← Return to What are your tips for staying independent at your own home?

Discussion
Colleen Young, Connect Director avatar

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

Aging Well | Last Active: 46 minutes ago | Replies (350)

Comment receiving replies
Profile picture for doccharlie @doccharlie

We bought a two story home in Florida 13 years ago with the idea thought that the upstairs bedrooms would allow our adult children to visit often. They visit but not often. Recently we did a number of things with the downstairs --- including turning one of the bays in the garage to a computer room --- so we basically lived on one floor. We also made an effort to remove tripping hazards. Our next step is having most of the outdoor maintenance done by contractors. That is easier said than done. We looked at moving into a condo but nothing seemed much of an advantage over our turning our single family home into an effective condo. Still a work in progress, I am 81 my wife is 79 and currently in good health for our age.

Jump to this post


Replies to "We bought a two story home in Florida 13 years ago with the idea thought that..."

@doccharlie Have you considered that with the unused second floor, you may be set up for aging-in-place? When/if the time comes for more help, you could turn it into a mini-apartment for a caregiver team. That would make recruiting help much easier. Years ago, out next-door neighbor, who had no family in the US, did just that - a single woman lived in for a reduced paycheck, since room & board was included. In return she did shopping, cooking, cleaning & some personal cares. Since our neighbor was alone except for us, she had some companionship as well.