Old age housing

[iris lilies]

I think about the kind of housing I would like if something happened to DH and I had to move.


I would want a condo unit of about 850-1,000ft.² where someone else is taking care of maintenance.

But here’s the thing that seems to be impossible to find: I want my own garden space about the same size as that pictured. With a largish garden bed I could grow pretty much anything I needed to grow to maintain my activities in plant societies. I would also want a patio or deck, doesn’t have to be large, for some potted plants.

Finding a condo with much dedicated garden space is impossible.

In my city condo the ladies there have several different little garden spaces, but they’re very small.

IMG_6956.jpg

[iris lilies]

There are many turn-of-the -century apartments/condo buildings in the Midwest that have a sunroom as part of their floor plan. I suppose I could get one of these on a first floor and just grab a big part of the yard for my garden, working with the condo association. I always love those spaces.

[ToomuchStuff]

Condo by a community garden?

[iris lilies]

Condo by a community garden?

no I want my own dedicated plot or I can step out my back door or front door and access it. I thought about that community garden option, but I don’t like it, having had community garden plots for years.

[catherine]

How about a very small house with a very small yard and get someone to mow it for you?

[iris lilies]

How about a very small house with a very small yard and get someone to mow it for you?

Yes, that’s probably what I’d have to do.

It is fairly easy to get someone to mow. It’s just all the other stuff of maintenance that is a pain.

[Tradd]

Maybe look for something called a ranch condo. It’s ground floor with a garage. We have a number of them in my Chicago suburb.

[Rogar]

Smaller ranches with a low maintenance yard are pretty scarce here. It's pretty easy to hire yard work without an HOA. Patio homes or duplexes are a little more common, but small yards with little space for a garden plus some restrictive HOAs are slightly more common. After that it's mostly retirement or regular apartments, which I hope in all eventualities to avoid. I don't have it too bad where I'm at, but it something I've been thinking about. My next door neighbor is 97 and seems to keep up with things with a little help. There's not a perfect place for everyone

[rosarugosa]

I don't have all the details, but they just passed a law in Massachusetts allowing the building of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs):
"...the Affordable Homes Act creates key policy initiatives, including allowing accessory dwelling units under 900 square feet by right on single-family lots. Often referred to as in-law apartments, accessory dwelling units can be attached or detached from a single-family home and often take shape as a basement or attic conversion, a cottage in a backyard or a bump-out addition to a home. This new policy replaces a patchwork of zoning regulations across the state with a uniform law that allows homeowners on single-family lots to add these small units without needing a special permit or variance unless they want to add more than one. Construction of ADUs is still subject to local building codes. The Healey-Driscoll Administration estimates that between 8,000 and 10,000 ADUs will be built across the state over the next five years due to passage of the law. " - from Mass.gov website.
I'm trying to wrap my head around whether this would be helpful in our situation. I love the idea of my mother being in a little cottage out in the garden, at least right now, but it wouldn't be a panacea as her abilities continue to diminish. By the time we got something built, it might not even be relevant any longer.

[happystuff]

There used to be one of these set up down the street from me. I could be wrong, but I believe in our area, they are to be "temporary".. not a forever-type building on the property. It seemed to work out well for the folks who had it install - I believe for their aging parents. It's been gone for a couple of years now.