Whatever your age group, there are always things you need to make your life pleasant and the benefits and challenges that come with life. For example, as children, we need good schools, playgrounds, a supportive family, etc. As young adults, we need job opportunities and want to socialize to make friends and, perhaps, find a spouse. And when we are old — let’s define that as 60 and over for this article — we have other needs and wants, which can be more complicated to attain in a larger and more expensive City, such as San Francisco.
Navigating Senior Life in San Francisco
Some of these challenges include the higher cost of living, the City’s topography, which means we have to take into account steep climbs and stairs, and the high urban density, which translates into busy streets and severe traffic, as well as lack of curbside and accessible business parking. In other words, in San Francisco, you can rarely get into your car, drive down a nice wide, quiet street, park in the flat mini-mall parking lot, and get your shopping done. However, these challenges notwithstanding, there are other reasons why we want to live in the City at any age.
For me, the tolerance, sophistication, and live-and-let-live attitude that San Franciscans have are pluses that I have always missed whenever I have lived or spent considerable time outside of San Francisco. So, as I move closer to 60 and away from 26, the age I was the first time I moved to the City, I start to think and plan more and more about retiring and growing old here. Because of the challenges I mentioned earlier, addressing potential uncertainties is a good idea. For example, where I live.
Our house has a series of stairs to the living area, the office, the deck, and the backyard. Therefore, if climbing stairs as we age becomes too strenuous, one option might be retrofitting a stairlift. Still, there is currently no room for this apparatus, plus it would not address the backyard access issue. Therefore, moving into a smaller condo with wider doors, an elevator, basement parking, etc., might be a better option. This has become financially feasible for many of us through the recent success of Proposition 19.
Proposition 19 makes a person’s property tax base transportable to any other property within the State of California. In other words, if you bought a house 30 years ago for $200,000, your yearly tax bill is based on this price and is adjusted year over year at a low rate. And if that house is now worth $2 million, you can sell it and buy another place for, say, $1 million. However, your property taxes on the new house are still based on the $200,000 (plus yearly adjustments.) As stated in the previous example, it is a great opportunity to trade up and move into a more modern home better equipped for older residents.
That said, we are not all so lucky to have this option. Therefore, we must plan for housing in a regular apartment or a retirement home. Fortunately, there are many options for both, provided you can absorb the cost of these options, which can be pricey. Therefore, it is best to research housing options independently or through an agency for at least a year or two (if not more) before moving. If you go by the latter method, using an agency, you will find independent businesses that will help you find the best retirement residence at no cost. The retirement home itself usually pays Their fees.
Once housing is taken care of, the other logistics are usually easier to maneuver through. For example, the City’s density does make it difficult to drive and park at times, as I wrote earlier. Still, that same density means you can usually walk to a nearby market or other shops within the nearest commercial corridor. Also, there are both for-profit and non-profit delivery services that assist people by delivering food and groceries to people’s homes.
At the time of this writing, even with the pandemic still present, there has been a strong response in San Francisco to help the homeless and other vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. Therefore, should you want to remain in the City long after you are done working, there are systems in place to address the challenges noted above, including the high cost of living and traffic density.
To help you research this topic further, please visit the following sites:
- Golden Gate Senior Services www.ggsenior.org
- San Francisco Human Services Agency www.sfhsa.org
- San Francisco Senior Beat www.sfseniorbeat.com
- San Francisco Senior Center www.sfsenior.org
This is just a partial list, but these links have other resources you can hyperlink to. Also, feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.