An Idea Whose Time Is Coming by Women Bloom’s Allison Allen

Posted on 07. Jul, 2008 by Karen in Misc

During my travels out here on the blogosphere, I’m met (virtually) some amazing women who are blogging on all things relevant to those of us in midlife.  One of those women, who I now count as a friend, is Allison Allen from over at WomenBloom.com  .

At Women Bloom, you can find a little of everything to get you thinking about how to make the second half of life the better half.  One of the recent articles that got my attention was Allison’s mindset shift on living arrangements as we move through midlife to retirement and beyond.  When I asked if I could share this thought-provoking article with Midlife’s A Trip readers, Allison gave her typical “Oh yeah!”.  So here’s Allison on “An Idea Whose Time is Coming”:

“I have stumbled over the tip of an iceberg I believe.  The iceberg of how we Boomers are going to live as we age.  As a single 50 something with no children, and Prince Charming nowhere in sight, I admit to having given a lot of thought to what my ‘retirement’ will look like in terms of my living arrangements. 

 I just published an article on WomenBloom on the subject of something called co-housing, and in the course of researching and writing it I mentioned it to several people.  To my surprise, several folks nearly burst with excitement because they had been talking with their friends about this very thing and didn’t realize it was a notion that actually had a name or had been put into practice.   A lot of us have been thinking about this apparently.

Here is the Boomer reality:  We’ve enjoyed a level of prosperity in this country for the last several decades that has given us a certain, expensive level of lifestyle expectation.  We expect to have our own large home, our own car, our own computer/TV/workshop/extra guest bedrooms…and the list goes on.  However, food, energy, and the prices of other basic necessities are rising.  Many of us are single.  Given that we’re living longer and that a lot of us don’t have the retirement funds we need to maintain our lifestyle at that level, some new thinking may be in order.   

 Lately, I’ve noticed that some personal finance experts, such as Scott Burns and Motley Fool, have begun floating the idea of various forms of ‘economies of shared living’.  That is, ways we can still enjoy a nice lifestyle but do it more economically by sharing infrastructure and resources with others.  Co-housing-some refer to this as an intentional community–is one way to do that.  It’s a concept with many financial and social benefits.

OK, all that could call up visions of a hippie commune or some ‘Socialist’ scheme so let me share my own little daydream to illustrate one way it could look like to show you that it could be pretty cool!

My personal daydream would involve the purchase of 10 acres somewhere like Taos, New Mexico (it’s a daydream, OK??) with a number of close friends.  We would each have our own snug casita complete with all the necessities, but we would minimize our square footage (thereby our energy costs) by having a separate communal space with a big kitchen, dining/sitting area with a large screen TV for movie nights, some bedroom suites for guests, maybe an area for arts and crafts, a workshop, etc.

Designing it all to be ‘green’ and sharing these kinds of living spaces to avoid duplication in each individual structure would mean significant financial savings for all of us.  We’d have frequent community meals that we’d have the option of participating in.  There would be movie nights you could opt for when you want some company.  I would have the option of having my morning cup of tea in my own home or in my beautiful, private courtyard looking out at the mountains…or I could wander up to the community building for some lively discussion over the latest New York Times op-ed with whoever is hanging out.  Hopefully, there would be a few gardeners in the group too!  I LOVE home grown tomatoes!

In my imagination, the other residents would be long time friends who are interesting folks and whom I know well and long enough to understand how they behave with money and sharing and responsibility.  We’d have a variety of skills we bring to the table. As we age, we would be there to keep an eye on each other and give some assistance to anyone needing a little help.  It just sounds so pleasant even to this highly independent, needs-her-own-space-and-private-time person.

Is that not cool?

In reality, there are a number of co-housing communities in development all over the country with more being conceived all the time.  Some are for Boomers specifically but some are intergenerational.  My vision is only one way it could look.  That’s the nice thing, it could look different for everyone.  That’s the ‘intentional’ part in intentional community.  The Co-Housing Association of the United States is a valuable resource to learn more about this trend.

I think this is an idea whose time is almost here.  What do you think?”

 

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10 Responses to “An Idea Whose Time Is Coming by Women Bloom’s Allison Allen”

  1. Janie aka Midlife Slices™

    09. Jul, 2008

    I’m so glad I found this group of women bloggers and I keep adding more to my list of “friends” as I discover new and interesting blogs. Allison is doing quite a job letting the voice of midlifers everywhere be heard. I wish I were going to Blogher 08. :(

  2. Karen

    10. Jul, 2008

    Janie–

    I’m glad you’re part of this group, too. I never realized what a sense of community we can build out here in the blogosphere. It continues to surprise me.

