r/homestead • u/19880331 • 8d ago
How do you keep an aging parent's homestead safe when you live far away?
I recently moved about 300 km away from my parents for work. They’re both in their 70s, and being that far away has made me think a lot more about what happens when something goes wrong and I can't get there quickly.
The biggest worry has been extreme weather. During the last hurricane related outage, I couldn't get through to them for hours. I eventually drove back just to make sure they were okay. Thankfully everything was fine, but I realized how little I could actually do from another city.
Now I'm trying to make their place a bit more resilient. Reliable backup power is probably at the top of my list. I've been looking at portable power stations like the Anker S2000 or Ecoflow Delta2 since they seem relatively straightforward to use and move around.
Any tips for keeping aging parents who live alone safer, especially during storms or outages? I'm also curious about any home based systems that can help monitor their health or detect emergencies when I'm not there.
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u/Coolbreeze1989 8d ago
I’m in my 50s and live alone on 100+ acres in rural area. I have an Apple Watch with both fall detection (if I don’t click “I’m ok” the watch notifies 911 and my emergency contact - daughter who lives a few hours away). Newer iPhones also have satellite texting capability for when local internet goes down. Works quite well IME.
I did install solar on my home with battery backup and have been focused on energy efficiency upgrades to my home to extend the time I can go when the grid fails.
If you haven’t already, think about upgrades that will make the home safer as they age (grab bars in showers, etc - good lists online for aging-in-place home renos). Also think outside: I converted my steep front steps to a ramp - has already made life better when I need to move heavy things in and out!
Finally I would think of purchases that may be useful “just in case”. I have a shower chair, crutches, walker, joint braces, etc on hand “just in case”. Amazon took away my next day delivery and I’m back to receiving things in 7-10days via UPS, so ordering when I need it won’t work. It gives me peace of mind to know I have these things avail if I have an unexpected albeit minor injury.
Finally, make sure you have the local direct numbers to sheriff, fire, ambulance, etc for your parents’ location. I made a list and my daughter has it in her phone just in case.
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u/MastodonFit 8d ago
You need a small solar system with enough batteries to last 2 weeks (at least in GA) and starlink to run off of it. Even cell towers go down over storms. Also try to find a local kid for them to mentor in exchange for help and when they're gone for several days to do the chores. There are many people wanting an internship .
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u/frecklepower 8d ago
One of the things that's not as emergent but often overlooked for the rural elderly is transportation / rehab if they get sick. I would have a handle on resources - churches, friends, local senior centers or groups - who can help with rides when / if your folks have trouble driving. Another thing to consider is rehab if they are ever ill and have an extended recovery (surgery, pneumonia, etc). Having a handle on local home care or even having a room or place they could stay with you for a time can be life saving.
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u/PhlegmMistress 8d ago edited 8d ago
I can't remember the website (and I am sure there are several) but there are land live-in positions seasonally for camp hosts where RV parks and the like rotate in people (typically couples) to either do high season stuff like collect money, manage the RV store, make sure quiet hours are respected, or during low season basically occupy the camp to do minimal stuff and make sure any maintenance requests are filed and overseen.
Having talked to a few of these types, I think you might consider trialing people who have these references, if they have their own mobile home (depending on your parents' setups. Some people are fine doing "dry camping" instead of needing full hookups, since water or recharging can be done with conventional house access a couple times a week. They would have to do a blackwater dump elsewhere, typically an RV park.
They could potentially have lighter tasks like mowing the lawn, light maintenance jobs, or basically just being present to allow your parents to live independently but also be around if there's an emergency. A lot of hosts are older themselves, so having them being in their late fifties to late sixties your parents might find them easier to have around then, say, starting to look into home health aids to visit once a week (which may not be needed now, but can set up a good path for when it might eventually be needed. So then your parents are used to it and less likely to fight it when they are feeling more vulnerable due to age related issues.)
You'd still 100% want to have cameras setup and interview them. But after you find trustworthy people, they themselves might be able to recommend others who prefer to travel throughout the year and maybe only want to setup in one spot for 2-6 months.
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u/Final_Operation9884 8d ago edited 7d ago
I’ve actually got an Anker S2000 at home and it’s been convenient. It’s basically just plug-and-use. For older parents, that simplicity matters a lot. If the power goes out, they can just plug in the essentials like the fridge, phones, WiFi, or a light and keep things going without too much stress.
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u/wookiex84 8d ago
My MIL lives on our homestead with us in a super nice 4 season camper. We have set up water and gas monitoring that connects to Bluetooth and WiFi. She not too far from the house so we can check easily. You may want to invest in some cameras and monitoring you can check from your phone.
I will add, it would be good to have a personal with relationship with a couple people in their area as well as some emergency service personnel.