathered ,just reading through the thread, @Ina I. Wonder , is that what Jess is talking about is not simply finding himself a place to live in a seniors assisted-living apartment ; but he is thinking that a group of people could get together and actually OWN the building where they live, so more like condos, I think. However, even though each person or couple owns their own living quarters, all would have access to medical care and help when needed. This is obviously only going to work for seniors who have a substantial retirement income, like Jess said he has, and since he lives in the Philippines, I think that it would also have to be for people who wanted to move there, or are already living in the Philippines. The main flaws that I can see is that he wants the more healthy seniors to care for the unhealthy ones. Even those of us who are healthy are not necessarily able to be caretakers for the more sickly ones, especially when they needed lifting, and things that require a more muscular person. Also, probably the seniors who have plenty of money have already made arrangements for where they are going to live when they need assistance, and those of us who are poor do not have capital to invest in purchasing a grand hotel to live in.
@Yvonne Smith , the places we maintained were in a four story building with a center courtyard, and the residents bought their units. They also had monthly charges that were a percentage of their SS checks, which did make it a good option if you could purchase a unit. They were always full. The units were around 750 sq ft., cost around $40,000. At the time it made it possible for many to sell their homes, purchase a unit, and still bank some for savings. I, like you am happy that I do still have family that will help me stay as independent as I can be. Without Bobert coming to live with me, I too would be alone.
Here are the instances of reluctance from some folks here against my idea of elderly persons with resources to establish their own home, which they will operate by themselves, with the healthy and active members taking care of their colleagues with disabilities and even already bed-ridden. Reluctance 1: Healthy and active members are not thereby qualified to attend to the health/medical needs of sickly members. Answer: I don't mean that healthy active members will directly and physically take care of their sickly colleagues, there will be employees to do the tasks of the direct physical care of their sickly members. Reluctance 2: Not all prospective members have sufficient resources of cash to join such a community of self owned and operated home. Answer: Only prospective members, who meet the minimum cost of contributing to the establishment and operation of the home, will be eligible to join the community. Reluctance 3: Folks here don't have any inclination to live like members of a religious society in the Catholic Church. Answer: I don't mean that we will live like members of religious communities in the Catholic Church, except that in these communities they take care of their old members for everything of health and medical needs, for better or for worse, until and even up to death, funeral and burial. Reluctance 4: What about our social life? Answer: In fact I imagine that we are into a self owned and operated social club, with amenities plus most importantly, 24/7 health and medical care, in addition to private living quarters. Please let me know what other instances of reluctance you folks might have in your heart and mind.
I must be missing something, because there are tons of senior living apartments, over 55 neighborhoods, assisting living facilities, etc. already. Not sure how your proposal differs from what already exists.
Who is going to pay for you to stay in such a home for elderly folks, when it's time for you to check into one? State, that is the government, it invests cash for youth to grow up healthy, as to continue with the state's existence, for politicians to rule over them, whereby politicians make for themselves a good living, and even dream of conquests. But state does not invest in elderly folks who can no longer compete with the youngsters in all fields of making money. That is why I have saved for the years when I cannot anymore compete with youngsters, in order that when that time comes, I can still exist in life, not in the camp of the RIP folks, not as long as I can still manage to pay to stay alive, even when bed-ridden. And I have the wisdom to think that elderly folks like myself, still healthy and active, we should or must get together to form the last level of mankind in society, "the departuranbles." No, we will not be expendables, as long as we are still healthy and active, and even when we are bed-ridden, cash will keep us going, until science will have discovered the secret to immortality, and reversal of old age. In the meantime we can save for ourselves a lot of cash by establishing our own self owned and operated homes for ourselves, for us to live in, and thus not having to expend more money with living in commercially proffered homes. The owners and operators of these homes don't care for us, their ambition is how to make us pay more for their less than decent service. Does state install and maintain a department of caring for the elderly members of society? By the way, the richest people in any society are old folks, perhaps state can do something for all elderly persons, by encouraging aggressively the top richest old members of society to establish and operate old folks homes, for the benefit of their fellow old folks who did not succeed to save adequately for old age.
