LITTLE ROCK — There’s no way I could live in Lingle, Wyo. Or Henniker, N.H. Or Bethel, Ohio.
The older I get, the more I realize I’m a city gal. I need stuff around me - like delivery services and taxis, concert theaters and Starbucks drive-throughs.
When I read about Norma Clark, who is 80, slipping on the ice near her corral on her Lingle farm, I get the heebie-jeebies.
She’s all alone with a hip broken in four places, says the story in The New York Times.
So she ties her legs together for stability and drags herself 40 yards through mud and snow, latches the gate, calls her daughter to make sure the horses get fed and then calls 911.
Her story was part of a longer study on the way some states have been forced to cut back on senior citizen services, particularly in rural areas.
The reality of rural elderhood might be undercutting a retirement trend that encouraged Americans to head for the open spaces.
There’s my friend Lynne, who retired early and lives alone on 5 acres outside Henniker, not exactly a buzzing metro area.
Last year, in addition to raking the snow from her roof andother basic winter stuff, Lynne spent 12 days sleeping on the floor near her wood-burning fireplace because she had no electricity. She also had no hot water or warm food.
“Well, yeah,” she says, “but don’t forget I’m only 66, so I can handle it. But this year I did make changes. I bought wood already cut to fit the fireplace so I don’t have to trim it.
“And I didn’t cut my Christmas tree down. I bought it already cut. Next year, I may ask my kids to help me haul it home and put it up.” Then there’s Bonnie, who lives on some rural acreage in Ohio with her three Scottish deerhounds. After seven years, she’s had it. She’s ready to move back to semicivilization, she says.
“When I moved here I had six dogs,” she says. Scottish deerhounds weigh about 100 pounds and stand about 32 inches tall. “I figure I don’t need so much space now that I’m down to three animals.” So much for the pre-21stcentury idea that your Social Security check goes further and buys more in supposedly cheaper open spaces, including Mexico and Costa Rica.
As I said, that was pre-21st century.
Today’s economic reality - real estate values in tattersand investments gone awry - promotes working longer to spend more money later.
Americans are becoming more realistic about retirement, with nearly half of those eligible for Social Security planning to work in their “golden years.” And 95 percent recently said they will not be willing to spend less in retirement, according to a recent survey by Charles Schwab & Co.
“Americans are willing to save more and work later inthe hopes of maintaining their spending and lifestyle in retirement,” says Stacy Hammond, director of Real Life Retirement Services for Schwab.
Forget raking the snow off the roof. Chuck that infinitely large rural backyard where the dogs frolic at leisure.
Decide what you really need and you’ll keep on working to a happy old age.
Get your priorities in order.
Mine’s a daily grande skinny vanilla latte.
Family, Pages 34 on 12/30/2009