The House Sharing Trend
Please join us on Tuesday, November 13
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Reiche Community Room, 166 Brackett Street
Senior house sharing is on the rise nationally, said Linda Abbit of the Senior Planet website. We agree, and several local West End residents are interested in learning more about it. Our hope is that you might be interested as well.
According to projections by the Joint Center Housing studies, the number of people over the age of 75 living alone is set to nearly double—from 6.9 million in 2015 to 13.4 million in 2035. Many seniors will have limited financial resources for housing, and women will make up nearly 75% of this group. It seems to make sense that citizens over 50, male and female alike, might start to look into different ways of living as we age.
Different models of shared housing exist all over the country. Some are part of a national database where members pay a base fee, then create a detailed profile and search to find housemates. Some use a matching system much like online dating sites, where matching tools find compatible housemates. Others are more local and simply help to connect those with homes ready to share, with those wanting a shared living setup. Many of these services will provide a background check for a fee, if the homeowner requests it.
So, if you are living alone in a place that might be too big for you and have considered getting a housemate, but have been afraid to put an ad out there, why not join your neighbors to talk about options and ideas to help make this happen? By the same token, if you have wanted to stay in this area, but the price and work involved in maintaining your own place is becoming an issue, why not also join us to find out more?
The upsides to having a housemate are many:
· Cost sharing, whether you own or are renting
· Help at home, with rent or simply sharing chores and housekeeping
· Companionship, which guards against loneliness, and it’s said that even more “distant” housemates usually tend to gather together for a meal or gathering on a fairly regular basis
· Increased health and safety, often called “sharegiving” where a housemate can help in a crisis, medical or not, and may notice changes
We hope you will join us, with your questions, ideas, concerns, and positive energy. We might just start a new type of local community to comfortably grow older in!
Questions? Interested, but unable to come to this first meeting? Please write to us at wecanaip@gmail.com and put “Attention Shared Housing.”
Learn about other West End aging in place initiatives in Rosanne Graef’s “Reiche Community: A.M. Exercise and Evenings Out.”
