# Senior living planned on cemetery property



## debodun (Jan 11, 2016)

I was reading on our village web site that the board is considering constructing a senior living facility on unused cemetery property which is 2 miles outside of town. If they wanted to do seniors a service, the facility should be more centrally located (i.e. easy distance to community conveniences). Also the idea of putting the housing on cemetery property. Are they trying to send a subliminal message to the old folks (move them out of town and into the cemetery)? Any opinions?


----------



## jujube (Jan 11, 2016)

Well, it could be "one-stop" shopping....  Buy an apartment or villa and we'll throw in a gravesite for free?


----------



## SeaBreeze (Jan 11, 2016)

If it's unused property, I don't see what's wrong with that.  They probably got the plot cheap (pun intended), and it's all about saving money these days.  I don't think it's sending a message, lol.


----------



## Butterfly (Jan 11, 2016)

I don't think it's sending a message, either. It's just property, after all.


----------



## Lethe200 (Jan 12, 2016)

When we moved my MIL to a full-service/full-care CCRC, we found that as time went on she was increasingly reluctant to go outside with us. She had everything she wanted at the facility: housekeeping, laundry, hairdresser, social activities, religious services, excellent meals, lots of smiling staff and residents to chat with. 

After about a year, she really only wanted to go out for a rare 2x/yr drugstore trip (she could have walked there with a group from the facility; which escorts the seniors on short excursions out, but she preferred to be driven by us, LOL), and a weekly trip to eat Asian food, which they didn't serve at the facility. We also took her to all doctor appts, as needed.

At another facility we investigated, this time for ourselves, we were talking to one of the residents. He said he used to go on cruises, but finally decided (he was 75) that he preferred staying home. He said living at the facility was like being on a cruise ship every day, except that he didn't have to live out of a suitcase!

We found at larger facilities with active management, the social or activities director brings in various groups - musicians, high school choirs, lecturers. And all offered regular excursions out to shop: Target or Wal-Mart, drugstores, or just sight-seeing attractions. That's in addition to being able to schedule transportation to doctor appts.


----------



## Yaya (Jan 12, 2016)

Yeaaah...on cemetery property...that doesn't sound real good...However, if it is unused then bodies have not been buried there...but, the view might be depressing. 
Maybe the property will be improved really nice, like a swimming pool, tennis court, pet exercise area, etc.


----------



## exwisehe (May 23, 2016)

I personally wouldn't want to live on property that used to be a cemetery.  I'm probably somewhat overly dramatic, but ever since I saw the movie "Poltergeist" quite a long time ago (about 1982), I have been somewhat afrightened by the spectre of ghosts coming out of the woodwork or of them kidnapping my daughter.  I realize that's pretty farfetched, but hey, I take movies to heart sometimes when I shouldn't.


----------



## Guitarist (May 23, 2016)

My opinion: 

They probably got it cheap.
It's a bad idea.  Subliminal messages are possible, whether intentional or not!
It's bad idea, also, because it's so far out of town.  How many seniors can walk two miles to stores, etc.? Some, sure. But how many?  Pushing a grocery cart?

What is meant by "unused"?  Was it never used for burial?  Is it an "occupied" cemetery that's full up? Or just no longer being used for burials?


----------



## fureverywhere (May 23, 2016)

I dunno, creepy to me but then again I just want to be cremated and tossed around the woods and dog park so what do I know?


----------



## Butterfly (May 24, 2016)

I've always wondered why people think dead people in cemeteries are scary.  They're just people who once were alive and now aren't.  If they weren't scary alive, why would they be scary dead?

I sleep in the room in which my mother died many years ago.  Someone asked me once if I wasn't afraid she'd come back to haunt me.  No, I wouldn't -- I'd be delighted.  I could ask her some of the questions I never got to ask her and tell her some of things I never told her.


----------



## Ruthanne (May 25, 2016)

I find the cemetery to be one of the most peaceful places I know.  I haven't gone to one in a long time.  I don't think it would matter to me.


----------



## debodun (May 25, 2016)

Some people I've talked with say they would never live in a residence next to a cemetery. I reply "Why? At least you neighbors would be quiet." Maybe they're afraid the cemetery "funk" would leach into their water supply. Here is an aerial view of the area. The cemetery is outlined in blue, the proposed housing site is in yellow.


----------

