Reply to How do you prepare for a lonely old age? And how to avoid being lonely when you're old?

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[quote=Anonymous]When there is no close family left and you are on your own?

Take our own situation as an example.
I'm 54, my husband is 63.

We don't have kids, which means we will never have grandkids.
I don't have siblings, so no nieces and nephews either.
My parents are dead and so are my grandparents.

My remaining relatives (aunts, uncles, cousins and cousins' children) live a 6 to 7 hours drive away.
A couple of my cousins and their families live overseas permanently.
Two elderly relatives are 90+ years and live in a care home.
I am pretty close to the 2 elderly relatives in the care home, and less close to the others. 
I am friendly with my cousins but we're not close and we never have been. I don't even know my cousins' kids, apart from their names. Typically I see my cousins at weddings and funerals but we don't keep in touch otherwise.

My husband's family is small. MIL (widowed) and SILs & their families live 1.5 hours away. They all live in the same city. My husband and I moved away from the area 15 years ago.
Both my inlaws are only children so my husband doesn't have aunts, uncles or cousins.

We are still relatively young and in good health but what happens 20 or 25 years from now? It's pretty grim to think about it, but given our 9-year age difference, it is likely that my husband will pass before me.
Then what...? 
My aunts & uncles will be in their 80s and 90s. My cousins will be looking after them. They have their own lives.
Same with SILs and their families.

I will have no one.
 
If I should pass before my husband then SILs may come visit from time to time and offer some support. Maybe.

Do you have any suggestions about what steps we can take NOW so that we don't end up lonely and struggling on our own later in life? Thanks.

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