A house where we can ‘age in place’
/One of the big considerations for the house we are looking for in Springfield, Missouri is how well would it meet our needs into our 70s and beyond. We’d like to ‘age in place’ in a neighborhood with mixed ages of people rather than a ‘senior’ living development. Here are some things about the neighborhood and the house itself that we’re thinking more about than we have in previous house searches:
Walkability. We’d like to be able to easily walk for a mile or more within the neighborhood. Sidewalks and interesting trees/planting are a plus.
Stairs. Right now, both of us go up and down stairs very easily. I don’t like to carry anything heavy up and down stairs though (my knees start to hurt). It would be OK to have a house with stairs…but it should accommodate 1 floor living too (i.e. kitchen, laundry, bedroom, living area, garage, and going outdoors should require few or no steps).
Flooring. I like tile or wood for all rooms except bedrooms where I prefer wall-to-wall carpeting; carpeting is hard to keep clean over the long term. But – I am anticipating that area or entry rugs will be something that might need to be removed as we get older. My parents made the change in their house when they were in their late 80s.
Layout. All the doors need to be wide enough to accommodate a walker/small wheelchair. In newer houses this is not a problem, but older ones sometimes have narrower doorways. If we become enthusiastic about an older house, we’ll measure the doors!
Location. The house needs to be convenient enough to where my daughter lives….but not too close; within a 30 minute drive sounds about right. Medical facilities should be within 20 minutes or less…ideally in the same direction as our daughter. The area needs to be one that has good mail and delivery service too.
Energy efficiency. We want to protect ourselves from rising energy costs so the house needs to have energy efficient features when we buy it and we might update some appliances (make the house all electric) and then add solar panels….maybe battery storage.
Landscaping. In our early years in the house, creating minimal maintenance landscaping would be our goal. Sometimes home owner associations have some limitations; if they were too restrictive, hopefully they could be changed.
Astronomy. My husband’s objective is to do most of his amateur astronomy from our backyard. If enough sky is visible with our Springfield home purchase, he will be able to enjoy his hobby for many years to come…from the comfort of home.
As I look at houses on the market and in our price range in Springfield, there are houses that will meet our ‘aging in place’ house hunting criteria! I am excited to tour some houses in mid-March when I am in Springfield!
