So, MIL has decided to move closer to us. Do you have any tips on making sure we don't make any mistakes?
Could I please ask for your collective wisdom on what we should look for in a house for her. Due to her quite panicky personality my DH and I are likely to do most of the legwork so that she doesn't get overwhelmed.
A bit of background on her:
- she is 76 and has lived on her own for decades after FIL passed away in his forties
- physically fit and well
- she also has a daughter but daughter lives in Dubai and will be no help.
- her memory is going and she is in denial about this. She won't remember conversations had a few minutes ago but it doesn't seem to impact on her day-to-day (keeps to appointments etc).
- she lives about 4 hours away at the moment and is happy to move to us as would rather be closer to us and her grandchildren than the handful of friends she has where she is currently
background on us:
- We all get on fine but I am a huge introvert and like my space so wouldn't want daily visits - or unannounced pop ins! But I would appreciate the babysitting of course!
- Overall this will probably be better for me as won't need to go away for whole weekends and can do shorter but more frequent visits.
- husband has a semi backbone when it comes to her. He doesn't like to hurt her feelings but I think if I was upset and needed boundaries enforcing he would step up to the mark.
The property search so far:
- we live in a village which only has a pub and v. small shop. There are houses for sale in the village which she is keen on. Will this be too suffocating for us? Will she want/need more amenities down the line?
- she could also live in a nearby small town (about 20 mins away) with lots of nice shops, dr, dentist etc
- she likes period properties. When I look at her suggestions all I see is stairs and problems for when she is older - am I being too harsh?!
Has anyone made a similar move? How did you find it and how did you make friends?
Sorry for putting this on AIBU - not sure where else it would fit!