Katie Sloan, AAHSA's Consumer Focus Columnist
A Consumer Focus column entitled “Give That Man a Job,” prompted an interesting “water cooler” discussion among several of my AAHSA colleagues. The column urged retirement communities to provide their residents with ample opportunities to engage in meaningful volunteer, paid and social activities. It suggested that we shouldn’t expect baby boomers to check their interests and their skills at the door when they move into senior housing, assisted living or nursing homes.
After reading the column, one colleague questioned whether activist baby boomers would find it satisfying enough to participate in volunteer or social programs that had been planned by a retirement community’s activity director. Another colleague suggested that her baby boomer friends would be more interested in organizing their own activities – and, indeed, might even want to run their own retirement communities.
Run our own retirement communities? Not as outlandish as it sounds. In fact, there are already some interesting models out there that show us how it’s done.
Among those models is cohousing, a Danish housing option that is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. According to a directory maintained by the Cohousing Association of the United States, there are 226 cohousing communities, in various stages of development, located in 36 states.
Several features set cohousing apart from traditional retirement communities. First and foremost, the communities are planned, designed, managed, maintained and paid for by the residents themselves. Many communities are intergenerational, although some of the newer cohousing developments are restricted to people over 55. While residents rent or purchase their own, private living units, common areas are at the heart of each cohousing community. These usually include a communal kitchen and dining room, where residents share several meals a week, and ample space for social gatherings. All costs are shared, but residents don’t pool their incomes.
Cohousing may not be for everyone. But it has some exciting features that could appeal to aging baby boomers. Maybe providers of long-term services and supports should consider adopting some of these features as we work with consumers to design – or redesign – our communities and programs.
Here’s what I’d like to know: What cohousing features appeal most to you? Which ones would you like to see incorporated into your retirement living arrangement?
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A new AARP report examines social media and technology use among adults over the age of 50. Researchers found that 40% of adults age 50 and over “consider themselves extremely (17%) or very (23%) comfortable using the Internet,” and that the majority access the Internet from a desktop computer (57%). About 26 percent use a laptop (26%) to surf the Web, while 4 percent use smartphones/blackberries.
