As my followers can see I have not posted a blog since November and here it is February already. Where does time go? If you have read my previous blogs you will know that the "theme" is about my various moves (relocations) and what I have accomplished with each move. None of the accomplishments were the cause of the move, it just seemed that doors opened up to opportunities that I felt compelled to seize even though I had not necessarily thought of doing them before.
After 20 years in San Francisco I had to leave my beautiful city. I obtained guardianship of my 10 year old grandson who was living in Reno, NV. I closed my practice and moved. The culture shock was enormous, but I had my grandson to soften the blow. In my mind I had retired but retained consulting work. After a year I figured out that I needed to go back to work if I was to provide all that he needed plus plan for college. Reno was growing, retirees from other states wanted to move there because there was no state income tax requirements. Many had moved there years before and were ready for assisted living. I looked at what was available in residential sr. group homes and there wasn't much. Most were big facilities. The small group homes were a relatively new concept, but I wanted to start one. I hired a graduate student from the business dept.
at the University of Reno to do a demographic study of the best location for my business. I had decided South Reno was the best. That area was growing rapidly and was very close to a hospital, stores and parks. The grad student also picked that area. I bought a 5 bdrm 2.5 bath house that was under construction in a new development. After 6 months I finally got a certificate of occupancy. I was in business. I was lucky to find two wonderful caregivers to be there daily, and overnight. Soon all beds were filled. I dedicated one bed to Medicare as I felt a duty. The rest were private pay. My home was high end and was rapidly gaining a reputation of being one if the best of it's kind. A few years later I bought a second home in the same development with 5 more beds. None of this was easy as I had to get the home owners association to approve. Many residents were apprehensive as they didn't know much about these kinds of homes. It took a lot of convincing with many meetings. The licensing procedure was a long arduous process plus I had to take a very comprehensive test on all the laws and a multitude other other topics to get my license as an administrator. I was fortunate enough to keep the same care givers for the entire 14 years that I had the business. The families loved them and that added greatly to the success of the business. We even had dog therapy. Finally two years after my grandson left to attend college in Oregon I decided to sell the business and think about moving to where ever I wanted to. San Francisco was not an option because the price of housing was astronomical. After much thought I decided I wanted a university town, no more than a one hour drive to the ocean, sea level and moisture. The high desert of Reno was not good for my respiratory system. Although I did not like Reno, my experience there was wonderful. My business was a success and I met wonderful people. I sold Magnolia House 1 and II and was ready for my next move to see what opportunities cropped up. Stay tuned for the next segment. I won't take as long this time to write.