Do you know anyone in their 90s who lives at home independently?

[Meltingchocolate]

I know one person in their 90s who lives at home and has carers four times a day. He can’t go out alone and depends on a wheelchair.

I know one couple who are quite independent and still mobile eg do all their own shopping. They don’t need carers but they help each other.

It was part of a discussion with my elderly parents (early 80s) where they assumed that most people in their 90s would be living in a care home. I was wondering how common it is for people in their 90s to still live in their own home?

My dad lived totally independently to 96, never even needed a walking aid. Played golf most days and went on holidays with his lady companion, who was even older. He kept busy and active, shopped, cooked and cleaned for himself and did his garden.
Died quite suddenly which I think was a blessing. He would have hated to have been looked after, and he wouldn’t have coped with covid lockdowns at all.

Yes my grandparents are both over 95 and live together in the house they've lived in since before my dad was born.
They have shopping delivered and live close enough to shops to walk if they need to. They don't have any outside help and still manage the housework, cooking, and going up and down the stairs etc.
I think they pay someone to mow the lawn.

They've always been very healthy, fit and incredibly physically active. Plus an element of good luck in that they've not had any serious illnesses at all.

DM’s aunt lived independently until she was 102, when a fall led to her rapid decline and death. Until then she was still fit and sharp as a razor and would do the Times crossword every day. For years she’d said she had no interest in getting a card from the Queen but I took mum to visit her on her 100th and there it was displayed proudly on the mantelpiece 😄

My dad. He is completely independent - does all his housework, cooking and gardening (including climbing trees).
He also helps the local 'elderly ' who range in age from 70-95.....
My mum died 6 years ago and he has learnt to cook and do housework. He is marvellous.

My FIL lived independently and without carers until he was 96. We lived 3 hours away and my SIL 2 hours away. DSIL called him after breakfast at 9 and we called him at 7 pm. We had a neighbour on standby if we could not get him to answer the phone.

He cooked for himself very well (his specialty was poached salmon and salad and bread from the breadmaker) and we had a cleaner in 2 times a week.

All was fine until he came to our house for the christmas period and fell down our stairs on Boxing day and died 3 days later.

I miss him dreadfully.

We've got 2 sets in the family. One Uncle who lives on his own and an Uncle & Aunty. Both Uncles have only stopped driving in the past year. None of them have carers.

My nan 92 loving life still doing everything on her own she looks about 80.
She still having fun she tried twerking with her gran kids yesterday 😆sorry for the image.
My 19 year old niece is having some young love problems my nan said i may be old but i know if it aint good sex its time to leave my dear mum just looked and said OH MUUM really nan just walked off laughing.
Her moto as always been do what you love be nice be kind dont be walked over.

My grandmother is 96 this year and still lives independently in a bungalow. It’s one those supported bungalows where she can pull a chord if she had a problem but she has never had to use it. My uncle and aunt rake her shopping once a week and my aunts pop in and help her with big cleaning and laundry once or twice a week but she does all personal care, cooking and small cleanings herself.

Yes, a neighbour/friend. She's hilarious...she gets up each morning to feed her horses and milk the goat, then scramble amongst the hay balls to look for eggs 😁. I don't think she rides her horses very much now, and her family pop in to bring her groceries...but she still drives badly short distances. Astonishing really!

One of my neighbours was 100 last year, he lives with his wife. He is fiercely independent and I would not be surprised if he lived to be the oldest person in the UK. His wife is about 18 years younger than him and she does all the cooking. They have a cleaner, gardener and window cleaner, but manage well.

Yes. Two aunts, one is 95 and the other is 93. Both really active, much more energy than a lot of people I know including me.

I moaned earlier that I sometimes feel lonely. My aunt told me that I need to stop relying on others to entertain me 😂 very true.

My mother is almost 98, still lives independently in a largish French farmhouse, drives and has only a weekly gardener. She heats the house with firewood and manages to man-handle the logs, does her own shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry. She did ask whether she could qualify for a disabled car sticker to allow her to park closer to the centre of town on market day, but was told she was too fit and mobile.
Although she's a marvel, I'm acutely aware this could all come to an end at any moment. And I wish she weren't still driving, wish she had down-sized years ago, and wish she would agree to a cleaner. But perhaps having to keep going is what keeps her going. 20 years ago I don't think there were many such examples- so perhaps 90 is the new 80...

My beloved mum did until she died aged 97. She wasn’t very mobile and couldn’t get out by herself any more so she relied on me a lot for shopping etc, but I didn’t live nearby and she used her freezer and had deliveries from Wiltshire Farm Foods. She cooked as well, did her own washing and so forth. A neighbour popped in and was a friend to her, and an ex-cleaner used to go round once a week for coffee and a chat, but she didn’t have carers.

She had the humour and outlook of a decades-younger person and I loved her. I’d give anything to talk to her one more time and tell her so.

My neighbour is 91; she still drives and gardens. And dresses better than any woman on the street!

That's so sad, @RiseYpres. A fall is what I most dread for my mother. I am sorry for your family's loss.

thank you. It was so awful and of course we blamed ourselves and have spent the last 4 years thinking and rethinking about what we should have done / ought have done.

I really loved him. He was a very strong and difficult character and I adored him. We used to sit and drink whiskey into the small hours together and gossip. DS1 (now aged 14) is named for him.

All the ninety plus year olds I know live either alone or as part of a couple. I don't know any who are in a home, and I know a large number of nonagenarians.

Yes, 91 plus wife in eighties. Have carers once it twice a day, plus good support from neighbours (family don’t live close by).

My dad was independent until 2 weeks before he died of pancreatic cancer age 96 1/2. When he got the diagnosis, he accepted it and went downhill rapidly. He still drove, went out for lunch once a week with his friends (mainly younger than him), shopped and cooked for himself. Didn't need help with washing or dressing himself. I did his housework and laundry, he still did the garden himself. I did go over most days, mainly for admin type things like his online banking and sending emails for him plus odd jobs around the house. I think he was fantastic for his age.

My parenrs, 91 and 89. No carers, a friend hoovers through every few weeks. They do all their shopping, cooking and laundry, mother still drives locally.

Yes. Aged 98. No carers, but has had to stop driving due to poor eyesight.

I know literally hundreds of people in their 90s who live at home, and about 10 people in their centenary year who live at home.

But, I'm a domiciliary care worker, so I'm bound to know more than most!

I know a lady who has one care call every morning, but manages herself for the rest of the day. She showers independently every day, but likes me to be around just in case she slips and falls.
She cooks her dinner from scratch every day with fresh ingredients.
She also has a Labrador who she takes out for a short walk in the field behind her house.
This lady is 103.

My grandfather lived at home independently into his nineties, and then gradually needed someone around to stay on top of the house and garden and laundry etc. Any time he had to go into hospital there was a noticeable deterioration in his ability and mental state, and when he went home he improved greatly. I don't think he would have lived nearly as long in a care home.

My grandmother lived at home alone at 97. She didn't have carers, she was very independent. She lived near my mum though, who was able to take her out. She had poor vision so unfortunately wasn't able to go out alone in later life. Sadly she died at 97.
I know another 90 year old who is completely independent, still drives. My mother is 81 this year and very active, I think it's very unlikely that she won't be able to live alone at 90. I'm pretty sure she doesn't expect anything different!

Several! My NDN is 90, her NDN is 96 and a few doors down is a neighbour who is 102 (and still lives in the house she was born in). All independently living, no carers. They are actually far, far healthier than me!