As I sit here in the emergency room with my 96-year-old mother, I realize that nothing will be the same after today. She will no longer be able to live in her own home without a significant amount of help. Her life will change in ways that I’m not sure she can even comprehend at this point. It happens to all of us at some point in our lives. Earlier for some than others, but it always happens.
This scenario plays out hundreds of times across the country every day. A medical event can mean the end of personal freedom and life as you’ve known it. Over the past 30 years, I have helped families work through all kinds of housing issues, but it wasn’t until I was moving through this very difficult time with my mother that I fully comprehended the impact of the end-of-life transition.
Like many families, I had already personally experienced moving from the starter home to a larger home to accommodate a growing family, followed by the aspirational move when I thought I needed a much larger home, and then downsizing to a patio home in which I knew my wife and I could age comfortably and indefinitely. Of all the moves, the last one was the most difficult because frankly, I am now set in my ways and hated having to give up a lot of my stuff. Even if it was stuff that I realized I no longer needed. We both wanted to stay in the same part of town. Finding my priority, a 3 car garage, newer construction, and a main floor bedroom, in the right price range was a challenge, but we did it!
I will readily admit that if I hadn’t been encouraged by my wife to make the move eight years ago, I would find it to be an almost insurmountable project today.
We’re all basically in the same boat as we get closer to retirement. We may face mental, physical, or financial challenges. Based on my experience, the best advice I can give is to plan ahead and take action as soon as you can. My wife’s mother has always said that if you wait to make a move later in life until you have to, it’s already too late.
Let us help you look at options and make a move that will work for you now, and in the coming years.