Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

MTSTM, I hear what you say about boomer expectations, but all expectations, boomer or otherwise, run smack-bang into a wall called hard economics. It is vastly more expensive to provide services, such as healthcare and public transport, to a dispersed rural population than it is to a condensed urban one. People used to live in rural areas because they worked there. Now, some people live there because of lifestyle choices which have nothing to do with working the land, the mines, the fishing etc.

I see a lot of people choosing to move to rural areas on retirement, in pursuit of a quality of life which their previous situations were perceived as lacking. For some, it's a decision which is bitterly regretted, as life is different in ways not always foreseen before the event.

I don't say this to disparge any region of the UK or its permanent residents. Rural life is different to urban or suburban life, as apples are different to oranges. Its pleasures are real, as are its inconveniences, as also applies in reverse. I have to say that my observation and experience of rural living is that it's pretty inconvenient with the use of a car, and very very inconvenient without one, and it tends to be much more expensive and time-consuming to achieve the same tasks. Some of these expenses are borne by the individual rural residents, some are spread across wider society.

I come from a one-horse village originally. It's about 20 miles from where I live now. It was a cluster of cottages for the farmworkers serving a large country estate. Those jobs are long gone, the Big House where one of my great-uncles started working life as the under-butler, has long demolished and the estate is owned by overseas interests and farmed by contractors.

My family left because there was nothing there, work-wise, for us, and the social isolation was worsening Mum's clinical depression, which was cured by moving into town. We kids would have had to been bussed to that town for schooling in any case, and we would have had to go there for shopping and healthcare. The natal village runs to the following two amenities; a public phone box and a church (congregation even in 1950s was Grandma and Mum + vicar) and that is that. You can buy one of the old cottages for the thick end of £350k, if that floats yer boat. But you'll still be in the middle of nowhere with no amenities.

Meanwhile, I am 5 mins' stroll from my workplace, 4 mins' stroll from by bank, 3 mins' from my GP and pharmacy, and many of my friends live and work within a few streets of my home. Even the allotment is a gentle 15 min pedal away and the region's largest hospital inc its A & E Dept is 3 miles away. The near proximity of that hospital means that I, and all city residents, can be under the care of paramedics in minutes of any catastrophe, and are thus much more likely to survive a medical crisis. I am 10 mins walk from a bus station and 15 mins walk from a train station, should I want to go somewhere further afield.

If I chose to take myself back off to the natal viallage, or one like it, I could really worsen my quality of life.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Mardatha, good luck for later

All I can suggest is close your eyes before you go into the MRI scanner rhingy, and just think about johnny depp as captain jack sparra.. Or who ever else tickles your fancy in which ever situation that you wish..lol

moneyistooshorttomention

There's water charges here in Wales too:cool::(. They're not amongst the cheapest in the country either...:(. Can never quite understand why Welsh Water charges one of the higher rates considering just how much water there is here...

Part of my preps, for some time, has been to steadily accumulate a selection of herbal/etc medical books - so that I can deal with things myself (at least to some extent) and am working on increasing my supply of medicinal herbs I'm growing myself.

MRI scans :eek:. I had one once - and wont be going back for any more personally ever. I think what upset me most was being conned in effect. The problem concerned was female health problem stuff, as I recall, ie below waist level. Therefore thought hadn't crossed my mind they would even think of scanning any higher up my body. I got nervously into that scanner and it went up as high as my waist and I was about coping with that. Then they started trying to "inch up" - just an inch, then another inch and telling me it was "necessary". They had got to about 2" above my waist level and I realised they were trying to con me into getting it a lot higher up my body than I had been told/or thought was necessary for a below-waist ailment. At that point - they got told in no uncertain terms that they were NOT going to take it up any higher:rotfl:- ie waist level was all I had agreed to.

I think its as well to point this out - so you know to make sure the correct person is "in charge" here - ie yourself as user.

Doesn't appreciate an attempt to con me at the best of times:cool:. I doubt I'd have allowed it, even if I had been told why I'm a bit claustrophobic before that event (rather than years subsequently).

GreyQueen

Don't fret too much, Mar, I've been in MRI scanners on several occasions (5 I think) includlng having my brain scanned as they were playing hunt-the-tumour. Have also had CT scanning done.

I'm a terrible claustrophobe, too. The trick is not to look at the machine as you're in itand to think happy thoughts. They blow a stream of cool air over your face, which is comforting, and usually offer a selection of radio stations for you to listen to.

