The second half living space ahead #5

second half housing looking for a place to settle down the rest of your life everyone does sooner or later they want their own little place in the Sun a dream house a view a heartwarming climate no more storm clouds only sunshine and happiness the rest of the days of their lives and some are successful in this search and find they can sink their roots into an entirely new region and live happily ever after but others find their search leads them right back up the same old pathway back to their very own doorstep among the people they've lived with and loved all these many years the old house and the old neighborhood hold a lot of memories for them and it's pretty hard to just turn the key and walk out on such pleasures from the past this is Jack Shelley from Iowa State University asking you to take a look at your past and then on into your future what are your plans for the second half of your life is the house you're living in now the one you'd like to live in the rest of the days of your life or are you on the search for your next special place in the Sun actually if we take a look at our past history we find that not very many of us leave our own home territory when we retire only one and a hundred of us move out of the state but the picture is changing with more and more retirement type communities luring us to the warmer sections of our country oh it's really great out here we like it especially in the wintertime and we think about all you folks back home knee-deep in snow yeah we really like the people here they're from all over the United States and and you know they have about the same interests we do there's golf bridge visiting yeah it's it's really pretty nice we went down and looked and we liked the climate we like the people and we just like to Arkansas my folks are retired to Florida ten years ago of course we go down and see them every winter and spend some time there in fact we'll probably move down there too when we retire of course we have a lot of retirement moves made right within the borders of our own state here's one couple who chose a mobile home for such a move why where our children live over here and and one of them it was a minister and the other was in college so we didn't feel they were perfectly settled so we wanted to be able to move if they should move because we didn't know any or anyone over here and then too as you know many people will move from where they live and they'll get into area and they won't be happy but they're tied down what can they do and we want to be sure that we would find our church here and we wanted to be sure we would like the town and if not then we could move some of the most common retirement moves in our agricultural State are the moves from farm to town in making such a move you're often able to stay in the same neighborhood as your children and this way you have the pleasure of seeing your grandchildren grow up and really grandparents are great for children they can pass along some of their skills and philosophy to young attentive ears I've learned if you put things off and think well now I'm going to do that when I get older unless you have learned to do it when you were young you're not going to be able to learn to do it and as you get when you get older either some people are not as interested in garden and yard work as this woman and as their children grow up and leave home while they're willing to leave the mowing the raking and the snow shoveling to somebody else and this is one advantage that condominium owners have that plus some decided financial advantages it would appear there are two dangers in the initial cost they have less investment in land other words the unit's take up about the same space as one large single dwelling lot and so I think we probably obtained more square footage within the dwelling itself for the same price also the taxes would seem to be significantly less than in a single-family dwelling and with the tax advantage of the mortgage and interest payments then this makes it much better at the end of the tax year or for even more carefree existence there's always apartment living here the landlord has all the upkeep inside and outside well it's much easier and if you make up your mind you can be just as happy in an apartment as you can at home I think I wouldn't want to try to raise a family in an apartment building but when you get back to where you started just the two of you there are a lot of responsibilities you can check by getting going from the house to an apartment I like the advantage of when we get ready to go take a trip or take a vacation all we have to do is lock the doors apartment like living is also available in retirement clusters some of these are called villages some are known as retirement communities and some retirement homes but they all have pretty much the same purpose to provide comfortable carefree living quarters for those in their retirement years now here's one located in one of the more rural areas of the state along with its peaceful country setting it seems to have a more relaxed atmosphere we asked the manager at what age people start moving into retirement homes unfortunately they wait too long understandably I can see possibly why having a nice home it's difficult to make a decision and leaving it breaking away from their home but I would say that to the experiences that we have had here that were talking in the 70s or over before this decision is actually made and how do you judge a retirement home either for yourself or for your parents if that's the case or the ultimate I can say in retirement or nursing is to have a home and again here I would consider myself property as being the most foresee administrator probably in the state of Iowa of a very dedicated staff and by dedication I