SIDEBAR #48 - Arias/Alexander forum

[YESorNO]

YESorNO, let me tell you about the 55+ community I've been living in for the past decade. On the surface it looks like a nice, sedate mobile home park with well-tended units and home to about 200 docile-appearing senior citizens.

Appearances can be deceiving.

In our little corner alone, we have a drug mule for a notorious motorcycle gang, and his drunken wife who routinely rides her bike while inebriated; the neighbor we've dubbed "Captain Viagra" 'cos he goes around hitting on the community's lonely widows (and has scored with all of them...and bragged about it); "Mammy and Slammy," the door-slamming hillbillies across the street (they slam their doors coming and going, all day long...if we said anything, they would be quite put out and say "We were here FIRST!" which is not true and what's it got to do with anything?? Meanwhile, when she's not out slamming, she's sitting on her porch, reading her Bible...lol. Hey lady: Thou Shalt Not Slam!).

Let's see, who else? Oh yeah, the family of about a gazillion people with an ever-changing cast of characters and cars parked all over their lawn. The kamikaze golf cart drivers who would just as soon run you over as look at you.. The people who shouldn't be driving anything because their eyesight is shot and their reflexes have gone the way of the dodo.

And this is just one little area of this park!

Take this as a cautionary tale, my friend: Be sure to case the joint thoroughly and talk to your potential neighbors to get the skinny. Just sayin'....
:seeya:

Thanks for the info, but the community I am looking at has professional managers and rules that have to be abide by (like not hanging any wash or can't feed the birds, noise levels, how many people and how young they are that can live there, etc.).
One of my friends in Pa. has a friend of hers living there and she just loves it. When my friend went to visit her friend, she said that all the houses and the surrounding landscapes were beautifully kept- she was very impressed. She is actually thinking about selling her house and moving there also (she is 85 years old).

I'm sure there will be some people who will be the "busy-bodies", the "trouble-makers", etc., but I'm basically a loner (and like it that way ) and I don't stick my nose in anyone's business/socialize that much, so anywhere I live, it's like I don't live there. I'm the mysterious woman :floorlaugh: (not at all like I'm on this forum

with my fat mouth :facepalm In fact when I lived in NYC in an apartment, one woman called me a "stuck-up" because I didn't talk except to say "hello" once in a while- I'm not really a "chit-chat" sort of person except with friends that know me very well.
And I vant to be alone in my old age

.

Thank you for your concern

 

[YESorNO]

Alas, Zuri, this park has no professional management...it is run by the residents solely. We have officers but they just like having a title; actually doing something would require some, oh I don't know....ballz?? Besides, we aren't part of the clique. Living here is like going back to junior high school. And remember how much fun that was?...lolz.

This place actually was lovely to live in for the first few months ... and then Mammy and Slammy moved in. Oh well.

The 55+ community we lived in before this one had professional management and ran very smoothly. If and when we get the financial wherewithal to move back there, we certainly will do that!



P.S. Sleuth5...don't tell me you live in a place like this, too?!

:therethere: Junior high school

 

[YESorNO]

You can retire at any age, but you won't get Social Security $ from the gov't until you reach at least 65 years old.

The retirement communities only allow people 55 years old or over. They are very nice to live in, IMO. They have a lot of conveniences for Seniors
and no maintenance that owning a house comes with - like snow removal, grass cutting, and things like roof fixing (at least where I am thinking of buying).
There's a very small fee every month that takes care of things like taxes, garbage removal, and community fees ( the units I'm looking at have a fee as low as $160 per month- pretty low, IMO).
They have clubhouses with various activities if you are inclined to join, buses that take you shopping (will be great when someone no longer can drive).

Of course you buy the house, but I've seen some that are just rented. I'm looking at a model that has 4 houses attached (so like an apartment) with either 2 bedrooms/1 bath or a 1 bedroom/1 bath with a heated sleeping porch, but there are single standing houses and semi-attached models also with garages. All of houses come with washers/dryers and all other appliances. All with no maintenance- which is what I'm looking for at this time in my life- especially when my younger son graduates from grad school and may decide to leave the nest.

