No Buyer's Remorse at Our New Home
No Buyer’s Remorse at Our New Home
It’s been over two months since we made the large financial commitment which allowed us to begin our move to the Senior Living Community we expect to live in for the remaining years of our lives.
Our new apartment:
It’s been over a month since we totally abandoned our former home and listed it for sale. We are now faced with one of the worries we hoped would not come to fruition: the real estate market has tanked, especially for condominium units, and our beautiful condominium, in a prime location, has had very little foot traffic and no offers to purchase. As we get acquainted with our new neighbors, they seem to fall into two camps, those whose home sales went smoothly and those with similar experiences to ours. We were surprised to learn that several of our new friends sold their homes and moved into temporary housing, with furniture and possessions in storage, while they waited for their retirement apartments to become available. One couple sold their home and moved to a different retirement home, which operated on a month-to-month basis, just to find out how they felt about downsizing and living in a multi-resident setting. Once they became comfortable with the idea of retirement home living, they made the financial commitment to move to their preferred facility.
Reception and dining areas:
It might be surprising to learn that no one I have encountered with an unsold home has expressed regrets about their move. Since my husband and I are anxious about the lack of offers on our former home, we wonder how the others can discuss the issue so casually, showing little distress.
Rooftop amenities:
Are we in the honeymoon period of senior living? Nearly everyone in our new facility seems thrilled to be here. The building is beautiful, the staff friendly and competent, the food delicious, and the activities gradually increasing and improving from the first few weeks. We had been warned that new construction almost always has issues, and residents have taken in stride the various problems that have popped up, such as low water pressure, doors not opening or closing properly, mis-fitting window screens, noisy fans, elevators out of service, delays in the cleaning schedule, etc. Each of these matters has been promptly addressed and solved to the extent possible. I’ve only met one person who expressed any hesitancy about remaining here. In that instance, the individual viewed the move here as a test and they have not listed their home for sale or fully moved out of their former residence.
It’s been interesting to hear the stories of those who have moved away from other senior facilities, including some of the residents here. Here are some of the reasons seniors move from one retirement facility to another:
Location – wanting to be closer to family and friends, medical facilities or cultural activities.
Activities – wanting less bingo, puzzles, and movies and more intellectual stimulation and culture.
Changes at the facility – disappointment in changes over time in management, quality of food, or characteristics of other residents.
Changing needs – becoming less able and needing more affordable caregiving.
Downsizing – wanting a smaller space that is easier to manage and less costly.
We are enjoying outings such as this one to a lavender farm:
For my own situation, despite the difficulty in selling our condo, we do not regret our move and are confident our former home will sell at a price that will not jeopardize our financial security. We are enjoying getting to know our new neighbors and excited about the opportunities open to us here – delicious food, quality musical and theater programs, van outings, book and current events discussions, and improving channels of communication, including a newly forming Residents’ Council.
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