AAR Explores the Golden Girl Boomer Syndrome
In a segment on the NBCs Today Show on November 26, Jane Pauley reported on three women who have been living together for nine years, and how they have redefined the meaning of home sweet home. Click Here to watch the video segment or paste http://www.today.com/video/today/53667900/#53667900
U.S. Census figures show one in three baby boomers are single, and most of those are women. As Boomers move through retirement, shared housing becomes an option available to anyone, regardless of age or gender. In the article Shared Housing Could Improve the Retirement Prospects of Single Baby Boomers (www.investmentnews.com), U.S. Census data from 2000 to 2010 shows the number of nonfamily households increased by 16%, twice the rate of growth of family households with more than 1 million single women 45 and older live with a roommate who isn't a relative.
Of these Baby Boomer women, writer Mary Beth Franklin claims, As they grow older, many will face financial challenges and some will need care. And just as Zipcar and bike-sharing programs have allowed city dwellers to share transportation on an as-needed basis, cooperative housing could help millions of single boomers improve their retirement prospects by cutting costs, stretching savings and providing companionship as they age.
Given the opportunity to buy a house with like-minded individuals offers socializing and companionship reminiscent of The Golden Girls, but logically can result in domestic drama if clear rules and boundaries aren't established at the onset or the living arrangement.
The book, Sharing Housing: A Guidebook to Finding and Keeping Good Housemates offers guidelines to find people who you might want to live with and who might want to live with you. According to author Annamarie Pluhar, Finding an appropriate home mate is a bit like Internet dating. You may have to meet a lot of people before you find the right person.
For even more information, Karen Bush, Louise Machinist and Jean McQuillin, entered cooperative housing nearly 10 years ago and have chronicled their experience in a book, My House Our House: Living Far Better for Less in a Cooperative Household.
If this is a lifestyle that seems appealing to you, call up your girl friends, pool your funds we have a large inventory of big houses just sitting on the market waiting for the right Golden Girls.
Watch the video and read the article, and tell me what you think of cooperative housing at 55.