What are your tips for staying independent at your own home?

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity https://a.co/d/0Ftf2TQ

I've been thinking about where to move for aging in place. High on my list is a small home with minimal maintainance in a walkable community. I noticed that you are walking up to 10,000 steps a day! That's terrific! Are you by any chance living in a temporate climate? I'm currently living in an area where weather is difficult in both winter and summer and being able to enjoy the outdoors as much of the year as possible is also a priority for me.

I live in Louisiana. My community is very walkable and friendly and there’s a community pool and two lakes. My minimum steps a day is 5,000. Today I have 9,000. Sometimes more. Louisiana is a very green and plant colorful “tropical” climate. Plants and lawns love it. Normally get enough rain for everything to be happy. Spring is fabulous. Warm and colorful. Summer is a hot humid beast. I cannot walk outside from sometime in June until sometimes well into October. I walk the stacks at the library. Fall is wonderful and fresh especially after the brutal summer. Summer is always brutal, but now I have pool access. Yay. Winter can be drizzly, but only a few times gets really cold, below 35 and it warms up quickly. Just rnough cd to appreciate the warmth of Spring. If it weren’t for Summer it would ve great.

Thanks for your reply! Your situation sounds lovely!
I've never been to Louisiana, in fact when I noticed LA following your name, I thought it might mean Los Angeles!

I am very content.

Some day my wife or I may become "housebound," so I've tried to imagine what could give pleasure and connection then. We both love birds and trees, so I've enclosed our back porch to make a comfortable outdoor sitting area: large picture windows face the woods and screened (but closeable) sides allow air flow or enclosure as needed.
We also each have our "offices" with pleasing views, and a more open front porch with sun sail.
Having nursed a mom through assisted living, I feel the view from our home is much more beautiful and spirit lifting.
Yes, we would have to pay someone to fill the bird feeders if we can't...but the thought makes me smile!

Good morning to all. Glad to see so many active individuals doing what they can to keep aches and pains at bay and enjoy life. I’m just shy of 73 and work out nearly daily. I either follow exercise routines on YouTube or I have multiple exercise DVDs I use. I walk our dogs and do most of the yard work. I do have a torn meniscus so I’m doing in home therapy to strengthen the muscles around it and avoid surgery. For socializing, attending church regularly is a gift. You can also join small groups. I try to play brain stimulating games on my phone. Take my supplements. And bask in the joy of my grandbabies. Turning off the news can also be a great mental booster! Daily prayer with gratitude helps me to focus on what is truly important. Wishing you blessings and great health!

After reading all of the above and thinking about it, it is really difficult to give "tips." The main problem, of course, is the state of one's health. I know I am extremely fortunate that at 89 I have reasonably good health and I do not have any signs of dementia. However how you feel at an older age could be how lived when you were younger. In my case during the mid 1980's, I discovered race walking. Even though I had a family to raise and a demanding full-time job, I made the time for me after work to drive to the track and do several miles five days a week. I firmly believe that my condition at this age is the result of that. I only had to stop because I wore out my right hip and had to have it replaced. Now I am a widow and that is really hard. My husband and I were together for a long time and I miss him dreadfully. I have visited two facilities that offer independent living but they are not for me. I have a housekeeper who comes every three weeks to do the heavy cleaning. I can do everything else by myself. However, as I mentioned before, so much depends on how you are actually feeling and the state of your health.

How did you find such a perfect place?

A local builder/developer, Alverez Construction, builds communities in my area. They are the exclusive builder in each community. They walk you through the entire process from choosing the lot, the model house, the colors, to closing. It is the easiest way to build a house. Some years ago a friend bought a house in one of their communities and was happy. Then another friend bought one in another community and was pleased. Then my daughter bought her house in yet another one and I experienced first hand how well treated and honestly she was treated, so when they started building a new community next door to my daughter when I was downsizing, I jumped on it. No regrets