This is an exciting time in our lives. My husband Don and I bought a beautiful, new manufactured home in a 55+ community in southern California. Don and I both feel our decision is natural and logical at this stage in our lives. However, as with every important decision there was a lot to consider before we pulled up roots in Florida and moved to our first manufactured home in California.
Our site-built home in Florida is lovely, complete with a pool, large patio, tropical garden and lawn that require a lot of work. After 20 years in this home, Don and I found it more and more difficult to clean and maintain the pool, as well as keep up with all the landscaping chores. Let’s face it, as we get older this kind of home maintenance is a pain in the neck as well as other parts of our bodies. Also, higher energy bills for our site-built home were taking up a larger and larger part of our annual income.
One of the most important factors in our decision to buy a manufactured home in California was to live near one of our two adult children. Since our son and his family are in Michigan where the winters are just too cold for us, we choose to live near our daughter and her family in southern California.
We think it’s important for parents to get their children’s input before making the decision to move to a new location. In our case, it isn’t a problem because both our kids agree with our choice. However, in some families there could be resentment if parents move closer to one child than another. The bottom line is that it’s a good idea to communicate with grown kids about your intentions – ahead of time.
Another reason for our decision involved health matters. Thankfully Don and I are both in pretty good health, although Don does have a neurological problem that limits his mobility. Recently the serious illness of close family members in Florida was a wake up call for us. In each case, their adult children lived in other states and had to make numerous trips to Florida because of their parents failing health. It was a hardship on the kids and a hardship on the parents. This is something Don and I want to avoid by living close to at least one of our children.
We also feel it’s important to consider our personal security as we grow older as well as the ability to enjoy worry free travel away from our home. A gated 55+ community with a resident staff can take care of both these concerns. So, our decision to move is made.
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