It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!!

Sea_Shell

LHW99 said:

Where we are, they have a bookable minibus that you can phone for. We are also only about 10 mins walk from local shops, having downsized from a remote rural location. Where my mum used to live they had a similar volunteer car service that would take people to hospital etc appointments. There are also the free bus pass for those who are mobile enough.

We still drive as both (just) under 70, but expect that to gradually change over the next 10 years or so.

What sort of distances do these volunteer schemes usually cover.   

What if hospital is, say, over 25 miles away?

Then will they hang around, for an unspecified time, to bring you home again? 

barnstar2077

Albermarle said:

barnstar2077 said:

Sea_Shell said:

What about travel costs once you're no longer driving too?

How far away is "too far" to expect lifts hither and thither, from family, for the trivial stuff (shopping*) or the important stuff (medical appointments)

What are people's plans for this in late retirement?

Rely on family, friends, taxis, public transport (if practical)


* Stuff you'd rather not just order on line.

I don't think enough people think about this!

The amount of couples in their sixties that I see on these house building shows that construct places in the country, or on the edge of town, with multiple floor levels and normal sized door openings.  They never seem to think about what happens when they are too old to drive, or have mobility issues and need to get a scooter/wheelchair around the house.

Even though I am still in my forties I wish I lived in a bungalow as my accumulated injuries and ailments make the stairs a pain sometimes.

We have had posters on the forum, who are planning a big move to their large dream house in their 60's, with no thought about what will happen later.
The best one I remember was on a TV show about older ex pats having to come home due to medical issues. One said ' It never occurred to me that one of us could get really ill' 

Also, I dread to think how much it costs to run one of these dream homes in the country.  At least when people build from scratch they can make sure they are well insulated and have solar power etc.  Imagine heating a draughty five bedroom Tudor mansion these days.  Makes me glad to be poor! :  )

RobM99

Poor but we were happy. We used to live, all 26 of us, in a corridor!

Luxury...etc.

NedS

Sea_Shell said:

LHW99 said:

Where we are, they have a bookable minibus that you can phone for. We are also only about 10 mins walk from local shops, having downsized from a remote rural location. Where my mum used to live they had a similar volunteer car service that would take people to hospital etc appointments. There are also the free bus pass for those who are mobile enough.

We still drive as both (just) under 70, but expect that to gradually change over the next 10 years or so.

What sort of distances do these volunteer schemes usually cover.   

What if hospital is, say, over 25 miles away?

Then will they hang around, for an unspecified time, to bring you home again? 

My parents had to give up driving a few years back and faced exactly this issue. The have a local Community Cars organisation of volunteer drivers who just charge for the fuel. They can be booked in advance and will drive my parent to hospital appointments (20 miles away) and wait to bring them home again. They are an amazing service!

When my parents were giving up the car and worried about costs of taxis, we sat down and worked out how much it was costing them per year to keep their car on the road, and how many taxis per week that would fund. Needless to say, I do not think they had fully realised how much money they would save ditching the car and now they don't think twice at paying £20 for a taxi, but the vast majority of their trips are covered by the Community Cars service at little more than cost of fuel.

With respect to the U shape spend - my parents were still very capable at 80 and could still do most things for themselves. 70 to 80 was probably the bottom of the U. At 90 it's a completely different story - they now pay for everything!

Witnessing first hand how their amazing retirement has gone has given me great insight into the challenges we will likely face if we are lucky enough to live a lengthy retirement ourselves. Silly things like top priority for our final house move must be close to a hospital, GP surgery and pharmacist! A low maintenance bungalow is also right up there.

Sea_Shell

NedS said:

Sea_Shell said:

LHW99 said:

Where we are, they have a bookable minibus that you can phone for. We are also only about 10 mins walk from local shops, having downsized from a remote rural location. Where my mum used to live they had a similar volunteer car service that would take people to hospital etc appointments. There are also the free bus pass for those who are mobile enough.

We still drive as both (just) under 70, but expect that to gradually change over the next 10 years or so.

What sort of distances do these volunteer schemes usually cover.   

What if hospital is, say, over 25 miles away?

Then will they hang around, for an unspecified time, to bring you home again? 

My parents had to give up driving a few years back and faced exactly this issue. The have a local Community Cars organisation of volunteer drivers who just charge for the fuel. They can be booked in advance and will drive my parent to hospital appointments (20 miles away) and wait to bring them home again. They are an amazing service!

When my parents were giving up the car and worried about costs of taxis, we sat down and worked out how much it was costing them per year to keep their car on the road, and how many taxis per week that would fund. Needless to say, I do not think they had fully realised how much money they would save ditching the car and now they don't think twice at paying £20 for a taxi, but the vast majority of their trips are covered by the Community Cars service at little more than cost of fuel.

With respect to the U shape spend - my parents were still very capable at 80 and could still do most things for themselves. 70 to 80 was probably the bottom of the U. At 90 it's a completely different story - they now pay for everything!

Witnessing first hand how their amazing retirement has gone has given me great insight into the challenges we will likely face if we are lucky enough to live a lengthy retirement ourselves. Silly things like top priority for our final house move must be close to a hospital, GP surgery and pharmacist! A low maintenance bungalow is also right up there.

If you don't mind me asking, how local (or not) are they to you, and have you been expected (asked) to drive them about?

Or have they been happy to remain independent (of you) and use these services.

