Our kitchen appliances averaged about $500 each, bought at a typical department store. I love to cook, and I'd love to have fancy high-end appliances, but my generic cheap stuff works just fine. Color is obviously a matter of choice, but we always go white, as it is easy to match with and easy to keep clean. Stainless and black can be a nightmare with fingerprints.

I don't know that I would call most of the posters on this board high end. Smaller houses and smaller incomes often go hand in hand. I've grown to appreciate my ordinary house. At my age, I'm pretty ordinary and it matches me.

I would stick with the white. It doesn't show fingerprints or dust like the black. As far as it being the new "in" color, I have no idea. All I see in most big box stores are stainless. If white is the new color, they haven't been informed yet.

Also, are you buying or renting in the retirement community? The reason I ask is because my in-laws are renting in a retirement complex and all appliances are part of their apartment except the washer and dryer. Mil has no complaints about any of the appliances except the dishwasher. It looks ok, but it won't get anything clean. All of the tenants complain about the dishwasher and have asked why management doesn't put in a better grade since there have been so many complaints. Because it's cheaper, and management doesn't have to use them. So mil is waiting for hers to go out, and when it does, she is going to have them remove it and buy her own.

Even Lowe's has a scratch & dent policy, but you have to spot the defect yourself, point it out to them, and then ask question the price. On all the S&D's we've bought, the discount has been worth taking a damaged item, and the things we bought have the dent on the side and we just put that side against the wall.

Real appliance stores always have a scratch and dent section, and dd bought her S&D'd dishwasher at the Sears outlet. She got a great deal on it.

I bought my appliances used, and have been very happy with them. The fridge was new, a Kenmore from Sears. It's a basic model and has been excellent. I paid $400. for it. I bought a used Kenmore washer and dryer for $200. (I think.) My stove is a Magic Chef. It came with the house, and it works great. I am fine with older, used appliances. I think they last longer. The repairmen seem to prefer them, too. I hire older servicemen because they work fast and they show up on time. All of my appliances are white. I like white. I wash my dishes by hand.

Incidentally, my mother always buys the most expensive, high end appliances. She has had a lot of problems with her oven. In the old days, they built things to last. I purposely bought a vintage electric percolator from the 1930's. It makes really hot, delicious coffee, and it's a beautiful design. (silver plated and engraved.) I got it for $19.50 at a church thrift shop. I just repaired the cord. I also bought a Singer featherweight sewing machine from the 1950's. It's so well made, and I've read that seamstresses swear by them. Newer is not always better.

Oh I love my old Singer machine. It is a 301 which is the next step after the wonderful feather weights.

We bought new washer and dryer. Kenmore the cheapest we could buy. They are doing well. The stove and fridge came with the house. I think they are Whirlpool. But I got rid of the stove for the flat glass top one I bought used on Craigs list. Works great. The stove is black top and glass door and the rest of it is white. The rest of the appliances are white. I also like white. I never have liked stainless. Oh I looked over and the range hood is white and so is microwave and coffee pot.

Once we had four appliances all lined up on the same wall in two rooms and they were Almond. Olive Green Brown and White. We left all of those appliances with the house when we sold it at buyers request. OH you bet says I. LOL Again we bought all new and they were white. We are not ones to buy big deal appliances and I do not like double door fridges or I guess they call them side by sides. I like freezer on top.

"I hire older servicemen because they work fast and they show up on time."

I've noticed that too.

'I do not like double door fridges or I guess they call them side by sides. I like freezer on top.'

now shades, you give me a good reason for this - other than you can't fit a large pizza in it or large deli tray. those are the 2 complaints I read most often for them.

you're ruining my 'future' fridge (maybe) and I'll have to rethink things again if mine goes out. I don't have much room in my top freezer - my fridge IS a small one tho. 28" wide - 18 cu ft. OTOH when I looked online the other day I don't remember seeing one w/o that water/ice on the door thing. I don't want that, don't need it. and maybe won't be able to find one in bisque. So maybe I won't be able to blame you anyway... It's crossed my mind to get a small freezer but then I thought of the SxS and thought that'd give me more freezer space. I don't need a lot of fridge space anyway.

