Years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about the economics of three seniors moving in together and sharing expenses. The cost of an apartment and splitting the cost of around the clock home care would be cheaper than one person moving into a nursing home. I was intrigued by the idea. Few people can afford a nursing home and not everyone can afford expensive assisted living, or senior communities. For that matter, most seniors don’t want institutional living. A Harvard survey found that 87% of seniors plan to age in place.
Around 10,000 Baby Boomers a day are turning 65, 80% of which own a home. Yet, it can be expensive to maintain a home after retirement. The cost of grocery delivery, utilities, taxes, mortgage, rent, etc. can add up when shouldered by one individual. Moreover, many senior homeowners have a spare room or two they could rent out.
In the age of expensive housing more people should live like the Golden Girls, retired senior ladies who live together sharing hijinks, laughs and drama (and expenses). More than one person has told me women living together only works on television. One person even claimed that women cannot get along well enough to live together. Nonetheless, when Americans retire with too few retirement assets, and live on less than $2,000 a month in social security benefits they will need a solution. After she was widowed my former grandmother-in-law rented a room with a family until she was in her mid-70s. It was a financial necessity. An article on roommates over 50 had this to say:
Older Americans living on their own also tend to feel more financially strapped than those living with others. Pew reported that only 33% of older adults felt financially comfortable living on their own, and SpareRoom data suggests that 63% of renters over the age of 50 are rent-burdened.
Necessity will require shared living arrangements for many seniors. Indeed, it’s becoming a trend. The Washington Post writes that more women are sharing their homes as they grow older.
As housing markets tighten and inflation spikes unpredictably, more older women are seeking shared housing options as Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia did on the hit television sitcom “Golden Girls.” These living arrangements often begin by financial necessity. A rising number of seniors are “cost burdened” when it comes to housing, according to a 2023 study by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
All jokes aside, young people often live together in college and afterwards to save money. In college I had a couple roommates over the years and I’m still friends with two of them. People often dismiss the idea of roommates after they’re adults but especially for senior widows or widowers it makes sense.
Having a roommate isn’t just about money. It can also make a lot of sense health wise. Aging in place, while living alone can be lonely and is a health risk for decline and dementia. I read one article that claimed social isolation has the negative health effects similar to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Living with a roommate or two could also keep mom or grandma out of a nursing home. I have known women over the years who were widows in relatively good health after their husbands died. Some were incapable of living alone but could easily live with a companion. Likewise, I’ve run across a few widows who were healthy and perfectly capable of living alone if only they could afford to. So-called Gray Divorce is also wreaking havoc on the finances of parting couples.
Dating websites match romantic partners. Roommate websites match those looking for a roommate or a place to live. There are services dedicated to helping seniors find roommates or shared housing:
Companies like Roommates 4 Boomers, founded by baby boomer Karen Venable, helps female boomers find housemates that are in a similar life stage and are looking to live with someone else. Other platforms like Silvernest and Senior Homeshares, targeted specifically at older adults, pair boomers, retirees, and empty nesters with potential roommates for long-term rental arrangements.
There are more than 70 million Baby Boomers, all of whom are aging. They will increasingly need assistance with the activities of daily living. The longer they can stay in their own homes, the less the burden on Medicaid long term care.
I just read an article on homeless seniors at KFF Health News (https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/homeless-seniors-gray-wave-services-overloaded/). Is sharing living spaces a solution to homeless seniors? To be honest, if I were a landlord looking for roommates I’d want to know what led to the homelessness before I agreed to a roommate situation. One problem I can see with accepting roommates into my own home would be how to get rid of bad roommates. When I worked in a hospital the admission process included discharge planning. That is, make sure you have an exit strategy before agreeing to take them or you may be stuck with them. With respect to seniors, sooner or later you will need them to leave. Either they will begin to need more care than a home can provide or I will need more care than my home can provide. When I die or need nursing home care, in which case my home may need sold and roommates gone.
Where can I sign up? to share my home
Hi. Which location are you based?