mean people who truly love people and people who can afford to give tender loving care this is the essence of any home to be able to for tender loving care and a true love for everyone of course the facilities of the home are important too and although many of them provide the basic furniture its the extras the residents bring with them that make this new place feel like home many residents have a few things that are very close to them and we feel then that if they have a favorite chair or a few things like this that they would like to take along with them we make an allowance for this as long as the room isn't overcrowded our local paper has been very kind and giving us much publicity we also have a full page in our local paper of Prairie View news that is printed every week one of our residents happens to be the editor every Friday afternoon we have bingo that's of course this is really the day everyone is so wrapped up in their bingo a prize is given to them we usually give fruit or and then on the blackout the man will get a special prize a lady will get a special prize and it is one property of the most favorite activities that we do have and just because this retirement home is located in the country town it's not just retired farm folk who move here far from it there are many former city dwellers here too we have I think attracted the people of the city area or more distant area primarily because they have connections or ties in this particular area they maybe have a son or a daughter or something who's living in this area and the son would like to have mother as close as possible and so it is through this that we have attracted them now let's look at a City Retirement Center the view is certainly different but the people are still pretty much the same this is a public housing center built for older persons it has no health care facilities consequently the atmosphere is a bit different there's younger clientele and a busy schedule for those who wish to partake of it for instance there are classes for those who wish to keep up with their working skills there was a regular class for beginners and those that had typed before and it was a review for me because I wanted to keep up on my speed I had to had typing in my former job a number of the seamstresses in this class our old hands are sewing and some are just beginners one of the women told about one of her classmates accomplishments as just a beginning seamstress she never had done any sewing and I always bought her dresses no and she got her machine never heard of operated a machine before she made her a very nice just common dress but it was very nicely done she's done wonderful classes are pinpointed to special needs as well the Extension Service food aides come in weekly to help those who are on diabetic diets to learn more about food and to try a few new combinations for a change though no meals are served a residents of this Center the kitchen is available for classes such as this or for group meals that residents themselves might prepare and serve laundry facilities are available on each floor on a pay as you wash plan dryers as well as washers are of course a part of the equipment and naturally the residents themselves think up other things to do some have mutual interests that draw them together socially their apartment size living rooms can really handle quite a crowd of course there are different sized apartments available the choice is yours this is a two-bedroom size but rather than group activity some prefer solitude with their own pleasures and this of course they can have with their own apartments and their own furnishings and some outside provisions are made to for those who've enjoyed their own gardens before moving to the center they can keep right on enjoying this they can have their own little plot right out and back of course the planting the weed pulling and the harvesting they're all after them just the way it probably was back home there are many who take pride in the way the center appears to others and a little beauty spot out front is a cooperative project of those who really want to show that they're pretty proud of their new home and the space out for horseshoes and they didn't have it filled in and so we went to see if we could put flowers there instead it looks better with the flowers out there I think homes such as this are often located far from shopping areas and other places where people need to go and since most of the residents don't drive how to provide transportation has been a concern but here's how some federal funding has been able to help out with this problem and a typically rural area of the state we received a grant from the Commission on Aging to establish transportation programs for the elderly in our area we are using the volunteers from the local churches each Church has been providing volunteers for a period of a month and we also have some clubs and organizations that are interested in taking a month at the project the number of rides these volunteers give around 50 a month and here's the one who makes this program tick a person who is without transportation who lives alone calls me and asks if they might go to a certain place like the bank grocery stores beauty parlors or to pay bills places like this and would I furnish a driver for them could I find someone and find someone she does among the 20 to 25 people who volunteer as drivers each month yes small towns are trying to keep their citizens comfortable and safe in their own homes as long as possible what about cities are they is concerned to some definitely are and are doing something about it we became aware quite early that transportation was a major problem of older people and related to it then a lot of other things it was a transportation lack of Transportation made it hard for them to