Some of the units I am looking at even have a little strip where you can plant some flowers, but I don't do too much gardening anymore (bad knees ).
I probably won't be moving until my sons decide what they want to do in about a year or so, but I'm doing my planning right now or I might just tell both of them to "go choke themselves" (as my mother would say :facepalm and move anyway no matter what they decide. We'll see.

I'm replying to my own post because I can't edit it anymore. The age that you can start to collect Social Security is 62, not 66. Sorry for bad info.

ETA: Again I have it wrong!!!! :sheesh: I originally said 65 years, not 66. (I'm getting senile)

 

[neesaki]

Thanks for the info, but the community I am looking at has professional managers and rules that have to be abide by (like not hanging any wash or can't feed the birds, noise levels, how many people and how young they are that can live there, etc.).
One of my friends in Pa. has a friend of hers living there and she just loves it. When my friend went to visit her friend, she said that all the houses and the surrounding landscapes were beautifully kept- she was very impressed. She is actually thinking about selling her house and moving there also (she is 85 years old).

I'm sure there will be some people who will be the "busy-bodies", the "trouble-makers", etc., but I'm basically a loner (and like it that way ) and I don't stick my nose in anyone's business/socialize that much, so anywhere I live, it's like I don't live there. I'm the mysterious woman :floorlaugh: (not at all like I'm on this forum

with my fat mouth :facepalm In fact when I lived in NYC in an apartment, one woman called me a "stuck-up" because I didn't talk except to say "hello" once in a while- I'm not really a "chit-chat" sort of person except with friends that know me very well.
And I vant to be alone in my old age

.

Thank you for your concern

That's how I am as well, more or less a loner, never have been a big talker, especially don't enjoy whiling away the hours chatting on the phone. I have never understood people who do. There was this young woman that used to exercise walk the same time I did , and she had her cell phone to her ear the entire time, 45 minutes to an hour of running her mouth. She never shut up, I actually took pity on the person who was on the other end of the line, lol. And I've been called "stuck-up" too, but I'm just somewhat reserved and actually rather shy. My problem is that I think too much and start obsessing, like in this trial. :facepalm: I should add that I'm also an obsessive reader, so just call me obsessive, lol. :floorlaugh:

 

[Bernina]

I think today is a chill out day for me............BF finally drove out the driveway on his way to Dolan Springs, not without throwing his bronco into reverse to come back and get his wallet. I don't have much faith in the VA hospital, Alz will jack up his disability and I *think* their hedging his diagnosis until it gets really apparent, it's listed as an Agent Orange effect. His brother is dying from exposure, I don't think he has that long. He has Parkinsons, and diabetes, both hit him about 2 years ago after a triple bypass that left him with a leaky heart valve. And then there's this thing he has where his nerve bundles are constantly on fire. Can't think of the name off the top of my head. He's lost a lot of weight.........incredibly sad, he was such and active person, beyond healthy, could run most 25 year olds into the ground.
Don, the BF, loaded Agent Orange onto planes in 'Nam. He and his brother are about 14 months apart in age. His brother was in the bush, Operation Buffalo was one of his gigs.
Oh well.
So other than getting a bunch of smooshed fencing into the truck and getting it over to the dumpster at my son's. I'm just going to be hanging out waiting for the feed delivery, pay the monthly bills online, maybe get the incubator set up for the swan eggs.

And take some pics of the toilet paper geese!!!!




Yep, I need to chill out a bit.........

 

[Chelly]

Good Morning WS Fiends!
:loveyou:

11 more days until sentencing
and then......
Buh Bye Jodi!
:jail:

Had my two cuppa CFON then headed out to the plant nursery yet again!
Plant addiction is a terrible thing!
But so much prettier than the other addictions.