I was also looking at the width of them so I could figure out how much space I have to allow in the new place in case I do have to replace my still going strong at 14 yrs old fridge.

follow all of that? lol!

Well Steph we do not buy boxed pizza or meat trays( I make my own and use either loaf of french bread for crust or flat cookie sheet sized pan) so no problem there. We have a chest freezer in the garage so do not need another freezer like the side by side in the house. I never could make them work well for me. I have had four of them so far. All came with houses we bought and we left them behind when we sold too. LOL I am happy with the fridge we have.Small freezer on top. I do a lot of cooking mostly from scratch and this kind of fridge has always been my favorite. I do not like water in the door either. Had one of those. OOPS had two of those.

I also like the extra space it allows me in our kitchen now to be able to put a small shelf on the side. Also a smaller fridge keeps me constantly updated on what is in it. Fewer science projects to deal with. ICK

I really liked our side by side except that I couldn't get a large item on either side. But I really liked being able to see everything.

That's why I bought my sidekicks when my side by side died. When these die, I thought about the fridge with the French doors on top and the drawer on bottom. I thought that might be the best of both, but I'm not sure about that bottom drawer. My chest freezer drives me nuts trying to get something that is under something else.

I like the freezer on top, too. I also do a lot of cooking and baking from scratch, so the freezer is almost always full. My electricity bills are also low, which I appreciate.

How long do most of you expect a refriderator to last? I bought my Kenmore in 1997. Time flies! I guess I should be thinking about replacing it.

So CA Gas co. gave me free weather stripping for my doors, a carbon monoxide moniter,and a new gas heater! They sent out a letter to people with low usage. Since I live simply, I qualified as "low income." They did excellent work, and the heater is awesome! Saved me a lot of money, and they also paid for the permit.

My son has an old farmhouse on the property he bought in Corsicana, TX. It had an old fridge, had rust on the outside, ugly, ugly! But it still works great, just room for a couple of ice cube trays and a few things in the freezer part. Yep, back then they made things to last!!

I have a black Kenmore side-by-side that I'm not really happy with, and yes, along with my black stove, collects dust like mad...

'Also a smaller fridge keeps me constantly updated on what is in it. Fewer science projects to deal with. ICK'

ha! that doesn't work for me! I get science projects galore!
just spent about a week cleaning it out (getting it ready to move I hope) - I'm so slow, I took about 2 days (ok, just a bit of time each day) per shelf. I stopped as I worked to clean up the containers and sort what stayed here and what went back to my sister. I'm really slow at dishes too -I might do 5 or 6 a day. And there was a huge glob of chocolate syrup or fudge topping that spilled onto the glass shelf. that was H to get cleaned up and out! It's so pretty and clean now - and has trays on most of the shelves. I gotta stop by GW and look for a few that are skinnier to slide in next to what i do have in there.

I don't have need for any wide boxes or trays either. I think the top to bottom frzr side would give me more space that I don't have to pull something out to get to what I buried behind it!

those chest freezers scare me. I'd probably fall in head first and be stuck there. And the thought of defrosting it - yikes! wouldn't I have water all over the floor? if i had a garage to put it in, that'd be ok. Not in my laundry room tho.

my fridge isn't much taller than I am so i can reach the freezer ok - would rather that than bending down I think. I'm gonna try putting a shelf in the freezer top and see if that helps organize things. Might put in another bin too (other than for the ice) to separate things. Time will tell. Haven't cleaned out the freezer area yet - maybe I'll do that next week.

LOL I am loosing my mind. We gave the chest freezer away three years ago. We have an upright. This is kind of scary I forgot that. YIKES

If you spend time at the Kitchens board, you'll see a lot of folks with big budgets. But that doesn't mean everyone is like that -- just the ones you see posting a lot over there. There are plenty of low- and mid-budget people, but they might be reading the boards rather than posting on them.