get the health care they needed it kept them isolated it made it hard for them to participate in other community activities all these things are related they call our office and iola answers the phone and then they tell us when they need a ride and we schedule them for a pickup at the time that they need it to get where they're going we don't charge for our rides it was designed and intended to be a free service for the elderly we have advant from the Commission on Aging which provides basically the funds to pay our driver our cars are furnished by two local car dealers several filling stations in the community contribute 10 gallons of gas a month and a few others give us a discount on gas there are organizations clubs and groups in the city that contribute money to us we also then match funds with it from our project concern budget which in turns comes from the City Council and the County Supervisors with programs such as these perhaps more will be able to stay in their own homes longer or is that house you're living in now the one you want to live in the rest of your life if it is then it should be pretty well aged proof take a good look at it can you really say it's convenient and safe for everyday living especially as you get older and what about the extras your house demands of you do they keep you tied right there and how long will you be able to meet those demands and will your house accommodate your future needs regardless of what they might be check it out and see what can you do to make living more convenient for your retiring years we've asked that question of Naomi Schenk who is recently retired as a housing specialist at Iowa State University what's convenient and safe for older folks is usually more convenient for younger ones too so even if you're building a new house and you're in your 30s or 40s these features make living more comfortable first justkeep everyday living needs on one floor level this eliminates many unnecessary steps both for the young and old but where you do have steps handrails are a must and two are better than one no matter which side of the steps you're on there's always support for that free hand however if you should need to use in a walker or a wheelchair can you replace at least one of the entryway steps with a ramp for easy use a rise of about 1 inch and every foot gives a comfortable in kind inside the house work centers at a comfortable height and storage at fingertip reach is important that's one reason for having the first coverage shelf not more than 15 inches from the top of the counter then using adjustable shelves and cupboards can bring other shelves lower a height for sit-down work is good for all ages it takes far less energy it changes the body position and is more relaxing to sit to do some jobs than to stand for wheelchair use you should be able to move the chair right under the counter so you can reach tools and supplies then there is lighting dimming eyesight calls for increased light free of shadows and glare consider lights over the range as well as the placement of the controls if they're in front you won't need to reach over hot pans to get to them for the same reason staggered cooking units might be worth shopping for then another safety thought the one control lever or hot and cold water service this is easier to operate not only in the kitchen but in the bathroom as well as a rule showers are easier for older folks to use than bathtubs grab bars steadier balance in the shower and if you tug bathe they do help in easing the body down into the tub and pulling it back up a handheld showerhead is nice to use especially from a sitting position the route to the bathroom and bedrooms needs to be wide enough so walkers and wheelchairs can be easily used at least 36 inches wide remember that high pile and sculptured carpeting is difficult for most older people to walk on and it's almost impossible for wheelchair use especially combined with a thick spongy pad a low to medium height pile with a firm pad makes for much easier wheeling or walking other ideas that are worth thinking about the height of outlets those a couple feet above the baseboard are easily used without stooping or crawling under furniture and much easier to reach from a wheelchair another hard to reach work area has been window washing newer styles and windows are featuring these easier to wash ideas then just one last parting thought portable extra heating devices can be real safety hazards think about installing supplementary heat that will give needed warmth without being a tripping hazard so if you're planning to build or buy a house for your retirement years ahead or to make changes in your present one then it's wise to keep ideas like these in mind let's introduce you now to a couple who did build following retirement and who used ideas like these in their plans in this case both are retired Lucille from a position on the East Coast and Chuck a former postmaster you can wheel your chair right in because this house was planned for wheelchairs or for any other handicapped they might encounter in their retiring years Lucille tells about it our biggest and most difficult decisions in terms of building a house for our retirement years was where should it be we debated whether we should stay in Iowa or try one of the southern states we finally decided that perhaps we should stay where our roots are we thought we wanted to keep on our feet and walking as long as we could and therefore we wanted to be close to such things as the churches the grocery stores the courthouse the post office the banks and that sort of thing and not be dependent on a car every time we moved we liked long vistas where we decided we should stay near the center of town instead of going to the outskirts we like these long views and you see the bay windows lets