Why would an active senior move into elder
cohousing rather than intergenerational cohousing?
Most say it is because they want to be in an all-adult
community.
You are a baby-boomer, over 55 but not yet 60. Your children are grown and you lead an active, healthy lifestyle.
Or maybe you are over 65 and retired. You are still active and enjoy being around people who are younger than you are.
Why should either of you move into elder housing with a bunch of people who are O.L.D. when you do not feel or act old yourself?
1. The vast majority of people who move into elder cohousing are active physically and mentally. They don't fit anyone's idea of O.L.D.
2. Intergenerational cohousing communities hope to have an abundance of families with children in residence.
What does that mean to you?
Children are naturally noisy and giggly. Some people have at least partial hearing losses as they age. A noisy dining area might not be conducive to conversation for someone who has partial hearing loss.
Children also leave their skateboards, bicycles, sleds, and balls lying around on the community paths. It's no fun to fall down as an adult and having a broken bone is even less fun.
Well, you say, but don't people have their grandchildren come to stay?
Well, yes they do. But the grandchildren don't stay long or have many other kids for playing ball or giggling. They tend to leave their bikes and skateboards at home--or at the very least they take them home after their visit.
Some cohousing communities with children forego a media room because children could watch unsupervised video and television there. Elder housing does not have that constraint.
Children are not known for their gourmet diet preferences, making the menus in the common house somewhat limited.
Parents of children do not have an abundance of extra time. Many retired or empty-nester cohousers find that they are doing more than their share of keeping up the community because they have the free time to do so.
Last, but not least, not everyone is going to discipline their children in ways that are effective or in a manner that you approve. If you are the kind of person to stress out about matters such as that, you will be adding a burden to your senior years.
Senior Cohousing
Check out
Dallas-Fort Worth
Senior Cohousing Directory
Active Lifestyle of Elder
Cohousing
Aging Gracefully in Elder Cohousing
Benefits of Senior Cohousing
Cars, Who Needs Them?
Common Areas in Senior
Cohousing
Costs of Elder Cohousing
Do Rentals Make Sense for Senior
Cohousing?
Ecohousing: Why
Build Green?
Features of Senior Cohousing
Finding a Senior Cohousing
Community
Good Neighbor Information
Hot Spots in Community Decisions
Individual Privacy in Senior Cohousing
Is Senior Cohousing Right for You?
Locate a Senior Cohousing
Community
Make Good Use of Your Common House
Meanwhile, Back at the
Common House
Outdoor Common Areas for Senior Cohousing
Therapeutic Community Gardens for
Seniors
What Kind of Housing Do Seniors Want?
Why Elder Housing?
Seniors and Loneliness
Where
Do Pre-Retirees Want to Live?
Younger Faces
in Senior Cohousing
Senior &
Intergenerational Cohousers Fit
Few Lonely Seniors
in Elder Cohousing
Deciding Where to Live