I have champagne taste on a beer budget, so I spent a lot of time looking for bargains when we redid our kitchen. The stainless deep double bowl sink was an open box return at Lowe's. $800 sink for $100. No, I hadn't even started planning the kitchen yet, but now I had something to plan around! Our fridge and range came when the Sears in our town went out of business. They are Kitchen Aid, stainless, with a commercial "look" but aren't commercial "grade." Yes, they were more than $500 each, but we wound up paying about 33% of retail. Our dishwasher was a return from Lowe's. It actually still had a knife in it from whomever bought it and brought it back. Whatever was wrong with it was repaired and we got an $800 DW for $400.

As for your kitchen, get whatever works for you. Either black or white could work well.

Tsk tsk, Shades, oh dear!
Well, I do not like the SxS OR the thru-the-door-ice.
I got a clearance model French Door GE from a local restaurant supply house, when they stopped carrying residential models. It has an ice maker inside the freezer, you reach in and get those half-moon cubes. The water is a pressure button with a little indention in the hinge area of the left-hand door, so I hold the round glass or pitcher and take one finger of that hand and mash the water button. It is ice cold, of course. Since no little kids here, this works for us. The whole thru-door set up eats up all the freezer space. Plus, with Consumer Reports they say the GE icemakers always go out very quickly. Actually it is the screw delivery system that puts the ice in your glass thru the door, because it could keep making ice. Ours has had no problems.

I do like stainless appliances, but this GE unit has only the front as a stainless, and the sides are black. My Kenmore Elite dishwasher is the 4th one like it, and it cleans like a champ, had this one for about 4 years so far. The others were sold with the house or destroyed by a hurricane. No problem with cleaning, and the interior is stainless. My new range is a 24 inch gas beauty, which is my luxury item, a Bertazzoni. I do not need a big stove for just the two of us, don't do big meals, but I want a high heat burner for wok cooking, and then just a smallish oven for baking bread and such. An apartment sized range is usually enough and that means 24 inches wide.

What I'm trying to say here is all the appliances I have now will go into the new kitchen, not buying anything more. I've been buying for the past 6 years since I moved here, and they are all paid for.

I like to keep a slow cooker, a rice cooker (good for steaming stuff), electric fry pan for French toast and bacon (DH-friendly), a blender, and a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. When we redo the kitchen, it won't be luxury, but it will have those heavy duty LIFTERS which can spring up the awkward small appliances when I get too old to bend over, and might otherwise have to cook sitting on the floor.

Shades, don't feel bad. A freezer is not something you keep in the front of your awareness. hehehehehe

these posts got me to thinking again (hey, anything that does that is GOOD!) So I pulled up fridges on lowe's site. IF mine should go out (it's lasted 13 summers in this heat. no a/c in my kitchen here) I might just get a bigger fridge. the 20 (or so) cu ft one has 2 cu ft more in the freezer area! that should keep the regular fridge part about the same I have now - just adding where I need it. I have about 4 cu ft in frzr now and the larger fridge would have 6 cu ft in the frzr.
hopefully tho I won't have to make that decision for some time to come!

We have enjoyed our French Door fridge -like ML's with the water button inside. We are able to see stuff in the bottom freezer section because we keep our frozen meals there, and they stack nicely in the bins. Kashi and even Lean Cusine are making really yummy meals using real food ingredients these days. The smaller doors on top make it easier to get around an open door in a smaller kitchen, and that is a huge thing in our kitchen. Open either door, reach inand get what you want, swivel on your toes, and set it on the island. No need to hike twelve feet to get anywhere in our kitchen. Compact has its advantages.

We also have an upright freezer. DH is vegetarian and gets a lot of stuff at stores that are far away, so he buys in bulk. Brown rice, bag vegetables, burritos....

The big freezer lives in the smallest bedroom, along with my three-person sauna hut and two big cupboards. Not a lot of room for anything left after that!

I do recommend splurging on an induction cooktop. We love ours. Instant response to temp changes, no gas smell or messy grates to clean. We will have to try it with the wok and see if it works okay. It loves cast iron pans.

Count us in with those that chose reasonably-priced appliances.

