[sasi] Aging with a disability

Sun Mar 20 00:11:52 GMT 2011

Thanks for your input, Cindy.

Hadley is an excellent idea.  I do have some very good Spanish lessons on CD and some computer files.  I have learned a lot of Spanish since living here but I still have a long way to go.  Being an older person with a bad memory doesn't help much.  Even if I were fluent in Spanish, I still would miss being in the US.  The cost of living here is definitely less, but I guess that we all have our priorities.

I have tried to do some research via the Internet, but as you stated, it is pretty difficult to do from here.  Also, when people find out that I am not currently residing in the US, they don't want to talk with me further.  From what I have read, the reduced rent places would charge me about a third of my disability check.  I don't know if this would take into account my medical and prescription costs.  It is possible that I may have to make a trip just to find out.

Cheryl

From: Cindy Flerman 
Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 10:42 AM
To: sasi, (sight and sound impaired) discussion list 
Subject: Re: [sasi] Aging with a disability

Hi Cheryl,

While you are still in Mexico, have you thought about taking a Spanish course from Hadley?  This could be a help to you where you are.

I don't know a lot about lower cost senior facilities but I do know (and you may remember) that California is a bit on the expensive side.

My brother who lives in Phoenix tells me that the cost of living has gone up there since I left in 1993.  My Mom, had she been admitted to an assisted living facility in Pennsylvania, would have paid about $7 thousand a month.  But this is different from a lower-cost apartment where meals and care aren't provided.

I wish I knew more but those are the first things that come to mind.

I have heard that some rental buildings have low income apartment availability and that often word of mouth is the best way to find out about them, but that isn't always easy when you're not living in the location that interests you.

I will be very interested also in other comments.

Cindy Flerman & yellow Lab Pedro

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Cheryl Osborn 
  To: Seniors at ACB 
  Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 9:29 AM
  Subject: [sasi] Aging with a disability

  As I have just joined this list, I am not aware of its most common/popular focus, so please ignore me if you don't like or want to discuss what I am writing about.  

  I think that aging with a disability can be interesting.  All of a sudden you are not disabled any more.  You are just another senior citizen.  If you forget to do something, you are not ostracized but forgiven.  If you stumble around, weave back and forth, it is assumed that you are new to a medication.  The down side of all these things is that you could be ignored or patronized even more than you were in your earlier years.  This really bothers me when I consider that there are so many more senior citizens than ever before.  

  As a person who lives in a rural area of Mexico, I probably don't have many of the same concerns that someone living in the US would have.  In general, people here treat their elders with respect.  On the other hand, they don't appear to expect disabled people to do much of anything.  If a disabled person lives with the family, they are taken care of and pretty much kept at home.  Those disabled persons who do venture out, and they are few, usually beg on the streets.  From what my husband and friends tell me, when I am seen on the streets with my guide dog, the people tend to stare at me in amazement.  They want to help me negotiate obstacles and to assist me across the streets.  

  After being here in Mexico for almost 5 years, I am strongly considering returning to the US.  I miss some of the really important things like a good hamburger and real pizza.  It would also be very nice to be able to depend on being able to board a city bus without an argument about the Mexican law, which does, by the way, allow persons with a guide dog to access all public facilities.  Also, as my Spanish is on an elementary level, I am concerned that should my husband not be here, I would be in a sorry situation, no way to get to town.  

  As for living in the US, I am wondering if I am only dreaming that I could possibly live on my disability check alone.  Would it be possible to find a decent senior living facility that is located on a bus line and is a short walking distance to a grocery store.  I am not particular which state I live in, excluding the really harsh weather states which us older people find miserable.  As a born-and-bread US citizen, I am very spoiled when it comes to certain things.

  Any comments?

  Cheryl

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