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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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]NP-this has been an interesting thread. Thank you OP for initiating. I am also childless-my DH and I are in our late 40's. My family as a whole is not super close. We do have nieces that we love dearly but I would never expect them to help us in old age. Honestly, even if I had kids I don't think I would expect much help from them as I age-as many have stated they have their own lives to live, they may be living far away, may not be capable of handing your finances or taking care of you, etc. It's wonderful when it works out and children and grandchildren are willingly there for their elders but so many times it doesn't. I would never, ever want to be a burden to someone or have them visit or care for me out of obligation. Quite frankly, my 76 year old mother is still independent and not reliant on my brother or I for care but I don't really enjoy her company very much and my time spent with her is primarily obligatory. She's always been a self-involved person and wasn't a very good parent-her self-centeredness just seems to get worse with age.

In a general sense, I think old age can be a lonely time in life for many people regardless of the circumstances. At that point you have had friends, family and possibly your spouse die...it's never easy even in ideal circumstances.

I don't know how I'm going to feel, where I will want to live or what I will want to do if I make it to my elderly years (who knows what the world will be like then and what technology will be available) but in the meantime my DH and I take care of ourselves physically, save money, spend time with friends (and to a much lesser extent family), do things we enjoy and hope for the best. I admittedly tend to be a bit of a loner-I'm an introvert who doesn't like being around a ton of people a lot of the time so I'm sure that influences my perspective. Regardless, no one really knows what the future will bring. Dying with family/loved ones there to hold your hand as you pass is a lovely thought but a lot of the time for various reasons (many completely our of our control) it just doesn't happen that way. [/quote]

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