We did a kitchen update about four years ago. Cabinets were in great shape, so it was new countertops and appliances. Chose black appliances because I really like the look - haven't found dust to be a problem with them.

Available space dictated our choice of fridge - we ended up choosing one with a bottom-mount freezer - and I absolutely love it. So much more is at eye-level in the fridge. Freezer has slide out shelves so that is easy access, too.

nancy - that would make it nice in a tight space. my space for opening the door is a bit tight but I only have to worry about being in my own way.

do you keep different types of things on the 2 top sides?
I do think the FD fridges run a lot more than just a regular type w/frzr on top.

LOL! This made me remember my childhood freezer trauma - we had a BIG chest freezer in the barn and a few unfriendly geese. My mom would regularly send my sister or I to get something out of the freezer for dinner. We would need to hoist ourselves up and dangle over the edge to reach in for whatever. This would leave our rear-ends dangling temptingly in mid-air. And the geese would choose that moment to attack. More scary for the noise and flapping than actual pain. I still don't like geese.

One thing about the French doors is, you don't have to worry about which way they can swing--or CAN'T swing is more accurate--and they can be placed in the middle of a kitchen wall instead of being at either end. You can open these doors back, but not to right angles. So cabinets can be located adjacent to any door swing. I would not think they COULD be located in a CORNER though. If you have a situation where you think it will be a close call, go open a French door at the store and check how far it opens, and how far it MUSt SWING in order to get all the drawers to pull out for access or cleaning.

I love that I can put my fridge in the middle of the wall and thus have counter space either side to set things on.
I'll also put a cabinet near by (in the NEW kitchen) that will stick out enough to be like a peninsula when I go crazy making those GREEN SMOOTHIES. That requires a lot of fresh fruit and veggies coming out of the fridge!

Yes, the French door fridges do cost about $1200, but I do not know how that compares to the same sized "normal" fridge. Steph, the doors open to one large compartment. You do have shelves on each side that you can have at different heights or at the same height. Mine has a deli drawer on the bottom that can hold large trays and such, but you could also have upper shelves that are the same height on both sides, and have large items go clear from one side to the other up there, too.

ML is right about placement. Our fridge is in the middle of a cabinet run, with the wall oven on one side and a pantry on the other. It sticks out a few inches more than they do, so doors open fine. Before we remodeled the kitchen, we did have the fridge up against a wall on the right side. It meant that the right door could only open 90 degrees, so drawers and bins could not come out. It does better in the center of a run. Plus, then two cooks can come at the fridge from opposite directions, each open a door, and both reach in at the same time!

LOL agmss about geese! My stepmom had geese. Try walking around the farm on crutches where geese have been pooping in their free-range wandering! My sis and her friend nicknamed me "the greasy goose-girl" that summer. They can be just vicious! (the geese... no, sisters...both, I guess!)

We also went for more budget-conscious choices in appliances. Our white cooktop and fridge are both Kenmore (on sale plus the Sears family and friends discount). The oven, hood, and microwave (all stainless) were all purchased on ebay.

I really like my french-door fridge. It is white, but has the smooth finish, instead of the bumpy finish and has metal handles. We have had a bottom freezer for 17 years and really prefer it. Our thinking is that we go in the fridge much more than the freezer. The only freezer thing we would go for repeatedly was ice. DH wanted ice and water in the door this time around, so that is what we got. I enjoy crushed ice, so I do seem to drink more water that way. LOL.

We also have an upright freezer in our basement and also put the old fridge down there, so we are good with freezer space.

I like white appliances! So easy to keep clean and they go with everything. And, I like vintage accessories, painted cabinets, lots of color, so white is a great background color.

Scratch and dent is wonderful...and there's always the 'return' area of Lowe's. We got a new washer that was out of the box, because the gal they delivered it to...took one look and decided she should have gotten the front loader. So our little top loader was about $50 off, just because it didn't have a box! They still delivered it for us, so what was the difference? LOL

One thing I love about this forum is that people are so creative and think 'outside the box' when designing their homes. I use the Internet to download pictures of what style I like...but it's so much more fun to be able to do something like MamaGoose does in her kitchen...and other do on the forum. Copy a look that you like, but do it in a unique, creative way...and save tons of money, while you do!

