I Love Old People Challenge

 I Love Old People Challenge

So I got this idea for a challenge based on things from the Sims 3 Facebook group. Some mentioned getting bored with old people and not knowing what to do with them.  A few said they create retirement homes to put them in, and one person created a funeral home. (If these are you, sorry, I don't remember who said what, but all contributed to this idea.)

Create a young adult couple - traits are up to you.

Add 5 elders as "housemates" - have a mix of male and female:

Elder #1 has the Unstable trait - the rest are up to you.

Elder #2 has the Mean-Spirited & Grumpy traits - the rest are up to you.

Elder #3 has the Flirty and Party Animal traits - the rest are up to you.

Elder #4 has the Insane and Neurotic traits - the rest are up to you. 

Elder #5 has the Kleptomaniac trait - the rest are up to you.

Build a retirement home that the young adult couple runs:

• One apartment for young adults with room for possible children.
• 5 or 6 studio type apartments for the elders.
• 1 dining room (if you have ITF, the food synthesizer would come in handy - otherwise have a kitchen or a food register. The food register would come with an additional employee to mind the register, I'm guessing.)
• 1 activity room with things for the old folks to do (paint, dominos, chess, read, etc.)
• Nice, enclosed outdoor area for elders to hang out.
• 1 chapel for services, entertainment, or the inevitable funerals.
• 1 minivan to take the old folks on outings.

The "rules" aka suggestions:

1. During the first day of the game, all elders should retire immediately - this money coming in will be the pay for the couple running the home and hopefully prevent elders from trying to leave for a job.  They can earn money with at-home hobbies like writing, gardening or painting if you like. 
2. Maids, butlers, or Bonehilda can be used as employees to help clean up after the elders. (Have an extra studio apartment if you plan on having a butler, keep in mind Bonehilda will frighten a neurotic Sim.) If you have Pets, you can get pets to use as "therapy animals" for the elders.
3. You control the young adult family and decide if you also want to control the elders when they are at the home - giving them the traits listed will hopefully make it a good "let it run" scenario with them. Click on them and let them accept wishes and opportunities if you think they are doable. Don't control the elders during the outings (except to send them home if they won't go). 
4. Take the elders on outings to non-rabbit hole venues 2 to 3 times a week, (festival, restaurant for that early bird special, store or mall, park for a picnic, salon for the ladies to get their hair done, etc.) 
5. Lock the door to the couple's apartment so only the family can come and go.  Don't lock the doors to the studio apartments, but do assign beds.
6. Throw a party occasionally, so the old folks can have visiting days. 
7. One young adult needs to "stay home" and run the retirement home, but they can have a self employed at-home job if they like (writing, gardening, artist, etc.). The other member of the couple can work outside the home if they wish.
8. When an elder dies, have a funeral, place the stone in the cemetery, and merge another elder from the town to take their place. *Hint - as soon as you can, you should probably try to get the Stone-hearted lifetime award or your Sims might be constantly crying over the deaths of the elders when their time comes. 
9. The game is over when the last of your original elders dies.

Have fun with it - decorate the elder's apartments to suit their personalities, create back-stories for them, get to know them before they pass.  Maybe even have a wall for photos of them. When they pass away, compose a eulogy for them.

Note: If you have Story Progression and like to switch households briefly (like I do) Your elders may take the initiative to move out. This is okay, just rotate through the various households and keep your eye on the newspaper to see if any die while you aren't watching them, so you can throw a funeral, write a eulogy, etc.

If you don't want to build your own retirement home, you are welcome to download mine from the exchange. My username is cheeseweasel.  

Shady Lane Retirement Home by cheeseweasel - The Exchange - Community - The Sims 3