Co-housing for Seniors

Marie5656

Well-known Member
Location
Batavia, NY
Discussions here about affordable living for us older folks, got me thinking of this concept. Co-housing for Seniors. The concept detailed in the article speaks of small co-housing communities for seniors. A few smaller homes, where each senior owns their own home, and helps "maintain" the area. Be it cooking a meal every week for a group meal, landscaping, recreational stuff, etc. What do you think? These are not meant, though, for people with medical issues that would require them to need a lot of care, or they would not be able to contribute in some way
I also recently read an article of a similar nature, where seniors share a single home and share activities, and responsibilities around the home. I will have to see if I can find it again, and will share it here.

I think I would consider the shared home thing, if the home were at least large enough for everyone to have some privacy.
 

We have co-housing here in the UK, and have had for some years...

here's some of the questions you might like to ask yourself when considering the possibility of living in a co-housing community...


Ask yourself what you hope the gains will be and if you are suited to this style of living. Things to consider include:


  • Am I sociable? Do I welcome the opportunity to live in a community and get involved in sharing home tasks and activities?

  • Am I comfortable with a community decision-making process that strives to ensure all voices are heard, and to reach decisions? Can I cope with disagreements and not having things done the way I wish at times?

  • What balance between privacy and communal living is right for me? Is this possible in the community I am considering?

  • Am I happy to get involved in shared tasks, such as working in the garden and cooking together?

  • Would I be comfortable selling my own home or raising a loan to be able to buy into a cohousing scheme?

  • Does having neighbours who I must see all the time and get along with, but who, at best, will be there to give support, help and companionship, appeal to me or make me want to run for the hills?
 

Any shared-living situations, like the show "Golden Girls'', depends on the sharers being social and easygoing and sharing the expenses and housekeeping duties equally.

I think the best option is the rooming house concept, where each tenant pays for and has their own private room, and they can gather in the communal living room for socializing, and the landlord/landlady cooks and serves the dinner to those who pay for it extra (or the tenant can go eat elsewhere). The landlord would also maintain the property and clean the common areas. That would eliminate most of the quarrels and conflicts of people living together under one roof, no problems with people not cleaning or doing the dishes etc even though they're supposed to when it's their turn.
 
@Catlady Good thoughts. A roommate situation is not for everyone, and if folks go into it thinking it would be just like the Golden Girls, then there will be a problem. To be honest, I put it out there knowing that I would probably not be a good candidate for it. I have lived with one room mate at a time when I first bought my house. Did not work, as our personalities did not mesh, and there were not enough ground rules for shared responsibilities.
@hollydolly brings up good thoughts as well. But there has to be some sort of compromise for folks considering these living situations.
 
We have co housing here and free services and provisions for people who qualify. They offer subsidized housing, food stamps, free counselling, free medical coverage, free prescriptions, free dental etc. for this very type of thing.

We also have independent private senior homes where you either pay rent or pay a portion and have a share in the mortgage. Each senior gets their own room, meals can be made together to save on groceries or you can buy and eat your own food.

A registered nurse is on call 24/7 if needed and housekeeping is offered if needed. Each senior can customize their living arrangements but they all have their own room and washroom.

There seem to be more senior living options out there now.
 
I have mentioned before I live in a mobile home community. I have talked with another senior neighbor that it would be neat if this was switched to an over 55 community. With a rec/community center added for gatherings. But it will probably not happen. I own my house, and can afford to stay here. I would not want to move at this time
@Keesha what you mention was in that article I read before. I just could not find it to post here.
 
I have mentioned before I live in a mobile home community. I have talked with another senior neighbor that it would be neat if this was switched to an over 55 community. With a rec/community center added for gatherings. But it will probably not happen. I own my house, and can afford to stay here. I would not want to move at this time
@Keesha what you mention was in that article I read before. I just could not find it to post here.
I was thinking similar thoughts about communities similar to where you and Pappy live. It would be nice to have a community volunteer organization where the owner/residents would be able to assist other residents with various tasks that would hopefully allow them to remain in their homes.

The devil is always in the details but I think that most people would be willing to assist each other in some way especially if they knew that the kindness would be repaid when or if they ever needed assistance.
 
We have co housing here and free services and provisions for people who qualify. They offer subsidized housing, food stamps, free counselling, free medical coverage, free prescriptions, free dental etc. for this very type of thing.

We also have independent private senior homes where you either pay rent or pay a portion and have a share in the mortgage. Each senior gets their own room, meals can be made together to save on groceries or you can buy and eat your own food.

A registered nurse is on call 24/7 if needed and housekeeping is offered if needed. Each senior can customize their living arrangements but they all have their own room and washroom.


There seem to be more senior living options out there now.
Quite a number of the features that I bolded above are the basis for US assisted living facilities.

In 1970s Los Angeles, virtually all 20-something singles shared quarters and I was no exception. Over time I had at least 8 different roommates and it worked out pretty well. No big arguments or drama other than one gal who turned out to be not only a heavy drinker but a mean drunk. (That didn't last long.) Some match-ups were better than others, but generally speaking we behaved like civilized, considerate adults.