MallyGirl

barnstar2077 said:

Albermarle said:

barnstar2077 said:

Sea_Shell said:

What about travel costs once you're no longer driving too?

How far away is "too far" to expect lifts hither and thither, from family, for the trivial stuff (shopping*) or the important stuff (medical appointments)

What are people's plans for this in late retirement?

Rely on family, friends, taxis, public transport (if practical)


* Stuff you'd rather not just order on line.

I don't think enough people think about this!

The amount of couples in their sixties that I see on these house building shows that construct places in the country, or on the edge of town, with multiple floor levels and normal sized door openings.  They never seem to think about what happens when they are too old to drive, or have mobility issues and need to get a scooter/wheelchair around the house.

Even though I am still in my forties I wish I lived in a bungalow as my accumulated injuries and ailments make the stairs a pain sometimes.

We have had posters on the forum, who are planning a big move to their large dream house in their 60's, with no thought about what will happen later.
The best one I remember was on a TV show about older ex pats having to come home due to medical issues. One said ' It never occurred to me that one of us could get really ill' 

Also, I dread to think how much it costs to run one of these dream homes in the country.  At least when people build from scratch they can make sure they are well insulated and have solar power etc.  Imagine heating a draughty five bedroom Tudor mansion these days.  Makes me glad to be poor! :  )

It is not a Tudor mansion but my Mum and her husband retired to Devon - down valued but upsized. The house was only about 5 years old so well insulated but just darn big, and in the middle of nowhere. Octopus just put their DD up to £600 per month as they have the heating on all the time because they feel the cold and he has some health issues. The drive is so steep that they have to drive the bins down in the car. There are no services or shops in walking distance. It is a big worry as they are 120 miles from me and 180 from my brother. It was an ok house to buy when they were in early 60s, apart from being too big for just 2 people, but they now can't face the hassle of moving - as we feared at the time.

Sea_Shell

MallyGirl said:

barnstar2077 said:

Albermarle said:

barnstar2077 said:

Sea_Shell said:

What about travel costs once you're no longer driving too?

How far away is "too far" to expect lifts hither and thither, from family, for the trivial stuff (shopping*) or the important stuff (medical appointments)

What are people's plans for this in late retirement?

Rely on family, friends, taxis, public transport (if practical)


* Stuff you'd rather not just order on line.

I don't think enough people think about this!

The amount of couples in their sixties that I see on these house building shows that construct places in the country, or on the edge of town, with multiple floor levels and normal sized door openings.  They never seem to think about what happens when they are too old to drive, or have mobility issues and need to get a scooter/wheelchair around the house.

Even though I am still in my forties I wish I lived in a bungalow as my accumulated injuries and ailments make the stairs a pain sometimes.

We have had posters on the forum, who are planning a big move to their large dream house in their 60's, with no thought about what will happen later.
The best one I remember was on a TV show about older ex pats having to come home due to medical issues. One said ' It never occurred to me that one of us could get really ill' 

Also, I dread to think how much it costs to run one of these dream homes in the country.  At least when people build from scratch they can make sure they are well insulated and have solar power etc.  Imagine heating a draughty five bedroom Tudor mansion these days.  Makes me glad to be poor! :  )

It is not a Tudor mansion but my Mum and her husband retired to Devon - down valued but upsized. The house was only about 5 years old so well insulated but just darn big, and in the middle of nowhere. Octopus just put their DD up to £600 per month as they have the heating on all the time because they feel the cold and he has some health issues. The drive is so steep that they have to drive the bins down in the car. There are no services or shops in walking distance. It is a big worry as they are 120 miles from me and 180 from my brother. It was an ok house to buy when they were in early 60s, apart from being too big for just 2 people, but they now can't face the hassle of moving - as we feared at the time.

What's their plan?   Expect you to move closer? 

bjorn_toby_wilde

That's so like my parents in many ways, although they would love to move to a smaller, more manageable bungalow.  Unfortunately every time one goes on sale around here it's snapped up by a cash buyer within a week.  I'm determined that won't happen to me.

Developers have built nearly 1000 homes on the North side of my town and not a single bungalow. My pet hate is the way that the planning laws have been turned on their head. The developers essentially seem to decide what and where they want to build and dare the councils to try and stop them. To call it "planning" is a bit of a joke.

MallyGirl

I have no idea. I think just pay for more help when it becomes needed. I suspect my Mum will outlive her husband and maybe will downsize into a town at that point. She did start to look at one of those retirement villages with pools and such but couldn't find one with nice big gardens (go figure!)

barnstar2077

bjorn_toby_wilde said:

That's so like my parents in many ways, although they would love to move to a smaller, more manageable bungalow.  Unfortunately every time one goes on sale around here it's snapped up by a cash buyer within a week.  I'm determined that won't happen to me.

Developers have built nearly 1000 homes on the North side of my town and not a single bungalow. My pet hate is the way that the planning laws have been turned on their head. The developers essentially seem to decide what and where they want to build and dare the councils to try and stop them. To call it "planning" is a bit of a joke.

Developers in my area seem to have cracked it.  Firstly, they will say they are going to build two thousand homes on a bit of land that is only really suitable for a quarter of that.  Then when everyone complains about the impact to the local roads and the environment, they reapply for a thousand.  The thousand homes are rubber stamped straight away, and the councillors pat themselves on the back for talking them out of putting two thousand homes on there!