 

[YESorNO]

I think today is a chill out day for me............BF finally drove out the driveway on his way to Dolan Springs, not without throwing his bronco into reverse to come back and get his wallet. I don't have much faith in the VA hospital, Alz will jack up his disability and I *think* their hedging his diagnosis until it gets really apparent, it's listed as an Agent Orange effect. His brother is dying from exposure, I don't think he has that long. He has Parkinsons, and diabetes, both hit him about 2 years ago after a triple bypass that left him with a leaky heart valve. And then there's this thing he has where his nerve bundles are constantly on fire. Can't think of the name off the top of my head. He's lost a lot of weight.........incredibly sad, he was such and active person, beyond healthy, could run most 25 year olds into the ground.
Don, the BF, loaded Agent Orange onto planes in 'Nam. He and his brother are about 14 months apart in age. His brother was in the bush, Operation Buffalo was one of his gigs.
Oh well.
So other than getting a bunch of smooshed fencing into the truck and getting it over to the dumpster at my son's. I'm just going to be hanging out waiting for the feed delivery, pay the monthly bills online, maybe get the incubator set up for the swan eggs.

And take some pics of the toilet paper geese!!!!

View attachment 72180


Yep, I need to chill out a bit.........

Wait- what is that a pic of- not geese? :scared:

Take it easy girl- go count some vaginal rings or something easy like that :facepalm:

 

[daisydomino]

.................ok, I'll nix the "global warming" tag..........

But do you think *maybe* this kind of pic would be a "heads up" for California?

California Imposes First Mandatory Water Restrictions to Deal With Drought


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/02/u..._th_20150402&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58395070

First ever water restrictions? Maybe "first ever" for people who moved to California after 1976.

http://www.water.ca.gov/watertransfers/docs/9_drought-1976-77.pdf

Incidentally, Jerry Brown was governor then, too. Restaurants could no longer serve water unless patrons ordered it.

 

[coffeejunkie]

YESorNO, let me tell you about the 55+ community I've been living in for the past decade. On the surface it looks like a nice, sedate mobile home park with well-tended units and home to about 200 docile-appearing senior citizens.

Appearances can be deceiving.

In our little corner alone, we have a drug mule for a notorious motorcycle gang, and his drunken wife who routinely rides her bike while inebriated; the neighbor we've dubbed "Captain Viagra" 'cos he goes around hitting on the community's lonely widows (and has scored with all of them...and bragged about it); "Mammy and Slammy," the door-slamming hillbillies across the street (they slam their doors coming and going, all day long...if we said anything, they would be quite put out and say "We were here FIRST!" which is not true and what's it got to do with anything?? Meanwhile, when she's not out slamming, she's sitting on her porch, reading her Bible...lol. Hey lady: Thou Shalt Not Slam!).

Let's see, who else? Oh yeah, the family of about a gazillion people with an ever-changing cast of characters and cars parked all over their lawn. The kamikaze golf cart drivers who would just as soon run you over as look at you.. The people who shouldn't be driving anything because their eyesight is shot and their reflexes have gone the way of the dodo.

And this is just one little area of this park!

Take this as a cautionary tale, my friend: Be sure to case the joint thoroughly and talk to your potential neighbors to get the skinny. Just sayin'....
:seeya:

Please don't tell me you live in the same park as my aunt and uncle!! lease:

 

[Niner]

Morning all! :wave:

Time until Monday, April 13, 2015 (Phoenix time)

10 DAYS 20 HOURS 54 MINUTES 39 SECONDS

http://www.timeanddate.com/countdow...sg=Jodi+Arias+Perryville+One-way+Ticket&csz=1
--------------------------------

Good Morning WS Fiends!
:loveyou:

11 more days until sentencing
and then......
Buh Bye Jodi!
:jail:

Had my two cuppa CFON then headed out to the plant nursery yet again!
Plant addiction is a terrible thing!
But so much prettier than the other addictions.

Hey! :seeya: actually it's only 10 days!! away...

That's how I am as well, more or less a loner, never have been a big talker, especially don't enjoy whiling away the hours chatting on the phone. I have never understood people who do. There was this young woman that used to exercise walk the same time I did , and she had her cell phone to her ear the entire time, 45 minutes to an hour of running her mouth. She never shut up, I actually took pity on the person who was on the other end of the line, lol. And I've been called "stuck-up" too, but I'm just somewhat reserved and actually rather shy. My problem is that I think too much and start obsessing, like in this trial. :facepalm: I should add that I'm also an obsessive reader, so just call me obsessive, lol. :floorlaugh:

Me three!! I can finish a book in a week; so glad I have a library close by!

