- Jul 20, 2016
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Over the last few years, I've been in a few assisted living places visiting parents of friends. Overall, they are similar to hotels or apartment complexes. However, recently, this possibility has come up for people that I know would not like that arrangement. The idea came to me - ranch-style assisted living. As I thought some more, a larger idea came to me - a community arrangement that benefits all ages. I've talked about it with a couple of people, who said they liked it. So here goes - putting my idea out there and ready for manifestation.
I began with the idea that this couple will not like being in an apartment. They prefer getting outdoors and doing things. However, getting around, going to the grocery store, fixing meals, and cleaning up are becoming more difficult. I saw a place much like some event venues or conference centers here in Texas. There is a large "ranch house" with different spaces for activities, commercial kitchen, some bedrooms, nearby cottages, and open land with horses and some crops. Of course, there are ranch dogs and cats, too.
My next version adopts the elements of the "live-work-play" developments, which have sprung up in surrounding towns. People are tired of being cramped together in dense inner city housing and driving distances for work, shopping, and play. In my vision, I see the big ranch house as a community center for people of all ages. The commercial kitchen is there for preparing meals for seniors who need it, but also serves as a learning place for people who want to learn more about cooking, for example. There are crops in fields, as well as in raised beds (easier for those of us who find getting down on our knees more challenging), goats, chickens, horses, etc. The goats and horses also are good for therapeutic use. Even if you don't ride, brushing down a horse (for example) is a wonderful activity. Other ideas - goat yoga, hayrides, picking fruits and veggies - the list goes on. All these things are beneficial for all ages.
This place might be on one side of the development and to the other sides, we would see single-family homes, some apartments, schools, places of work. In a nutshell, it is large enough to work for all ages and small enough for a real community.
I began with the idea that this couple will not like being in an apartment. They prefer getting outdoors and doing things. However, getting around, going to the grocery store, fixing meals, and cleaning up are becoming more difficult. I saw a place much like some event venues or conference centers here in Texas. There is a large "ranch house" with different spaces for activities, commercial kitchen, some bedrooms, nearby cottages, and open land with horses and some crops. Of course, there are ranch dogs and cats, too.
My next version adopts the elements of the "live-work-play" developments, which have sprung up in surrounding towns. People are tired of being cramped together in dense inner city housing and driving distances for work, shopping, and play. In my vision, I see the big ranch house as a community center for people of all ages. The commercial kitchen is there for preparing meals for seniors who need it, but also serves as a learning place for people who want to learn more about cooking, for example. There are crops in fields, as well as in raised beds (easier for those of us who find getting down on our knees more challenging), goats, chickens, horses, etc. The goats and horses also are good for therapeutic use. Even if you don't ride, brushing down a horse (for example) is a wonderful activity. Other ideas - goat yoga, hayrides, picking fruits and veggies - the list goes on. All these things are beneficial for all ages.
This place might be on one side of the development and to the other sides, we would see single-family homes, some apartments, schools, places of work. In a nutshell, it is large enough to work for all ages and small enough for a real community.
