Lasell Village, Newton | Senior Living, Independent Living
It’s almost impossible to get pricing for any of these CCRC’s.
As I recall, her buy-in was ~$500,000 and her current monthly rent is ~$7500. She has one of the larger apartments.
Never mind.
Haha - I’ll bet H’s cousin ends up living in Woodlands at Furman down the road. He spent oh, about six of the happiest years of his life there getting his undergraduate degree. 
3 Likes
A podcast with lots of details on the ASU/Tempe place. Sounds nice but pricey. (And the interviewed couple still goes to their Colorado mountain home each summer.)
I like listening to this series of podcasts when walking or running. Fun sampling of retirement scenarios.
4 Likes
I’ll let them move into my house and take care of them for half that. And the bathroom is already handicapped accessible.
11 Likes
I figure we have done this the cheaper way. We live in central Western Mass, in the 5-college consortium area (UMass, Holyoke, Hampshire, Smith, and Amherst College). In spite of there being “nothing” to do here, according to some complaints from large city students, there is SO MUCH to do here, and most of it is free. Concerts, talks, sports, hiking, nature walks, farms and orchards and horses…. Okay, well, you have to pay for the horseback riding, unless you want to work it out by helping with the horses…
7 Likes
We had friends who moved to Belchertown, MA to be near grandkids. I thin they liked it there. Looks like houses are cheaper than some places, MUCH cheaper than Boston area.
3 Likes
The name of rhe town made me laugh. Seems a propos for old folk!
3 Likes
We actually considered Winston Salem as a retirement destination. University of North Carolina School of the Arts provides tons of cultural things to do. The downtown is small and walkable. Some neighborhoods are very convenient. There are terrific walking paths managed by Wake Forest University. Reynolda is there too.
If our kid had stayed there, we likely would have moved by now!
2 Likes
@thumper1, my S, DIL and GD live in W-S. We visit often, but don’t spend a lot of time in the city proper. They would LOVE to have us move there (and it would be great to not have to travel 500 miles to see them), but we are not ready to make that leap from big city access (Philly) to small southern city. Immediately beyond the city limits (and even within) the culture and political landscape is very different than what we are accustomed to. I also do not want to be that far from a major airport in our go-go years (GSO is great but it’s expensive to fly in and out and not enough direct flight options.) It’s still a possibility down the road, but I would have to feel more confident that we would be able to find “our peeps” down there. We would probably be more comfortable in the Raleigh-Durham area. At some point we will dive deeper into senior living options in both places.
If the cost of living wasn’t so high, we would be more likely to move to be near D in the DC area for our active senior years, with great public transportation access to museums, national monuments, neighborhoods, sporting events, hiking and biking trails, rivers, and airports. And just a 1.5 hour train ride away from our Philly family members. A positive for W-S, however, is that it is a place where the numbers actually work in favor of downsizing.
4 Likes
Nice! That’s not always the case for college towns. Ha, which is why we live nearish to Boulder Colorado but not in Boulder. (Grabbed a random zillow listing - https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/805-39th-St-Boulder-CO-80303/13185895_zpid/)
3 Likes
That house in Boulder is not a bad price! Of course I live in a HCOL area so any nice single family home under $1 million sounds good.
4 Likes
Ah Boulder! We rented a house there the first five years of my life. A few years back, my brother texted me because he was shocked - shocked - to learn it was estimated over $1 million. I just yawned because I was aware of that market and asked if he had seen the estimate on our San Diego house. Which is where we plan to stay - it’s one story but has a few steps front and back, plus inside. So perhaps will need ramps someday. I do like my privacy and quiet so likely would be unhappy elsewhere. Socialization never works out that well for me anyway.
I’m pretty sure this is the old house; least expensive on the block. I think it looked much the same 70 years ago.
5 Likes
Yes, I actually think we could afford a nice single level living house in Winston Salem. It’s still a thought…
2 Likes
That’s craaaaazy! I used to think it was just California that was off track for house pricing but now it’s lots of places. Still guess I’m good in Georgia, like the topography and the weather/seasons. Problem is 2 kids already live far away and the 3rd could move with the next job/promotion - who knows - and I’d like to be near one of them, likely my youngest.
1 Like
We’re still kicking around the idea of beginning to look at options near our kids. Unfortunately, our kids live in a very high cost-of-living place, but it is what it is.
2 Likes
We live in a very high cost of living place. Fortunately all 5 of my remaining siblings and a growing number of grown nieces and nephews are living here in Honolulu as well. So far, we haven’t bought into a CCRC or similar type of place yet.
I haven’t found anything I REALLY would like to live in so far.
2 Likes
I am touring 14 CCRC’s, starting last summer and accelerating in the next two months. I am keeping a Google Doc because the variations and nuances are hard to remember- similar to college tours. As with my kids’ college decisions, gut feeling is important but so are costs, amenities, activities, meals and so on. For me light is important: big windows, patios, screened porches, solariums, but a small space under 600’ is fine. I prefer a Type A contract, also known as “Lifecare,” and a non-profit (that is stable financially).
The advice is to go in early so you have time to make connections and get involved, rather than wait for a crisis and enter late. Most places cite an average age of 82-84 so I am now asking about average age of entry. For info on pricing, I get brochures or make phone calls before touring.
So far I have two favorites. I will turn 75 this year. I am a renter after selling a house in 2014 and have already gotten rid of my stuff. I resist reaccumulating and don’t really want to buy. But finding a rental that is comfortable or even possible (I have spinal fractures and can’t open windows, have allergies to new flooring etc.) has been challenging. So I may go in early. Wait lists are often 2-10 years.
I am sometimes looking with two friends who are 8 years older than me and more disabled. Both own very nice homes and lost husbands. I found Kendal at Home for them, but one is worried about loneliness and continues to look with me. The other is waiting until Kendal at home is needed. If you wait, expenses go up, because the monthly fees at communities are in some ways a form of long term care insurance. (Both these friends have that insurance, I don’t).
Many communities in NH perhaps because no income, sales, capital gains or estate tax, especially the latter. People seem to come from all over.
My kids are all over the place. My only hesitation is that I would love to be close to one of them, but for me the whole point is to relieve them of the burden I had with caregiving my mother, so maybe distance isn’t a bad thing. I don’t have grandchildren. I might have one adopted grandchild and would want to be close for that too. The prospect of losing 10% if I move out is my one caution about entering a community.
I hate the idea of these huge places segregating the elderly. I lived in the North End of Boston (Little Italy) where they took care of grandma at home and often I would see older folks out in the sun on a stoop. Not happening. I certainly cannot buy a place in the city large enough for me to live with a daughter and partner and kid. On to the next tour!
4 Likes
My in laws also thought being away from their kids in an assisted living facility would relieve them of the burden of caregiving. It did not. I am not saying you should move closer to one of your children - I am just sharing my own experience. Flexibility may be required in the future, no matter how carefully you plan.
10 Likes