Boomers Moving In Together: The New Group Housing?
What’s the Latest Development?
A small but growing number of aging baby boomers, primarily women who don’t have or don’t live near children and younger relatives, are choosing group housing in which they live together, share expenses, and provide extra social support. Bonnie Moore opened her five-bedroom Maryland home to three other women, creating a living situation that she describes as “a little bit like family, a little bit like roommates, a little bit like a sorority house.” She is now hoping to build upon her concept, which she calls the Golden Girls Network in honor of the late-1980s NBC television show featuring four older women living together.
What’s the Big Idea?
The baby boomer demographic is aging into a world with fewer support systems than ever before, and unsurprisingly, they aren’t afraid to apply creative solutions to the problem. And what SCAN Foundation president Bruce Chertof calls “the 70-70-70 conundrum” is a real problem. He says 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will need long-term care, but polls reveal 70 percent of Americans don’t think they’ll need the care and 70 percent think Medicare will cover it if they do…”[and] those last two 70 percents are not true.” Investing in social networks — not the online kind — could prove to be a smart move for some boomers going forward.
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