4 ms·

The future of NA suburbs as well. Have fun living in the car dependent sprawling suburbs when you're 80 and not legally allowed to drive anymore. I guess one

The future of NA suburbs as well. Have fun living in the car dependent sprawling suburbs when you're 80 and not legally allowed to drive anymore. I guess one can hope that autonomous cars will finally appear to bail one out of this predicament, but I'll personally be setting myself up to retire in a place where everything I need is a short walk or wheelchair roll away.

paulcole 7y ago
> Have fun living in the car dependent sprawling suburbs when you're 80 and not legally allowed to drive anymore. You're describing Florida and they drive anyways.
- reustle 7y ago
  They drive golf carts* I've been to a couple golf cart communities in Florida and they are actually pretty cool for retirement
  - amyjess 7y ago
    My dad lives in a 55+ community in Nevada, and they have golf carts too. There's even a sign when you enter the development warning you that golf carts are permitted on the roads. Unlike a lot of retirement communities, it looks like just another suburban housing development. The only hint that it's different, aside from the golf carts, is that every single house is one-story in order to accommodate people who can't (easily) climb stairs.
    - yellowapple 7y ago
      Sounds vaguely like the Somersett neighborhood in Reno (though I don't recall if it's entirely 55+; there are some kid-friendly amenities, which suggests that families with kids are allowed to live in at least some parts, but for some reason I remember it being mostly retirees).
      - amyjess 7y ago
        Nope, it's Sun City Summerlin in Vegas. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if the formula is common. As for their age policies, from what I remember of my dad telling me, only one resident of each house has to be 55+, but nobody under 19 is allowed to live there permanently (...and I just checked their Wikipedia article, and it confirms it). So no kid-friendly stuff there, but there are some younger people living with older relatives.
- wlesieutre 7y ago
  You say that like we take away people's drivers licenses if they're not capable of driving safely
  - linkregister 7y ago
    Insurance companies take this seriously and withdraw insurance when senior license holders receive minor tickets for moving violations. The same ticket that would not cause a rate increase for a 30-year-old can be the death knell of a senior's insurance.
ghaff 7y ago
Cities are no panacea. Just a couple of months ago I was in Manhattan after a bad muscle sprain. I could walk a few blocks but it was hard. I guess in a dense city it’s easier to just take an Uber everywhere but for some types of restricted mobility it’s actually much easier to be able to drive a car more or less door to door.
- fooblitzky 7y ago
  Until you legally can't, as the parent comment mentioned.
  - ghaff 7y ago
    Yes I read the parent. However, a lot of people are mentally/physically able to drive who have trouble walking around city streets. Personal circumstances differ of course. But cities are certainly not automatically easier for infirm people to get around. And my general point was what I wrote. "Cities are not a panacea." If you don't believe that, get on crutches and travel around pretty much any city.
    - inferiorhuman 7y ago
      If you don't believe that, get on crutches and travel around pretty much any city. Follow that up with: get on crutches and travel around pretty much any suburb.
      - ghaff 7y ago
        The difference being you can get in your car and drive to near the entrance of a store (or to a neighbor's). I know. I had to do it for a few months.
codedokode 7y ago
By the way, today I saw old man and woman riding electric scooters with seats (they look like this [1]). I thought that it could be useful for senior people in the city. But our city is mostly flat, of course they won't help to climb those endless stairways in Japan. [1] https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g6-M01-8B-09-rBVaSFtsPI2AJy9nAAD2G6FUc2I630.jpg/3-wheel-electric-scooter-with-seat-electric.jpg https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g6-M01-8B-09-rBVaSFt...
Noos 7y ago
There are senior care services that exist to help seniors with those issues. Also many live with children or in communities. Plus, it's a lot easier to drive to a walmart than it is to walk to the subway and use it, if you are older. The city is pretty bad for anyone except the young and wealthy.

paulcole 7y ago

> Have fun living in the car dependent sprawling suburbs when you're 80 and not legally allowed to drive anymore. You're describing Florida and they drive anyways.

reustle 7y ago
They drive golf carts* I've been to a couple golf cart communities in Florida and they are actually pretty cool for retirement
- amyjess 7y ago
  My dad lives in a 55+ community in Nevada, and they have golf carts too. There's even a sign when you enter the development warning you that golf carts are permitted on the roads. Unlike a lot of retirement communities, it looks like just another suburban housing development. The only hint that it's different, aside from the golf carts, is that every single house is one-story in order to accommodate people who can't (easily) climb stairs.
  - yellowapple 7y ago
    Sounds vaguely like the Somersett neighborhood in Reno (though I don't recall if it's entirely 55+; there are some kid-friendly amenities, which suggests that families with kids are allowed to live in at least some parts, but for some reason I remember it being mostly retirees).
    - amyjess 7y ago
      Nope, it's Sun City Summerlin in Vegas. But I wouldn't be surprised at all if the formula is common. As for their age policies, from what I remember of my dad telling me, only one resident of each house has to be 55+, but nobody under 19 is allowed to live there permanently (...and I just checked their Wikipedia article, and it confirms it). So no kid-friendly stuff there, but there are some younger people living with older relatives.
wlesieutre 7y ago
You say that like we take away people's drivers licenses if they're not capable of driving safely
- linkregister 7y ago
  Insurance companies take this seriously and withdraw insurance when senior license holders receive minor tickets for moving violations. The same ticket that would not cause a rate increase for a 30-year-old can be the death knell of a senior's insurance.

ghaff 7y ago

Cities are no panacea. Just a couple of months ago I was in Manhattan after a bad muscle sprain. I could walk a few blocks but it was hard. I guess in a dense city it’s easier to just take an Uber everywhere but for some types of restricted mobility it’s actually much easier to be able to drive a car more or less door to door.

fooblitzky 7y ago
Until you legally can't, as the parent comment mentioned.
- ghaff 7y ago
  Yes I read the parent. However, a lot of people are mentally/physically able to drive who have trouble walking around city streets. Personal circumstances differ of course. But cities are certainly not automatically easier for infirm people to get around. And my general point was what I wrote. "Cities are not a panacea." If you don't believe that, get on crutches and travel around pretty much any city.
  - inferiorhuman 7y ago
    If you don't believe that, get on crutches and travel around pretty much any city. Follow that up with: get on crutches and travel around pretty much any suburb.
    - ghaff 7y ago
      The difference being you can get in your car and drive to near the entrance of a store (or to a neighbor's). I know. I had to do it for a few months.

codedokode 7y ago

By the way, today I saw old man and woman riding electric scooters with seats (they look like this [1]). I thought that it could be useful for senior people in the city. But our city is mostly flat, of course they won't help to climb those endless stairways in Japan. [1] https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g6-M01-8B-09-rBVaSFtsPI2AJy9nAAD2G6FUc2I630.jpg/3-wheel-electric-scooter-with-seat-electric.jpg https://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g6-M01-8B-09-rBVaSFt...

Noos 7y ago

There are senior care services that exist to help seniors with those issues. Also many live with children or in communities. Plus, it's a lot easier to drive to a walmart than it is to walk to the subway and use it, if you are older. The city is pretty bad for anyone except the young and wealthy.