This thread is basically to give information about Retirement Communities.
Once I take up residence there, I may be able to convince some of the residents to join this forum and post replies to the posts of other members.
Till such time I continue to provide information.
Now the question is what sort of people are interested in Retirement communities and which group is interested.
Most of the retirement communities in and around Coimbatore were started with the NRI children in mind. They were targeted at parents who are not able to live with their children abroad because of various reasons.
Even today the vast majority of the people living in these communities belong to this category. This is especially true of the older ones and ones which are exclusively Brahmin.
But there has been a sea change in the attitude of elderly people. Now a number of people who have children living in India are taking accommodation in these communities.
We were talking to people who live in these communities and also people who had come to test these places before deciding.
The most surprising thing was the fact that a number of people were local from Coimbatore and surroundings. Many of them were staying independently with children staying in Tamil Nadu. Almost all the people whom we met were from Tamil Nadu. A number of them from Chennai.
The reasons attributed for shifting to the Retirement Community were
1. Almost every one wanted their wives to retire from Household work. Many spoke about how it is time that we thought about Housewives also retiring. This is the main reason for our going to the Retirement Community. I have seen my mother working in the kitchen almost till her death. Though she hardly did anything in the kitchen she was still there. She felt guilty not working in the kitchen.
2. The stress and strain of living independently/living with the children.
Almost all these people had the support of the children in this idea of shifting. In some cases it was the children's idea that the mother should also retire.
One of the main reasons for living in a retirement community is the idea of the Wives retiring from work.
The majority of the people with whom we interacted were not Brahmins. There is a lot of interest in these communities from people who belong to all castes.
Dear Shri Iniyan,
My wife and I were on the look-out for an 'old age home' (OAH) about 10 or 15 years back and at that time the "Vanaprastha" OAH was coming up in Vadavalli, Coimbatore and the promoter, Shri Ramaswamy was known to me through my association with Dhanalaxmi Bank of which he was at one time Director. We visited the place and found all the physical environment quite above par. Yet, after visiting a few more OAHs and some cool deliberation back in our home, we rejected the plan of moving into any retirement home, for the following reasons:
1. Though the OAHs have very high-sounding names like Vanaprastha, Dhyanaprastha, etc., the members or inmates do not generally have any inclination to be less materialistic and one of the main things of conversation is how rich each one is, how well-off their kids are abroad, how highly connected each one is, etc., etc. Hence ordinary people with nothing much to boast off become the "Shudras" in this OAH community and they are not even listened to by the OAH's servants in case something is to be purchased from the market which is usually far away and no auto or other transport facility is available.
2. There is an overdose of religion in the daily life but more and more, the inmates have to fall in line with the religious inclinations and preferences of a certain vocal majority. In the Vanaprastha OAH, at the time of our visit, the fashion was to show complete adherence to one Swami Dayananda Saraswathi somewhere around that place and to participate in all the functions, celebrations, etc., in that Swamiji's Ashram. (Conveyance was provided both by the OAH and the Ashram to take the people but return had to be in OAH's vehicle only!
3. The eating room timings are usually very strict and if you are somewhat late, nothing would be available even if you give advance information about your inability to come in time. But a few of the residents who were "more equal" could manage to have their writ run.
4. Medical facilities were not very dependable. The OAH has its doctor, coming for a few hours on alternate days or so and he was reportedly having links and kick-back arrangements with one or two hospitals in the town, far away. If due to any reason you had to go to some other doctor, and through him to some hospital other than those in the OAH's doctor's favourite list, then you are practically all alone; the OAH administration will be least responsive to your needs for conveyance, etc.
All in all, we both felt that it would be unwise to leave our present colony in which we have lived for > 20 years and end up in something very akin to a Gulag especially when we could not boast of high connections or extremely well-placed children rolling in wealth abroad, and so on.
I feel that people thinking of retirement communities should think twice, about the OAH taking care of all the hassles like bill payment etc., also; instead of time spent in Electricity, water, etc., offices, one will have to queue up in front of the OAH's office, that too twise - once for giving the bill and money, and the second to get the paid bill - that's all.
