Retirement Villages

PMBC

Anyone live now or previously in a Retirement Village - own house, not a Retirement Home - or know anyone who did? What was it like? Quiet, stress free or lonely and with hassles?

garancafan

Good question. I, too, would be interested in learning of any experiences.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I know people who have, or did, live in their own homes within retirement/nursing home complexes. They all loved it. A great community, security, services, company.

garancafan

Landon Stale Tutorial wrote: »

I know people who have, or did, live in their own homes within retirement/nursing home complexes. They all loved it. A great community, security, services, company.

Thanks Landon Stale Tutorial. Could I tease this out a bit? Were these private or public facilities? What would constitute a "home"?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

garancafan wrote: »

Thanks Srameen. Could I tease this out a bit? Were these private or public facilities? What would constitute a "home"?

Some have private homes on the 'campus' while others lived in the 'nursing home' proper. The nursing home, I'd imagine, had a mix of private and Fair Deal residents. My friends were in bungalows of their own on the sites.

looksee

My mother was in a Council set up (in the UK) that had individual apartments in a main block and small bungalows around. She was there for 10 years. The grounds were well maintained. Each resident organised their own cooking and cleaning, they could organise carers in if they needed them. They could request preferences in basic redecoration and bring their own furniture. There was a call system that the manager checked each morning, having a brief conversation over the system which could be addressed from anywhere in the flat. There was an access code for approved visitors to get in, others could ring the flat and be admitted. The manager was in control and organised it. It was a really excellent system.

There was some entertainment - bingo and coffee mornings etc, but the residents did their own thing. If they became sick enough to need actual nursing - that a carer rota could not cope with - they had to leave and go into a nursing home; this was understood from the start, but the attitude was quite elastic about who should go. Towards the end my sister slept on a camp bed in the sitting room overnight, which was not permitted but a blind eye was turned as long as she was discreet.

Sadly the manager's authority was eroded by the authorities (as were those in similar complexes) and the organisation deteriorated. Then they started introducing younger people who for whatever reason were homeless, and the atmosphere of the place changed totally; there was not the sense of confidence in the safety of the establishment. Our mother died at around this time so I don't know what happened in the end, but it was very much a case of fixing something that was not broken. She was very happy for the 10 years she lived there.

campingcarist

There are lots of blocks of apartments which have a minimum age limit - usually 55, 60 or 65 years old. Each apartment had an emergency pull cord in each room which connected to the manager's office. At night time, the emergency bell was redirected to a company which would respond.

Unfortunately, in Ireland, most retirement villages are attached to a nursing home and the charges, in my opinion, are over the top. I investigated this about 5 years ago but decided not to live in a retirement village.

PMBC

Ive had a look at one since and it seemed quite good - very quiet, if that's what you want. Reasonable furnishings if a little on the sparse side. Good quality construction. Worth thinking about.

campingcarist

I am seriously looking at some French ones. Better weather in the south of France. You can rent or buy them. One company will let you rent for 3 days or a week or sometimes longer so you can sample the life and activities available. One place (apartments) you could have dinner and an evening meal for the grand total of €8 in its restaurant. Known as Residences for Seniors (with services).

PMBC

Do you know if long term rental i.e. a year available and what is approx. cost?

campingcarist

PMBC wrote: »

Do you know if long term rental i.e. a year available and what is approx. cost?

In France, 1 year is not considered as 'long term'.

The cheapest I have found for a 1 bed, living room and shower room (37 sq metres) is €326 while a 2 bed apartment (48 m²) in the same complex is €469 including service charges (€48) and prices go up from there.

Location is one factor in the rental price while service charges will increase depending on what is provided. Most have 24 hour security, and usually include bins and water. obviously anything else puts up the service charges. parking within the complex, activities organizer, communal meeting room, library, etc. A restaurant will usually bring these charges to somewhere close to €700-1,000 (wages for chef, kitchen staff and waiting staff) while the rent will also increase to compliment the services. Again, smaller complexes would not have as many features.

All in all, in my opinion, worth while giving a consideration especially as the weather would be better than Ireland.

Jellybaby1

Recently was chatting to a friend who has been shopping for a retirement home, last price she was quoted was €1,000 per month! :eek: I think I'll start French lessons now, might be fluent by the time I need their services.