us look on in three directions the sliding glass doors which are behind me here help to take the inside out and the outside in this lamp hung in my grandparents house in the country outside of the car so did this other lamp I'm making use of them because we like the feeling of bringing part of our heritage along with us here we are in the cooking end of our family room you see this is an island in the middle of a u-shaped kitchen behind us there is a white think that's white on purpose because we're told is our eyes grow older and I site is dimmer one conceived what one is doing better against a white surface we call is a his-and-her kitchen because it's so planned that two people can work in it at the same time I maintain I'm retired too so I welcome help with the meals our slogan in planning this kitchen was reached don't walk in other words everything is within easy reach and one of the things we like about our planning was that all the doors above the work counter space slide instead of swinging out where you might hit your head on them all the drawers below the work counter pull out so you don't lose something in the back because you can't reach it and if you have a tedious job which you can sit down to do we have a low shelf we can pull out then you can pull up a chair reach for your utensils and sort of rest while you're doing the preparation of food now this is the other end of our family room it's all wide open so we can even stand at the cook stove and watch the television news or whatever we're watching we expect to spend many hours in the rest of our lives right here in the family room and we furnished it with a number of things that have come down to us through our families the roll-top desk was my father's and as far back as I remember it was his desk in our home this clock was hanging on the wall of the house which stood on this precise location this gives us a feeling of continuity with our own past life all doors are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair if that should be necessary what might be called a master bedroom is two bedrooms with adjoining baths here we can use our elbow with a little punch in case your hands are wet it opens the medicine cabinet over our bowls here is the shower in this bathroom because sometimes a bathtub is not the best thing for an older person or isn't easy to get in and out of but we also have a tub it's equipped with handrails securely attached to the wall a high handrail and then a lower grab rug and the bottom of this tub is slightly roughened so one can stand on it comfortably or get out without danger of slipping now we're moving into the other bedroom which is chucks we don't have to have dressers in much furniture because there's plenty of storage space drawer space and all of it can easily be seen and reached we have loud speakers throughout the house including the deck and the porches so we can live with music this is a music player Chuck is pulling it out of a central storage wall and with this sound pipe through the house you can go on and listen to news without having to stop what you're doing let me explain this storage wall it runs almost the length of the house and has various kinds of storage space built in on both sides of it here you see a bookcase above the music player down further my laundry is located right off from the family room on the same level as the rest of the house I don't have to take any steps up or down and a little further down the hall I'm opening the two doors to my cleaning equipment closet they open wide so things can be brought out easily and it's right in the center of house you don't have to drag the vacuum for a long distance this we call a guest wing of the house one reason that we planned the guest wing as we did was that we might someday need some outside help either housekeeper or nurse and this would provide nice living quarters for someone who might come in to take care of us and if you're going out for the evening your toss on your coat you go down the copper dude stairs with handrail a bend partway down so in case you should trip you won't fall a whole distance from this we step out into the heated garage and the door opens at the touch of a button a we really enjoy this house we've found it comfortable and efficient and that gives us the measure of time and energy that we can devote to matters a real concern in our community yes be it ever so humble or ever so magnificent there's no place like home and in this modern world of mobile living who knows where homes going to be but if you plan to stay right where you are now ask yourself how adaptable is this house to my later years regardless of what my needs may be and can i really keep up with the work it demands it's something to think about before you reach retirement age besides now is a good time to look around and see if there's another spot you'd like better than the one you're in right now it may take road searching and soul-searching to find your own special place in the Sun button I'll tell you we really enjoy this house we've found it comfortable and efficient and that gives us the measure of time and energy that we can devote to matters a real concern in our community yes be it ever so humble or ever so magnificent there's no place like home and in this modern world of mobile living who knows where home is going to be but if you plan to stay right where you are now ask yourself how adaptable is this house to my later years regardless of what my needs may be and can i really keep up with the work it demands is something to think about before you reach retirement age besides now is a good time to look around and see if there is another spot you'd like better than the one you're in right now it may take road searching and soul-searching to find your own special place in the Sun