Public senior housing is kind of like welfare....cities and towns provide it for seniors...would you be embarrassed about it?
I know upscale senior housing condos are popular where I live
2007-12-02 00:19:45 · 33 answers · asked by Digital Age 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
I am planning and saving for the time when I can no longer work. However, no one can predict everything that might happen in the future, so if there comes a time when, despite my best efforts, I need a bit of charity I won't be embarrassed. I wouldn't be thrilled about it, but I would be grateful if I needed it and qualified.
2007-12-02 00:45:38 · answer #1 · answered by ? 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If I didn't have a house to live in and limited money, I would be grateful to have a place like public senior housing to live, with a roof over my head and a warm place to sleep, and a place for social contact. I doubt it would be any different than public housing for younger people, except there maybe wouldn't be so many drugs around (and don't tell me there isn't, I have friends and relatives who live in public housing and I know what goes on there). And most of those are nice enough apartments, I would not be ashamed to live there, or embarrassed to tell anyone that I did. I know an older lady who moved into one of those apartments, from a rental house that was falling down around her ears, and she says it is the best move she ever made, that she is more comfortable than she has been in years, and for a lot less money.
2007-12-02 09:41:56 · answer #2 · answered by Isadora 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What's "upscale" to your location may be different than it is in other places. You have to have money or trade-in property to buy a condo at any price!
I'm not embarrassed to live in my government assisted low income housing unit. I am, however, FRUSTRATED with the current Manager who appears to have no pride whatsoever in the care & maintenance of the building that is owned by an out of town investment firm. The federal government needs to keep an eye on these buildings to ensure the safety of the tenants and make sure they are kept up to the high standards that were set in place by govt agencies to begin with!
2007-12-02 06:24:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No I would not feel embarrassed to live in public senior housing.
During my working years I paid my Taxes to the Government in the event that, if I was unable to provide sufficiently for my wife and myself after I retired, then the Government 'Housing Commission' Scheme in Australia would be adequate.
Australia has a good Social Security Pension Scheme to keep food on the table and it also includes a Rent Assistance and Telephone Allowance.
Also depending on your financial situation, we have various levels of Senior housing available, some are better than others so you need to check them out thoroughly.
Lets face it, we only need a roof over our head and a warm bed at night to feel comfortable. If we've paid our taxes then we have no need to feel embarrassed about it.
Fortunately for my wife and I, at present we have no need for the Government 'schemes' because we live from the income invested through our superannuation funds, which we set up well before our 'retirement date'.
2007-12-02 04:00:17 · answer #4 · answered by Roy B 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Since I live in a senior housing complex the answer is no. If I had stayed in California I would be paying 2 to 3 times the rent for what I have now. I owned three homes there. I would prefer a house again but my apartment is very nice and my neighbors are too. I agree that some senior housing is not good but I am never embarrassed about living here. Upscale senior housing condos in Seattle are priced much too high for me.
2007-12-02 01:07:07 · answer #5 · answered by mydearsie 7 · 7⤊ 3⤋
WHAT????
In YOUR mind, maybe.
Subsidized housing for Seniors is NOT anywhere near welfare -- how dare you. It is for those with limited income....period! They have very strict income limits and the rules are about 20 pages long. There is NO welfare about it. It is subsidized by HUD and provides housing for seniors who would otherwise be living out of shopping carts at your local market.
I LIVE in a lovely apartment building, 10 floors, 232 apartments. HUD subsidized. They take 1/3 of your income for rent and utilities...no matter what your income is. There are people (most women) who's total income is $200.00 a month. Where would you have them live, in a dumpster?
You are forgetting some cold, hard facts.....
Women weren't accepted in the workplace with benefits and decent pay until the 1970's. Social Security came into being in the 1930's and most women didn't work...they stayed home and raised families. So, they don't get Social Security...or very little. If their husbands worked - and they were married 10-12 years, the woman can collect 1/2 of what her husband would receive. What do you suggest THOSE women do??? Would you kick them to the curb??
I had to fight prejudice, unfair and unequal employment practices and be smarter and quicker than every male I worked with..and this was in 1971. They paid women less, expected more, didn't provide insurance, didn't have a savings or pension plan for women....and, your job was threatened if a man came along, was qualified, and wanted your position.
When 401k plans came along in the early 1990's, I was a single working mother of 3 kids...I sure couldn't afford to have money deducted from my paycheck for savings. Finally, around 1997, the company I was working for put a plan in place with a 3% matching funds....and I could afford to save.
Then, my mother became ill and I supported her until she died at 83. Her total income from Social Security was 80.00 a month...
So, here I am in a lovely apartment, subsidized, with a rent that I can afford and I don't have to move in with the kids.
As for those "upscale" senior housing condos - and other places, they are for the wealthy....I don't know ONE senior citizen that can afford 100,000-200.000 condos!
And, subsidized housing is a FEDERAL program, not state or local. The persons who own the building get tax breaks from the state - and the Feds, but it is NOT a welfare program.
You have insulted the majority of the seniors who are lucky enough to apply for and qualify for HUD housing.
You owe us an apology. Then, if you live long enough, you will find out for yourself. Unless you start saving NOW or hit the lottery, you will be looking for a reasonable place to stay too, bub.
2007-12-02 05:41:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
Thankful, not embarrassed, especially since this one is pretty, a cul-de-sac of 36 flats under government Rural Housing, just a half mile or so outside city limits. HUD, Section 8 and Rural housing programs all work pretty much the same. From your SS income is deducted your doctors' estimated annual total of necessary visits, your pharmacist's estimation of annual Rx costs, and your rent is a third of the difference. It makes life tight but safe. Assorted county and state programs vary, further enabling helpful asides. As anywhere, your neighbors will run the gamut of those bitter or who self-pity, and those relaxed and grateful for a more easily enabled life.
2007-12-02 04:45:59 · answer #7 · answered by Dinah 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am in a senior complex funded by hud and it is really quite nice and I can afford to eat and live. Nothing fancy and not extras but safe and dry -- 450 sq.ft. and one bath, there are rails in the bathroom and the kitchen has awesome storage, a pantry and a large closet and a storage area where the hot water heater is. No I am not embarrassed about it. All 3 of my children have an in law living with them that could not afford housing. I am just glad they didn't have to take mom in.
2007-12-02 01:50:44 · answer #8 · answered by lilabner 6 · 8⤊ 0⤋
In the UK we have houses that are called Council houses and the rents are really cheap compared to renting from a private landlord. We have sheltered housing too for people over the age of 55 or for people who are disabled. Famillies live in the Council houses and it is not seen as something to be embarrassed about. The welfare system in the UK is different to other countries but don't believe all you hear about it being easy living on welfare in the UK because it isn't.
2007-12-02 00:33:24 · answer #9 · answered by ? 6 · 8⤊ 0⤋
What I would tell you I have woked in a upscale housing and assisted living home before. They are not worth the money not good value and if the person running is cheap you, could find you are not happy there to say the least. Stay independent as long as you can.
I am now 60 I hope that I will never go to such a home.I now live FT in Thailand now and have a Loveing Thai woman to take care of me in my own home.
2007-12-02 00:44:33 · answer #10 · answered by t Preston 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