I mean anyone can spend a lot of money...or hire people to spend their money. That's easy, but not much of a challenge. It's so much more rewarding (IMHO) to come up with creative ways to get that 'high end' look, at a much 'lower end' price! That's what I'd like to do with our remodel :)

"We would need to hoist ourselves up and dangle over the edge to reach in for whatever. This would leave our rear-ends dangling temptingly in mid-air."

that's a fear of mine. living alone I could be left dangling there for a long time... my brain could freeze over! I need to teach the pup to dial 911!

it sounds like I could possibly find a FD fridge @ scratch'n dent/floor model prices I'd be willing to pay. or a SxS. I think the next time I'm at Lowe's (or close to a local appl store) I'll check a few out. I haven't bothered because mine was new (14 yrs ago... I forget how time seems to fly).

It wouldn't hurt me to be checking a few out so that if mine dies I can make a good decision w/o delay. I'm so slow at checking the in/outs of things that waiting til it's 'have to' time doesn't sound like a wise move. It'd be much better to be checking them out when you don't HAVE to buy quickly.

I do know it'll come down to more frzr space, size and price. I'm not willing to pay over about 900.00. In the long run it just isn't that important to me - I've actually survived just fine with my little 18 cu ft fridge - lol!

My fridge has to go on the end next to a wall. Lucky for me my fridge opens on the left which is just what it takes in the new place. No messing w/switching the door swing. I spect the FD one would really just confuse me. I'd end up opening both sides because i'd never remember what I put where in it - lol!

"One thing I love about this forum is that people are so creative and think 'outside the box' when designing their homes."

I agree! While most of the new kitchens on the kit forum are beautiful they are much alike and will (I think) stand out as 'those early 2000 kitchens!' and 'what were people thinking?' Makes ya wonder what will be 'in' a few decades down the road for people to think that about kitchens that are so 'in' now.

i'm really more comfortable with things that aren't too 'new fangled'.

"While most of the new kitchens on the kit forum are beautiful they are much alike and will (I think) stand out as 'those early 2000 kitchens!' and 'what were people thinking?' Makes ya wonder what will be 'in' a few decades down the road for people to think that about kitchens that are so 'in' now."

I imagine they'll do like I am doing now, either a full remodel or facelift. We started building the fridge/freezer cabinet (in place) yesterday and after we got it together, I had one of those horrible feelings that I've made yet another mistake with this kitchen. I'm hoping it will look better when it's finished, stained and the other side of the kitchen is moved down. And all this mainly because I like this look that is so popular right now.

GREAT POST! First apartment when married in '63 had Coppertone appliances... OOOH! As time and homes passed, there were a few white, again Coppertone, Harvest Gold, Almond, white, Bisque... and for 9 years, again white. It goes with everything, easy upkeep, costs less... it IS timeless. Love Marti's comment about the '2000 kitchens'.

All those colors over the years were the IN colors. I bought in to the marketing hype, like most. Older and wiser now, I think. My ex was one who thought the more buttons something had, the better the value. I say, list the features you actually need, then choose the model. More gadgets, more to go wrong.

My big splurge was a $1500 GE Profile range (white). An avid cook, I wanted the five gas burners, second smaller oven/warmer. I had to pay for convection, which I did not want, for the other features. It, convection, is not worth it.

18 cu ft white Kenmore refrigerator, w/bottom door freezer $850. Love it... most of the food is eye level, with full width. At my age, 'hands and knees' fridge searches are to be avoided.

GE dishwasher (white) with SS interior $570... few months old. Fantastic cleaning... but, it does not air dry like the old one with plastic interior. Most things still end up with water droplets on them, so I use heated dry (drat!) and all is good.

Maytag washer and dryer $940. These are basic units, top load, no bells and whistles. Nine years old, never a problem... clean clothes.

Bottom line... if you have the $$$, get whatever you want. If not, purchase what you need. It's your home, your life, and who gives a hoot if others are impressed with your appliance choices... or anything else, for that matter!!!

