So when I was out running errands this weekend, I saw a new development not far from here – wasn’t sure if it was apartments or condos or what, so I looked it up when I got home. Senior living! Which, given the aging population around here, probably not the worst idea.
And cause I’m not getting any younger, I perused the website and looked at the pricing.
Entry fees range from 388K for a one bedroom, one bath, up to 1 MILLION for a 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with den. Granted, it’s 80% refundable if you kick off, but holy instant depreciation Batman.
Oh, and then there is the monthly maintenance – ranging from $3,184 to $4,822. Now there seem to be a fuckton of amenities and that monthly fee covers maintenance, utilities, trash service, dining, gym on the property, etc.
A super fancy, new construction 2/2.5 condo around here can easily go for 1M, but still, it just seems seriously unaffordable.
Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female. 
Yup, same nonsense around here. I often wonder if we should have kept my grandmother’s home for my parents since they would have been grandfathered in under her association fee, which was like $300 a month.
Related: My final human services class assignment this week was to try to go through the state’s affordable housing search process for a hypothetical client — not a senior, not disabled, not a veteran, simply low income. In the entirety of Hartford County (pop. 900,000), there are currently 16 open options for that person, and most are in the $1,500/mo range and require no criminal background and a good credit score. Affordable!
Oh I am not surprised – I know that theoretically Fairfax County has low income housing, but I can’t even imagine the hoops to jump through for probably 8 residences.
Maybe I’ll just stay here and get an elevator installed, LOL.
I was complaining to a friend who lives in a leafy Boston suburb and she was like “But $1,500 would be cheap for me!” and I was like “But you teach at MIT…”
My parents have slowly but surely been migrating downstairs. Dad recently claimed a coat closet for his clothes, and we have a “guest bed” set up in the den “just in case.” It’ll be cheaper for us to just install a seat-shower in the first-floor half-bath than any other option. Our local senior center has been running home modification info fairs and I keep thinking I should go check one out…this post is a good reminder, actually.
Get your brother to operate a dumbwaiter! Hoist, hoist!
We do have a laundry chute, but it’s a bit on the narrow side.