Where & How We Want to Live

By:  Editorial Team   |  Posted: March 25, 2016   |  Updated: April 5, 2023

 

Where and how we want to live as we age has been the subject of quite a few of our Longevity Explorer discussions, especially in those circles made up of Boomers. Many of the Boomer explorers are wondering if they should move, and to which type of living situation? Should it be a retirement village, or an island in the Pacific? A co-housing arrangement shared by friends, or a rental in some youngster’s house?

 

Longevity Explorer Discussions:

“Where we want to live when we grow older?”

This collection of discussions from our various Longevity Explorer circles is growing, and you can already see some interesting themes. The groups are made up of many types of people. Some circles are made up mainly of people in their 60’s and early 70’s. Others are mainly in their 80’s and 90’s. Unsurprisingly, there are lots of different points of view.

Listen to the audio recordings of these discussions to get ideas of how others feel about the topics of how and where they want to live as they grow older.

Discussions are on right of page if you are on a large screen, below if mobile or tablet.

Comparison of Retirement Living Alternatives

Several of our explorers have dug deeply into “comparing different retirement options”.

The best place to start is this article:

Retirement Living Options

And then, following that if you want more depth you should read this synthesis, which includes a detailed table of options including prices and examples from explorers J. & C. Milford, and also links to a more recent compilation of alternatives by explorer G. Spieler.:

Retirement Living: Talk & Comparison Matrix

 

Some recurring themes

We are seeing some recurring themes in what people want from our discussions. And some go well beyond what is available today. This suggests some interesting options for developers and business people!

Multi-generational options

Many (not all) of our explorers like the idea of a multi-generational community. They don’t want to be segregated into a grey ghetto!

Affinity groups

A recurring theme is the idea that people like to associate with others with similar interests. In the aging services world at present one is expected to automatically bond with others who happen to be of the same age group.

But this is different to how any other part of society works once one moves beyond the teenage years, and seems to many of us an odd concept. More logical would be the idea that people might want to bond with others who have similar interests, regardless of age!

There are starting to emerge some affinity-based communities. However these are still rather rare.

 

 

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