    There’s some amazing content on Allison’s Women Bloom–even a great margarita recipe. Who says we have to be serious all of the time?!

    I can’t make BlogHer 08 either but they haven’t a tour of 6 cities in the fall. Check to see if one of those meet-ups is coming to somewhere near you.

    Karen

    Karen

  3. Becky Lane

    14. Jul, 2008

    Hello again, Allison. I am so excited to see the subject of co-housing on another blog! I have no idea why the concept was so slow taking off here in the states. Probably because all we boomers were so entrenched in our “accumulating stuff” phase. Now that we are facing the reality of retirement, I see a shift occurring. So talk it up girls, keep spreading the word. Our little “daydreams” just might become reality!

  4. Karen

    15. Jul, 2008

    Becky–Allison puts out some really relevant content, doesn’t she. The idea of co-housing has really resonated with me. With the economy and all, co-housing might be the smart path to take in our retirement–if we ever get one.

    Karen

  5. WomenBloom

    23. Jul, 2008

    I do like ot think that we’re ‘growing up’ with respect to accumulating stuff. I guess I’m like an ex-smoker…since I downsized and cleared out the clutter, I don’t ever want to go back! So now I’m evangelizing like crazy :)

    Seriously though, I will be writing more about this, just did a great interview with some people who have broken ground here in Austin on their co housing project. One big motivator for this woman was ‘aging in place’, also very interesting thing to think about.

  6. Cindy

    17. Aug, 2008

    I think that co-housing is a fascinating idea. I think some families have done a mini-version of this by building two-story homes with separate living space/apartments on each floor, so that adult children can live close to their parents but not under their feet — or in their hair! Today’s version of that is having a separate in-laws’ suite built into a home. I think convents and monasteries would represent classic intentional communities. The television show “Golden GIrls” featured an intentional community of older women. But I’ve read other examples of extended intentional communities, such as Carly Simon’s father in New York City who, for a while, owned an entire apartment building. They occupied one apartment while other relatives and their families each had their own apartment within the building, like a city family commune.

  7. Karen

    18. Aug, 2008

    Cindy–great point about the religious communities — and “Golden Girls” as intentional communities. I love the example of Carly Simon’s dad. My sister and I talk often of creating a family “commune” where we can enjoy the next phase of life together in a co-housing relationship. In a perfect world, it would include my son and daugher-in-law (and future grandkids), my little niece, my brother and my 89 year old mom — close and yet far enough away to be out of one another’s hair as you so appropriately put it :-) Thanks for your interesting insights.

    Karen

  8. Granny Sue

    20. Sep, 2008

    My youngest son lives in a new apartment in Morgantown, WV. I can’t believe the deal he got: a brand new apartment that he shares with 2 other students (he’d never even met them before he moved in), all furnishings including big screen TV, washer and dryer, dishwasher, microwave, services such as high-speed internet and cable TV. All utilities are included in the rental fee. Each room has a private bath and walk-in closet. The complex has a pool, coffee shop, internet cafe, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, etc. Basically all he needed was a few dishes, sheets, towels, a computer and his clothes.

    The price? $525 a month! Anyone can live there, and I’m surprised that the place isn’t over-run with the over-60 crowd. What a deal.

    Co-living has been around for a long time. My husband’s unmarried uncles each lived with another man or woman for years. No one thought anything about it–it was a living arrangement that suited them and kept their costs down.

    I think your idea is great, and it’s doable, which is even more important. Keeping egos out of the way would probably be the biggest challenge. I remember friends in communes in the 70’s–there were slackers who did little or no work, the drive ones who worked all the time, the dopers, and the ones who wanted to tell everyone else how to live and what to do. That was the biggest challenge they faced–getting along with each other.

  9. Karen

    22. Sep, 2008

    Granny Sue–I’m jealous of your son’s housing option. Deal–that’s a steal. Is it just marketed to young people–maybe that’s why over 60s are flocking there? With the economy, more and more people are going to consider some kind of “co-living” to manage expenses.

    Karen

  10. Cindy La Ferle

    21. Nov, 2008

    I’ve enjoyed both your site and Allison’s … so great to see women our age contributing to the blogosphere. While I’m still a mom, my son is grown and I’m too old for the “mommy blogs” but still young enough to know my way around cyberspace. Thanks for your good thoughts.

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