You’ve got to love the weather out here on the bald prairie. Warm and sunny one day, rain the next, then snow. Then, wind and drying enough to put the garden in and resume seeding.
The day it rained and snowed I stayed indoors. It was the perfect chance to take a close look at our house.
What brought this on? I was reading an article about the impact on the housing market of Baby Boomers as we reach 50 and beyond.
According to the article: “Senior boomers will place considerable value on independent living, convenience and comfort. … Studies are showing that seniors prefer ‘assisted living facilities’ to full-time care. Even those who can’t manage total independence want the privacy of their own apartment. This trend is expected to increase as boomers age.”
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Boomers, as they age, may have some needs which their parents didn’t.
The article says many boomers will keep working, at least part-time, into their 70s: “This means access to the internet may be as important as proximity to a golf course, and the guest room may have to double as a home office.”
Looking at our own place, we failed on a number of key features.
Location was one. The lot is too big, we’re in the country far from grocery stores, the doctor, recreation and homecare, when it’s needed.
Living in the country, having to haul water, and drive for everything would not be convenient or, maybe, possible for an older person on his or her own.
There’s lots of natural light, which is a plus but the layout is not great.
The bedrooms and main bath are upstairs. The doors are too narrow for a wheelchair, should it be needed. The doorknobs, taps, light switches are not made for arthritic fingers.
What to do? Nothing for the moment.
We’re on the farm, we like it and we’re staying. But the kids are in university and, like a lot of farm couples experiencing the empty-nest syndrome, we’re assessing the future and where we want to be.
It’s nice to know that, when our time comes to move off the farm, hopefully still many years down the road, there will be housing alternatives.
In this, as in so many other areas of life, folks out there are catering to the Baby Boomer generation.
Now, if those same folks could just do something about the weather!