Each roommate always had his/her own bedroom. We paid our rent on time, shared the bills, cleaned up after ourselves, made each other coffee, cooperated on groceries, cooking and general cleaning, and though we had a single TV we didn't argue over what to watch.

Without resentment, the person who got home from work first walked the dog if there was one and fed it if the owner wasn't coming home until late. No cell phones but we called to let each other know what was happening. We got to know each other's families, threw parties together, etc.

If the time came again, I believe I could assess whether a potential roommate's life rhythm would mesh well enough with my own that we could successfully share a home or apartment.
 
I lived with my family of 6 in a cohousing intentional Christian community in a large urban area for 21 years. I enjoyed much about it and still co-own the 18-unit apartment building. We decided to move out into our own home.

Now as we approach our senior years, we are looking at cohousing options in a more rural and off the grid, self sustainable sort of way. We’d like to buy a large property together with others of like mindedness in a non-profit corporation. We’d like to design our living arrangements and then fund and build it/sub contract it or find something suitable that we could adapt to our use. We know we’d be looking for land about 30-45 minutes from the city due to affordability.

Anybody in Canada interested?
 
The older I get, the less the thought appeals to me. For many of same reasons as above. I would rather know the people first, but even then may be hard. Living alone does have it's benefits.
Or a small senior community, or apartment complex, where we could get together socially, but live on our own.
 
I know this is an older post, but my husband and I would love this. We have always had roommates, since we were in our 20s - at that time in our lives it was out of necessity. We had to pay our rent in a large major city, and having roommates made it somewhat affordable. Ever since then, even now when we own our own house, we usually rent our spare rooms out to students to give us some extra income. I’ve always enjoyed having students in the house, many from different countries. This allows my husband and I and our children the opportunity to learn about different cultures. It’s almost a preparation for when my husband and I retire, as we both want to travel the world.

My husband and I would really enjoy a communal retirement building, where we each have our own unit. The only thing that would be a must for me as some sort of community room like they have in some apartment buildings, a room where residents can meet to play cards, or watch a movie, enjoy coffee breaks together, etc.
 
I think housing in the U.S. is pathetic in many ways. Not enough simple affordable housing. I like the tiny house idea (not the 100 square feet places with loft beds, no way) But people could live well in a simple small home, all one level. More affordable condo living that a single person can buy.

Years ago I watched a segment on some show about a group of men who bought this extremely large house in a city. They each had their own living area and there were communal spaces like the kitchen and some other areas. If you know you can get along with these people and trust them, I thought it was an interesting solution.
 
Discussions here about affordable living for us older folks, got me thinking of this concept. Co-housing for Seniors. The concept detailed in the article speaks of small co-housing communities for seniors. A few smaller homes, where each senior owns their own home, and helps "maintain" the area. Be it cooking a meal every week for a group meal, landscaping, recreational stuff, etc. What do you think? These are not meant, though, for people with medical issues that would require them to need a lot of care, or they would not be able to contribute in some way
I also recently read an article of a similar nature, where seniors share a single home and share activities, and responsibilities around the home. I will have to see if I can find it again, and will share it here.

I think I would consider the shared home thing, if the home were at least large enough for everyone to have some privacy.

Sounds like communism to me! :)

... and a good idea, although I don't want to do landscaping work. It might be more feasible to do something like that with apartments and a communal dining and recreation area.
 
I think housing in the U.S. is pathetic in many ways. Not enough simple affordable housing. I like the tiny house idea (not the 100 square feet places with loft beds, no way) But people could live well in a simple small home, all one level. More affordable condo living that a single person can buy.

Years ago I watched a segment on some show about a group of men who bought this extremely large house in a city. They each had their own living area and there were communal spaces like the kitchen and some other areas. If you know you can get along with these people and trust them, I thought it was an interesting solution.

That's the problem. Too many people aren't trustworthy enough for it to work.
 
That's the problem. Too many people aren't trustworthy enough for it to work.
Sadly Irwin, I think you are right. There should be more affordable homes for individuals and couples. Be they apartment/condo type or small stand alone homes.

Property has gone up a lot in my area. Condominiums are too high and there are not all that many in my area. Rents are going up, up and up. It's just ridiculous. I don't know where the money comes from. New built apartments down from me starting at 1,490 (1 bedroom) and each section appeared to fill as fast as they built them.
 
Sounds like communism to me! :)

... and a good idea, although I don't want to do landscaping work. It might be more feasible to do something like that with apartments and a communal dining and recreation area.
I would prefer that type of set up as well. Like a non profit co-op, where everyone had their own apartment but with communal areas - like a gathering room and an outdoor patio etc.
 
I would love to live in a situation like some mentioned above and feel like we really need to, but my Huzz would never do this in a million years. So what the hell we're gonna do on this great big piece of property all this way out from town when we can't drive anymore (and we never had kids), I have no idea. It's quite the worry, but I'm tired of fighting him on it.
 
I would think about it if it included someone that would stop by to do households task as well, share all of the things that are needed. Cleaning and cooking.
 


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