On my last sojourn, I was offered Halfwit FM (our local and very irritating station) as a distraction and pantomimed my horror at being subjected to that.:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

I always was of the opinion that I'd have liked to live so far out in the sticks that they'd have to bring daylight in by pack mule, but that was when I was driving! Now, both because I don't drive any longer and because age somehow inexplicably applies to me as well as other folks I'm grateful to live within easy reach of some shops and the bus route. It's NOT the life I wanted but then whose life is? but it's a good life and will continue to be a good life for hopefully a long time yet because of and not in spite of ending up living here. My expectations when we came here were unrealistic because I thought we'd live in the New Forest, in the country and lead a country life so when we couldn't afford the dream and ended up in a largeish village not at all where I imagined we'd be I found fault with ALL of it!!! It took some years and a very sensible friend to say to me 'It's such a shame you want to move away because living here is so sensible for as you grow older, it's flat, there are shops, there are busses and there are things to do that are appropriate to older age' so we looked and saw with different eyes and instead of making fun of the locals and being scathing about the differences between here and where we lived in Kent we gradually began to see the good things and appreciate just what we'd gained by being here instead of just seeing what we'd left behind. It was a eureka moment and now we love it here because every wise word from my friend IS TRUE!!! sometimes you can't see reality for looking back with rose tinted glasses when looking forward with clear sight is a MUCH better thing for your future!

ivyleaf

Will be thinking of you mar. The scanner isn't as claustrophobic as you might think, as there's an angled mirror enabling you to see the staff moving around and that's a big help. You should get a cup of tea afterwards too It does make a lot of banging noises, but it's fascinating to think that the noises are creating an image of your insides! Hope all goes well x

GreyQueen

ivyleaf wrote: »

Will be thinking of you mar. The scanner isn't as claustrophobic as you might think, as there's an angled mirror enabling you to see the staff moving around and that's a big help. You should get a cup of tea afterwards too It does make a lot of banging noises, but it's fascinating to think that the noises are creating an image of your insides! Hope all goes well x

I didn't get the benefit of the mirror as it's useless for a short-sighted bat like me without her glasses. I did, at a subsequent appointment, get to look at the scans on the computer in the neurologist's office. For a nosey parker like me, being able to look down on a cross-section of my skull was absolutely fascinating.

What are those bits that look like boiled eggs in twisted socks? quoth GQ to Mr Consultant Neurologist, as she leaned over his shoulder gawping at the screen.

Your eyes, seen from above; the twisted sock bit is the optic nerve spake he.

So, if anyone ever suggests I need my head examined, I can tell them it's already been done, and all da bits and pieces are where they should be. Boiled eggs an' all.

Frugalsod

GreyQueen wrote: »

I literally couldn't afford to live in a village a few miles out, or even one of the market towns within 10-20 miles of the city; the cost of transport in to work is prohibitive as it has to be a private motor vehicle in most cases. The buses/ trains just aren't there, or they are the tail end of intercity coach journeys and extremely expensive.

That is a bigger problem that you think. It also means that £1000 of your income is devoted to a car, insurance, fuel and maintenance, and all before you have earned a penny. So without a car you are limited to what you can find in reach of public transport. So you also have to figure in the costs of transport into any spending plans.

GreyQueen

Frugalsod wrote: »

That is a bigger problem that you think. It also means that £1000 of your income is devoted to a car, insurance, fuel and maintenance, and all before you have earned a penny. So without a car you are limited to what you can find in reach of public transport. So you also have to figure in the costs of transport into any spending plans.

This is exactly why I won't move out of the city and away from the many employment opportunities which are accessible via a short walk or a slightly longer pushbike ride.

My daily pay rate (net) is about twice that of my busfare if I lived in my hometown. I simply do not earn enough to commute anywhere, I would quickly be working for fares. Plus, with ME, the travel would worsen the exhaustion caused by working. A car is completely unaffordable and that's why I haven't owned one since 1997.

I'm very hard-headed and once planned where I would live with a scale map of the city and a pair of compasses, drawing circles at 0.25, 0.5, 1.00 and 1.5 miles out from the centre, and aimed to get as close in as my budget would allow.

Beyond the expense, commuting take away chunk of time which you can't get back, and exposes you to risk of road traffice accidents. I've known people to die commuting to work, and someone else who was so badly injured that they were left paraplegic.:(

mardatha

Not fretting pet, it is what it is and no point worrying, will deal with it when I know what the hell it is lol. And I have always been told I need my head looked
I love living remote. I couldn't stand city or town life, and I know that because I lived in Edinburgh for 12 years and felt smothered every damn minute. Supermarkets deliver to me for as low as £1, I can live the life of a Victorian lady, stay home and have tradespeople come to me
Right now we have long noisy Vs of geese going over southwards, high up. All of yesterday and again this morning - they must have a wee sensor in their brain that tells them when its the equinox.