Also, you mention talking on the phone... no way here either! :gaah: I can't understand WHAT you talk about for ALL that time??!! LOL!

Welcome (and back!) to all the :newbie: here! :greetings: we have a great bunch of people to :gathering:

California drought... I don't know how we are going to save water, we already do... :waitasec:

Okay - off to read some more threads! cguru:

 

[coffeejunkie]

I guess I'm about as official as a Senior can be... SS office called and I will receive my first check this month!! Wooohoooooll DH will too, he has not retried yet, he thinks he will in June or July.

 

[Hatfield]

YESorNO, let me tell you about the 55+ community I've been living in for the past decade. On the surface it looks like a nice, sedate mobile home park with well-tended units and home to about 200 docile-appearing senior citizens.

Appearances can be deceiving.

In our little corner alone, we have a drug mule for a notorious motorcycle gang, and his drunken wife who routinely rides her bike while inebriated; the neighbor we've dubbed "Captain Viagra" 'cos he goes around hitting on the community's lonely widows (and has scored with all of them...and bragged about it); "Mammy and Slammy," the door-slamming hillbillies across the street (they slam their doors coming and going, all day long...if we said anything, they would be quite put out and say "We were here FIRST!" which is not true and what's it got to do with anything?? Meanwhile, when she's not out slamming, she's sitting on her porch, reading her Bible...lol. Hey lady: Thou Shalt Not Slam!).

Let's see, who else? Oh yeah, the family of about a gazillion people with an ever-changing cast of characters and cars parked all over their lawn. The kamikaze golf cart drivers who would just as soon run you over as look at you.. The people who shouldn't be driving anything because their eyesight is shot and their reflexes have gone the way of the dodo.

And this is just one little area of this park!

Take this as a cautionary tale, my friend: Be sure to case the joint thoroughly and talk to your potential neighbors to get the skinny. Just sayin'....
:seeya:

My folks did the "downsize" thing and I felt bad for them because I really think they would have been better off just keeping their previous nice home and maybe just hiring a local kid to help with the outdoor chores.

Their reasons for moving to a real small home in a small retirement type community was the same reasons lots of people choose. Mainly to avoid having to do outdoor yard work.

The problem was the new community charged an outrageous monthly association fee for that maintenance and they did a lousy job to boot.

It would have been cheaper if they had stayed in their nice home and hired some person or some company to do all their outdoor maintenance.

They never complained much about it except for the monthly association fee. I just felt that they never seemed to like it at their new place. Maybe it was just a bad impression I got because I personally did not like the new place. Compared to their previous home which was really nice.

My current plan is to keep my home at all cost and just hire whatever help I need as I get older. I am not sure if that plan will work out but that is my thought anyway.

 

[YESorNO]

I guess I'm about as official as a Senior can be... SS office called and I will receive my first check this month!! Wooohoooooll DH will too, he has not retried yet, he thinks he will in June or July.

:congrats: to you!

 

[Hatfield]

I just have to vent a little bit on the low-flow toilets...LOL
I may have vented before about this but I am due to vent again on it. LOL

We have a saying here in our home called a "double-clutcher" or "triple-clutcher" :floorlaugh:

You know the days where it was a doozy :gasp:

Well, those low-flow toilets just add even more "clutches".

We have 1 old toilet with the old large tank and we call it our "Good Toilet", and we have one of the new ones in the hall called the "Bad Toilet".

On those rough days, we always say we are heading for the Good Toilet.

Oh, and my Gram in NY would always call it a "TURLET". Brings back fond memories of my Gram.

 

[YESorNO]

My folks did the "downsize" thing and I felt bad for them because I really think they would have been better off just keeping their previous nice home and maybe just hiring a local kid to help with the outdoor chores.

Their reasons for moving to a real small home in a small retirement type community was the same reasons lots of people choose. Mainly to avoid having to do outdoor yard work.

The problem was the new community charged an outrageous monthly association fee for that maintenance and they did a lousy job to boot.

It would have been cheaper if they had stayed in their nice home and hired some person or some company to do all their outdoor maintenance.

They never complained much about it except for the monthly association fee. I just felt that they never seemed to like it at their new place. Maybe it was just a bad impression I got because I personally did not like the new place. Compared to their previous home which was really nice.

