My parents are early 70s and I am ready for them to be in an independent living place with tiered service when they need it. That is what I plan to do, be in independent housing within a tiered place by late 60s early 70s. If I cannot afford the high end market value places, then I plan to spend a ton of money and meet the income requirements for the one with income restrictions.

I can get real deep into how to pay for various options, but will refrain (unless anyone wants to hear it!).

For the longest time, people did generally die at home "in the bosom of their family."

There's amazing stuff from the Civil War about soldiers arranging pictures of dying soldiers' families around them to try to recreate this on the battlefield.

Yes. Buffista retirement home, even if we don't make it to buffista island?

This strikes me as a pretty feasible idea. 8 or 10 of us pooling resources when we hit retirement age could get much nicer digs in a multi-bedroom house than we'd be able to afford solo, and maybe arrange housekeeping, a cook, and an LPN or two to look after residents. I don't know about the complexities involved in more intensive medical care, but it might work for those who just need a bit of looking after but not round-the-clock care. And we've already self-selected for sharing a lot of interests and enjoying each other's company...

I have a bedroom available now. Not even kidding.

Does it have stairs?

I are accomplished. I finally located a PCP right near my apartment, so I've scheduled an appointment for a physical and to discuss renewing my prescriptions as well as requested a travel consultation so I can get some malaria pills and antibiotics in case I drink the water or eat unpeeled fruit.

Dad was in pretty good health, right up until he wasn't. Mom has been in bad health for more than a decade now, has pretty much no mobility, and is still in her home with my sister living there and in house care. Officially she's in hospice now, but the way things are that could go for a long time, it's already been since summer.

She absolutely did not want to go into assisted care. My sister was adamant about not "abandoning her in a warehouse for people" and so they have what they have now. Both of them are miserable, and I've got a lot of guilt about it.

So yeah, that all sucks.

We just were not at all prepared for mom to outlive dad, and it's now been seven and a half years since he died.

I wonder about affording things like that.

Well, the foundation that runs the assisted living place runs 26 low senior housing and 7 seven step-up communities which are not low income but are higher intervention. They are in the process of transferring the ownership back to the National Charity League to run the facility (which has cottages and is lovely). From what I have heard from a former co-worker whose father lived there, they are significantly cheaper than even regular apartments in our neighborhood.

So I guess it depends. Not all facilities are price gouging for profits.

8 or 10 of us pooling resources when we hit retirement age could get much nicer digs in a multi-bedroom house than we'd be able to afford solo, and maybe arrange housekeeping, a cook, and an LPN or two to look after residents.

Some of my other friends and I have talked about doing this.

That's good to know, Kat.