You know, I think we've been talking to ourselves all this time. The OP hasn't shown back up nor made any further comments since she dropped the rock into the pond.

Are you there, IMSCATTERED?
Changed your mind about "low end?" :) ;)

LOL ML. My end is low because of my age.Probably not in the way the op was meaning.

'And all this mainly because I like this look that is so popular right now.'

and that's the way to go about it - doing what you like rather than just because it is what is 'in' at the time.

I think the OP replied to her post on kitchens that she went with black. i hope it all works out for her.

I don't know about others but I've 'worked' thru some ideas/possibilities about fridges thru her post - and others here. It did bring to mind that mine is now 14 yrs old and how little informed I am should I need to replace it quickly. With info here and looking online I have a lot better idea what my options would be - and why 1 or the other would be best for my needs.

Kitykat, you think like me!

"I say, list the features you actually need, then choose the model. More gadgets, more to go wrong."

Exactly! Give me the plain jane model and I can almost guarantee it will have a long life. My mom just had to buy a mini van (extended at that) with all the features, doors that open by remote, built in GPS, and more. Well, the doors work, but open much slower now than they did when new. The GPS is totally outdated and the cost for updating is more than a new portable one. And like I said from the beginning, what does a 75 year old woman need with an extra long mini van?

"It, convection, is not worth it." Agree there too. The only thing I have found great about it is that I can bake 3 sheets of cookies at the same time and they all turn out great. Everyone told me I would love it for baking, especially bread, but I don't find it works well with bread at all.

"what does a 75 year old woman need with an extra long mini van?"

she ain't picking up men is she? (just kidding! go-mama!)

i agree on some of these new electronic things. stories about burners that turn themselves on (that doesn't even sound nice) scare me. Or going to cook and having the 'on/off' switch just blink at you or flash an error code. ugh!

Burners that turn themselves on? Yikes! That's the last thing I need. I'd burn the house down.

Sometimes my oven flashes an error code for no reason at all.

And while we're at it, why does every appliances have to have a clock on it? Every time the electricity goes out, I have to reset 4 blinking clocks just on the kitchen appliances.

oh those clocks - I hate resetting them!

I think that was an induction cook top (on kitchens)

Marti, another thing us old timers have to worry about is parking the blasted thing. Ahh, is your mama like Maxine? Maxine is my hero!!

I will have a gas oven and also the option of convection. As long as I get an oven which does not have a TURNTABLE, I'll be happy. Pull out the shelf and get your pot out, without worrying you'll tip over that blooming wire rack on legs that is always too hot to pick up with some large hot pads.

I'm back!! Yes, this post did take a turn-but thought I'd check in and see how it has progressed!! I decided on Black dishwasher which means I'll be buying a new Black fridge. A black one is there now but needs to be replaced. The Retirement community supplies DW, Range, microwave but not refrigerator or w/D. DW & micro are black and stove is white. I hope to soon replace the white stove (dislike it) So anyway... Thanks for all the suggestions. It was just as simple as black & white!!!

The retirement community is "progressive" We pay market value for the house and that is the entrance fee. If need be we will have progressive personal care the rest of our lives. There are apartments, assisted living, nursing & even Alzheimer's unit. When we leave this house, it reverts back to the Community. It's like living in a Home Owners Association with monthly maintenance fees.

The house is 1,600 sq ft I'm told but it sure doesn't look it. I plan to post pics of the kitchen when we get moved in. Just simple living.
thanks again!!!
P.S. I didn't really mean "low-end" people, it's just all the talk today about "High-End" everything. Unbelievable what young people see as necessary in living these days!!

That's interesting imscattered. So really, you are more like renters than owners? Can you make any changes to the house?

'I didn't really mean "low-end" people, it's just all the talk today about "High-End" everything. Unbelievable what young people see as necessary in living these days!!'

aw! we knew that! or we wouldn't have replied to ya - lol! it really is unbelievable, isn't it? I get a bit ticked off on those 'house hunter' shows when the young couples think they have to have everything top of line in their first home! eeegads! what's there to strive for then? I cherish my poor background - how else would I be able to survive now on disability? There ARE more important things in life than 'the best of everything'! like being grateful you have the necessities. No one's getting out of this world with 'things'.

we sure do wanna see pics of your new place as soon as you can get them.

