Are Aging In Place And Moving To More Senior-Friendly Accommodations Mutually Exclusive?
One of the best things about being retired is that your peers are no longer impressed with status symbols, so that you no longer feel compelled to spend money on purchases whose only purpose is to show off to an audience. If a red sports car didn’t give you superpowers when you were 50, it certainly will not do you any good to buy one when you’re 80. The longer you stay in your McMansion past retirement, the longer it feels like it wasn’t made for you, even if you built it from the ground up. Suburban single-family homes are great when your goal is to rent a bounce house to inflate on your front lawn for your child’s birthday party, just so your kid can have the most epic sixth birthday in the neighborhood. Now that your kid is 40, he doesn’t want to have a bounce house birthday party on your front lawn. He’d rather live out of his vegan pub grub food truck, or whatever it is that kids these days are doing. You’re getting too old for your empty nest, but the thought of moving to unfamiliar surroundings fills you with trepidation. There can be a middle ground. A Tampa estate planning lawyer can help you plan for a retirement in which you move out of the suburban sprawl without moving out of the Tampa Bay area.
Home Is Where the Publix Leaf Cookies Are
Aging in place does not have to mean staying in the same house where you raised your children. A McMansion with railings on the walls and a bench in the shower is still a McMansion. You will still be all by yourself in the suburbs when it comes time to close the hurricane shutters and ride out the storm so close to, yet so far away from, your younger, more agile neighbors.
It isn’t just your house that is familiar; it is your entire routine. You don’t want to move somewhere else where you have to find a new doctor, a new barber, and a new supermarket. A better option is to move to a more senior-friendly residential community within Hillsborough County. This way, you can continue going to the same primary care physician, dentist, and optometrist that you have known for years. You can keep going to the same barber, the only one in the whole world who cuts your hair just right. Most importantly, you can keep shopping at your favorite Publix, where you know exactly where all of your favorite items are. Aging in place doesn’t have to be all or nothing; you can stay home while moving to a more age-appropriate residence.
Contact David Toback About Estate Planning for Homebodies
A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you if you want to age in place, but your empty nest is starting to feel too big and empty. Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.
Sources:
aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2023/future-of-aging-in-place.html
floridapolitics.com/archives/651856-aarp-florida-releases-2024-legislative-agenda-that-focuses-on-aging-in-place/
