I know we all talk about cars and holidays and all things wonderful but if i came into a vast amount of money - you know silly money the sort I am never going to have I would set up home for elderly people so they could have proper care and with a wing on the side for people who want to be carers but don't know how.
An extra wing for those whose carers need respite. Nothing massive but something that would make a huge difference to a poor community. Something that has light and air and garden space and is more like a hotel than a dump with options for independent living with care built on.
SO if you happen to know any benefactors out there who want to support a community project - I am definitely your gal.
Tell me what would you do?
You would enjoy Mackinac Island. There are no cars allowed, just bikes and horses. It's such a respite not to hear the revving of motors or to be tailgated - horses seem to have more sense than some drivers and just trot along at a leisurely pace. They don't message their relatives or play with SmartPhones, they don't tailgate or make rude gestures, they don't cut in front of other horses.
I haven't been there in years but there's a lovely forest you'd enjoy - the fragrance of evergreens is dominant throughout.
It reminds me of the Houghton Lake area in Michigan - I haven't been there for years but it's bucolic, rustic, soothing... a real foresty getaway. Hopefully it hasn't changed over the years but I wouldn't be surprised to find a fast food row somewhere in the area.
Your dream sounds so soothing.
it would be near water with lots of trees around, wild life, especially birds so you could hear them singing...
kind of a rustic atmosphere but with hot tubs and as jude said comfy beds and crisp sheets . and good food and places to prepare your own if you wanted to
art/photography classes, raised beds to do a little gardening of you wanted to, old movies available, boats and canoes for the lake,
I would hire a bunch of clever engineers to re design all those assistive devices I get so annoyed at. Bath chairs that are actually comfortable and recline for hair washing. Toilet seat extensions that pop off and on easily for cleaning yet are secure. Wheelchairs that are designed to handle rough outdoor sidewalks yet don't cost an arm and a leg... how come I can buy a cheap bike with shock absorbers but if I want to add them to a basic wheelchair they cost $500? Each? And while I'm thinking of affordability, why is it I can buy a lift to raise and lower a car for a fraction of the price of one to lift a wheelchair into my home?
Second, I would give token amounts to my siblings and the nieces who helped changed dad's pampers while I was on vacation.
Third, I would then see a financial planner or something. See if we can invest the money where I can get income from it yearly. This specific amount of money will be used solely for the cancer treatments of those in my island. While the US mainland's cancer rates are going down, our teeny tiny island's cancer rate is increasing. One person dies of cancer every 2 1/2 days. (Last year, it was one person who died of cancer every 3 days.)
There is a Financial Stipulation for those who have cancer to qualify from the trust fund. My dad and I are what you call the poor Middle Income family. We just make too much to Not qualify for all the local/federal low income projects/funding. After paying our bills, we rarely have enough money to buy food that would fill our fridge and the pantry. So, I would want my funds to go towards the lower Middle Income families who struggles financially in everything but don't qualify for anything...
I would give some to a few places of higher education to create scholarship grants to help deserving students with tuition.
I would send my SIL and BIL on various trips so that they could relax and have some fun in their life.
I would likely move to another house where we would have to downsize because it would be the right size for two people and be very easy to get around it without a complicated yard with all sorts of landscaping that requires maintenance. I would still like a separate garage where I could put my "Man Cave."
And washing machines that can handle small frequent loads at an unusual array of temperatures.
And handling belts. Mother's was black with a day-glo orange go-faster stripe on it. Funny she never wanted to wear that…
And smart disabled parking bays, that use special ability and purpose recognition software (it would have to read minds) and vaporise anyone emerging from a car who has no business to be parked there. They'd just vanish into a pit, and all you'd hear would be a little muffled screech and then a puff of smoke.
They might get *one* chance to say they are very very sorry and will never do it again. In that case they get ejected from the pit fifteen feet in the air and back onto the pavement. Serve 'em right if they do need a disabled parking bay after that.
I would also build a Endocrinology Center that specializes in diabetes. It would have the best doctors in the country and provide education to those in need. It would have a gym with special training for those who need weight loss and focus on those with obesity as well.
I would hire a private police force to enforce traffic laws and stop dangerous drivers in my community. Some people are too stupid to drive now days and/or they can't put their phone down long enough to get across town. That has to stop.
I would build a dream house for my parents so the rest of their days would be spent enjoying an outdoor living room complete with birdsand any flowers they want year round.
I would fund research to help fight Tuberous Sclerosis, so my little niece can have a chance at a normal life.
Then, with the money left over from my 350 million, I would fly around the world attending all the rock concerts that my heart desires, hang out with the band and live like a hippie. lol
I would buy about 20 wooded acres here in Oregon that has one of our gorgeous rivers running through it and build my dream home. THEN I would have architects come in and design a Animal Care/Adoption Center that could house animals of all kinds. Hire a full time vet and other needed employees. Open the door for business as a non profit organization. Invest the rest of the money wisely so it will have enough interest to keep everything running smoothly.
Notice I mention no family, not even my son?
If there was enough money I would donate the money to have a new fire house built for the volunteer fire department and volunteer EMT's in my area. These guys and gals are outstanding. If not enough money, then something to help them out.
I would also like to set up respite care for caregivers...either come into the home for a few hours or something like you said Jude. A place where everyone is welcome and we all work together.
Publishers' Clearing House and others well known fundraisers were brought before the (sub)committee to explain their aggressive and dishonest actions, especially with elders. Back pedaling and self protection was the order of the day.
Of course they really were all very good folks, just trying to spread money around, through the use of the Beltway Bandits and their duplicitous fundraising techniques.
The (sub)committee members eventually backed these $1,000 suit boys into a corner and forced them to admit the truth about the solicitations....especially the emotional pleas to families of MIA/POWs. The tear jerker fund raising solicitations were admitted to have been prepared by the Beltway Bandits, sitting not on a ship in the Gulf of Tonkin as the tear jerker appeals letters claimed, but rather sitting in their air conditioned offices in D.C. or Virginia, creating sob stories to cheat families of their money.
These people are the scum of the earth; if any largesse were devoted to rehabilitating or punishing them, I'd suggest something like real work, getting hands dirty and crawling on knees work. Maybe Sheriff Joe could use them out on his AZ chain gangs.
I realized how healing and therapeutic needlework can be when I taught adult ed classes, and know how much nature contact can heal wounded souls. I just recently read of a gardening program for vets; that would be close to something I'd consider.
It would of course have to have a pollinator garden, a respite for the bees and butterflies as well as humans. There would be assistive beds as well, built up so people in wheelchairs could access them.
Fragrant plants and herbs would be in abundance. Hardscape would as much as possible be created by participants. Plants such as violet flowers would be dried to use in art work, which would be sold at art shows.
There would be an annual show of creations, open to the public, to encourage similar programs elsewhere.
And of course there would be absolutely no pesticides or chemicals used regardless of how much damage might be caused to the plants.
I thought I had "scam proofed" her. Guess I got so more work to do. But if she had won 15 million and shared it with me, I would spend it all on the best geek squad money can buy and track down these vermin and have them exterminated. And maybe save enough for new boat.........