I knew what you meant too. I like watching those shows on tv to see what I need to do to keep my house current. On the other hand, I think those shows teach the young people that that is what they need to look for and everything else isn't worth having.

My dd & her fiance just bought a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage house that cost twice what ours is worth, all updated too. No remodeling for them. Of course their combined income is also twice ours so they don't have to scrape the bottom of the barrel like us either.

Dd's first house was a 1950's house that had had very little updating since it was built. New paint and carpet was all, and she added a dishwasher. It was fine for her and I thought it would have been fine for them for a year or two. But they disagreed. lol

When we used to watch those shows my DH and I would laugh so hard at the wife making the statement standing in the gorgeous kitchen saying it needed updating and THEN maybe she would learn to cook. OH Please.......................

Yeah, young people have yet to get their mettle tested by fire. I had a great boss when I worked in the credit department of a bank for a few years. He was explaining how he looked at a person's credit report. He said he'd take a risk sooner on a guy who had trouble financially and came through those bad times--than a guy who never had a day's problems financially--because you never knew what that one living in the lap of plenty, would do when times got hard.
I've thought about that a lot. Baptism by fire. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I believe it.

marti8a -- It is such an in-between situation. This Retirement Community is Christian not-for-profit and excellent nursing home ratings. It's like an insurance policy...if we need extended care we are in! If our pension/finances run out..we're taken care of w/best of care. If either of us needs to go to nursing home, etc. the other will live in the same community,, not driving long distances, looking for places, etc. We pay $500 monthly maintenance that covers EVERYTHING that needs done or replaced, including lawn, snow removal, etc.
We can make changes w/approval like a condo. Some have even added rooms on & sunrooms, etc. We can paint, change light fixtures, other cosmetic things.
I hope to join in here to get support on "smaller homes!!"

Wow imscattered, that sounds great. I've never heard of anything like that before. I'd like to know more about it, and if there are any more around the country. If you don't want to talk about it here, can you email me? I worry all the time that we won't have enough money saved to be able to retire, and then what happens if one of us gets sick???

My Mom lived in a retirement community in Salem, Oregon; she 'bought' her apartment, then paid a monthly fee, it was lovely, an indoor swimming pool, woodworking shop, gym, two libraries, a bank... plus it had a small sort of hospital; a person had to be healthy in order to buy, then after 10 years the money paid for the apt. was nonrefundable. I felt so good having her there, as I live in Texas, and she was quite happy, felt very safe and could keep as busy as she wanted. There are some nice non-profit retirement communities out there, but, I sure hope I don't have to go to one; I keep telling my kids they're going to have to drag me out of my house, lol! I don't know what I would do without my garden to work in, I've been here 40 years...

OGRose, our backyard neighborlady turned 80 last month. She lives by herself and every Monday cuts her really big yard with a push (gas) lawnmower. She has a wonderful garden, goes for a walk each morning with another neighborlady, and is the best neighbor I've ever had. She doesn't want to leave her home, built by herself and her departed hubby back in 1950.

I think gardening is a great way to keep active and having a reason to get up every morning. I would not want to give that up either. Currently I am adding hosta to my garden, and they take about 5 or 6 years to mature. I hope I am able to remember what it was I planted if I'm still around in 6 or so years, because I dearly love these plants.

I'm assuming the retirement community will allow a little genteel gardening in personal space? Balcony or patio?

moccinsonlanding, actually it had quite a good size area with individual planting areas plus a greenhouse! There are some really nice retirement places out there, but still no thanks!!

Seriously, who knows how we'll feel in 10 years, maybe the sounds of someone else doing the cooking, cleaning, etc. may sound good!

'maybe the sounds of someone else doing the cooking, cleaning, etc. may sound good! '

forget 10 yrs from now - that sounds good to me now!