My current plan is to keep my home at all cost and just hire whatever help I need as I get older. I am not sure if that plan will work out but that is my thought anyway.

Change is sometimes hard, but often necessary, IMO, and not only for parents, but their children (who love the home where they may have grown up with all the memories).

Too bad your parents have such hi monthly assoc fees.

Getting people to help around the house is difficult sometimes and can be very expensive.
I pay someone to plow the driveway and it cost me $30 a plow (sometimes he may have to plow 2-3X a week where I live now).

Hope you achieve your dream of staying in your home.

 

[Zuri]

http://thehorseaholic.com/prepare-for-goosebumps-watch-this-horse-tribute/

This video has some amazing footage of horses, mainly Arabians like Bernina has. Beautiful.

 

[Hatfield]

Change is sometimes hard, but often necessary, IMO, and not only for parents, but their children (who love the home where they may have grown up with all the memories).

Too bad your parents have such hi monthly assoc fees.

Getting people to help around the house is difficult sometimes and can be very expensive.
I pay someone to plow the driveway and it cost me $30 a plow (sometimes he may have to plow 2-3X a week where I live now).

Hope you achieve your dream of staying in your home.

Thanks YesNo

I know what you mean that things do change and even how we think of things sometimes change.

My parents seemed to be content with their decision and it was probably just me thinking they werent as happy as they really were because that new home they got just seemed so small and a little disappointing to me (not them).

They seemed happy there and that is the main thing.

I think you are right that changes sometimes are necessary and for more than just 1 reason sometimes. We all just have to carefully decide what is best for us.

I like the suggestion that someone else said is to scope out a new community carefully. Maybe even go as far as talking with the neighbors before even moving there. Its hard to do that but it is a good idea when planning on moving somewhere.

You cant always tell how a community is just from driving by.

Its hard to get enough courage to actually pull over and talk with people when you dont actually live in a community. There are a few places where I lived many years ago, that I wish I had done that.

 

[Hatfield]

One thing that I have learned about home/community shopping is there is always going to be certain things you like and certain things you dont like. So long as the "likes" outweigh the "dislikes" by a large margin then that is a good sign you will be happy there.

And another important thing is so long as the "dislikes" are not something MAJOR.
People generally will have 1 or 2 things that they could not and would not ever want. So long as the new place doesnt have 1 of those types of "major dislikes" then that is another good sign you will be happy there.

 

[Bravo]

We are currently trying to decide if we should sell. Go to a Condo. I don't think it's a good idea. Hubby likes to putter in the yard and garage. I think he would lose his mind. We live in a rancher so in my mind no reason to sell. No stairs. Reason being we are looking into a Condo purchase in Bahamas. Would leave right after xmas and come back in April. We are in our late 50's and dont plan to retire just yet but for sure in 2 years. I dont want condo fees in 2 places. So far hubby is leaning toward keeping the house now. I cant even wrap my head around moving. I think stay and we have enough Family to check on the house nearby etc. Of course when they are not visiting us in the warm climate LOL.

 

[Hatfield]

We are currently trying to decide if we should sell. Go to a Condo. I don't think it's a good idea. Hubby likes to putter in the yard and garage. I think he would lose his mind. We live in a rancher so in my mind no reason to sell. No stairs. Reason being we are looking into a Condo purchase in Bahamas. Would leave right after xmas and come back in April. We are in our late 50's and dont plan to retire just yet but for sure in 2 years. I dont want condo fees in 2 places. So far hubby is leaning toward keeping the house now. I cant even wrap my head around moving. I think stay and we have enough Family to check on the house nearby etc. Of course when they are not visiting us in the warm climate LOL.

It sounds like you are taking time to be sure to make the right choices. Its good to hear you both are thinking things through. The main thing is to not rush any decision until you know its the right one for you.

For me personally, I am also a "yard/tinkering" person and even though both me and my wife always complain about the yard work, we also love it.

Deep down, we love gardening, chopping up and burning fallen tree branches, planting new bulbs, general yard work, etc. etc. Its all that daily stuff that we really enjoy even though we also complain about it too. Its kind of a love/hate thing LOL