I was just now into this thread in another web forum, where senior citizens talk about how great times they are having in retirement, and no one talks about any medical issues much less financial issues. {quote starts} How did you plan emotionally and psychologically for retirement? https://www.seniorforums.com/thread...lly-and-psychologically-for-retirement.46294/ {quote ends} I tried to register in that web forum, but it was impossible because an error message keeps coming up, indicating that they are having some trouble, and to try later. What do I say about the posters in that thread? They are very lucky, they don't have any issues in regard to health and neither in regard to finance: but that is not the reality for many a senior citizen in society today. The title of the thread, "How did you plan emotionally and psychologically for retirement?" should be better drafted thus: "How are you enjoying your good health and solid net finance in your retirement life?" I like to meet elderly folks here who do have concerns in regard to health and in regard more importantly to finance, to get them to join me in organizing ourselves into a global sector of self owned and self operated communities of elderly persons.
I believe the topic of that thread that you linked was more to do with retirement from his job. As in what to do with oneself when not going to work each day.
"Who is going to pay?" We are, if it comes to that. As for your suggestion that the richest people pay to "benefit their fellow old folks who did not save adequately," that smacks of Bernie Sander's Utopia. No, thanks.
I'm not sure what to make of the opening post and subsequent posts by the OP. It sounds like you're trying to sell an idea, which is fine, but you're doing it with what looks like advertising words rather than through conversation. I'm saying this as a participant of the forum, and not as a member of the staff. I don't see anything wrong with what you're doing, only that it seems that you'd get more people involved if it were presented as a conversation rather than an ad. It seems that you are encouraging seniors with money to pool it together and operate their own senior living home rather than paying a corporation for a room in a commercial one, and that sounds like something that could work if you had the right people involved, but it also sounds like something for which it would be hard to find the right people for. One of the problems is that there will always be people wanting to take advantage of whatever the situation might be. I don't know of anyone who has done such a thing on a formal basis but I know a couple of people who found themselves retired, living alone in a large house, and thought that maybe things could be better for everyone involved if the bedrooms were filled with other people who were living alone, and they could share the expenses, the maintenance, and the work. I don't think it worked out very well for either of them because there will always be someone who wants to live there rent-free, without having to take on any of the obligations, and once they've established residence there, it can be an expensive, lengthy process to get rid of them, one that could easily eat up any potential savings from the arrangement. Even those who may not have intended to take advantage might find themselves in a situation where they can't really give back anymore, either for health or financial reasons. Good luck kicking them to the curb.
I am so happy that you get me correctly. Yes, you are correct, I am inviting folks here who are also like myself, elderly persons living alone in my own home, but perhaps in addition to living alone, I am lonely and subject to depression, except that I have some good net savings - like all members do have. Why don't we all elderly persons who do have good net savings, get together to take care of ourselves, with our very self owned and operated home, to give mutual reciprocal caring to each other, and enjoy each other's companionship. What about members who have depleted their savings? You see, in such communities there are all kinds of very good financial experts, and doctors of medicine, and scientists, and other humans who are retired but not tired at all - all still every talented and experienced in all fields of human endeavors: that is why and how we can take care of ourselves, and take charge of our bed-ridden members. The financial experts will enact investments like bankers do, which will ascertain that the original contributions of members from their good net savings will, on the one hand be conserved, and on the other hand be earning more net cash.
I am fairly certain that all members don't. In fact, I know that all members don't because I don't. I'm still working thirty hours a week and have some other income as well, besides Social Security, but I never put a nest egg together for retirement, and I spent my life working in jobs that I enjoyed doing rather than spending my working years preparing for my retirement years. There are some here who do, and they tend to let us know that from time to time, but there are others who are getting by on Social Security, with little or nothing to supplement it.
I will have to go over all the posts here in my thread, to focus on members of this forum who might have expressed opinions on the feasibility of my idea, the establishment of self owned and self operated elderly communities, for mutual reciprocal care giving and availment of shared companionship. And also look over the forums here on: Health & Wellness and Money & Finances.
The Mrs and I live in our paid for condo in a 55+ community and are doing fine. Both of our "kids" live in 3 story townhouses and we would not put up with the stairs. Our daughter is planning retirement in a few years and will be moving back east. Our son says he will stay put.