What makes life and the process of aging different for our generation of seniors? What are the trends that are influencing and driving us to seek new options that will make our lives the best they can be?
CURRENT TRENDS
In 2011, the Baby Boomers started entering the ranks of those 65 and over. This number continues to grow as does the % of seniors in the overall population and the trend is expected to continue to rise over the next 15-20 years. While the large number of children born, partially as a result of WWII ending (1946–1964) was the biggest contributing factor, other population sectors including children, adults, and immigrants have been decreasing . By 2030, seniors could be as much as 35-40% in some cities. There were more of us born and we are living longer than any previous generation. In the last full census, almost 21% of the population was over 60 in the southern California city where I live. The changes that have brought us to where we are today did not start with the Boomers, but were already evident when our parents and grandparents lived.
SOCIAL FABRIC
The social fabric began to disintegrate before we were born, and it has continued to change faster and more dramatically than anyone foresaw. Generations of families no longer live in the same house or street or city or state. Not everyone has family that they can move in with or to aid them as they age. And let’s be honest, not everyone can or wants to move in with the family they have. This phenomenon has given rise to phrases such as solo agers and elder orphans.
HOUSING
Many communities are suffering housing shortages of senior specific housing (e.g. retirement villages, independent living, assisted living, and low income housing). Not surprisingly, the lower one’s income, the harder it is to find a place to live. Many aging people cannot afford these alternatives to staying in the homes in which they have been living. The tent cities we are seeing in our major cities in California are sadly filled with older people who are physically the least able to survive the vicissitudes of such a difficult lifestyle.
The cost of alternative housing, relative to staying at home, can cause “sticker” shock. Locally, it starts around $4,000 and can go up to $12, 000 or more on a monthly basis. It’s not surprising that only about 10% of seniors in the U.S. “choose” assisted living or nursing facilities.
In many towns and cities, availability is an issue because building has not kept pace with demand, keeping inventories in the single digit area. This means that if a person wants to live in the same city where their family and friends live and that they enjoyed for perhaps decades, downsizing or even staying there, may not be a realistic option.
How do we respond to these housing trends and what other options might there be? 87% of us want to stay in the same home where we have been living. There is no doubt that ours is a constantly changing world, physically, mentally and financially. The question is how can we continue to live in our homes as independently and for as long as possible?
We’ve examined some of the issues involved in continuing to live alone in our homes. It is possible that we don’t have family, close friends, or neighbors able and willing to help us out when needed. Relationships are necessary both for helping to maintain oneself and ones home, as well as for social interaction, and the latter is a critical but often ignored component.
It is important to consider and plan for that point in our lives when we might need a lot of help to stay at home or we decide to move to a facility that offers what is needed. The options and costs are available and we should be aware of new ideas coming to fruition that can help us during this journey,and try to maximize our financial assets and establish a support system for critical times.
Each of us will age differently and so will our appropriate options. More thought is being given to how to successfully lead lives from our home base, living there as long as we can. In future posts, I hope to write about the Aging in Place movement, the Village Movement, Home Sharing, how technology is being designed around an aging population, and other areas that will impact our lives.