Advice about senior housing/independent living in Northern Virginia
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Anonymous
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My MIL is in her mid 70s and needs to get out of her single family home. She has always hated cooking, so a living situation with some central dining would be preferable. She doesn’t need other assistance right now, but she will inevitably in the future.
The main issue will be finances. She’s currently in the Midwest in a small house that might net about $100,000. She doesn’t really have other savings. Her pension/ss totals around $3000 a month. She would like to move to Northern Virginia to be near us - which would make our lives much easier. I have no idea how to navigate the options here. Is this something that the county Agency on Agency could help us with? Should we hire a private consultant? If so, any recommendations? There are a lot of websites that list resources/facilities but I think we want someone who knows these facilities firsthand as well as rules and guidelines for low income options. |
Anonymous
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I wonder if she qualifies for low-income housing. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/housing/sites/housing/files/assets/documents/housing%20symposium/presentations/final/session%201%20presentation.pdf
There's a place being built - Ilda's Overlook. If she doesn't qualify as low-income, frankly, I doubt she will be able to move to NoVa, imo. If that were the case, she would be better off in her lower cost area, where she feels rooted, has friends. Pay to fly to see her as often as you can manage it. Just you is ok. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| I see it's your MIL, so "you" means her son. |
Anonymous
| Do not come to Nova. The buyin for a place in ffx is 500k. She can't afford that or the monthly rent. |
Anonymous
| We have a family member in independent living in Maryland. It costs $5-6K/month, no buy-in. Obviously something like that would drain her money quickly. Are you able and willing to help financially? FWIW, we've been very happy that the facility is within 10 minutes of us. Close proximity makes life much easier, for both visiting and helping with appointments. |
Anonymous
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Found this website which shows 55+ housing in the area. You might find an apt she can afford, but I doubt it would include meals at that price point. https://www.after55.com/search/va/fairfax
I’ve seen these consultants recommended on here. They may be able to help. https://eldercc.com/ I assume living with you guys isn’t an option? |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thank you for posting these resources! I can tell I’m going to need to set aside some time to make phone calls during the work day sometime next week. If people know of additional resources, I would appreciate them!
Living with us would be the option of last resort. DH and his mom get along fine but would drive each other crazy in no time. We are also not in a situation where we can subsidize living expenses for an indefinite period of time, although we can help out with short term or limited expenses. |
Anonymous
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I'd look at non-profits over for-profits for sure. Also, look in VA further out than the DMV -- close enough that you can drive there easily, but far enough away that it's not NoVa per se.
The one NoVa exception: is there any chance your FIL might have been a military officer or a civilian government employee at GS-14 or above at some point in his career? If so, then look at Vinson Hall: https://www.vinsonhall.org/faq |
Anonymous
| I think this place is designed for lower-income (although not maybe as low as you need) seniors: http://chesterbrookres.org/ |
Anonymous
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A few thoughts -
If she just hates cooking but us otherwise totally independent, it would be a lot cheaper to have her in a regular rental and pay for some sort of meal delivery service than any independent living option. Chesterbrook Residences someone else posted does serve low income seniors but it’s assisted living, not independent. There’s some sort of low income senior housing on Great Falls where the old Lewinsville school used to be. Charles e Smith communities in Montgomery county has some low income independent living options. |
Anonymous
For food delivery, I was going to recommend Schwan’s, but apparently they sold last year and got rebranded as Yelloh. Worth looking into still though. https://www.yelloh.com |
Anonymous
| I am in my 60's and order from Nutrisystem. A delivery once a month and I have food for the month. Microwave and it's ready. Three meals a day. $350- 400 ish/mo. I also supplement w/fresh fruits/veg. Started this 2 yrs ago. Easy. I wouldn't order the diet shakes, though imo, avoid. |
Anonymous
There are local services as well like vegetable and butcher and other options from small local businesses. I definitely wouldn’t do independent living just to avoid meal preparation if she’s still driving, can easily take advantage of activities in the community etc |
Anonymous
| My FIL uses mighty meals out of Northern Virginia for meals. Been very helpful after my MIL died. |