just passed my 2-year anniversary here in senior subsidized housing and although it should be care free pretty much, it's far from that. this is my second housing situation with the title "village" and it's definitely my last. village evokes cozy, friendly, comfortable places, none of which apply to either of the "villages" I've lived at recently. next time i should look for a place called "dungeon alley" and just maybe i'll get cozy, friendly and comfortable.
like the first "village", smoking by other tenants of various substances, legal and illegal, is a big problem. i know, the leases definitely PROHIBIT smoking of any kind but hey, who pays attention to the lease anyway? to be fair, there could be illiterate individuals who can't read and are unaware of the prohibition, but i'm probably being overgenerous to think so. even HUD, the big gun in subsidized housing, says no smoking, but again, who listens to the government? there's a big difference between KNOWING and ENFORCING. so right away the advertisement for both places is an outright lie.
some of the amenities do exist--a cakeless monthly birthday celebration, a coffee social that is donuts (ick) and coffee (i don't drink it), resident meetings where scofflaws don't attend and is basically a bitch session with no resolution and hardly any holiday events (none actually). of course, we do have prostitutes who visit some tenants on a regular basis which isn't listed for some reason. and there is the thievery that happens occasionally, smoke detector batteries that seem to always die and chirp incessantly on the weekends--management refuses to change them twice yearly proactively due to the high cost of batteries--true!!! then there are the endless apartment inspections at the drop of a hat (with 24-hour notice to be fair) by endless individuals.
on the very down side, there are people here who can definitely be classified as riff raff or low lifes. their emotional age is about 11, they feel they are entitled to do whatever they want whenever, lease be damned. their main concern is numero uno and make sure everyone knows that. they lack basic courtesy skills and have the maturity of a gnat. they smoke in their apartment, especially nights, weekends, cold days, hot days and rainy days and other days they just don't feel motivated to go outside. then they try and mask the smoke (because I complain about it regularly) with heavy duty air fresheners and deodorizers that would kill a rat a mile away, again without any regard for anyone in the vicinity. they borrow grocery carts and don't take them back. they open the door for any and all comers, especially after 10 pm. they ignore schedules on laundry and fitness rooms. of course, this does not apply to all of the tenants here, just enough to make life occasionally miserable and completely unfair to the rest. but again, the lease is more of a suggestion than hard-and-fast rules, so there is no recourse, just chalk it up to undesirables. These overpowering fumes make me physically ill for which I've had ER visits, missed my cardiac rehab sessions and had to cancel various other plans. the last episode was 2 days ago and lasted 3 long hours, long enough to render me nearly comatose and interrupt my life for 2 days....am i mad? you bet!
then there is other stuff, of course, which makes this a very un-village kind of place. I need my bedroom miniblind replaced, notified office two plus months ago, said she would put it on order. order? from where? india? china? walmart is just 5 miles away, which is the US branch of chinese merchandise....but still no blind. then toilet flushing is a serendipitous experience...have to schedule certain functions at certain times of day, otherwise it's a remainder until water pressure is sufficient.
there are real benefits to senior housing, though, that i will mention if only to remind myself. my trash chute is just down the hall. no bulky barrels with wheels to lug out to the curb. a clean and functioning laundry room with coke machine. bus service at the curb if needed. heating and air conditioning included, although it's seldom cold here, but a real perk in summer for those many 90+ degree days. apartment cleaning that takes 4 hours tops...leaves plenty of time for sewing and now exercising. one monthly check takes care of everything--water bill, electric bill, rent--nice and neat.
so if i were listing pros and cons, a method often used to make decisions, it's a draw. the smoke and other fumes make me downright ill and affect the quality of my daily life. i've toyed with the idea of going back to sleep in my car when weather permits as i just hate it and the fact that i've spent my entire 2 years here sparring with management. dealing with my own personal challenges is wearing enough without having to cajole and annoy other people into doing their job. the location is great, although i realize now i should be closer to my daughter, something very apparent during my recent surgery and recuperation. and ideally i'd like to be closer to the ocean, the only nonfamily thing i miss about new england. just being able to drive by or visit weekly was so soothing and relaxing to me. it often cleared my mind and enabled me to solve problems or purge emotions--my own personal prozac.
the other issue is i've not found a local church yet. i attended the brethren church but found i was not holy enough for them. plus, i found their attitude of making money, albeit for good cause, just a little too Pharisaical for my taste. their early traditional service was perfect for me, but i think they expected me to join, which i'm never doing again in my life, and attend more frequently. as a Christian and life-long church attender, i miss that anchor in my life, but hope it's only temporary.
the message here? yes, by all means consider senior housing but don't take their propaganda as gospel, be ready for regular monitoring visits, realize there will be compromise and by all means, make a list of pros/cons before deciding. i made the decision from 500 miles away, which was not optimal, but i am still alive, so it hasn't been fatal--yet.
